A Mermaid's Dangerous Dance

By Tony Williams

Forced by constant physical abuse at school, young Stanley decided that he had to take desperate actions to escape his situation.

Without any of his family knowing anything at all, in the dead of a winters night he slipped away from the comfort of home.

There is only one person that he is hoping will help him, that person is his uncle.

The solution as he see’s it, is on his uncles deep sea fishing ship.
He knew that it would not be easy, as he would have to stow away until they were far away from land.

His discovery on board created a serious dilemma for his uncle, as to return him would be at considerable expense of time and money.

He became entangled in Stanley’s life, and decided to try and put him on the correct path of life.

Stanley eventually did not only find his way forward, but also fell in love with a Jamaican girl who had a plan of her own.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press AU
• Release date: Mar 31, 2022
• ISBN: 9781982294090

Tony Williams

Tony Williams is professor of English and area head of film studies in the English Department at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. His books include The Cinema of George A. Romero: Knight of the Living Dead and John Woo's "Bullet in the Head."

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Copyright © 2022 Tony Williams.

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ISBN: 978-1-9822-9408-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9822-9409-0 (e)

Balboa Press rev. date:  03/25/2022

Castle Hill

elementary school was built almost at the top of Castle hill itself, and had an expansive and exquisite commanding view over the city below as well as the river and beyond.

The view alone from the classroom windows made the teachers happy with the exception of one.

Miss Violet Thatcher, a six foot tall and of solid build woman much like a Russian wrestler and a harsh voice to go with it, there was nothing feminine about her at all.

All the other teachers avoided her as much as possible including the principal, her pupils would not dare to look up at her unless they had to, as she marched up and down between the rows of desks.

However, there was one student in particular who was always in her line of sight, and would get her attention every time even though that student was no different than the others, nothing escaped her eagle eye from Stanley Williams.

Stan (Stanley) simply hated school. He had another year and a half to go till he finished, he didn’t seem to accept that anything the teachers said could actually apply to him. He knew exactly what he was going to do for a job when he left school, and there was nothing the teachers said which had any relevance to what he had already set his mind on, his decision was final.

However, there was one big problem in his way which was, could he possibly stay any longer till he finished school? as it was, he was being pushed to his limits now.

He was quite often in his own world gazing out of the class room window, looking down the hill past the street where he lived towards the river and the docks. Stan loved the position of his desk as he could see all the large ships passing to and fro.

Oh how he longed to be on one of them, but not just any ship would do.

The port of Newcastle was on the English coast. It was always a hive of activity as this was a very busy port, not only did ships come and go but there were large dock yards where ships of all sizes were being built. Some luxury ocean liners as well as a few navy ships were taking shapes, and a little further upstream was a row of smaller crafts with busy men bringing them to life. Beyond it all was where young Stan’s interest lay.

It was his uncle’s deep sea fishing boat.

The Blue Lady, an 85 foot mid-size trawler which was often away at sea for up to four weeks at a time, more or less depending on --------.

Just the very thought of all that amazing adventure simply sent Stan’s world into a spin. It was on the odd weekend when his father was free and his uncle’s boat was coming in that the whole family would descend down on the docks to Pier 209, the regular berth dock for the Blue Lady.

The Blue Lady carried a crew of six men in total, it was about to sail again and that was what Stan was all absorbed in, nothing else mattered in the class room.

It was a sharp rap across the back of his left hand from Miss Thatcher or fatty Thatcher as the kids would call her, which brought his attention instantly back into the classroom. The thin red mark left behind was throbbing and for a wee while it was hard to control his hand from shaking.

Sod this bloody lot he mumbled quietly.

Lucky for him otherwise fatty Thatcher would have hit him more had he said it out loud. All too often this was repeated, it was the second time today but oh no, it was never the other students, it was always Stanley.

Well! Stan had other ideas running through his mind for quite some time, but up until now he had hesitated in carrying out his plan.

He knew full well his mother Doris would be very upset, he dared not think about his dad Richard who ruled the house with an iron rod as they say. Perhaps his three sisters would probably be pleased to see him go. The only person he would miss the most was his older brother Archie, but no matter the cost there was no way, come hell or high water was Stan going to stay at school until he finished year 12.

All the others could but not him, the mermaid call of the sea was too over powering.

Several days later Stan knew the Blue Lady was going to be in port for one week. He decided on a plan that now was the time to make his move. Taking great care so Archie would not notice what he was up to, he put some extra clothing away under the end of his bed and pulled the top cover down almost to the floor.

Tonight is the night he thought alone, because early tomorrow morning my uncles’ ship is leaving to go deep water fishing again.

