MARCH 30, 2018
Katie wiped the sweat from her brow as she struggled to catch Jessie's pace.
Jessie crushed the undergrowth with her shoes as she hurried towards the clearing.
"Mind telling me what exactly are we finding?" Katie shouted, feeling her head heat up.
Jessie did not answer for a while. Her azure eyes were busy scanning the horizon. So engrossed was she in looking up that she did not watch what she was stepping on. Her foot caught in a tangled mass of weeds and she tripped. Katie grasped her waist and prevented her from falling headlong on the ground.
"Whoa! Watch it!" As Jessie regained her posture, she looked into Katie's eyes.
They had been on the island for two days already. There had been no signs of a ship nearby and their repeated attempts of radio contact had not yielded any result. The closet in the Northing House provided fresh clothes for them to wear whenever they happened to take a bath, which in the last two days had been five times. Katie slept on a lounge chair the first night while Jessie took the bed. They switched places the next day.
The first day had been a day full of exploration. They had found a traditional cellar under the kitchen. The cellar was stacked with packets of dried meat and vegetables. There were also soup powders and canned food. And of course, like all cellars, there were bottles of wine and beer. The girls had been reluctant to use the food supplies there. After all, those were not theirs and the owner of the house had obviously stocked it up for his stay there.
The locals had been kind enough to provide them food. Everyone except Paali and Norash Khamur kept their distance from the foreigners. Jessie and Katie sensed the wariness in the people and decided to stay away from them as much as possible. They graciously accepted the food that Paali brought. But for most parts, they ate the fruits they plucked from the island. The island was aplenty in fruition and it provided them the perfect opportunity to explore around and eat whatever they felt was edible.
However, the locals weren't the only people they were avoiding. They were avoiding each other. They knew that circumstances had thrown them together in a coupling that could not be evaded. However, the wounds and bitterness were too saturated to ignore.
Their conversations were always restricted to general matters. Never did they discuss each other nor ask the questions which burned in their hearts.
Of course neither knew that the other lay awake for most of the night aware of each other and wishing that no one had to use the lounge chair.
Jessie gripped Katie's shirt and pointed down.
"See that?" She asked.
Katie squinted her eyes against the sunlight. In the distance, hidden amongst the heap of grasses and shrubs was a very well concealed motorboat. Katie felt a rush of excitement. She caught Jessie's hand as they scaled their way down the slippery mud and swards.
The craft was not very big. It was painted in white with the letters CAROLINE written across it in blue. By the look of it, it looked old. But the polish and the cover of tarpaulin spread carefully showed that it was also well cared for.
Jessie delicately touched the edges of the hull. She felt Katie come near her. She looked up.
Katie was looking at her intently. For a moment, Jessie was perplexed. However, looking into those aqua depths, she slowly understood what Katie was thinking of.
"Oh No! No way!" Jessie exclaimed. "There is no way we can take this boat! Are you crazy? We might never see land for months and this boat cannot save us from God knows what's there in the ocean."
Katie shrugged, "I don't think that the ship is very far. And we can always take this and come back if we find no..."
"I said NO!" Jessie screamed, "Geez! Katie! Use your head!"
"I thought that you wanted to get away from this place as soon as possible."
"Yes I do." Jessie hissed, "But that does not include suicide."
"Then why have you brought me here to show me this?" Katie asked, losing her temper. "Just another exploration trip? Another attempt to pass time more tolerably?"
"What?" The embers she saw in Katie's eyes shook Jessie.
"Look... Jessie... we both cannot bear the sight of each other. Isn't it better we get back on the ship so that we are not forced to spend time with each other?" Katie said stiffly.
Jessie turned her head away so that Katie could not see the distress in her eyes.
"I never...you... I..." Jessie did not know what to say.
"Whatever." Katie turned back brusquely.
"I wasn't the one who abandoned." Jessie spoke softly.
Katie stopped. Her breaths came in shallow gasps as she struggled to contain the volume of words that were right at the threshold of tumbling out.
"You left me with no choice. If you would have asked, I would have stopped." Katie replied.
