Old Captain and The Lady in The Seashell (part 1)

 A mysterious shop, a beautiful voice trapped in a seashell, and a love story that defies nature itself. When Old Captain stumbles upon "Worldly Wares and Wiles," he discovers more than dusty relics and ancient artifacts—he finds a tale that will consume him completely.

Transcript

Old Captain and Lady in Seashell

Speaker 1 0:13

Hi all and welcome back to Season 2. Hope you like and follow so you can get notified of new episodes. And now it's time to Tell Me an Old Captain Story. Old Captain and the Lady in the Seashell, part One.

The Mysterious Voice

Speaker 1 0:29

It was a breezy autumn day with puffy white clouds that passed lazily over a market street. Old Captain, when he had only a few gray hairs in his beard, weaved his way through the crowded bazaar. He gazed at the many vendors and patrons when he came across a shop that caught his eye. The wooden sign above the door was painted with faded gold letters that read Worldly Wears and Wiles. It was the only shop without a vendor outside barking about deals on various trinkets and drawing attention to the business. In fact, it was the only shop without customers filing in and out of the door, which for old Captain was more reason to check it out. He stepped inside, where it was so dark he had to take a moment to adjust to the dim light. He rubbed his eyes and opened them to see that there was a torch lamp above and a few placed throughout the shop. The place looked ancient, like a museum of relics from around the world. The noise of the street outside quickly muffled behind the surprisingly thick shop door. The air smelled like aged leather and sweat and something vaguely fishy. He snorted to get the smell out of his nose and stepped forward on a creaking wood floor. Who goes there? A hoarse voice called out we're closed. Oh well, the door was open. There was a commotion in the back room followed by a tirade of curses.

Speaker 1 2:03

Old Captain took a step forward into the dusty gloom of the old shop. He heard a buzzing sound like a large fly, or perhaps a bumblebee, somewhere in the room. Are you all right back there? The shop owner muttered an oath. In the room there were all sorts of books, bottles and ancient items that decked the walls a shield from some faraway land with fur hanging off the edge, a sword with a wicked curve and a club made from what looked like a very large creature's leg bone. One wall was adorned with masks. The detail in the faces was so minute that their visages were rather frightening to look at.

Speaker 1 2:45

There was a medium-sized terrarium. A crack in the glass ran along the lower half. It had those Japanese bonsai trees and various rocks and what appeared to be a turtle skeleton in it. It was so dusty he could make out little else. Everything was covered in dust. Old Captain even noticed the floor had such dust on it that it was leaving footprints. Nobody has been here in ages, he thought.

Speaker 1 3:14

Near the shopkeeper's counter, on top of a pillar about chest high, was a large glass case resting heavily on its base. It was the only thing in the shop that had been recently dusted. Old Captain examined it. In the bottom of the box was fine white sand, and resting on top of that sand was a very large, heavy-looking seashell. It was a conch shell about the size of a watermelon. It was a conch shell about the size of a watermelon with blue, green and brown patterns, and the inside flange was colored a light to dark pink. Old Captain leaned down to get a better look at it. When he heard the buzzing again he waved his hand absently to swat it. As he peered into the glass box the buzz increased. He wondered if a fly got caught inside the shell and was trapped. He looked for it but saw nothing crawling around inside. The shipkeeper had not come out from the back of the establishment yet.

Speaker 1 4:15

An old captain found himself firmly in the grip of curiosity and could not resist lifting the heavy glass cover. There was a slight gasp of air when he broke the glass box seal. It must not have been opened in some time. Just before the lid came up, the buzzing inside had increased. But when it was off, to his surprise, there was no fly, there was no buzz. There was instead the most beautiful sound of a woman's voice he'd ever heard. Instead, the most beautiful sound of a woman's voice he'd ever heard, she was singing the smallest, sweetest, sad song from somewhere inside the shell. Old Captain was transfixed. The voice was magical. He was quickly stirred by emotion and a sudden ache in his soul to hear more. When the glass lid slammed down before him, what are you doing? A man stood before him, stronger than his size and bent stature would suggest. As he set the heavy glass cover back in place, once again, the singing became just a buzz under the glass.

