“Alright. Watch this.”
The captain vigorously turned the handle on the ship’s siren and shouted towards the liquor shop.
“Woo Woo Wooo! This is the maritime police! The notorious smuggler, Yotta Fuller: come out with your hands above your head!”
The
liquor shop, which had been dazzlingly lit until then, became
completely dark, and the opening at the front of the glass bottle closed
as if frozen over. I could see a shadow descend the stairs to the
shop’s basement, followed by the sounds of flustered rummaging and, with
a bang, glass breaking.
“Perhaps that was a bit much,” said the captain, scratching his head.
“Hey, Fuller! It’s me, Captain Star Catcher! Open the shutter. I brought a friend today.”
“You’re
joking… There was a raid only a few days ago! They took all my best
stuff. Is that guy your friend?” the shopkeeper said, pointing at me. I
touched my hat and nodded towards him.
“He only just got here and
he can’t remember his own name. Got any of the usual stuff?” said the
captain, taking a swig from an imaginary drink.
“Like I said, there was a raid. Not a drop of SOAP left.”
“Is that right? Well, in that case, why were you hiding just now? Sniff sniff. How strange. I can smell something from that box over there. Perhaps I’ll take a little look.”
The captain went to climb over the counter…
“Alright, alright! You’re worse than the police. If it can’t be helped… This is one I’ve been saving for myself. Just a little!”
From behind the counter, Fuller took out a dirty bottle. On the label was the word “SOAP”.
“See! You should’ve just taken it out quietly from the start. Now, hand it over here.”
The captain snatched the bottle from Fuller and filled three glasses to the brim with SOAP.
“Captain… Is this ‘SOAP’ actually… soap?”
“Well, it is liquid soap. It hardly gets rid of dirt, though. Fuller here’s been selling defective soap.”
When I smelled the liquid, it didn’t seem like soap at all, and the rich fragrance of alcohol made my head spin.
“Well then. Here’s to our new friend!” cheered the captain, and I downed the SOAP in one.
