Photo: Cosmin Serban on Unsplash
The boat was old and holey, but that did not matter. They never intended for it to be sea-worthy. Haruto didn’t like to get his feet wet, and Miyu had seen enough leave for the waves who did not return. Neither one of them had a hankering for sea-sickness or for gutting fish or for seaweed tangling the rudder and weighing down the nets.
They had a different goal instead.
The neighbors raised collective eyebrows when the couple hauled the vessel, hull protruding in the air, baring barnacles and showcasing slime.
Haruto and Miyu just nodded, plopped the boat against the workshop’s wall, and disappeared into it without a word of explanation.
They didn’t owe it to anyone and they didn’t know how well the end result would be. Better to keep mum until they saw for themselves how well the idea translated from a dream to action. And the neighbors’ bafflement was fun.
For days they sawed and sparked and banged and nailed. One morning the boat got swallowed by the workshop with only a small bit of the aft sticking out. The next day it was the other end. The smell of primer and varnish and paint permeated the air.
The neighbors mused and wondered. A few doors down the street, Mrs. Adachi placed bets with Mr. Chinen.
Holes were dug in the backyard. A mixture was poured. Poles wedged in.
Mrs. Adachi’s bet went up. Mr. Chinen raised his.
Then one early morning there was a new commotion. Ropes and pulleys, a few curses, far too many bangs.
The neighbors came out. Offered a hand.
By the time breakfast was ready, the boat was securely perched like an awning over a diamond of poles. A hammock strung below, shaded but for a dapple of golden strips of sun. The rudder, painted ruby, pointed to the stars.
And for the next year, Mrs. Adachi was going to have the benefit of Mr. Chinen washing her car. …
Na'ama Yehuda 
Ha. This is unexpected and wonderful.
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π I’m glad you liked it! π Sometimes a boat can be … well … a roof … π
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Regardless of what happened, the writing was so good. Writing a nd plot very skillful and I loved the ending.
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Yay! Thank you for this generous feedback! βΊ
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Not quite the use I was thinking… yet sufficiently close to win me a bet π
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Yep! π I think that was the car-wash deal, too … π whoever was close enough, won. π
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I didn’t know how big the boat, and I thought it migt hve been tipped upside down and used as a house… like the one in the dunes At Yarmouth in David Copperfield
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π In my mind’s eye it was about the same size as the boat in the photo … but, yeah, wouldn’t it be fab to have an upside-down-boat-house!???? π
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THere used to be loads around our coasts.
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π It’s a fab way to re-use and upcycle!
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For many it was their hope of a roof
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Indeed! People’s ingenuity is amazing, and practical solutions are always fascinating to see. People make homes from ice and snow, dozens of feet up trees, in the middle of rivers, on rafts, in caves, on top of woven reeds, under animal skins, inside huts of thatch and mud and bones. It is fantastic.
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The nesting instinct is strong. Chimps beuild them in trees
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And birds build them in trees, too … π (and in my friend’s cup-holder on his boat, apparently … he wanted to go sailing on Sunday, and found one egg. The next day there were two. Now there are three. π )
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Wow
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Yeah! Totally! He’s been sharing the ‘progress report’ in photos on his Facebook page. π
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Ah-ha… I’m not on Facebook
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Can’t blame you … π
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I ventured on to Twitter… but only to promote my books. Yet so far I’ve found it a supportive and friendly community; made new friends, re-made old. But I wll not venture onto facebook. Shudders at the thought
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I hear ya …
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