It was about 3AM and still dark outside, being the last day of autumn the nights were a lot cooler and the wind was starting to pick up, the sound of the rustling trees outside would help cover any noise he made, but this was the day.

It was going to be now or never, there wouldn’t be another golden opportunity to fulfil his ambition. His heart was pounding so hard he feared his brother might wake up and stop him, but as he glanced across the room Archie was facing the wall and fast asleep.

Quickly and as quietly as he dared he dressed himself in some winter clothing, he only put his socks on as he was afraid the sound of his shoes might wake Archie up.

Grabbing all of the extra clothing he put aside, he tied them all together with his favourite jumper which his mum had just finished knitting. His hand gently swept under his pillow and retrieved an apple and four sandwiches he was able to make without anyone noticing. With a family of seven that alone was not an easy task.

If his father had found out he would without any hesitation pulled out his belt from his trousers and flogged Stan’s backside, or cuff him on the ear for taking extra food.

That’s enough. he would say. We don’t own a grocery store you know.

In his mind he could see and hear his mother crying and pleading as well as pulling her husband back.

Leave him be Richard. all the while telling him to stop.

Under his pillow he placed a short note that read.

"Dear Mum.

Please don’t worry about me but I have to do this, I’m sorry but school is not for me, I’m ok, say good bye to dad and all.

Love Stanley."

With a few regretful tears running down his face, he tiptoed to the door and opened it just enough. Very slowly and quietly he made his way to the front door, as he slipped outside he gently and softly closed the door behind him.

The chilly morning blast hit him full on in the face, now really wide awake he sat on the front doorstep to put his shoes on, his toes already feeling numb and so cold it made him shiver. He could see his breath as if he was a smoker puffing madly in the freezing winter night to keep himself warm.

Now he was as ready as he could be, a quick glance up and down the street to make sure nobody was around, thankfully all was clear, so far so good.

Off he went running until he was out of breath then slowing down for a while. The distance from home was about four miles which was just to get to the main dock yards, then about another two miles to reach his uncle’s ship the Blue Lady.

He had seen it many times and knew how to find it as he had memorised it all. The only problem he had was how to get on board without anyone seeing him.

By the time he reached the boat his eyes were well adjusted to the night. He was sure the shadows were starting to retreat but that may have been the moon peeping through the clouds, which spurred him on even though it was still too early for any daylight to appear yet.

As luck would have it, right next to the Blue Lady was a whole stack of fish crates which were piled up about six foot high and ten foot long.

Great stuff, he said to himself, I have to wait for the right time to sneak on board.

He could see uncle Zac in the wheel house along with Brian who was in-charge of communications. Brian was on the short wave radio getting the latest updates on the weather and checking the radio was operating perfectly at full strength.

Fishermen never ever leave their piers or venture out unless everything was a hundred percent in working order due to inclement weather, at times some were lost at sea never to return leaving behind some heartbroken wives and sweethearts.

Stan knew about the lost men at sea but he did not realise anywhere near the full impact it had on people’s lives, but how could he? He was just a boy who was turning 15 soon, to avoid school by secretly getting on his uncle’s boat meant the world to him.

He waited patiently, two other crew members were down below stowing away food stock which now left only two other crew standing on the deck.

One he did not know at all but the other was unmistakable, a huge six foot two inch colossal of a man who had a soft voice most times but was as strong as an ox. Jake the ox man (Oxo) was always known by the crew and his friends.

For the second time luck was on his side Oxo was preoccupied with the huge nets on the far side facing away from the dock. The two were talking softly about the up coming trip.

Quickly and softly Stan sprinted up the gangway and onto the boat, ducking up to and as close to the wheelhouse as possible clutching onto his possessions very tightly.

Perhaps it was the fear of getting caught or the sheer excitement of it all that sent young Stan’s heart racing so fast, he could literally hear it pounding within his chest.

Looking forward towards the bow past the wheelhouse was a hatch he was looking for, this led to the forward area, by using this he was able to bypass the corridor the crew would normally use.

Gingerly he opened the hatch and slipped in making sure it was properly closed, keeping still for a moment and holding his breath. He was listening out to check if anyone had noticed, luckily all was good so he inched his way up to the bow.

All this area was completely new to him, just before the bow was a division with a small doorway which had a sign reading ANCHOR CHAIN ROOM.

On each side were some long bench type seats with sliding cupboard doors for more storage, they were mostly empty apart from some spare flares and oil skin coats together with leggings, of course there’s also the smell of fish but that was to be expected.

Slowly getting used to the smell he put all he could into the cupboard on one side leaving everything just as it should be, he closed the sliding cupboard door.

