John, the sailor

The sailor's name was John. John was a simple man. He drank, he smoked, he cussed, he loved, he hated, he was human. John would wake up everyday at 6 AM to listen to his captains rundown of the daily operations.

One morning John woke up at 7 AM. To his dismay, things had begun without him and when he went to the main deck to do his job, he found that his spot was taken. This was a shocker to the John. Never in a million years did he ever think he'd see his job being done without him doing it. He was always on time and always the one who worked the hardest, but not that day.

Ridden with guilt and a pinch of anger, John swallowed his pride and drifted around the the Big Boat in search of something to do now that his duties were being tooken care of.

The first place he went was to the small room of another sailor named Bill. Bill, like John, was very simple. John went to Bill's room and wasn't surprised when he saw him halfway ready to get to his job. "Hey what's up bro, aren't you supposed to be out there already?" asked Bill.

"Yeh bro, I sort of woke up a little late. When I got out there, there was already somebody doing my job. I didn't even try to talk to captain, I don't know what he'd say. I decided to come check you to see what you're up to." replied John.

"Oh wow, lucky you." Bill said as he threw on his sailor cap and headed out to the main deck.

"Lucky?" John thought to himself. He looked up just high enough to see Bill dragging his feet out of the door.

"Hey Bill, you forgot your badge!" John ran after Bill but he was out of sight. John decided to keep the badge on him incase he ran into Bill. The idea of John being lucky lingered in the back of his mind from here on out.

As John was walking on the main deck he, ran into a young man, a fresh face on the boat. He inquired "Hey, what's up how long have you been on the team?"

"What?" replied the young man with a worried look on his face.

John looked him up and down. "I've never seen you before, I've been a sailor for a while. I figured you worked on the boat?"

The young man walked away from John with as if he had been disrespected in the worst way. As he left the young man he, noticed his makeup. He was a tall, well-built fellow that walked as if he came from a foreign country.

Confusion now came over John as he was walking towards the captain. "Captain, captain."

Captain looked up at John, "What's up?"

"I just wanted to say sorry. I woke up late today. I know I'm supposed to be up here at 6. I was going to get right to work, but I saw that you put someone in my place to replace me."

"Okay."

John was tooken aback by the captain's nonchalant answer to his apology. It was then he turned around and noticed the abundance of other men in white sailor coats parading the boat. His confusion was replaced with an emptiness as perfectly awkward as the missing piece in the middle of a jigsaw puzzle. "So, it's okay?"

"It's life."

John's jaw dropped. He was stunned and a bit annoyed.

The next day, the boat reached it's destination right off the coast of Africa at 11 AM. This was nothing new to them, the sailors did their regular duties on the boat and in the city. The boat de-anchored at 10 PM and the sailors were off and off to sleep.

The words, "it's life" ran through the John's 21 year old head. He thought about those words as he watched the boat sail from the shore. Thing is, John was on the shore. "What's life?"

John's looked around him. He had been to this place before, but this time he took the time to soak it all in. The sky was dark, but fires lit up the night. There was music playing. There were a lot of people people outside, adults and kids. The kids were running wild and the adults did not care. They were dancing the night away.

John made his way closer to the people.

pretty good story thought the ending could of been lil better

As John got closer to the people, his presence was a spectacle. The stares from the people were cold and John felt nothing but tension.

John was man of mixed descent, his mother was the white daughter of a hotel manager who fell in love with a Black carpenter. Despite the fact that both of his parents played a major part in his upbringing, John spent most of his time with his father's parents who tau ght him the only thing he knew, the rewards of doing right and working hard. When his grandfather died, he left John a gold watch that had long stopped working and told him "Time is an illusion of the mind, this is my gift to you."

The sound of the music faded...

"Who are you?" asked a tall African men in a strong accent. The ice was broken and everyone was watching.

"I'm John, I'm...a...sailor." John was noticeably scared. His skin was lighter and his hair was curly. The stares piereced through his fresh white sailor coat.

"Oh okay, let's party."

The party resumed. John was feeling good. He looked on in amazement as the people enjoyed themselves. It wasn't long before young ladies were enticing him to join in on the fun and before he knew it John was one with the crowd. John was not a dancer by any chance, and his movements were a bit goofy, but he was having a good time.

"Life is good." he thought to himself.

Everyone was showing love and girls were even flirting. As a sailor since 16, John never really had a chance to find love or have a girlfriend to thrust upon. He was taken aback by all the 'feelings' he caught when he was dancing up on big booty women. John was mesmerized by the true beauty of these shapely African women.

There was one in particular. John danced with many but his eyes couldn't stay off Dalinda. Everytime he looked, she was looking back. John felt a feeling he never felt before.


He gathered up some courage and approached.

As John approached, he got a sinking feeling in his gut. He started to tremble a little bit. He didn't understand his anixety. As he got closer and closer, his thought process became scrambled. By the time he reached Dalinda he was at a loss for words.

He stood there.

She looked him up and down.

He stared.

She waited.

He squeezed out a nervous smile.

She laughed and grabbed his arm to dance. They danced the night away. John was in semi-love. He closed his eyes and enjoyed her voluptious curves as she showed him how they do it in the motherland.

After dancing, John's actions suggested that they go somewhere quieter. She obliged as they took the farther part of the shore.

They made a post of some shoreside stones and began to talk.

"So, I have to ask... how did you end up here?" Dalinda asked.

"I work on the boat that ships stuff between West Africa and America. I had a talk with my captain that just made me a bit curious." John replied

"A bit curious?"

"Yes, I want to learn about life. I've been doing the same thing all my life, I never stopped to live life like everyone else my age."

Dalinda gave John a slight sneer and said, "Well I don't know why you came here. Yes, we're partying now, but this isn't what it's like all day." War and corruption made it hard for the people of Sierra Leone. Rebels recruited young soldiers to fight battles that had more to do with power than the people. Under these circumstances, crime was inevitable. "I've lost my brother to the struggle. We see the people from America who have it all and don't appreciate a thing."

"I understand. This isn't my first time around here. I've seen some of the struggles people have been going through first hand." A comfortable John spoke, "and after seeing you guys celebrate, all I've seen is beauty. The beauty is you."

Dalinda's mocha brown skin hid her blush but her body language spoke for itself. "You must be crazy, but you are cute."

She leaned in and they shared a kiss. It was John's first. His hands moved all over her body. Though the two were from 2 different worlds, a connection was made.

After their moment, they made their way back to the party. John was prepared to cuff, or stay by the side of, Dalinda for the night. Everything seemed like a fairy tale until Dalinda was called to the side of another man.

Amadu stood like a true boss. Brandishing gold jewelry and a crew of goons to boot. Dalinda gave John an innocent look and went to her man with no regret.

John looked on as Amadu grabbed the ass that he so wanted to cherish. He watched as they tied tongues and was wrecked. What he thought was his true love turned out to be somebody else's property.

John carried on dancing with other girls, but no matter how much he wanted to really enjoy himself, he couldn't keep his mind of Dalinda.

By the end of the night, a single, older woman named Fatima took a liking to John and made her room in her sister's home available to him..and John obliged...

Good story. I'm into it. I like the theme of him deciding he didn't really know about life. Now he is having real life experience and feeling emotion.

Good Story, I liked the theme. Makes one think

John's jaw dropped. He was stunned and a bit annoyed. - I liked the suprise part !