Meeting Saren the Shopkeeper

Speaker 1 5:18

Old Captain blinked at the face of the shopkeeper. What was that? Old Captain said absently, still feeling the music linger in his ears. Who was that? Get out of my shop Please, sir. I beg your pardon. Old Captain put his hands up. I must know. How did she get in there? He studied the old shopkeeper's face. The man's skin was smooth, though his eyes showed age beyond what his face could tell. The shopkeeper's shoulders dipped under some unseen weight and he let out a sigh. He regarded old captain for a long moment, perhaps measuring him in some way with his eyes. Not today, young man, not today. He waved old captain toward the door. Please forget my outburst. You are the first to come in here in a long time. Come back tomorrow and perhaps we'll talk.

Speaker 1 6:14

Old Captain finished his walk through the marketplace absently, walking by fire spitters and blacksmiths, but nothing seemed interesting to him since hearing the woman's voice in the old man's shop. Her song was stuck in his head. He returned to his ship and thought of that shell and the voice that came from it. Was she so small that she lived inside the shell, or was it the shell itself? He couldn't stop thinking about it and got little sleep.

Speaker 1 6:41

The next day around mid-morning old Captain went back to Worldly Wares and Wiles. He found the old man smoking a pipe and heating some water for tea at a table in the far corner of the shop. The shopkeeper did not look up but motioned for Old Captain to take a cup of tea. He walked to the counter and took the tea and heard the clink of the shopkeeper's spoon against the rim of his mug. It was then the old cavalier realized the silence. There was no buzzing, no song, just the sound of flames in the hearth licking at wood. Actually, the shopkeeper said would you mind grabbing that bowl and dumping it into the terrarium? Sure, old Captain said, what's in there? Just a troublesome rodent. I haven't the heart to kill it.

Speaker 1 7:33

Old Captain picked up the bowl, which had a cover on it. He opened the terrarium and took the lid off the bowl, revealing a cricket. Old Captain peered into the glass cage and saw only bonsai trees, a dead piece of wood, like you'd find in a lizard terrarium, and an assortment of rocks. He did not see a mouse but felt like something inside was watching him. He dumped the cricket in and its long antenna searched its surroundings as it moved timidly about, but nothing came out from under the deadwood. Close it please, shopkeeper said. Old Captain closed the lid and joined the man with his tea.

Speaker 1 8:14

She wasn't always there, began the shopkeeper. It was a time when she walked the world like you and me. What is your name, friend, old Captain asked. The shopkeeper looked at him. I am sarin and you calidus, old captain said. But everyone calls me. Old captain, pleased to meet you. Likewise, old captain had a feeling that sarin was hiding something, but he could not figure out what.

Speaker 1 8:43

Sarin had an old robe, not unlike a wizardly robe, but it was frayed on the edges and seemed very, very old. It had multiple colors and small things attached to it like little twigs and what appeared to be fish bones. His face, neck and hands were the only parts of his body visible. He leaned heavily on his walking stick, a gnarled piece of what looked like driftwood. Sarin had a bad limp, almost as if one leg was shorter than the other. His steps looked painful.

Speaker 1 9:18

The two men sat in silence for a few moments. Old captain noticed then the faint presence of a familiar smell, that of fish. Sarin did not have any facial hair, nor even stubble. Old captain noticed the man's face was completely hairless, had an almost clammy look, but otherwise he was like any other old man with a limp, grumpy and terse. So old captain took a sip of tea. Who is she? She was a daughter of the sea, and then she suffered a great loss. Hmm, old captain raised an eyebrow. What does that mean? She was a mermaid. Old captain detected regret in the old man's voice. It was impossible to tell just how old this man was, for his skin had a smoothness to it like nothing old captain had ever seen. The hair on his head was gray and white and cut short. It was the only visible indication of age, aside from his cane and limb, was Old Captain was intrigued Are you saying she's no longer a mermaid?

