NATIA & The Invisible Island of Sawaiki

The journey

Natia woke up to someone shaking her. It took a moment for her to remember where she was. Aleksandr stood before her a little impatiently.

“We have landed.”

Natia stood up from her seat so fast, she felt disoriented for a moment.

“Let’s get going.” Aleksandr moved to get off of the plane.

“Wait!”

“What is it?”

“I need to use the lavatory.”

Aleksandr sighed and motioned with his hand for her to go ahead.

“Don’t take too long.” He called after her.

Natia literally ran to the lavatory. Not because Aleksandr told her to hurry up, but because her bladder felt like it would burst any moment.

Natia felt like she attained Nirvana after emptying her bladder. She looked at the mirror above the sink after washing her hands and grimaced. She was a mess. Her hair was all tangled and her clothes rumpled.

‘Uh.. That’s what you get for sleeping like a log on a journey.’ But, she had to admit that she now feels more refreshed after that sleep. She washed her face and combed her hair with her fingers; then put it in a pony tail with the hairband she wore on her wrist. Then she tried to smoothen the wrinkles on her t-shirt with her hands.

She was wearing a black t-shirt paired with blue denim shorts and white tennis shoes. Maybe not something suitable for a first formal introduction. She just thought she would just be herself.

Alexander was waiting outside with their luggage when she got off the plane. “Finally!” He said when she arrived.

Natia looked around. She hadn’t asked where they were landing in Hawaii. After their final conversation in the car, she was a little reluctant to break the silence between them. She thought not to speak to him until they arrived and see for herself wherever they were going.

They were at Honolulu airport. There was a Mercedes-Benz waiting near Aleksandr. ‘A car inside the airport? Is that an airport-service car or something? It can’t be that an outside car came to pick them up all the way to the runway of the airport, right? They won’t allow it even for elite- status passengers. Right? She asked herself.

Natia actually didn’t have much knowledge about how elite-class people travel, even though her father was one. When she went on trips with her father, they usually avoided luxuries; the only exception ever was his private yacht. All the others were ordinary father- daughter vacation trips. They both enjoyed it like that. Maybe her father enjoyed it even more, because Natia always felt Andrey considered those trips an escape from his high-class business world.

They got in the car. Natia noticed that instead of going to a terminal to leave the airport, they were moving to another area of the airport.

“Um.. Where are we going?”

“The yacht is not near this island.”

Natia waited a little longer for further explanation. But, nothing came.

‘That’s it?!! How about how are we going to get on the yacht? Or, where we are going right now; which was literally the question she asked.” She let out a frustrated breath.

However, Natia didn’t ask anything further. She decided to go on ‘let’s surprise me’ mode; note the sarcasm. So, she stubbornly kept her mouth shut. 

But, she soon got her answer. Just as they got out of the car, she heard the sound of a helicopter. ‘So, they were going on that. Why couldn’t he have said that straight? “The yacht is not near this island”!! - like that would explain everything.’ She thought.

They got on the helicopter and it took off. It was her first time on a helicopter. And this one appeared to be a lot different from what she saw in movies and all. It was a posh one, she could tell. It had a seating for about six passengers with leather upholstery. She expected, at least, they would be given headsets, like she watched in movies. However, they weren’t given any. ‘Did they soundproof the cabin or something?’ She wondered.

But, the view from it was as she had expected. It was really nice. A lot of small and big yachts were docked near the shores in marinas. The buildings appeared to be crowded near the shores. Green hills were visible in the far. Then the sea. It was mesmerizing.

There was only one problem. She was hungry. She only felt it now. It was like there was a fire burning inside her stomach. If she had realized it before they got on the helicopter, she could have asked for something. It was three in the afternoon now. She hadn't eaten anything after the sandwiches in the morning. Aleksandr must have eaten something on the plane while she slept like a baby. She wondered when they would reach the yacht.

“How much time will it take to get there?”

Aleksandr turned to face her.

“Probably an hour. Why?”

“I am hungry.”

He scoffed at that. “You filled your stomach to the brim with those sandwiches. And you are still hungry?” He taunted her.

“That was in the morning!! And I am a growing girl. I need to eat.”

“Then, why didn’t you eat on the plane?”

“I fell asleep.” Her reply was almost a whisper.

Aleksandr sighed. He reached to the bottom of his seat and pulled a liver. There was a small storage space under the seat. He took something from it and tossed it to her.

It was a packet of mixed nuts. Natia wondered if every seat contained packets like that.

“It’s all there is for now” Aleksandr said. “They don’t store food in the cabin unless there is a planned business meeting or something.”

“Thanks.” She began to wolf it down.

Fifty minutes later, they reached their yacht- Maria. The helicopter landed on one of its helipads. She could see the silhouette of a man standing a little away from the helipad, watching them arrive. She hastily got off the copter when they were given permission to do so.

“Papa!”

But, it wasn’t her father. It was another man.