Chapter 2: The Jubilee

I wonder what those wooden panels felt like

Kusti arrived at his ship, the Jubilee was a great mighty ship, plastered in a sharp red the sides of the ship were worn but still sturdy, the sails were down and she bobbed away on the ocean. Originally, a Man of War the Jubilee was built from the ground up with music in mind. She was retrofitted with the usual amenities but most of her cannons and storage were replaced with a great music hall, the ship was tightly packed with everything needed for a performance.

Kusti stepped onto the plank of wood which connected the dock to his ship and he clambered up, he reached the peek and boarded his ship, after taking only one step he was tackled to the ground the daggers on his back pressing lightly into his flesh.

“Sweet Sacagawea Ruth! Wait for me to take my weapons off first”

The girl in his arms was short with a healthy body, she had shoulder length hair which shot out in every direction, her eyes were big and blue, filled with hope, purpose and love. Her lips pursed into a pout. Her body squirmed into Kusti’s and he smirked, wrapping his arms around her, the pain in his back vanished and he felt her warmth, he felt how she radiated heat even in this sharp cold which enveloped all coastal towns. Kusti wrapped the girl in his arms and rose placing her back on her feet.

“Sorry Kusti” the little woman replied as she began playing with her long blue dress.

“It’s okay, I know I’ve been gone for a few days dealing with finding a place but…”

Ruth began to bounce up and down “You found a place for us!”

“Yes, I did little missy now, you go and get yourself ready, we’ll be heading out in an hour”

Ruth bounded off towards the back of the boat, skipping away while humming her own little song, just as she got to the door which lead to the captain’s quarters and her room, she heard the sound of raindrops move up the staircase from the entrance to the ship. A spindly man travelled up it.

He carried a rainstick on his back with a cabassa hanging from his belt and what looked like Bolas hanging down next to them. All the instruments gave a slight rhythm to his walk as if the sea clashed inside the instruments, he was calming. The light smile on his face held hope, his eyes though, in their brown colour you could see woe, he wasn’t an unhappy man but he held a drabness that told you his music would always tell a story.

 

“Hi Mono! I gotta go, talk soon!” Ruth called her chirping voice inviting a slightly wider smile from the man

“Hello Ruth” the man said climbing the staircase, his voice was the polar opposite of Ruth’s, his voice was quiet and calming while hers was booming and exciting. He waved at her till she vanished below deck and moved over to Kusti when she vanished into the decks below.

“Monosperanza!” Kusti called out sprinting over to the man embracing him in a hug eliciting a lot of raindrops from the man’s body.

“Hello Kusti” the man said embracing him. Kusti stepped back from the man and looked him up and down.

“Nothing changes about you huh?”

“I don’t see a need to, not that you can say anything, same old duster, same old guitar”

Kusti chuckled and looked at his old friend. “So, when did you get into town?”

“About a day ago, I would say I never expected you to follow through with what you said but, I know how pig-headed you are”

“Well, you have to have something for you to aspire to when all you did was travel from bar to bar, looking for anyone who will pay for you to sing”

“I will admit when you said ‘I will get enough money to create a traveling home for musicians’ I didn’t realise you’d be this specific”

Kusti looked around at the ship, she was everything he dreamed of, only a month old after all the renovations. He took an abandoned ship and turned her into a vibrant ship of music and joy the one problem was he needed to get a more permanent crew. That’s why he was here though, to gather his friends from the past and take them on the adventure he promised them 5 years prior.

“I wonder how everyone has changed since then?” Kusti said hovering over the edge of his ship when another familiar face rounded the corner towards his ship.

A guy with grey hair and wearing a combination of denim pants and a black t-shirt clambered over, he would already be completely out of place with the clothes but his face was what made him stand out the most. He was an older man with tattoos all over his face. The left side of his face was a spider web which covered his entire bald skull, the tattoo was so real that most people had to look twice, in the centre of the web near the side of his head was a woman a slender woman covered entirely in black, looking out to whoever looked with a gaze that matched the grim reaper himself.

Behind him was a whole collection of boxes being carried by men in a similar attire. Some boxes were big, some were small but all of them were black with a strange blue trim that shone in the light. Kusti carefully removed the guitar on his back and gave it to Mono, he then threw off his jacket and removed the brace holding his daggers. Then he traversed down the staircase towards this strange character.

“No band is complete without the road crew” the man said his voice worn and old he stopped in front of Kusti and looked him up and down.

“You still look like the back up for Of Mice and Men: the homo years”

“And you still have a crude sense of humour almost no-one finds funny”

The old man smirked “So, you have her built to my specifications?”

“One change actually”

His white eyebrow raised “And what might that be?”