The Mermaid's Tale Begins

Speaker 1 10:25

Saren leaned back in his chair with a sigh and lit a long twisty pipe. He looked Old Captain up and down, perhaps sizing up his character again or worthiness to hear the tale he had to share. Your sons and daughters of the sea, mermen and mermaids, he said with a gesture of his pipe. They are known to have one great love in a lifetime and that love is whatsoever their eyes light upon, that lifts their hearts, and that love is whatsoever their eyes light upon, that lifts their hearts. When they lose that love, it can be devastating. Think of the great city of Atlantis, for example. Atlantis, the Atlantis, the only one. The king there lost the love of his life and the city sank into the sea, never to be found again. As I said, devastating.

Speaker 1 11:44

He inclined his head toward the glass case, the large seashell For her. The loss of her love made her shrink to the size she is now. Old Captain considered this for a moment. He was deeply intrigued. He remembered her voice from the day before, how haunting and lovely it was to hear. Can I see her? He asked. She hasn't come out of that shell in years. I scarcely recall what she looks like anymore. He took a long pull and blew the smoke, which came to life with a scene of history played out before old captain's eyes. Whoa, old captain leaned back to get a good look at the smoky scene.

Speaker 1 12:18

Let me tell you a story of love and loss. Saren said A long, long time ago there was a mermaid in the warm seas off a heavily forested coast. She was beautiful and she could sing. One day, when she was exploring the waters off the coast of some western land and singing as she often did, she spied someone on the shore listening. Wait, a second. Old captain interrupted. This story sounds familiar. Was this mermaid named Ariel? No, the shopkeeper was offended. Absolutely not. I'm not telling you a cartoon story. Okay, okay, old captain put his hands up, please, sorry, continue. Shopkeeper took a sip of his tea too fast and burned his lip. The pipe smoke swirled again, showing old Captain Saren's words and actions.

Speaker 1 13:25

As I was saying, this man was shaped like a man, but also very different. He had bigger shoulders and long, muscular arms with powerful hands. He looked like he would survive anything. He had a beast in him. He was covered in thick fur, unlike any man she had ever seen before. She'd seen men on boats and ships and docks. Before. They always wore outer skins, strange scales, to cover their bodies, arms and legs. This man wore none of that. Fur was his only clothing. Are you sure it wasn't a bear? Old Captain asked. It was not a bear. Now shush, all right, sorry, sorry.

Speaker 1 14:02

Old Captain had more questions, but he decided to wait and just listen to the strange man. The furry man and the mermaid made eye contact and in that moment something changed in both of them. She liked his wide smile, his eyes filled with kindness and even a hint of danger. But there was something else in them that only she could see. Then, suddenly, fearing she'd lingered too long, she left and swam home. She would return the next day and the day after, and so on, but careful not to linger or stare too long.

Speaker 1 14:49

Sometimes she noticed he would not be in the water, but most days he was there on the edge of the forest, obscured by trees, but she could see him. She wondered then if he was not hiding from something, though she did not suspect it was her. It was as if he was waiting for her. When she was away. She found herself wondering about him when she swam in the deep. What did he smell like? What was his name? How did his voice sound when he spoke? He was interesting. He was something new, she wondered, even if he wondered the same about her.

Speaker 1 15:19

She did not tell any of her mermaid or merman friends of this man-creature. She kept him a secret to herself and would find excuses to leave the coral kingdom to look for him at the coast of the northwestern woods. She could not know then that he risked much, if not more, seeing her. She also did not know that there was one of her own kind, a merman, who had in fact noticed her stealing away to see the man-creature and watched her with jealous eyes.

Forbidden Love Across Elements

Speaker 1 15:54

For weeks they continued this delicate dance of hiding in the trees or the waves for a mere peek at one another, the occasional long look, the longing, reverend gaze. Yet they had not spoken, not touched. So, old captain interjected, just so I have this straight. Old Captain interjected. Just so I have this straight. We're talking about a mermaid, maradryl, saren interjected. Old Captain took a beat to get it Okay. He nodded Maradryl, who is a mermaid, one of the most mystical creatures of folklore, and what A yeti.

