Young Storykeeper Volume III

214 | STORYKEEPERS VOLUME III AGE ELEVEN | 215
Zitem Okafor
Co Dublin
Kate Heneghan
Co Dublin
THE STORM
The wind was howling on a cold winter night as the Blackbeard Barracuda passed a giant
red lighthouse. The lighthouse lit the sea from miles around.
“Hello, Captain,” said a passing crew member.
The captain nodded.
“Storm!” shouted the lookout.
“Keep a steady course,” said the captain calmly. Slowly but surely the Blackbeard
Barracuda sailed straight into the heart of the storm.
“Turn around, Captain!” protested the cabin boy
The captain ignored him.
“Abandon ship!” shouted some crew members.
“Wait!” the captain shouted.
“Haven’t you heard the legends?” the captain explained. “The ones who sail into the
heart of the storm will have treasure to behold.”
“It is only a legend, sir,” said his best mate.
“You have to believe me,” said captain.
“Okay, Captain, we believe you,” said his best mate.
They continued to go through the storm. Lightning struck beside the Blackbeard
Barracuda. They persisted through the storm. As the clouds continued to darken, the
captain began to lose hope. There was a sudden flash of light. With that the Blackbeard
Barracuda arrived at an island swimming with glittering gold and sparkling jewels. The
crew stared in awe. They began to collect all of their new treasure. The captain was very
pleased with himself. He would not set sail until they had collected every last piece of
treasure.
Five days later, they were ready to set sail. They had collected every last piece of
treasure as th captain had requested. They set sail on a gloomy dark night. There was
no storm this time, just pitch black. The captain could barely see where he was going.
Suddenly there was a flash of light- it was coming from the lighthouse. The giant red
lighthouse illuminated the Blackbeard Barracuda all the way home to Pirate Cove, where
the captain shared his treasure with his crew.
THE LIGHTHOUSE
On a hill off the coast of Wexford stands a lighthouse. It’s an old lighthouse with cracks up
its crumbling walls and peeling paint. It’s called Hook Lighthouse. It’s 2,840 years old and
still standing - the oldest lighthouse in the world.
It won’t be for much longer, Amy thought because next week the lighthouse would
be knocked down. Amy looked at her mother crying as she looked at the lighthouse. She
remembered how her mother tried to save the lighthouse and for the hundredth time
thought how unfair it was. The lighthouse had done nothing wrong but, because it’s in an
ideal location for a rocket base, it was to be knocked down.
Then, out of nowhere, Trump Donald appeared and steered her away from the building.
Without looking down, he said in a cold voice, “Before we kick you out, get out.”
Amy scowled up at the man who ordered the lighthouse to be knocked down. Her
mum took her away from Trump and still crying, she whispered, “Let’s go home,” as she
pushed Amy into the cube cars.
After her mother fell asleep, Amy snuck out to the lighthouse. She had been sneaking
out since she was two years old. When she reached the lighthouse, she did what she
always did, she climbed down the cliff.
After scaling down the cliff, Amy climbed into a cave and looked around. There was
a blanket, a tin of food and some pillows. She sighed with relief but then, before she could
sit down, Amy heard a noise.
She paused as she listened to the wind blow against the rock, and the waves crash
against the cliff and … squeaking? Yes, definitely squeaking. But where was it coming
from? And how come it sounded like ocaleas when ocaleas had been extinct for ten years
now? The last one had died in a zoo in Altica.
Amy screamed in pain as her tentacles brushed against the cave roof. The nearer she
got, the louder the noise became. As she was about to quit, she came up to a large gap.
When Amy looked, she couldn’t believe what she saw! Not only were there ocaleas,
there were orangutans! There was a jungle, but there was also a desert and ocean and
more, so much more. As Amy tried to process this, she remembered what Trump had said:
“We’ll dig down the side of the cliff destroying any animals in the way.”
So Amy recorded all that she saw and then turned around and raced up the cliff. The
holograph was going to provide enough evidence to save the lighthouse. As always, the
lighthouse shined a light and saved lives.
THE SHIP AND THE SAILOR
One stormy February, Mark and I were sailing on our cargo ship from Holyhead to Dublin.
We were on the bridge of the ship.
Mark was in his early fifties and I was in my late twenties. We were both from a small
town in Leitrim, called Ballinamore. I was the captain of the ship. Mark ran the engine of
the ship.
To pass the time I would read The Irish Times in the morning. On this day, I was
reading the paper and I gasped. I rubbed my eyes to see if it was true.
“Mark!” I screamed.
He came running quickly.
“The lighthouse we are going past isn’t working,” I said anxiously.
A woman named Brianna was in the lighthouse trying to fix it, according to a news
reporter called Niamh from The Irish Times and this was in the paper. I was worried. I asked
Mark, “Should we stay here?”
“No, we have to go or we will be late,” he replied.
I took his word and kept on steering the ship, but the strong wind was making it hard to
steer straight. Suddenly we heard a whistling noise. I felt dizzy. I told Mark to check on the
engines. He came running up the stairs out of breath and barely able to speak. I just made
out from Mark that there was a leak downstairs and that was the whistling noise.
We crashed into rocks beside the lighthouse. Our teeth were chattering with fear. I
sent an SOS out to the Coast Guard and told them. “Our ship has crashed northside of
the lighthouse. Please help us!” We got into our wetsuits and jumped overboard. I swam to
shore, but Mark didn’t know how to swim so I sprinted to get the ring buoy and threw it as
far as I could. Mark grabbed it and I started to pull it until he was on the shore. Now, we
are both alive and we are being interviewed by Niamh from The Irish Times about our near
death experience.
Niall Ahern
Co Leitrim