"I could not stop you. Not after what I saw, not after what you did." Jessie reminded her.
Katie wheeled towards Jessie; her eyes were the colour of a thick canopy of untouched forests.
"What you saw or rather what you THINK you saw is what you WANTED to see. You did not care to know what the truth was. You came to your own conclusions. You sized me up in a way that you found convenient."
Jessie pursed her lips, "That is not true."
"Yes it is!" Katie spat, "Maybe you did not want to deal with a relationship at that time. It was convenient to lay the blame on me."
Jessie clenched her jaw, "You were cheating, Katie. What else was I supposed to think?"
"Oh yeah? Cheating?" Katie narrowed her eyes, "With my sister?"
"Sister?" Jessie's brows furrowed.
"Donna is my cousin." Katie let out.
Jessie looked at her incredulously, "What? How come no one knew?"
"Because my Dad and her dad were in a fight. Our families haven't been on good terms since long. I didn't even know she was my cousin until a few days before that day. I knew my parents were too mad with her family and so I never mentioned it to anyone. She wanted this feud to solve and so she joined my birthday party that night."
Jessie looked away, trying to come in terms with what Katie told her.
"The birthday party was supposed to be a surprise from Donna and Bruce. I didn't even know about it. It wasn't even by me and so I could not ask you to come. If you didn't notice, Tadd and Gina weren't even there. I was about to ask them to leave after sometime. I guess I was overwhelmed by their gesture. And then you came. You broke up with me because of that night which wasn't even my doing."
"I didn't know..." Jessie protested.
"You did not listen." Katie reminded her simply.
Katie played with the tree bark. The air was filled with an ominous silence.
"I'm sorry." Jessie finally said.
Katie was about to let out some more of the venom in her heart when she saw Jessie's face. The younger woman was looking down, fighting back the tears in her eyes and Katie melted.
"It's alright." Katie tried to infuse some warmth in her voice. She extended her hands.
Jessie looked up.
"C'mon Dr. Sammler, I am hungry."
If you were wondering why no one had started to miss Jessie and Katie on the ship, well… it's simple… Trey handled it.
The day Bane started to notice that he hasn't seen Jessie, and that was almost two days after the ship had docked at Talam Sameh, he came to Trey.
"Trey… you were right."
Trey studied Carl calmly. No panic, no worry, just a mild curiosity. He knew that his job is made easier.
"About what, Carl?"
"Well… about Jessica not being on the ship. I have been to her cabin. I haven't seen her in the lounges or for any of the meals. In fact, she was supposed to introduce me to this doctor friend of hers." Carl rubbed his chin.
"Kathryn is not on the ship either." Trey informed him.
Carl groaned, "Please don't start with your insane notions again."
Trey leant forward, "Don't you find it a bit strange that both Kathryn and Jessica have disappeared at the same time?"
Carl grimaced, "I think we should notify the Captain."
"I think you should leave them alone." Trey smiled.
"Are you mad? Jessica may be in danger!"
"Kathryn will take care of her." Trey shrugged.
"I am not endangering Jessica because you have some romantic Harlequin ideas." Carl stood up to leave.
Trey stood up to. His face was wrinkled with contempt.
"Leave her alone would you Carl! You don't care a damn about her. If this is an attempt to play hero, then you are sadly going to fail. Kathryn told me that she and Jessica are lovers and they want to be alone on that island. They must be enjoying themselves. Don't ruin their paradise. You have enough fun as it is on the ship."
Carl was bewildered at Trey's sudden outburst. He raised his hand in surrender.
"Fine… fine. I was just concerned about Jessica. If you would have told me the truth about them earlier then I wouldn't have mentioned it."
Trey sighed. He knew that he had lied to Carl and he dearly hoped that he was right. Jessica and Kathryn were all right on the island. He did not even want to think what might greet them on an isolated island community. After much contemplation, he admitted that Kathryn would probably never see him the way he wanted her to see him. He also had to concur that whenever Kathryn saw Jessica, her eyes clouded in mists and she seems forlorn. That was so unlike the tigress that Carl had painted her to be.
