Sky Pirates

Chapter 24

Mildred walked down the path toward the garden. She swung her arms akimbo as she walked while singing softly to herself the refrain that Mr. Reeves had performed so expertly at the music house several weeks earlier:

"Come into the garden, Maud,
For the black bat, Night, has flown,
Come into the garden, Maud,
I am here at the gate alone"

As she pushed the garden gate open, it creaked and she repeated, "I am here at the gate alone; I am here at the gate alone."

Mildred was alone, not only in that moment, but in life. She was becoming a woman, but no one around her seemed to take any notice, instead they continued to treat her like a small girl. Mildred, who usually went right to work along the main path, alternately took the outer path that followed the interior walls. She touched the statue in the first alcove and enjoyed the moss under her fingertips. Because of the early hour, there was still dew on the lush green mat. She drew her fingers to her nose and enjoyed the earthy aroma.

Continuing her walk, she reached the stone bench under the overgrown Japanese maple and withdrew the last remaining letter from her uncle that she hadn't read yet. From another pocket, Mildred produced an apple. She took a large bite, enjoying the crisp spray that was released.

Her Uncle Parker wrote:

My Dearest Mildred,
How I long to be with you and share the stories of my travels. Instead, we must make due with these words scratched out on paper.

Today was another amazingly hot day. All the men on the island wear only a cloth wrapped about their waist, and nothing else. No shirts, under linens, or shoes. They are all very dark, both from having dark skin and from being exposed to this great sun. The women are only slightly more modest, with full length skirts that cover them from their waists down to their ankles, but they wear nothing above. I dare say all of the women you have ever met would be very uncomfortable at the site. Many of our crew here aren't comfortable with it either. But, we must always be very kind to these wonderful people, for they help us in every way you can imagine.

I'm sad to say that this will be the last letter you'll receive from me for a long time. We are heading into the jungle and expect to be gone from our base camp for at least three weeks. In the meantime, please keep good cheer and follow Miss Canton's instructions.

Your Loving Uncle

PS. I've finally selected a new vicar for the old chapel. If you haven't met him yet, I assure you he is a kind and generous man. I ask that you, and those you "command," do all you can to provide comfort and ease to Mr. Wickliffe and his family.

As Mildred refolded the letter imagining a place where all the women went topless, Perry ran up to her.

"Good morning, Miss."

"Good morning, Perry." Mildred watched the young boy go immediately to his continuing task of cutting away the overgrown grasses and weeds that ringed the inside wall. He wasn't at it for but a few minutes when she heard him scream. Mildred leapt up and ran to him. "What is it, Perry? What is it?"

"Sorry, Miss. I didn't mean to holler out like that, but look." Perry pointed to a large alcove in the wall. This one wasn't like the others they had discovered that housed odd pieces of statuary. Instead, there was a large wicker structure with all manner of greenery growing through and out of it. But, that wasn't the amazing part. What was remarkable was that bees were swarming all around it.

"Perry, have you ever seen anything like it?"

The young boy waved away a bee. "No, Miss. Not in all my days."

That was one of the boy's phrases: "Not in all my days." It usually made Mildred laugh, since the boy was barely twelve-years-old and hadn't had many days to compare anything in life to, but on this occasion, she didn't laugh, mesmerized by the hundreds of flying insects that were coming and going into several entrances of the wicker.