Sky Run (20 page)

‘Indestructible, eh, Peggy!' I said.

‘That's it, darlin'. Indestructible.'

But she wasn't. None of us is.

The others couldn't come the next day. As they hadn't enrolled into the school in advance they were stuck with extra form-filling, so it was just Martin and me who made our way to the marina to see Peggy off on her journey home.

Her boat was alone on the pontoon. The other boats which had been there previously had already sailed.

‘Peggy!' I called, as we tramped up the walkway. ‘We're here. Are you up?'

‘Maybe she's gone to get a few supplies,' Martin said.

‘Or she's sleeping off last night's dinner. Go and see if she's down below and give her a shake.'

‘OK.'

Martin went down below and I tidied up a little on deck and checked the solar panels and made sure the water tanks were full.

‘Gemma –'

‘What is it?'

‘Gemma –'

‘Martin – what is it?'

‘I can't wake her, Gemma. She won't wake up.'

‘My name is Gemma Piercey, and just as you are now, I was also once a pupil at this school. And just as you will too, I grew up, and went out into the world. And I've been asked by the headmistress to return as the annually invited speaker to give the keynote address – as you may also have the honour to do one day. So I shall do my best not to bore you. And that'll mean keeping it brief, which I will.

‘I came here rather late to start a formal education. I was already in my teens. But the teaching was good and I soon caught up, as did my brother, Martin. We were orphans, who had lost our parents when we were very young, and we were brought up by a rather wonderful old lady called Peggy Piercey, who gave us her name and looked after us on a remote little island that she owned, at the edges of the Outlying Settlements.

‘Peggy was related to us, but so remotely as to be almost too far away to see. She was a great-great-grand-aunt, or something along those lines. She had no real reason to take us in and look after us, but she did, for which I am eternally grateful.

‘We could have remained on that island indefinitely, and I might be there still, if Peggy hadn't been such a great believer in getting an education. So she got us accepted as pupils at this school, and we set off one day to travel here – Peggy, myself, and my younger brother Martin – who now works as a sky-pilot for the Inter-Island Lines, and is captain of one of their largest cruisers.

‘It wasn't an easy journey, and we picked up a few other potential pupils along the way – all now quite eminent and well known in their own fashion. One was Alain Qualar, our first Member of Parliament to have come from a cloud-hunting family; another his sister, Beth, who you might know as a singer. And, maybe most famous of all, Angelica Tanner, the writer, whose series of children's books about the life of a girl apprentice rat-skinner unexpectedly proved to be the publishing sensation of the year. I understand that there is already a film in the works and other books to follow. In fact I probably only got asked to speak today as Angelica was too busy – only joking.

‘Anyway, I can't tell you that I'm rich, or that I'm famous. But I don't know if that is the point. For those of you who don't know about me, I'm an eye surgeon who works for the Free Hospital Ship. I spend most of my time travelling around the system, and along with my colleagues, we treat numerous people who, without our help, would lose their sight. We don't charge for our service and we're funded purely by public donation.

‘I always wanted to do something to help other people, ever since I came to City Island, and I've sometimes wondered why that is. And I guess I know. An education is a wonderful thing. But a school can't teach you everything. Some things in life you learn without knowing you're learning them. They rub off on you – like brushing against a flower and the pollen sticking to you – and you carry them with you. You learn from the people around you, and if you're lucky, those people will be the ones who want the best for you.

‘So this is the other reason I am here. Not just to talk to you about the future, but to express my gratitude to our great-great-grand-aunt, and to this school, for all they both gave us.

‘So that's it. I'm keeping it short, as promised. I don't have any wonderful advice. Just make the most of it, that's all. This is your chance and many people never get one. But I did. And you've got one too.

‘And lastly, there's an old boat down at the marina, in the floating museum there. You might want to go and visit it when you have some free time. It's called the
Voyager
. It's quite small and nondescript, but it's full of history, and there's something special about it. If you stand on the deck, you can almost feel its past. And you can read about the journey it made. Of course, no one would even contemplate such a journey on a boat that size now. They used to call those little boats sky-runners, and it was one of the last of them. And I guess that is my claim to fame. I sailed on it, on the last of the sky-runs. I wouldn't be here now, if it hadn't been for that little boat and for the lady who owned it.

‘I guess that was maybe the most wonderful time of my life, when I look back on it. I learned so much and I saw so much. I didn't know how special it was. Nor how special the lady was who adopted us and looked after us. So that's all I have to say really. Just take your chance, and do your best. And don't be afraid to tell the people you love that you love them. And do it while you still can. Good luck. Just tell them while you can. Because you never know when they might be taken from you. It's not very original, I know. But it's still true and still pertinent. And always will be, I guess.

‘Thanks for listening. I think we're due to get some lunch now – which is always something to look forward to.

‘And, oh, before I forget. If you do visit the
Voyager
, down at the marina museum, you'll no doubt run into a sky-cat there, who lives on board. He's been there a long time and no one can coax him to leave. But he's well fed and looked after. Anyway, you be sure to make a fuss of him and pet him a little, and he'll be your friend. He answers to the name of Botcher.

‘I think he's waiting for someone to come home.

‘And can't understand that they never will.'