Sappho sets sail

The market dock buzzed with morning activity. Students from the nearby College of the Ferns sat reading and conversing on benches as cargo bikes lined up to receive parcels from a freshly-docked widebeam. A flock of parakeets flew in from the direction of the Conservatory. In the adjacent park, farmers stood around tables of produce talking to customers holding canvas bags trailing carrot greens.

At the far end of the dock, two workers were arranging small wooden signs painted in bold black and white blocks to face the river. The micro-freighter Yamato-chan was expected to arrive from Nagoya any day, and the autonomous vessel needed the signs to be able to dock itself.

Just off the bow of the widebeam, a wooden ketch called Sappho was moored stern-to in a slip beside a finger pier. Elle was hard at work stowing wooden crates full of wine bottles one by one below deck. The cargo was bound for Fernhaven on the coast, and she hoped to set sail before lunch.

Janie arrived while her older sister was below, and stepped quietly aboard. She loved the boat, and yearned to join for the trip, but she had a pottery exhibition at the end of the week to prepare for. Elle emerged from the companionway dabbing her forehead with a bandana. When she saw Janie standing in the cockpit with her backpack, she beamed.

“You’re coming along?”

“Nooo,” Janie groaned. “I wish I was though.”

“How will I know my passenger when I see her?”

“I brought you something.” Janie produced a slim, staple-bound booklet printed on rose paper. “It’s a zine a friend and I made with one of Ioana’s best stories.”

She handed the booklet to Elle, who tuned it over in her hands. On the back was printed a black-and-white portrait of a stunning woman sitting at a café. Her brunette hair fell in waves against her face as she leaned in laughter. Elle sensed a spark of playfulness in the woman’s eyes.

“We copied that out of her book. Isn’t she beautiful?” Janie was clearly proud of the booklet and jumpy with excitement. “I can’t believe you get to meet her. That we all get to meet her.”

“It isn’t too late to come along.”

“Gosh, I wish.” Janie drew out the last word wistfully. “But you should definitely read the story before you pick her up.”

“I will, thank you.” Elle pressed the booklet to her chest.

The widebeam nearby had finished unloading and was swinging out into the current. The last of the cargo bikes wheeled off toward the college.

“Bon voyage,” Janie said as she stepped back onto the narrow wooden pier.