Elise carried the weight of someone’s life on her head. A jar balanced precariously on a head of curly, bushy orange hair. Her small button nose and freckles were dwarfed but the enormous red rimmed glasses that magnified her eyes. A cerulean sundress with swirling white clouds fit over her small frame and fluttered in the breeze. A necklace laced with a gold doubloon swung as she walked.

Nearly all the adults on Prospect Island paid her no mind; she was nothing but a silly little girl up to her silly little games. But she always had a destination for her jar.

For an otherwise unbalanced ten-year-old, it tottered effortlessly as she walked. She weaved past palm trees, rocks and thick bushes on her way up the side of the small mountain.

As she was on her way, a certain boulder always caught her eye. It was pale-grey, triangular, and flat on top, mirroring the bow of a majestic pirate ship. A towering pine tree grew behind it, resembling a thick sturdy mast. Every day, Elise would lay down her jar and climb to the top of it. Once she reached the apex on this day, she loudly exclaimed, “Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of…apple juice.”

She grinned a gap toothed grin and closed one of her eyes, pretending it was removed in a sword fight. A squirrel raced down the pine tree and leaped onto the bow. Elise curved her hand like a cutlass and shouted, “What ARRRRRE you doing?”

The squirrel stared at her as she mustered up her raspiest pirate voice. “Trespassin are we? I’ll have yee walk the plank.”

She quickly picked up a medium sized stick and balanced it on the edge of the rock. It fell with a clatter below.

“I think I need a better plank,” Elise muttered.

The stick fell by the wayside where her jar lay, and she remembered—she had something important to do. Elise sighed as she climbed down. Her dreams of voyaging off the island had to wait.

Back on the road, she passed a small hut on the hillside, woven thickly with yellow straw. A large, verdant palm tree formed a makeshift roof on the building. The strong smell of coconut milk drew her nostrils away from her task at hand, but she continued.

She headed over to the nearby mountain springs, filled it up and proceeded back to town.

Elise headed back into the village, passing shops and residences until she stopped at a house that had fallen on hard times. The shutters were dusky and moldy, permanently drawn over the windows. Tufts of long glass lined the house and a smell of mildew lingered in the wood. Elise laid the jar down and opened the door.

Inside, the surroundings were equally unkempt with cobwebs growing everywhere and dust bunnies roaming in every corner. At the far end of the room was a bed. Wrapped tightly in it was an extremely pale man. He was in his late forties but was quite surely and muscular. His broad shoulders stuck out of the bed and there was a tattoo of an anchor on his left shoulder. His eyes though dark and weathered looked on at Elise with kindness as she balanced the jar on her head.

“Elisa,” he said, a small smile on his wide face. “You carry that jar as well as your mother did.”

Elise smiled back. “Thank you father,” she said and she diligently filled up a glass of mountain spring water from the jar. She ferried the glass over to him. “How are you feeling daddy?” asked Elise as he sipped the fresh water.

Her father closed his eyes, savoring the clean water. “I feel so light,” he said, much to Elise’s dismay. “Like I could float away. For someone of my size, that’s quite a feat.”

He laughed at his own joke, but Elise gasped, “No dad. You can’t float away.”

“I’ll be fine,” he said. “I’m probably jus’ hungry. Haven’t gotten some good grub since I’ve been ill. ‘ow bout you head down to the Land Hotel and tell Molly that Sam sent ya.”

Elise nodded. There was nothing she could do, but heed her father’s words. Giving him a long distance hug, she took the remaining gold coins on the nightstand and departed. She headed across town to the local inn and tavern.

The Land Hotel was two story saloon and inn with a giant cobalt anchor resting on the roof. Elise made her way inside where Molly, the short haired bar-keep stood at the counter. Before Elise approached Molly, she couldn’t help but notice a new face in the tavern. He was standing with two regulars. Wearing a blue and white striped overcoat, the man, who must’ve been in his late thirties, was scruffy but handsome. His skin was a sunbaked brown and his frizzy hair was equally dark and unkempt. Perhaps what stood out most about the man was how jovial he was, even if he seemed to be playing the fool.

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The man leaned on a wood table that was much too short for him, asking the sailors an interesting question. “How would you hearties like to accompany, I, Captain Jonas Archibell, on a journey of the heart.”

Elise smiled. The man had a squawky voice that reminded her of a sea parrot. The local sailors raised their eyebrows, but the man kept talking. “Because of a recent boating accident that I can’t legally disclose, I’ve lost my whole crew and I was wondering, how’d you like to climb aboard my ship?”

“Your ship?” one of the sailors asked.