When he first found out that both Jessica and Kathryn were not on the ship, he knew they were on the island. Concern for them and some remote jealousy made him want to report to the Captain and bring them back to the world where they were forced to behave as strangers.
He never fell in love, but he has seen its forms. He knew what it was enough to know that it was in Jessica and Kathryn. He decided to play fate and let them stay on the island. Maybe, proximity will help resolve whatever was wrong between them.
Paali's youngest daughter, a shy girl of about fifteen placed two trays made of banana leaves on the ground. The 'plate' was filled with rice and what looked like pineapples and meat.
"Thank you." Jessie and Katie simultaneously said.
"This looks good." Katie remarked as she gingerly poked the meat.
During their two days on the island, they had realized the importance of something as basic as forks and spoon. The islanders ate using their fingers, and Katie and Jessie had to do the same. Of course, they ended up spilling more.
"I just feel so bad that we are encroaching upon their kindness." Jessie commented sadly.
"Hey! You delivered a baby, remember?" Katie teased. "Take it as your medical fees. I'm sure they are very high."
Jessie playfully punched Katie. "I am not a businesswoman like you. Saving that woman and her child was my duty."
"Yeah… yeah…" Katie mocked.
"So, can I ask you a question?" Jessie queried.
"Hmm… sure… WAIT…" Katie sucked her fingers loudly.
"God, Katie! You are so gross!"
Katie looked innocently at her, "What? All the people here do it. Did you see them eat out here? I am just following their traditions so they stop giving us unfriendly looks."
Jessie looked around. They were invited by Norash Khamur to join their dinner that night. Reluctantly they did. Not surprisingly, the only people who were willing to talk to them were Paali and Norash Khamur.
"So what was your question?"
Jessie turned back towards Katie. She saw how the fire's glow lit up Katie's face. Katie had changed a lot in the fifteen years they had been apart. And yet she was still the same Katie.
"I wanted to ask you whether you are happy with your work."
"Mmm…" Katie scratched her head then shrugged, "I guess… I haven't really thought about it. I enjoy it sometimes. Sometimes I just want to leave everything and run away. How about you?"
Jessie gave a faraway smile. "I never thought that I would love this profession. But I do. I love being a doctor. It's this passion in me that was hidden for so long and I didn't even realize. As soon as I went to University of Chicago, I knew that it was the path I wanted to be in."
Katie looked at Jessie and thought that there couldn't possibly be a better doctor.
"You are lucky that you know what you want. All my life, I have followed my impulses. I went to IMD because Dad wanted me to. I passed because it was what I was supposed to do. I got a job. I excelled in my job, all because it was what drove me. The present became boring and I wanted something higher, something more to fill the gap in my life."
Jessie saw the passion that was Katie and understood what she felt. Katie was a person who was like a living turbine. It always needed to be on the move.
"Are you saying that you are not satisfied?"
Katie ran her fingers across the thick mat of grass. "Maybe… I have everything in my life and yet when I look back, it seems I have made no achievement. I do not know what I am good at. I know I have something missing in my life. I just don't know what."
She then looked at Jessie, closely.
"Why did you ask?" Katie asked.
Jessie returned the gaze. "I don't know. Maybe because I already knew the answer."
That night there was a heavy thundershower. It was Katie's turn to sleep on the lounge chair. She lay there watching the raindrops falling on the roofs and making a loud rhythmic patter. Rain wasn't a common sight in her life. Either it was snow or terribly dry skies. Right now, she felt, nothing would have been a more appropriate symbol from nature to describe how she was feeling.
"Katie?"
Katie jolted when she heard the soft voice behind her, partly because the same soft voice was slowly playing in her mind's background over and over again.
"Jessie? What are you doing up here?" Katie saw that Jessie was dressed in the nightgown they had salvaged from the closet. It was an old, 60's styled nightgown with lots of frills and heavy layers of clothing. But it kept imagination open.