He got down on his hands and knees. He wriggled himself into the other cupboard on the opposite side, not as easy as he thought laying on the floor and having to jiggle into it feet first, half in and half out he got himself slightly stuck and started to panic.

There was nowhere else he could hide, all it needed was a bit more effort, he twisted and pulled with some determination, finally he managed to get right inside the locker but even so it was a tight fit.

There was not a lot of room to spare but for a person of his age and size there was no choice, it’ll have to do, that’s enough space needed for him to remain undetected until they were well out to sea.

Hopefully with more luck they would be far enough out to sea, that his uncle would not turn the boat around and return him home. He was also aware he would have to convince uncle Zac to carry on which was going to be an encounter he was not looking forward to, so the longer it was delayed the better.

He was hoping his uncle would not be angry as he had seen other young boys as crew members on other fishing boats, and surely they couldn’t be anymore than a year or two older than himself. Besides, he was always a favourite with uncle Zac so therefore Stan did not anticipate any problems to occur.

Zac had always been on his own since his wife died about seven years earlier. It had been a bitter double blow to him as he had not only lost his wife but also his baby daughter due to complications at birth.

After that traumatic event in his life he kept pretty much to himself as far as anybody knew, from then on the sea became his mistress, it was widely known no one could match his skills at catching the arctic pollock cod.

Many other men from other ships deemed it a privilege to work on his boat, such was his reputation.

With all this in mind Stan carefully pulled the sliding door almost closed, leaving it an inch open to get some fresh air through. He adjusted his bundle of clothes under his head, in doing so he whacked his head once or twice trying to get comfortable and after a while he dozed off to sleep.

Suddenly he heard a deep rumble of the engine start up and run, he could also feel the steady vibrations through his prone body. He smiled for what he had achieved so far not only made him happy but also a wee sad about leaving home this way.

He closed his eyes tight with a few tears running down his face, he listened to the rhythmic sound of the ships’ engine like a lullaby which made him fall back into a very deep sleep.

What had transpired already had completely exhausted him, now was the time to recharge his batteries.

The crew untied the mooring ropes, Zac eased the Blue Lady out into the main shipping channel, once they reached the open sea which was about 45 minutes later he set the throttle at a steady six knots to conserve fuel. This also made it a smooth ride and there was no point in using more fuel than necessary.

They left shore about four hours with no change in the weather conditions, but the weather forecast was that it was going to get worse especially from the north and all up the Scottish coast.

Zac called out to his number two, Alex would be the one to take over Zac should anything happen to him.

Alex was quick to respond as Zac informed him of a weather change approaching.

Get one of the crew to check the rear end of the boat, and double check that everything is tight and secure. Check the forward section and ensure all life jackets are readily available as well as the flares. Looks like we will get the tail end of an arctic storm that’s slow moving.

Aye Aye Captain. Alex answered, already half way out of the door and making sure it was properly shut.

Lazy men with sloppy habits do not survive long out here.

Alex entered the forward section then he noticed one of the sliding doors was partly open.

Suddenly the sliding door was ripped open and a big strong hand literally hauled Stan out.

Well, Well Alex hollered. Look at what I’ve found, a bloody stowaway rat on board, this is just what the captain needs.

Oxo was checking everything on deck was well secured so no one could get hurt by a swinging boom or the likes, and the mooring ropes were stowed away.

A very noticeable breeze picked up and was blowing around 25 to 30 knots with Zac at the wheel. Once they cleared the river mouth into the open sea he eased the boat around slowly to a NNE heading which set them on a direct course towards Norway.

Now they were facing directly into the waves with a four foot swell which caused the Blue Lady to pitch in a gentle rhythmic motion.

It was a test for any new comer if they were going to get sea sick at all, this would do it, very soon the sight of land would slip away leaving only the ocean around. The vastness of it made one feel tiny so a sense of caution became paramount.

Alex did indeed have a very strong grip with one violent sweeping motion he managed to haul Stan completely out from under the seat, he lifted him up so high that he banged his head on the roof. Even though Alex had met Stan several times before but with the sudden and totally unexpected encounter he did not recognise Stan at all.

Stan on the other hand was woken up with such a fright plus having his head banged on the roof sort of stunned him. He struggled to find his feet, eyes now wide opened and completely speechless, no way did he expect this nor did he imagined this was the way things would be.

Come on you bloody stowaway. squawked Alex. Go on in front of me and don’t you try anything stupid or I’ll knock your bloody head in. Just you wait till the skipper sees you, you’d be lucky if he don’t throw you overboard to the sharks.

