Shipwrecked
1670 Words
“We hit the ground,” Isuk yelled. “We hit the ground.”
“No, we’re still away from the shore,” Tikloi said.
“We hit the ground.”
“It’s not the ground,” Rakly countered. “We hit the rock.”
“And if we remain stuck when the waves grow bigger at high tide, we’ll be doomed,” Isuk feared.
Ito flew above the ship. “We’re close to the island. But I’m afraid the ship can get out of here and remain whole,” he said.
Rakly jumped off into the sea and dove underneath the ship that ran aground, stuck between two rough rocks with sharp edges. Then he was back to the surface and asked Isuk to help him push the Whaler out of the rocks. Tikloi followed suit, leaving the dwarf to steer the wheel with the Sarimanok perching on the mainmast.
The three summoned all their underwater strength to lift the ship off, but the Whaler remained stuck tightly between the rough edges of the rocks. They’d been up to the surface and deep down the bottom of the ship. Yet not an inch had the vessel moved. And while the three were underwater, a large wave the size of a hill hit the Whaler, moving it a little. Then another wave of the same size followed, then another one. So, they swam away from the ship as the waves pounded it, destroying the rear part.
The Whaler had capsized as the waves released it from the rocks.
They were shipwrecked. It happened on the mischievous island. Rakly pulled Velmer from the capsized ship, and they swam to the shore, where Ito was already waiting.
“I wish I had wings to fly,” Isuk said.
“Keep your wishes to yourself. Because like you, I also have mine. I want to learn how to swim,” Ito retorted.
The Whaler was floating in the sea upside down for several hours until the crew decided to salvage it, pulling it ashore. It was not the only ship that shipwrecked on the rocky shores of Mischief Island. There were tens of others and ship debris scattered on the beach.
“The Whaler! The Whaler! The Whaler!” Cried Isuk. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t do anything to save you.”
“Stop crying and whining!” Ito said. “Start thinking about what you can do to make it get back to the sea. No amount of crying can save it.”
“Can you please be a little compassionate?” Isuk pleaded to the amusement of Tikloi and Velmer while retrieving a toolbox from the ship. “She has brought us this far. It’s only appropriate to show some emotion.”
“We can repair the Whaler with all this debris. What tools do we have?” the dwarf asked.
“Hammers, nails, ropes, chisels, and a hand saw. I guess these will do for the repairs,” Isuk replied. “We have a lot of patching to do.”
Then Isuk checked the ship’s kitchen to salvage some food, but he only managed to take the wine and dried fish. No more grain and no drinking water left, either. “The gods must be so good,” he said, thanking the heavens for the wine saved from the shipwreck.
“I don’t think they are. We can be good, and we can be evil. The gods are out of it,” Tikloi replied. “Leave the gods alone. You’re lucky the wine is safe. But we have no food in the days ahead.”
“Why are you so serious?” Isuk said as he drank from the jar and passed it on to Velmer.
“Yes, he’s right. The gods are out of it. And the wine’s good,” the dwarf said, laughing their misery out. “Here, you need to calm down,” he handed the wine to Rakly.
“What pleasure can you get out of that intoxicating drink?” Ito butted in.
“Oh, you don’t understand how it feels like to be in a state of being awake to realities beyond the senses,” Isuk said.
“Feeling. Sensation. Desires of the flesh. That’s human weakness,” the Sarimanok replied. “You can get high when you pray and get closer to the gods. It’s a better feeling than intoxication.”
“It’s alright, Ito,” Tikloi said. “Isuk needs wine to convince himself he’s fearless.”
Everyone chuckled.
Sitting on the rough rocks on the shore while drinking wine with empty stomachs, they’re watching the waves pounding the shores. “If we don’t fix the Whaler, there’s no way we can get out of this solitary island. There seemed to be no life here,” Rakly said.
“We don’t have a choice. We’ll begin the repair immediately,” Velmer replied. “We can’t afford to get stuck on this island forever.”
Isuk had gathered some dried wood, twigs, and dried leaves from the bush. He made a fire to dry their clothes and keep them warm. Rakly and Tikloi continued to collect wood debris on the shore for the next day’s ship repair.
When it was getting dark, they carved a space to spend the night on the seaside.
But they did not sleep their hunger through the night as Isuk cooked in the fire the dried fish he salvaged from the ship. It was a perfect match for the palm wine.
The company managed to keep their spirits high through the night, and it was unusually a clear night for an island covered in a misty haze.
They surveyed the island the next day. It was not barren after all. A few palms were standing with coconuts, fruit trees, and edible grass such as ferns, yams, taro, and other vegetables growing in the wild. There were mushrooms, too.
No one inhabited the island other than the birds and some wild animals. Tikloi spotted a deer. And the burrowed soil and muddied puddles suggested there were also wild boars. “We have plenty of food,” he said. “The gods must be good, huh, and the island’s fertile. I wonder why no one’s living here.”
“Maybe we got luck on our side,” Rakly replied as they were walking towards the island’s interior.
The island was the size of the town of Ragua. It had a flat landscape—a plain—and no hill to hide when there’s a storm. The rocky shores and the reefs that surrounded it served as breakwaters, shielding the island from the big waves.
Palm and coconut trees grew on the island. There were also bamboo, wild bush, and verdant vegetation. But Mischief Island was unusually hidden from the sight of seafarers due to the mist and thick fog that surrounded the island. From afar, there was only the mist and the rocky shores. But it was a paradise as one was close enough and had reached the interior.
They lived on the island’s wild produce for days while repairing their ship. Tikloi hunted some deer and wild boar that Isuk was more than happy to salt, smoke, and dried the meat in the sun. “We have food that can last for a month in the sea. I harvested wild taros, cassava, yam, and sweet potatoes. I also collected mushrooms,” he bragged.
“I can live with mushrooms all day,” Ito replied.
“You must try the dried mushroom with plenty of tomatoes — my personal favorite back in Ragua.”
“Raw mushroom is enough for me. It’s my spiritual food. It gives me the feeling that you get from wine.”
“See, you hypocrite of a Sarimanok!” blurted Isuk.
Rakly did not regret his decision to allow Isuk to join him in the journey. Isuk had been helpful, and his resourcefulness was invaluable, which fit his role in the group. He also gathered seashells from the shore, and he would fish in the shallows where the saltwater and freshwater meet. There was a small spring that provided the island with freshwater streaming into the sea. During the day, the clear water revealed some freshwater fish and crustaceans.
The sky was fine in the morning. But by midday to early evening, it was misty and foggy on the island. The ship’s repair did not go well. They’d been trying to figure out how to fix the holes, but they did not have the materials. The debris from shipwrecks was worn out and brittle due to the exposure to elements.
“I have an idea. I learned it from the boat builders in Ragua. We can use bamboo instead of the worn-out debris,” Rakly said.
“Yes, I remember now,” responded Isuk. “We can flatten it in the fire.”
So, they cut bamboo and flattened it in the fire as an alternative to wood. The process of flattening the bamboo would take time. And it meant they had to spend more days on the island to finish the repairs.
They’d been on the island for more than two weeks, and the Whaler’s repair had dragged them for too long. So, they used their free time gathering food and hunting some game to salt and dry. Throughout their stay on the island, Isuk had collected palm toddy for making wine, an art he learned to master back in Ragua. They would spend the after suppers drinking their fate on Mischief Island.
- Writer
