This piece was written for the weekly photo prompt from the Unicorn Challenge.

When a passing deep-sea fishing boat noticed that the ferry was seemingly adrift, the captain and his first mate boarded. No crew in sight, no-one on the bridge but half-eaten meals scattered around. ‘Like the bloody Marie Celeste’, the captain muttered.

They went down the stairs to the passenger deck. Deserted. No sign of life. Until the first mate noticed in the very rear seat a young curly-top redheaded girl. He ran to her and said kindly ‘You’re safe now. What’s your name?’

Calmly, she said, ‘Annie.’

‘So Annie, are you the only passenger?’

‘Of course not, you silly man. The trip is fully booked.’

‘Really?’

‘Really. Over there is Mr. and Mrs. Arbuthnot. In front of them is that honeymoon couple, always kissing and everything. Disgusting.’

‘So where are your parents?’

‘Dead.’

“Oh, I’m so sorry.’

‘That’s OK. It was a long time ago.’

‘Where are the crew?’

Annie sighed ‘That nasty Captain Bligh was being so bossy that we asked that nice Mr. Fletcher in Seat 10B to deal with them. He put them in a long boat and we all waved them goodbye.’

‘That’s dreadful. They could be in grave danger now.’

‘They’ll be uncomfortable for a while but they’ll turn up in Batavia one day.’

Looking around again, the first mate said gently ‘You say the ferry is full of people but the only one I see is you.’

Annie stiffened and said in a very adult voice ‘How are your navigational skills?’

Bonus track: The late great New Zealand-born Max Merritt, who I followed all over his adopted city, Melbourne, Australia, in my yooth. https://youtu.be/vhbJiSLlopA