There was a gleam in Archibell’s eye. “I call her the Lyre and she’s as beautiful as a pluck on said instrument. And speaking of pluck, she’s gotten me out of many tight squeezes. We’ve been all over the world together.”

The sailors did not seem interested and went back to their drinks, but Archibell was unrelenting.

“They’ll be treasure!” he exclaimed, causing both men to turn around.

“Treasure?” one of them asked.

Archibell closed his eyes. “I don’t have any leads yet, but…”

The sailor’s looked at him with hungry expressions  that soon turned to looks of irritation. “But,” Archibell said, finally getting off the table and giving a playful wink. “Even if we don’t find it, the true treasure will be the friends we made along the way.”

Both sailors glared at him and immediately turned away, causing Captain Archibell to drop his arms like anchors. “Geez…you guys are colder than the icecaps in the North Sea.”

“If you’re looking for friendship, pirate boy,” Molly the barkeep shouted over to him. “You’re in the wrong bar.”

“Hello Elise,” Molly said, turning to her with a kind smile. “How’s sailor Sam?”

Hungry,” Elise said, and she put the coins on the table. “Can you get me his favorite please?”

Molly shook her head and pushed the coins away. “No, I can’t accept those dear. I know Sam’s not doing well. It’ll be on the house.”

Elise took the coins off the table with a gap-toothed grin. Once her father was feeling better, she wanted to pretend to be sick so Molly would give her free food too.

Molly fastened on her apron and tilted her head. “Two crab cakes with fish sauce, right?”

“Yep,” Elise said.

Molly smiled to herself. “I know how Sam likes it.”

Elise nodded and went to go sit down, but as she turned around, she bumped into Captain Archibell.

She took a step back in fear, but he merely chuckled. “Scuse me, kid. Simply going to ask the nice lady here where the wee captain’s room is.”

His brown eyes made contact with the golden doubloon around Elise’s neck. “Hang on a second,” he said, suddenly entranced. “Where’d ya get that trinket?”

Elise’s eyes darted around nervously. “I can’t tell you,” she said, and added, “Because you’re a stranger.”

Captain Archibell immediately extended his hand. “Captain Jonas Archibell at your service. Professional treasure hunter, ship captain and ladies’ man…”—the man lifted his bushy eyebrows—“depending on the lass you ask of course.”

Elise starred, stunned at the man’s gallant display. Slowly, she took his hand. “Elise McGillicuddy…”—she thought for a second about her profession—"Professional…kid?”

Archibell let out a loud squawk of a laugh. “Hah, I like you kid.”

He shook her hand for a moment longer before he grinned, “Alright. Now that we got that outta the way. Where’d ya get that trinket? It ain’t no ordinary doubloon…it’s a legendary triploon”

“Err…” Elise said, turning redder than the inside of a raw tuna. “It was something my father gave my mother and she gave it to me.”

“Very sweet…” Captain Archibell said rubbing her hands with a grin. “How many gold pieces would you part with your sentimental keepsake for?”

Elise took another step back as the strange man loomed over her. She turned to Molly, who had begun frying the crabcakes. The barkeep scowled at Archibell. “The john is over by the kitchen, good sir,” she growled. “And be sure to flush yourself down it when you’re done.”

Archibell flinched but quickly crouched on Elise’s level. “Look kid,” he said, almost pleading. “Is there anything you’d want for that trinket of yours. Anything at all?”

Elise thought for a brief second. Captain Archibell didn’t seem too scary; he was merely goofy. “Well…” she said, gazing out the window at the ocean. “I’d love to sail the high seas.”

Archibell chortled. “Kid, that’s the easiest thing in the world for me to get for ya. How about this. You, me and that triploon, sailing in the ocean, causing some high seas hijinks”

For a brief moment, Elise’s eyes shined behind her highly reflective glasses. Her dream was finally within reach.

Harsh reality interrupted her when Molly called Elise’s name and held a paper bag in her face. Elise’s voyage was sunk before it had begun. She took the bag with a sad look, thanked Molly and began to head out.

“I’m sorry, Archibell,” she said. “I got a sick dad. I need to watch him.”

My condolences,” the captain said, tipping an imaginary pirate hat. “But that offer still stands if you ever change your mind.”

Elise politely nodded and left the Land Hotel.

Her mind was captivated by the pirate fantasy as she walked back, but when she returned to her father, his demeanor had changed. He frowned. “Place it on the nightstand,” he said.

Elise’s eyes widened. “Why father?”

Her sailor father withdrew his hand from the bed. Elise gasped. It was almost completely transparent.