“We had some extra room so I made my room bigger”

“C**t, you know extra storage would make things easier”

Kusti smirked back at the old man and dipped his hat “I need to make sure you haven’t lost your touch, call it your welcome back test”

The man scratched his bald head and moved past Kusti motioning behind him for everyone to follow him. Kusti followed soon after and began talking with Mono again.

“Who’s that?” Mono asked he had never seen this man before

Kusti looked at Mono “The guy we never meet, he’s in the background making sure our show always goes right, he’s the road crew. Enjoy it now, you’ll probably never see him again.”

Mono looked at all the boxes and bags being brought aboard.

“What’s all that?”

Kusti turned to look at his friend “I have no god damn idea. I said to him 2 years ago, that he should take his road crew and teach them how to sail, teach them how to cook and then meet me in this port at exactly 4 hours from now”

Mono looked on at Kusti confused “4 hours from now? Why’s he here so early?”

“Road crew always starts early, he also didn’t want to meet anybody, that way they never see him work” at this point everything was loaded on and the 30+ men who went into the ship never came out.

“So, I’ll start to notice him now?”

“Not in the slightest, he also doesn’t like talking to people”

Kusti grabbed his daggers and coat and headed for his quarters. Mono followed him.

“How long till we head out?”

“I told Ruth an hour so probably 40 minutes before she gets bored, so 40 minutes”

“Could you show me my living space before you head inside?”

“That’s why we’re going to my quarters, I have something pretty special on this ship”

The two reached the door which led below deck and Kusti shut the door which the road crew left open. He then knocked on the door and pulled it open revealing the captain’s quarters.

“But the road crew just went in there, where are they?”

Kusti said nothing and shut the door again, he then knocked again and opened it revealing a room which had a one-person bed against the far wall, there was a desk right next to it and a chair tucked under the desk, it had an open door revealing the bathroom

“Your room bud, the systems simple, knock and think of which room you want to be in and then you’re there”

Mono stepped into the room and began opening and closing different doors and cupboards around him looking at how all his necessities were covered, everything from clothes to tools for instrument maintenance, including a few things tools he didn’t need, for instruments he was considering to practice on his 2-year break, Kusti really thought of everything.

“I’m glad I took you literally when you said ‘bring nothing but the clothes on your back and tools you consider most precious’ made getting here very easy”

Kusti laughed “This was a later addition, Ruth had to remind me that I said that”

Mono placed his Rainstick in the corner of the room and put his 2 instruments on the small desk he had and began by lying down in his bed looking over to Kusti.

“40 minutes then I’ll be out I need some time to myself”

Kusti moved over to the door and opened it up revealing his quarters.

“See you soon bud” and stepped out to his quarters.

 

When Kusti entered his private space, he heard a stream of “no” coming from a door leading off from his room, it was bright pink and he could clearly see clothes being thrown around the room. She was looking for an outfit and he would have to pick up whatever remained…. Oh well I guess this is what happens when you’re the adult.

He stood to appreciate the room around him, he found that the intricate design was appalling but he had to deal with it, this was the one room which was fine without renovations and after the price of everything else he barely had enough money to get him and Ruth across to London. Placing his guitar next to the door he stepped over to the globe and looked at the funny little monsters all over it, the different charted lands and the lovely pink little pins, the places Ruth wanted us to go on our tour as a big family.

Ruth loved when they were all together, she was the saddest to see everyone depart, from what he could gather she even knew the roadie crew, she had no musical skills but she was the person that held everyone together, her love to dance to the music was the perfect accessory, the way she danced to whatever silly or melancholy melody the band created, during the good times and the bad she was the adorable and whimsical thing that kept them together.

Kusti moved over to his desk throwing the coat over and placing the knives and their holster on a mannequin stand which faced inwards, he placed his duster on the head of the mannequin and turned towards his desk, he sat down in the old rocking chair and began to rock back and forth enjoying the pitter patter of Ruth’s feet. Then he reached into his desk and pulled out a list of names.

The paper was old and worn, something Kusti held onto over the years so that he never forgot his friends, he would always remember their names and faces and when the time came he could slowly cross everyone off this list and then things would return to how they were, everyone can use their new skills to bring joy and harmony to this world.

Ruth

Mono

Roadies

Karra

Annabelle

Steve

Willow

 

Kusti looked at the names that remained on the list, soon his friends would be together again and his 5-year long wait would be over. That’s when he heard the strum of a guitar amped up to 11. Someone was making a lot of noise out there. He scribbled down on the paper and placed it back in his draw and headed out picking up his guitar on the way past.

Karra

Reviews

[Karen Redburn]

I love this story, it is creative and original!! Honestly I didn't see this coming. Creating a floating home for musicians to share music with others. A beautiful idea and in our harsh reality a story I would love to read more of. I hope you plan on continuing this tale, my friend. Wishing you and your a very happy new year, and to you, Happy Writing!

[syther]

Thank you, I appreciate the praise and hope you had a superb new year and happy days to follow