"I couldn't sleep." Jessie shrugged. She came and sat down on the stool beside the lounge chair.
"Neither could I." Katie admitted.
They both sat in silence for a while, absorbing the peace that was only broken by the rain banging down on the surfaces.
"So... you and Carl? I mean... are you guys..." Katie began.
"Lovers?" Jessie inquired, amused.
"Umm... yeah..." Katie smiled.
Jessie shook her head. "Nope. Carl is one hell of a seducer. I met him when he brought his grandmother for a surgery. Since then, he had been trying to hit on me. I admit he is handsome... but well... just not for me."
"Oh yeah?" Katie tilted her head. "You have pretty high standards then."
"And pretty safe ones too." Jessie laughed.
"And how about you? I have heard that you have quite a reputation among the ladies..." Even though Jessie was trying to tease Katie, she couldn't deny the continuous attacks of envy and sorrow she felt in her heart.
Katie did not know what to say. There was something only she knew and not the world. She was trying to keep a well-guarded secret. But somehow, the only person she wanted to tell was also the person she was most afraid of. She could not risk going on that road again, especially not with Jessie.
"I was thinking of trying some of the treasures of the cellar." Katie changed the subject.
"Such as?" Jessie joked.
"Such as the perfect products of the vineyard." Katie innocently smiled.
"I am game." Jessie got up. She pulled out her hand. Katie stared at those slim fingers raised in anticipation. Without a word, she put hers in them.
Katie leant back against the kitchen counter as she gulped down another bout of sherry. Jessie's lips were ruby red as she took another swig.
"This is good." Katie murmured.
"Yeah..." Jessie chuckled. "Just hope Northing does not miss it when he comes back."
The girls were sitting on the kitchen floor. Their legs were spread out and they were facing each other. In the background, they could hear the rain still beating down. Jessie had lit a lantern in the corner and it cast a pastel glow in the dark room.
"Want some munchies?" Katie offered tiny green fruits that looked like berries but tasted sweet.
Jessie took one and put it in her mouth. She then swallowed some more of the wine. She wasn't really an alcohol lover. But there was something in the atmosphere right then that made her didn't care a damn.
Katie was being sparing with her consumption of wine. She had almost been to rehabilitation because of her excessive drinking last year. She did not want to relapse back to that stage again.
Suddenly, Katie heard something. She strained her ears.
Jessie noticed Katie's gesture and automatically followed.
They heard the unmistakable cries of women in the distance. Immediately, they jerked up.
They rushed out of the door and not minding the torrents of rain pouring on their heads, they ran towards what they saw was an overwhelming crowd.
"What happened?" Jessie cried. She saw Paali looking very worried. When Paali saw them, she walked towards them.
"Miss, three boys... not seen. Vanish."
"Vanish?" Katie asked quaintly, "How can they just vanish?"
"We do not know." Paali was almost on the verge of tears. "We not find them anywhere. They are very small, like Yuli." She said, referring to her granddaughter who was just six.
Katie and Jessie saw a woman thrashing her chest wildly and a man trying to comfort her.
"She think Demon took them." Paali murmured.
Katie stared at her as if she has lost her mind.
"Well... did you search for them? They might have gone wondering about and in the rain they must be hiding somewhere."
"Katie look..." Jessie tugged at Katie's sleeve. Katie turned towards the direction where Jessie was pointing. At first she did not understand what Jessie was trying to show her. But then as she squinted and tried to stare hard at the wild waters of the ocean, she grasped what Jessie meant.
Among the savage waves that were coiling about as some beast in agony, there was a tiny speckle but unmistakable figure of white. The motorboat, CAROLINE, was out in the seas.
"You think..." Katie looked at Jessie. Jessie nodded. In a split second, the girls simultaneously rushed towards the shore. Jessie shouted to Paali to send some men for them.
The boat was slowly, but definitely retreating away from the shore and moving more towards the open ocean. Katie could not be sure, but she thought she saw pairs of heads on the boat. She turned back to see that none of the villagers had followed them. Some who were looking at them and sensing the emergency were making their way very slowly. This meant that by the time help arrived, it would be too late and the boat would be either too far away or already consumed by the turbulent waters.