Speaker 1 16:37

The shopkeeper shot Old Captain a stern look. The cavalier felt a sudden twinge of unease but discarded it. He's not a yeti. Have you been listening? Yetis live in the Himalayas. You know the abominable snowman. That's a yeti. Come on, do you even want to hear this story or not? All right, all right. Old Captain put his hands up again. Sorry, saren scoffed and shook his head. Under his breath he murmured You're a Yeti. Old Captain heard that and could not help. A, you are under his. Alt-captain heard that and could not help a, you are under his.

Speaker 1 17:17

After a moment of quiet the story continued. Alt-captain took a sip of his tea. It had a strange flavor. He couldn't quite figure. Just then he thought he heard something from deep inside the shop. He glanced over to see the terrarium and what he assumed was the cricket he'd placed in earlier, frantically trying to climb the glass. He squinted his eyes to see better, but suddenly the cricket was smashed up against the glass by some force and then quickly taken away. Old Captain muttered that's some mouse. As I was saying, saren continued before I was so rudely interrupted.

Speaker 1 18:01

Sometimes at night she would sneak away from her coral home and bring gifts of pretty shells and stones. She'd found on the sea floor evidence that she'd been thinking of him. On some moonlit nights she would find he had responded in kind, leaving pretty stones dug from the earth that he had rubbed to a fine polish, along with flowers or pine cones, evidence that he had been thinking of her. This was how they spoke to each other for some time. There were days when they did not see each other. Sometimes those days strung together, making the moments they caught a glimpse of one another all the more memorable. Then, one night, when the moon was a sliver in the sky, they met in the shallows. It was the first time she'd seen him touch the sea. He'd walked out into the waves enough to feel the water up to his furry midsection. She used her powerful tail to rise out of the water enough to meet his gaze. When she looked up At last, they were face to face. There. In that bare moonlight, their hearts met.

Speaker 1 19:11

Fulton raised his hand timidly. He almost felt like a child in a classroom again, one who was unintentionally annoying the teacher. Saren stopped. What now? Said the shopkeeper, sorry, but does this yet? I mean Sasquatch or whatever have a name. Bob said Saren, bob, really. This time old captain shot Saren an incredulous look, as in B-O-B Bob, yes, bob, old captain shook his head. Bob, and Maradril, he chuckled Sounds like a retired couple from the Midwest. May I continue. Did they play euchre? Are you finished? Saren said yes, sorry. Anyway, saren began for the umpteenth time.

Speaker 1 20:10

That night they stayed under the stars and got to know each other. He was a Sasquatch, she a mermaid. They could not have been more different. And yet, underneath, their hearts seemed to beat in tune with one another, as one. For them, it felt as if time had stopped moving and carved out a little pocket of the universe just for them, in that they lived as long as they could. And there, in that very spot where the tide pooled in and was calm for the rocks that sheltered it from the breaking waves, it was their spot, each other's company.

Speaker 1 20:52

Sometimes she would get him to come out as far as his chest into the water, just to where he would lose some footing and might resist going further. In turn, he would bring her up onto the beach and there she could feel the weight of her body against the earth. She studied his legs, how they moved, how legs might fit on her body. She wanted to walk in the forest meadows with him. He longed to swim with her when Maradril was home. She imagined having legs and walking In the water.

