Peculiarity

t w o

a ferry, like a boat right?
okay catch the boat, find the bird.
Easy.
I approached the old, man standing around, meant to be helping the people find their destinations. Instead he dangled a soon-to-be lit cigar from his lips and gazed around.

"Excuse me." I interrupted,
He looked around before settling that there was no one except me that was speaking to him.
"yes?" He asked disappointingly,

"um, could you perhaps point me towards the ferry that will be leaving at eleven twenty-five?"

he looked at me absurdly before realising that I was asking a true and honest question,
"what do you think we're some type of train station?" He half shouted, his Scottish accent shining through his make-believe British one, "there's only one ferry girl, leaves in five minutes it does. Just over there." He pointed to the left and waved me off before lighting the cigar and walking away dreamily.
Well then.
That makes it alot easier.

I walked to the ticket booth and was faced with yet another gloomy faced man,
"I'm looking for Mister Lagratus?" I croaked, not meaning to sound hesitant,
The man let out a throaty chuckle,
"you'd be the Bates girl I s'pose?" He said, "I'd hurry up if I were you, he won't be waiting." He pointed towards an older and smaller looking boat,
"thankyou." I smiled,

"don't." He replied.

I walked up to the man slowly,
"excuse me?" I tapped his shoulder gently, "you wouldn't be Lagratus would you?"

The man whipped around, his suit was stripped, old and battered, his long chest length beard covered his mouth and he squinted his eyes as he struggled to make out my appearance,

"that'd be me." He gave a throaty chuckle,

"I have a note..from my fathe- from Marcus Bates. I-I was told to find you..and catch your boat?"

"blimey." Lagratus took his hat off his head and fumbled it in his hands, "couldn't be Ms Justice Bates hiding under the sweater could it?"

I was taken aback,
"you..know me?" I furrowed my eyebrows,

"Ain't a man better! Besides maybe your father." He coughed,

"You..knew my father?" I asked hopefully,

"Bloody well I did! We was both at the home together - with Miss Amur! Ah, 1932 not a finer loop there was."

"1932?" I furrowed my eyebrows, "wait, 1932...like 17-11-1932?"

"better believe so!" He grinned ecstatically, " 'o course I only lived there a few years me-self..but I'd bloody well know that date if I heard it two streets away!"

"so, I um - I was told to catch your boat? You're supposed to be taking me somewhere? Is that right?" I asked re-tracing my eyes over the letter,

"not where..when." he smirked, "well you better hope on or else you'll be left on that dock all lonely and cold."

I looked down and found myself still standing frozen to the dock, and without another word I stepped awkwardly onto the boat and sat down cross-legged,

"that's the spirit!" He chuckled- followed by a series of hard, struggling coughs- "let's be on our way then.." He croaked, limping over to the steering wheel feebly.

*  *  *

It had been three hours and fourteen minutes since I plopped down cross-legged on the boats floor, and three hours and eight minutes since Lagratus had grumpily told me to stop asking questions; "curiosity killed the cat!" was his most recent argument.

After three hours and fourteen minutes on this so called 'boat', I had found virtually nothing about what my father had meant by;
17-11-32

That's not to say I didn't have my theories - because boy did I have my theories - but I never found them any use when it came to reality and where I was headed. As for where I was headed I had not managed to squeeze that out of Lagratus either. To be quite frankly honest he was a stubborn old man, and his beard was quite clearly longer then his patience.

"Justice!" Lagratus yelled, pulling me from my daydream - it seemed he had been yelling at me for a while - I glanced up and stuttered embarrassingly,

"y-y-yes, s-sorry. W-What's wrong?" I questioned,

"Where you been?" He chuckled, a smile tugging at his lips, "we're here."

I looked up around myself, a grim looking island with what seemed to be only a single street greeted me,
"this..this is it?" I furrowed my eyebrows, confused,

"sure is." He smiled, "go on. Hope out won't 'cha."

"your..your not coming?" My eyes widened as I questioned him,

"no, course not. I've already had my time." He chuckled, "come on. Out you get!"

I stumbled out of the boat, nearly falling into the water, and onto the dock. It was rotted, old, and looked as if it had been there for hundreds of years.

I walked along the dock until I made it to a very dodgy looking bitumen road, it was empty and uneven.
A few houses were scattered here and their to my left and my right was an unwatered, and dead looking, nature strip. I continued down the road until I saw a street sign with two names on it;

Oswald's Street >

Canter Road <

I turned right onto Oswlad's Street and found myself into the centre of a marketplace. Though it was a marketplace, it was completely and utterly empty and not a soul was stirring. But as eery and queer as this street seemed one thing in particular caught my eye, an ice-cream shop sat quaint and petite down the end of the street. The ice-cream shop.

* * *

Whoop Whoop!
Am I not like some amazing human being?!
Lol just kidding 🙃
Anywhoooooooooo, who likes Peculairity??
I really really really do!!
And I'm so excited; I've ordered the Miss Peregrine's trilogy boxset, with twelve more peculiar photographs and it's coming in fourteen dayssssss😍😍😍😍
Okay byeeee

Lots of love,
Matilda♡