Dear Father,
Firstly, you must not believe what you have read in the papers. I am no mastermind. That said, I was not unwilling in this venture. You know me. I am not a fool to jump with both feet into crazy schemes. You also know how desperate the times are here. General Malgawe’s men have increased their levies on the village to an unsustainable level. The children are so hungry they have forgotten how to smile, yet the general’s men still take what little food remains. To stand up to these soldiers is a death sentence, but they are amenable to bribes. I suppose they are no different than other men in this regard, though what they do requires a harder heart.
The plan as presented to me was far from foolproof, but the use of the lifeboats to escape seemed sound enough. Cruise ships are seldom armed, and the passengers of the Queen’s Line are known to be wealthy. The plan called for a quick takeover, a rapid pilfering, an elegant escape.
It was never our intent to initiate a slaughter, yet it is true what they say: intentions are the stones that pave the road to hell.
I pray you will bear no shame for my crime, and that you will one day forgive me.
WOW. Just wow.
That was fabulous. A very rich narrative.
Fascinating take, really good. The sympathy for his plight and the horror of where it took him. Well done.
The voice in this is magnificent. It would be nice to think that modern day pirates were capable of such noble attestations of regret.
This was fantastic, J Hardy. Absolutely brilliant use of the prompt.
What an excellent story. Quite extraordinarily ambitious of you to tell the story of the oppression of the rural poor by the military elite in a country like Somalia, while simultaneously telling the story of an unsuccessful and bloody attack by pirates on a cruise ship. Not content with writing two stories, you link them to suggest a reason for the piracy.
You accomplish it triumphantly. Kudos!
Thanks!
To create a great character you have to be able to see the world through their eyes. You did a fabulous job.
“no plan ever survives contact with the enemy”
Great story.