Part XVI | The Terrapin Cafe | Egypt | Mermaid Dreams
Sing a Song of Sixpence
Sing a song of sixpence,
A pocket full of rye,
Four and twenty blackbirds,
Baked in a pie.
~
After Tala finished her letter to Ikram, she spoke with the ship's captain and disembarked The Scarlet Macaw at the port in Kolkata. Tala stood by herself in the bright morning sunlight, staring at the gleaming temples of West Bengal, India. Her trunks and baskets had been unloaded by the ship's porters and now the gilded edges and locks sat shimmering in the hot sun next to her on the dock. Tala flagged down a small horse and carriage and paid her way to the train depot. She was headed to Egypt, and from there to meet her intended.
A few weeks later, Tala had reached Cairo's bustling streets. From there, she took another carriage to Egypt's northern coastal town of Alexandria where she booked a room for a few weeks until she could find passage to Amsterdam. Tala locked her belongings inside her room and went for a walk down the city's narrow streets until she found a small seaside cafe with blue tables and blue chairs. The restaurant was called The Terrapin Cafe, and if Tala looked looked directly northwest, she could just make out the island of Crete. Beyond Crete, was the Italian peninsula and Rome.
The waiter brought Tala a glass of water and as she studied the menu seagulls cried in the distance. Tala ordered fried fish and chips from the menu, and then sat back to admire the ocean view from her dining table. She saw a little island off in the distance, nearly covered in trees and a warm breeze blew her hair across her eyes. Tala pulled a few pieces of writing paper out of her bag and began to write:
~
Tala finished her lunch, put her scrolls away and decided to go for an afternoon stroll along the seashore. She watched as a small turtle swam just beneath the water's surface, slowly chasing brightly colored fish and coral in the aquamarine seas. The palm trees in the distance seemed to be waving at her in the breeze and she heard the song of a mandolin playing sweetly in the air nearby.
Tala was suddenly startled out of her reverie by the clanking of dishes being cleared off the cafe's tables as the afternoon drew to a close. The sun was starting to set behind her and Tala left the beach and headed back to her room for some much needed rest.
Notes
[1] Sing A Song of Sixpence [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sing_a_Song_of_Sixpence]
[2] Purple Dream Guardian
[3]"Magic Timepiece"
[https://www.pinterest.com/pin/1050957263014236963]