17

Thank you for all your reviews and continuing to follow this story. Just a warning this chapter is beefy but if warranted it. There's a lot to process in this one I would welcome your feedback/ thoughts.

It had been forty-eight hours since Jeff's nightmare thankfully he hadn't experienced anything so disturbing since but occasionally he got weird visions, although they were fleeting. The one he had this morning was a memory of being weightless, the sensation of no gravity as he remained suspended in the air. That was odd; so odd he figured it must be some kind of day dream. Jeff rubbed in some salve on his leg wound. Thank fully the red puckered line that ran from his mid-thigh to just above his knee was the only thing you could see; it was going to leave a nice scar that was for sure. It could have been a lot worse. Thankfully the chip to the bone had only been small, it was the infection that had could have easily been deadly but now his temperature was back to normal and the wound cool to the touch. The salve seemed to have healed him faster than anything he had ever known. It was amazing stuff but Kyrano didn't know what was in the compound, it was something conjured up by the local apothecary here. Jeff wondered what made it so effective, he was healed enough to walk short distances but he still had a prominent limp.

Kyrano had taken him to the jungle yesterday to try some mindfulness exercises. He explained the idea was to focus on the present moment. He needed to sit and using his senses systematically work through five things he could see, four he could feel, three he could hear, two he could smell and finally one he could taste. These were called grounding exercises and would allow Jeff to clear his mind. This in turn would allow him to fully relax and unwind as well as allow for self reflection in time, once he was more practiced. Jeff had tried to commit himself fully to the concept but he was struggling. They sat on the edge of the jungle by a small serene pond, the light penetrating through the tree canopy right above it. Jeff perched on a rock and tried to find a comfortable position. Kyrano told him to sit still. Then he had asked him to focus on his surroundings till he became less aware of himself and more aware of what was around him. The only trouble was be became all too aware of what was surrounding him. The bird calls, the insects and the distant howling of the monkeys created this constant chatter that he just couldn't get past. Some insect bit him and his clothes felt itchy and damp, it was taking all his control to remain still. After an hour of trying he admitted to Kyrano he wasn't get anywhere, the only thing he had achieved was a sore ass and leg which was all he could focus on, to which Kyrano laughed softly. "But was your mind clear? What did you think about during this time?"

"How much my ass hurts?"

Kyrano sighed before he and Jeff caught each other's eye in a sidelong glance. Jeff burst out laughing whilst Kyrano smiled shaking his head.

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So today was take two. Jeff got early; he had struggled to sleep from the fear of returning to the door at the end of the corridor but thankfully it never materialised. He had a quick shower and a shave before donning the new loose-fitting shirt and slacks that Tin-tin had brought for him at the market. They were light blue in colour to complement his grey eyes. She had also brought some slippers for him, not being sure what size his feet were, it was the best they could do for now. He headed into the lounge where he found breakfast was already laid out.

"And there was me thinking I had almost beaten you this morning! You have to let me make breakfast one morning Kyrano. I can't have you waiting on me all the time." He took a seat at the small table towards the back of the room.

"I don't mind; I enjoy the process." He poured Jeff some coffee. Tin-tin came in and sat down opposite him. "Morning Mr. Tracy"

"Good morning Tin-tin."

Jeff passed her some toast which she took gratefully, before offering Kyrano then helping himself. "So Kyrano where will today's session be?"

"I was thinking on the beach, it will be quieter there this early and therefore you may find it easier to relax and open your mind, not as distracting as the jungle." Kyrano realised the environment yesterday may have been too stimulating for him.

"Sounds good, they say listening to the waves can be calming." Jeff added.

"Exactly."

"Is it far from here?"

"No not far, you will be able to manage I think, I wouldn't want to stress your injury by doing too much too soon. We are practically on the coast here."

Jeff couldn't help but notice that Tin-tin was unusually reserved this morning, she was playing with her food too. "Tin-tin I hope you don't mind me asking but you seem a little off-sorts today, is everything ok?"

Kyrano looked at his daughter in concern. "I'm ok Mr. Tracy, it's just one of my bursary applications came back as unsuccessful yesterday which means I have two chances left. Its just so stressful not knowing and a little disappointing."

"Gee, I'm sorry to hear that Tin-tin you must be really worried but I sure hope your successful with the others. Your father let me read your last bursary application and I have to say it really was impressive; I certainly would have selected you as a worthy candidate."

She smiled "Really?"

"Definitely! Your knowledge and determination shone through, it was clear and precise enough to hold my attention but without losing its passion. It was very well written. I have every confidence in what you want to achieve and I know you will."

"Thank you, well that's given me a little boost!" Kyrano knew she was a modest young lady but he could tell she was ecstatic from the praise Mr. Tracy has given her, even if she didn't outwardly show it. Jeff had been able to instill some hope in her when Kyrano hadn't been able to reassure her last night. He was pleased.

"Hey! if your still stressed and need to pass the time then why don't you come with us. It sounds like you could benefit from some mindfulness too."

"Only if you sure I wouldn't want to distract you."

