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