Danger in Paradise

Speaker 1 21:26

She was free, she could move any which way she desired, at a mere twitch of her tail. On land, however, she was anchored and heavy. What a feeling it was to be so tethered, to belong to the earth. It was at first overwhelming, an unbearable feeling, but then, as she got used to it and perhaps because of her company, it became comforting. At home she could just float away, tied to nothing save the invisible bonds of family. But up there she belonged to him and he belonged to her. She started to daydream of what it would be like to have toes. What would it feel like to grab the earth between your toes, to feel sand moving beneath you? What would it be like to run or to climb? In turn, bob told her how he wondered about her worth. What would it be like to feel weightless, free to move like a bird does in the sky. He confessed to her a deep fear of the sea, of not wanting to go into any water where he could not see what was beneath him. She loved him more for that confession and he loved her more for hearing it. What it really is, I don't even like to say the word Bob said cautiously I don't know if there's something like Leviathan His face crinkled up when he said the word. Maradra looked at him with a kind, gentle smile and spoke. A twinkle of mischief in her eyes oh, there is. Bob's eyes went wide. Maradrell kissed Bob and said His name's Lewis and he prefers to be called a Kraken.

Speaker 1 23:26

One day Maradril swam away from the Coral Kingdom and found the waves at the surface were choppy due to a storm turning above. She did not know that she was followed, that she had been followed and watched for weeks by that time or that someone desired her company more than words could convey. When she got to the usual spot where Bob would hide among the pine trees and conifers, she saw something different. The sky above rumbled and turned with dark clouds. Old Captain listened with all his intention to the smoky visage of playing out before him. Shops seemed to get a bit darker throughout as the story went on. He wondered what time it was now and was vaguely aware of being hungry.

Speaker 1 24:16

Saren was still talking. There were trees toppled and cut down, their white wooden flesh, bared to the world, toppled and cut down, their white wooden flesh, bared to the world. Men with machines, men, nothing like Bob, her man-creature. These were the kind of men she'd seen on ships and docks, or great standing platforms with legs like giant crabs that plunged spears into the seafloor to siphon the earth's black marrow, the marrow that men. So covet. Old Captain felt like the room was closing in, and yet that smoky scene playing out before him was getting big enough to fill the sky. Saren did not stop telling the story. The men had already erected a long arm of wood that reached out over the water. It was there to give them something solid to walk on when they left the great shells of wood and steel they used to carry themselves over the ocean's back. How had they done this so quickly? They were all over harvesting trees, loading their lifeless limbs into contraptions with wheels, into contraptions with wheels.

Speaker 1 25:24

Meridro did not see Bob anywhere. She became worried. The men's machines, great, screaming and growling metal beasts that ripped and tore the earth and trees made such noise that she could even hear it underwater, scanning the shoreline frantically. She then saw him. He'd been hiding among some fallen trees. He saw her and it looked like he was waving, but it was not a friendly wave. It was different. When she waved back, he shook his head vigorously, as she knew then that his waves were for her to leave. She saw fear in his face, whether fear for himself or fear for her, she could not tell. Saw fear in his face, whether fear for himself or fear for her, she could not tell. She wanted him to come to her in the water, thinking perhaps that she could somehow protect him. She realized then that she did not even know if he could swim, for he'd always just waited out to meet her but never gone beyond the surf hitting his chest. Waves whipped the wooden planks of the ships parked offshore. As the wind picked up considerably, the storm was upon them. Maradril saw Bob then as he slipped out in the open from the wound the men created in the tree line. She swam closer, men ran for shelter, apparently unaware of the beast, and the mermaid Saren's voice started to sound different then, almost as if it was bigger, filling the whole shop.

Old Captain's Predicament

Speaker 1 26:53

Old Captain was so thoroughly engrossed in the story he only just realized he was starving and had not eaten anything all day. What time is it, he asked? Saren did not answer, but kept telling the story. Old Captain's head was foggy and he felt the sensation that he was sinking into the wicker chair. It dawned on him then that he hadn't moved since Saren started talking earlier that day. He'd been sitting there for so long listening to Saren weave the tail of the mermaid in the Sasquatch. Saren's voice filled his head now, and that's when it happened. When what happened, Old Captain could hear himself slurring. Now, oh no, old Captain saw that the man had become a giant. This Saren reached out over with a gigantic hand. No, old Captain saw that the man had become a giant. This Saren reached out over with a gigantic hand and covered Old Captain up and everything went dark. See you next time on. Show Me the Old Captain's Story. Captain Story.