Katie had to make a decision.
She removed the light windbreaker she was wearing.
Jessie gaped at her. "What do you think you are doing?"
"I am going after them."
"Are you nuts? Can't you see that the waters are too dangerous?" Jessie screamed to be heard above the rain and the waves.
"Yes, and I can also see that the kids are going to die if we don't do something fast." Katie removed her shoes.
"Then I am coming with you." Jessie proceeded to undress but Katie stopped her.
"No! You stay here! You are drunk!" Katie ordered.
"I don't care!" Jessie shouted back.
"Please don't argue with me, Jess! I can't concentrate if I am worrying about you too. I have enough on my hands as it is! Stay here and when they come, try sending them after me!"
Without waiting for a response, Katie dashed into the menacing arms of the ocean.
Jessie held her breath as she stared helplessly at Katie struggling her way across the storm.
Katie felt the weight of the water challenging to defeat her every second. She used every ounce of muscle she had to fight it. As she neared the boat, she saw the obvious faces of very terrified children on the boat. She managed to shout something like "WAIT!" but she doubted they would have heard her in the noise.
She felt something quite akin to relief when her fingers finally grazed the metal bottom of the boat. She grappled against the waves to get a better hold on the boat. Two children saw her and frantically rushed towards her. Their weight did tip the boat more towards her reach but it also made them perilously close to falling.
With one intense effort, Katie grabbed the railings of the boat. She then screamed,
"Get back!"
The children may not have understood her but they clearly got the message and they huddled back.
Katie flung her legs across the railings. Her extensive legs tangled itself on the fence of the boat and she managed to get the boat in balance as she lifted herself up.
When her body hit the relatively dry surface of the boat, she almost collapsed with exhaustion. She dared a glance towards where she came from. To her horror, Katie found that the boat had moved even further into the ocean. The shore was nothing more than a white line in the horizon. Suddenly her heart filled with panic. She was on a small game boat that was threatening to split apart any moment and she was facing a wilderness of very angry waters and thunderous skies.
She felt salty water on her lips. She did not know whether those were the seawater or the tears from her own eyes.
At that moment, she felt a small hand on her back. She looked up to see one of the children holding her and looking at her with what was immense hope.
The other two children were holding each other but their faces mirrored the trust.
With a renewed sense of resolve, Katie made her way towards the boat's wheel. She sat down and turned on the engine, furiously praying that there was fuel in the tanks.
The engine roared in response and she could have almost kissed the boat feverishly.
She yanked the steering wheel towards the shore and the boat jerked in reply. The sudden movement scared the children and they went towards Katie.
Katie tucked them all close to her. She knew that not only would it keep them safe but also give them some sense of soothing.
Katie battled against the sea as she kept her hands on the wheel steady. The boat rocked precariously as it tried to balance the slashing of the waves and the kicking of its own motors. The winds whipped her face. The spray of waters stung her eyes. Her hair was matted and it stuck to her face as a second skin. She felt the children tremble near her legs and she ran a hand to brush their hair.
Jessie almost died when she saw Katie and the boat disappear from her sight. She had removed her shoes and was going to jump after Katie when Norash Khamur restrained her. He had brought with him several young men. Some had already jumped into the waters and were making their way towards them.
Paali laid a hand across Jessie's shoulders, as they anticipatingly waited.
When Jessie saw the boat again, she could not stop a shout of relief.
She saw Katie at the helm. The boat didn't seem to make much progress towards the island, but somehow Katie was managing to keep it upright.
The men were swimming towards the boat.
However, just when everyone thought that it was over, a huge wave rose up from the surface and slammed against the boat. As the water receded, the boat and Katie was nowhere in sight.
Katie had not expected the sudden surge of waters and when it hit, she momentarily lost her grip on the wheel and this cost her. She was thrown out of the boat. She felt small hands circling her waist before she knocked her head against something hard.
The last thing she remembered was seeing the water close over her head.