Eine englische Kurzgeschichte
They abandoned the ship and set foot on the island for the first time. The sand scrunched under their shabby shoes and the crew observed the surrounding with deep respect.
The beach was long and white and looked like fresh snow which has never been touched before. Further away were great rocks bigger than houses with colourful flowers and plants growing on it, rooted in the old and grey stone.
But … was was that? In between the grasses were two brown feet
Benjamin was the first to see it. „Captain, there is a-“ He stopped, staring at the little person that stood up slowly and looked down at the crowd of sailors on the sand.
„Child.“, the captain finished his sentence.
There she was. A girl, not older than twelve summers, with dark curly hair, her arms akimbo. Bravery and determination on her face, she kept the strangers under review like a young queen reigning her people. It seemed as if the men were afraid of her, even though she didn’t have a weapon and they had almost a dozen.
Then, all of a sudden, there was a noise, sounding as if something deep in the bushes had moved.
Being a very alert man, the captain immediately assumed armed troops hiding behind the rocks. „Shoot her!“, he commanded his comrades.
Some of them held up their pistols and pointed their barrels on the girl, but none of them followed the captains order. This innocent kid reminded them of their own children far away where home was, and they couldn’t kill a harmless and beautiful creature like that.
Upset since his men didn’t do what he had told them, the captain repeated his order angrily. „I said: Shoot her!“
But again, the sailors were unable to make us of their weapons. They were still aiming at the girl that didn’t seem to be afraid, but their fingers were as motionless as the stone the child had climbed.
The captain said something with a snarl and aimed his pistol on the girl himself. Seeing it from the corner of his eye, Benjamin turned around and levelled his gun on the captain without thinking.
From above, the brave girl observed the scene. She smelled the different scent the men brought, noticed their strange appearance, felt their cruelty and heard a gunshot.