Andee the Aquanaut

Chapter Two It’s Just A Knowing

Chapter Two

It’s Just A Knowing

Lunar Island was a hub of activity. It stretched for miles across, far and wide into the Indian Ocean. It had white sands and a clear sea full of life. The palm trees gently swayed in time with the breeze, providing adequate shade for whoever was lucky enough to be lying in a hammock beneath them.

On the island were state-of-the-art laboratories, built to the highest standards, with all the latest technology. They were equipped with sleeping quarters, dining areas and even a games room where one could relax and rest after a hard day’s research.

Inside the labs, marine biologists were hard at work. But in the boardroom, in the middle of the complex, a meeting of a different nature was being held.

“It’s so kind of you to give up your time and let us use the resources here,” said a woman’s voice. “Peter and I are grateful to you, Mike.”

“Yes,” said Peter, “Pauline and I are very thankful indeed. You are being very helpful and supportive. I don’t know what we’d have done without this kind of help.”

“That’s quite alright, we understand,” said a friendly voice. “The timing has been good, too. Our boss … and, of course, your boss … is still away on annual leave. So, things are a bit more relaxed around here at the moment.”

“Yes, of course,” said Pauline.

“It’s not that he’d mind … quite the opposite actually. He’s a lovely man and a great boss! It’s a shame you guys didn’t get a chance to meet him before he left. Anyway … you will meet him all in good time, I’m sure. Now…” said Mike, “where did you say the last sighting of the boy was? These are extraordinary circumstances indeed! I mean … I’d find it extremely hard to believe it myself, if it wasn’t for the news reports. How sick with worry you both must be, knowing that your son is out there in the vast ocean somewhere.”

“Yes, we know it’s hard to understand, but he is out there. I know that … as a mother. I know he’s alive. He always loved the ocean. I can feel that something has happened to him. I mean, think of all those eye-witnesses that said they saw… a boy…”

“Yes, Pauline,” Peter interrupted her, “but we really don’t know that it’s Andee they saw. We have to be open-minded about this. We don’t want to set ourselves up for a massive disappointment.”

“But, Peter, I know it’s him … I just know it. One eyewitness even said his name … Andee …”

“I know, dear … I know… I‘m saying, let’s not get our hopes up at this stage, okay? We all want it to be Andee, but let’s try and stay focused on the search while keeping an open mind. That’s all I’m saying.”

“Okay,” said Pauline, “I’ll try…”

“Right,” said Peter, “well, the boy was last seen out in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Australia where the cruise ship went down. The last sighting was from the passengers who said he disappeared back down to the ship to save a girl. Indeed, the girl was brought to the surface safely, but without the boy. When the cruise ship went down, nobody saw the boy again.”

“How do we know the boy wasn’t inside the ship when it sank?” said Mike. “The chances of survival under water … inside such a huge ship … the force of it being dragged down to the bottom would …”

Pauline sobbed. “Stop, please stop.”

Peter kneeled in front of her. “It’s okay, darling,” he said. “It’s okay. We need to cover all the facts regarding what happened that day. Whether we want to hear them or not, it’s our only chance of ever finding the truth.”

Pauline nodded as she wiped her eyes and calmed down again.

Peter continued. “They’re planning to raise the vessel in a few days’ time. It’s been hard to speak to the authorities. All of the passengers and crew have been accounted for, but they have no information to give us. They refuse to believe this ‘boy sighting’ or rumors that he was wearing some sort of fish-suit. We’ll have to wait until the ship has been brought to the surface. We’ll see if they find anybody inside.”

“It’s a tough one,” said Mike. “Where would we begin? If they find nothing on the cruise ship, that would mean a vast sea search. That’s difficult to orchestrate. I think what we need to do first is find those passengers who witnessed seeing the boy. We need to speak to them to get more information; clues as to whether this really could be your lost son, Andee. If we had hard evidence from them, maybe we could ask the boss if we could use his contacts to start some sort of search. He is a very wealthy man with friends in high places … and access to …” Mike paused for a moment then continued, “… access to ships and equipment. But it would take a lot of convincing from me, and you both, to get him to even think about such a mammoth task. I’d also contact the news channels and somehow trace these eye-witness passengers, and talk to them first. It’s a tough one, but it’s a start in the right direction.”

“Thank you so much, Mike,” said Peter, “you’ve been a great sounding-board for Pauline and me. Everything you’ve said makes sense! We’ll get the ball rolling.”

“Yes,” said Pauline, “thank you, Mike. We really appreciate it.”

“It’s no problem at all, guys,” said Mike. “Quite frankly, I’m fascinated by all this, and feel very privileged to be involved.” He looked at his watch. “I must leave now. I have lots to catch up on. But we will talk again in a few days, okay?”

Mike left the boardroom. After the white porthole doors closed softly, Peter and Pauline sat quietly for a moment.

“This is not going to be easy, Pauline,” said Peter. “We really are in the dark here. Mike’s right. We need to find all of the eye-witnesses, ask them for statements, put together an appeal, ask them to back us up and …” he paused and sighed, “… I’m sure they have sons and daughters, too. Maybe they’ll understand our pain and desperation, and help us? I’ll talk to CNN to see how we can begin the process. We may have to look at hiring a private investigator to do this work for us. They would know how to get to these people and bypass the authorities …”

“That’s a good idea, Peter,” said Pauline. “We have our savings … we should use them. I don’t care what it costs. I want to find our boy. I know he’s out there somewhere … I can feel it … it’s just a knowing.”