Ilsetraut Blue was sitting on the green beach watching the Margaret of Anjou dock with the help of the two tired tugboats

She was wearing a yellow dress

The owner of the largest ice cream parlour in the town was sitting next to her

His name Gigi Bertorelli

They had been friends for many years

To celebrate their friendship Ilsetraut Blue had had likeness of Gigi Bertorelli tattooed on he calf

In exchange the owner of the largest ice cream parlour in the town had had a likeness of his friend tattooed on his forearm

Gigi Bertorelli had fought in the closing years of World War Two

In the same regiment as Ilsetraut’s father

During a skirmish near Berlin they both killed identical twins from a family called Hamar

And regretted it instantly

For the rest of the war both soldiers shot over the heads of the enemy and wore white ribbons inside their helmets

In 1947 Gigi Bertorelli and Ilsetraut’s father married the twin sisters of an army chaplain named Richards

And settled in a small coastal town in Kent

The captain of the Margaret of Anjou was a man called Glovehawk

He had been at sea for many years

His First Mate was called Peters and wrote poetry in his spare time

He was attracted to Captain Glovehawk

During the voyage from Montevideo he had penned a poem which he gave to his beloved captain

It was called

Those Who Travel From Uruguay

The captain had pinned it to his wooden bunk and read it every night before he retired clutching a naked photograph of Ilsetraut

As the ship came to rest Captain Glovehawk waved to his girl who upon seeing him ran along the beach towards the harbour

The captain’s father had served in the same regiment as Ilsetraut’s uncle and he had met Gigi Bertorelli when he was very young

During these early years the owner of the largest ice cream parlour in the town had read him stories of the sea

Which inspired the young boy who became a sailor when he was just sixteen

As they lay in bed in the Folkestone Fuck

The captain told Ilsetraut stories of the wild wild seas

In return she showed him her tattoos which he admired greatly

On the captains chest there was a likeness of Ilsetraut seen as Sappho rising from the sea

I hope you keep me hidden during you many voyages

Only the seabirds will share your likeness

These words were not spoken but thought as the lovers lay in each other’s arms

In the silent harbour the Margaret of Anjou lay peacefully at anchor

But in the distance the Silke K was in trouble as she had collided with another ship and had been holed

She was taking in water

The captain of the ship was the son of Gigi Bertorelli and was also called Gigi Bertorelli after his father

Had made a decision

To release his cargo of butterflies

So that they would not drown

He instructed the crew of the stricken ship to bring the crates on to the open deck and release the creatures

The first rays of the dawn sun were beginning the break on the horizon and as the captain’s loyal crew released the butterflies the captain noticed that the sky had begun to exhibit many strange colours

As the day grew stronger these colours began to merge around the damaged ship and soon the hole had been covered by green and yellow butterflies

The captain ordered that they make for port knowing that the ship was much stronger

In the bedroom where Captain Glovehawk and Ilsetraut lay sleeping a golden sun butterfly rested on Ilsetraut’s yellow dress which she had carelessly cast aside many hours before

Two more butterflies one white and one blue flew in through the open window and settled on Ilsetraut’s naked back

They had been attracted by her tattoo of Uruguay

Which they still considered to be their home