Page 74 - Highlights 2020 FINAL

The Old Docks

Madeline Redican '20

Mother always told me to stay away from the old docks. She told me stories of the
storms that had blown in from the sea and torn apart the docks. She told me how
every time they finished the old docks, a new storm would come and destroy their
work. So, one year they stopped trying to rebuild. Instead, they built new docks on the
other side of town. She told me how these docks stayed sturdy because they had been
built in a better place. The waves there were less volatile, and the people had learned
how to make the docks able to withstand even the mightiest winds.

Grandma told me the truth of the old docks. They were built over Neptune’s treasure.
The storms were from the god of the sea himself in an attempt keep the humans away
from his treasure. She told me when the docks were first built, a huge hurricane came
in that only destroyed docks. The second storm only destroyed the workers’ houses
and the houses of those who decided to build the dock. All other houses were left
alone. The third time they rebuilt Neptune was less careful with what he destroyed.
Grandma always chuckled at the next part of the story as she described the next five
times the town was rebuilt before it was just completely leveled with the dock being
only partially destroyed. She always reminded me that all of the other storms had
ripped the dock to shreds. Town meetings were called, sacrifices made, all in an
attempt to appease the angered sea. In the end, they decided to build new docks on
the other side of the town. She told me the day they built on the other part of town,
the clouds parted and there was a rainbow. The storms since then have been little
rainstorms with maybe a crackle of lightning here and there. Nothing compared to the
deadly storms of the past.

Now, I look back out the window at the old docks. The town had decided to ignore
the past and the recent warnings in favor of money. The new docks were costing
them, and they thought rebuilding the old docks would allow them to cut transport
costs. I look up at the clouds starting to swirl together and pray I will not feel the
wrath that will soon come to my little town.

Highlights 2020 Jewel of the Sea 74