A Pirate's Life for Mei

New Work Environment

Lia

Lia had experienced many firsts since meeting Mei and choosing to leave her tribe behind. She'd met and travelled with these strange people who had come from across the ocean. She'd visited foreigner towns. She'd made friends with these foreigners and even begun to learn their language. Now, here she was, sailing away from an island she'd never visited before, on a huge ship.

She had ridden in her tribe's canoes when the male hunters had paddled her and other females to different islands to gather fruits and other items. Then the foreigners had brought a strange boat with a flat area on top of two canoes that had carried her to Barbados. That had been the biggest boat she'd ever been on. From afar, she'd seen the huge ships that foreigners sailed, especially when they raided her home island. But she'd never imagined being on one herself. The sloop had been a big deal to her, though it had really been a large canoe with a sail. But this ship? The Flying Dutchman? It was massive!

The two masts towered over her with white fields of sails. There seemed to be an entire jungle worth of wood under her feet. There were many foreigners, dozens of them. Some ran about, doing sailor work. Others carried fiercesome guns and watched everyone else with narrowed eyes.

She'd watched Juan, Armand, and Cheeto take up roles with the crew. She hoped she'd be allowed to work with Mei.

Mei spoke with the first officer for a while. Lia didn't speak their language well enough yet, but she would keep learning! She wanted to be able to communicate with these foreigners as well as she could with her own people.

The super scary big man who seemed to be in charge threatened Mei, and Lia cringed even though she wasn't his target. He made her uneasy, and she did not relish sharing the boat with him. In fact, she preferred to be as far away as possible.

She was dismayed when the first officer led her away from Mei's side and down into the heart of the ship. She got to see the terrifying cannons that could destroy anything. It was there that she was introduced to the galley. To her surprise and delight, she recognized what this place was for: it was a kitchen!

The galley was in the back area of the deck but open to the rest of the space. A large rectangular structure was in the middle of the floor, about three paces long and one wide. It was waist-high. On one side was a place for a fire, and the other half was a flat tabletop for cutting and preparing food. The walls on three sides had shelves practically groaning with all the glassware and dishes; casks; sacks of flour, salt, sugar, and things she didn't recognize; hardtack in paper wrapping; jars of preserved fruit; bread, and other foods. Dried fish, garlic, and cured pork hung from the ceiling next to pots and pans.

To Lia's eyes, it was a true bounty, a feast waiting to be given form. There were so many interesting spices and ingredients unavailable to Carib tribes. Thinking of the wondrous foods she'd enjoyed at the Wandering Sinn earlier, she was excited to learn how these things were made!

A slovenly man of extreme obesity stood in the galley, already at work. He had dark brown skin and black hair, not just on his head but curling out of his clothes all over his body. He smelled of sweat and fish and some spiciness she couldn't identify. His eyes were beady and hid under drooping lids with long lashes, giving him a sullen expression. He was also a man of few words. When the first officer introduced her and took a couple of minutes to speak to the brown man, the cook sized her up and down without blinking, then grunted.

The first officer seemed slightly unsure of the cook but left it at that. He turned to her. "This is Vanji Singh. Call him Cook. You work here now." He motioned her towards the galley.

English was difficult! She had to study more. She vaguely understood that this was where she would help out while they were at sea. Grinning at the officer, she nodded a few times. She spoke in her language, though she knew he wouldn't understand. "Thank you! I will do my best!"