Stan still hadn’t said anything as he stumbled forward and followed orders, Alex’s tone of voice scared the daylights out of him.

Turn left up the steps. he yelled as he roughly pushed the stowaway hard.

He almost fell face down on the steps instead of climbing them.

Zac turned around when he heard all this commotion behind him, he could not believe his eyes as Alex pushed Stan into the wheelhouse. He stumbled briefly and fell onto one knee before finding his balance. Trembling as he slowly stood he came face to face with a very angry looking uncle.

Just what in the bloody hells name are you doing here Stanley? screamed Zac in a very military demanding voice. "Do your parents know where you are? Have you any idea of the seriousness of what you have done and how bloody stupid you are? let alone all the legal implications I have to deal with now? Then there is the cost of what’s involved here, and I don’t mean just the running cost of my ship, this also means all the financial responsibility to all of my crew.

Bloody hell Stanley, I didn’t think you could be that damned stupid boy!!"

Stan still could not grasp the seriousness of the situation at all, he did not expect to experience his uncle so enraged like this or stood so close to him while he was yelling into his face.

Zac could feel his blood pressure rising as he turned and walked to the far side of the bridge, he turned again and stood with his face inches away from Stan.

This is not a bloody holiday ship son where we have fun and games! This is very serious business and I’m responsible for not only giving these men a living but it’s my duty to provide safety for their lives every minute of the bloody day!! Well, don’t just stand there like an idiot, at this moment you seem to be, spit it out, say something, damn it all!!

Had Stan’s ears betrayed him? this was not the uncle Zac whom Stan knew. He was absolutely stunned for a minute or two he didn’t know where to start.

Out with it Zac bellowed at him.

Stan struggled to gather his thoughts.

I just want to be like you uncle, a true fisherman, and maybe one day have my own boat, I left a note at home telling them not to worry, but I didn’t say where I was going.

I see Zac cut in. That is going to make everything ok!! is it? he yelled back. There is a right way and a wrong way of doing things young man, and you have done everything completely wrong, bloody wrong.

Zac paused for a moment half turning to look out the window, not for the view but to regain his breath and his composure. He removed his captains’ hat and ran his fingers through his thick black hair with a touch of grey on the sides, then stroked his short grey goaty beard several times before turning back to Stan.

Now let me get this right, so you left a note, when your mother finds it, she’s just going to say, that’s ok we don’t need to worry, Stan is ok, and that’s it? you bloody stupid fool.

He turned to Alex,

Get him to the galley and get the cook to give him some food and drink.

Turning back to Stan Get out of my face to the galley and stay there until you’re told to do otherwise, and don’t you dare move from there or I will have you tied up while I sort out this bloody mess you have created for us all.

Alex grabbed Stan’s shoulder roughly, This way.

Down in the galley he was introduced to Jimmy Lee from Vietnam.

Jimmy was a chef on board the Blue Lady for almost eight years now. He was not very tall and was quite thin but was always smiling and softly spoken.

The rest of the crew often made fun of him but not in a nasty way, he was a very good chef in cooking English type of dishes but he excelled himself in Asian food as one would expect.

The variety of meals he was able to produce was something the crew were never tired of.

When Stan was introduced to him he bowed and then said Yes master to Alex. Right away.

Have a seat please. curiosity filled Jimmy’s face as to who or what this young boy was doing on the ship.

Stan had never been spoken to like that before and thought it was quite amusing, at least there was one nice person on the boat.

Jake (Oxo) report to the bridge immediately. a voice came out over the intercom system

Several minutes later Oxo appeared on the bridge wondering what on earth he was needed for. Zac proceeded to inform him of the situation regarding his nephew Stan.

Look, until I can sort out this mess, and as there is not much more work to do now I need you to keep an eye on the kid, he can bunk down above you in that spare bunk. Now take him up on deck for some fresh air and get him to scrub all the decks, he might as well earn his food, but it’s imperative that when he’s outside he’s to be tied to a life-line at all times without exception. Is that understood?

Yes captain Oxo replied.

Good, that’s all for now, the boy is down in the galley at the moment. he nodded.

With that said, he turned to the ship to shore radio, lifted the handset and pressed the switch.

This is the fishing trawler the Blue Lady calling Base 2029. Do you copy? he removed his finger from the intercom hand set, seconds passed by then came the reply.

This is Base 2029 to the Blue Lady receiving you loud and clear, go ahead with your message.

Doris and Richard Williams lived in a suburb of Southshield, it was a standard brick house not far from Newcastle. All the homes looked the same and they were all joined together, which gave the appearance from the end of the street like a very long rail carriage.

The only difference was the front doors were painted in different colours but the interior layouts were the