"Trust me there's only going to be one of us that's a distraction and that's not you or your father." He winked at them both to which they laughed.

They finished breakfast before getting ready to head out. They each carried a simple straw mat to sit on and strolled through the village to the beach. It was a little disconcerting when Jeff ventured out the day before with Kyrano. Everyone was staring at him. Word had spread around about the injured stranger Kyrano had taken under his wing. The pilot from the plane, the American. Jeff had quickly recovered from the attention and raised a joyful hand in greeting for those who really stared. Most jolted off in surprise, embarrassed before moving off but the kids loved it and would shout and wave back enthusiastically. Tin-tin had taught him namaste was the word for hello but he hadn't quite got the pronunciation right yet much to her amusement. He kept trying anyway.

When they made it to the beach it was nothing short of stunning. The sun was still low in the blue morning sky framing the ocean. The beach was that gorgeous white sand colour, the sand so fine it felt like silk flowing over his feet. The jungle made an impressive backdrop to the beach the intense greens contrasting with the brightness of the sand, in front of them Jeff could see some fishing boats moored on the beach. Some were already out off the coast coming in from the early morning haul. It had been so rough the night before with some ferocious winds and torrential rain but you wouldn't know it looking at the conditions now.

Jeff spread the mat down when Kyrano indicated they would stop here. Tin-tin laid hers a short distance next to Jeff's whilst her father set up just in front of them. He assumed a cross legged position, arms balanced on his knees, hands pinched upwards. Tin-tin assumed a similar position, Jeff couldn't do that because of his leg and had brought an extra cushion to sit on as a result. Instead he sat with his legs in front of him, the cushion placed under the effected leg, the other leg he folded under him. Once settled Kyrano took them through some simple breathing exercises which (after Jeff squinted to his left to see Tin-tin was actually doing it), he begrudgingly joined in. It wasn't that he was skeptical…...ok maybe he was but his mind was pretty blank with the memory loss thing to be fair. He struggled to see how this was going to assist the anxieties he had been experiencing but they worried him enough to give it a try. If Kyrano said it might help then he was willing to trust his judgement even if he wasn't fully invested in the technique. Realising he had already failed going off on a tangent, he quickly tried to empty his mind again. Kyrano was already on hearing section, he had missed the sight sense exercise already…. Whoops! He took a couple of breaths and closed his eyes focusing on the hearing. First of all, he heard the birds again but today they were quite clearly overhead, the call was different belonging to a costal species of some kind. Then he heard the crashing of the waves, he focused on that and realised there was a distinct timing between when the first wave hitting the shore and then the next one. Then he heard shouting. Panicked shouting of several raised voices but naturally he couldn't understand the language. He couldn't help it; he had to look.

To the left of Kyrano he could see it was some of the local fisherman shouting and pointing out to sea. He stood up to get a better look and was shocked at the sight of a freighter clearly in distress. Huge clouds of deep black smoke were billowing out of the colossal ship and it was listing heavily to the right. Tin-tin and Kyrano had both sighted it too, mindfulness long forgotten. Tin-tin gasped in horror as it started to list even more dangerously, they could hear a klaxon alarm carried over on the breeze. They could see that they were trying to lower the emergency boats trying to get as many of the crew in as they could.

"How far is the nearest town Kyrano we have to call for help!" Jeff cried.

"We are over one hundred miles away Mr. Tracy it's very remote here, there would simply not be enough time to get help. There are no coastguards on this remote coast usually other ships in the area will come to their aid on a mayday."

"We can't just stand here! those people will die; we have to try something. Anything!" Jeff looked distraught. He couldn't witness these people die not if there was something they could do.

"What about these boats Kyrano would the villagers assist?" Some of them looked poised to do so.

"Probably"

"Can we ask to borrow a boat?"

"We have one" Tin-tin said and pointed to one of the ones on the beach.

"Ok let's round up as many people as we can and get out there!" Jeff started off towards the boat Tin-tin indicated was theirs. His leg was stiff but he was still on pain relief and found it bearable as he hopped over as fast as he could.

Kyrano was calling for assistance as was Tin-tin soon they had amassed a team of ten boats which were being deployed in quick succession. Kyrano and Tin-tin lifted the boat to the water, Jeff wanted to help but he couldn't put that kind of pressure on his leg yet. Kyrano urged him to step into it whilst they pushed it deeper into the water. It was awkward but Jeff managed to get in with a mild hiss of pain as the waves caused him to lose his balance momentarily but he recovered well as he quickly slid onto the bench. Kyrano piloted the small outboard whilst Jeff sat at the prow with Tin-tin in the middle. They sailed over the waves, the spray catching Jeff in the face at points, his hair whipping out behind him. As they got nearer, they realised how bad it was. The ship was now tipping up at an almost vertical degree, some of the crew skidded and slipped down the deck screaming before being tossed into the sea amongst the heavy shipping containers. Jeff felt awful there would be more than casualties here he could tell some had sadly perished already.

Kyrano cut the motor as they got as close as they dared, the water was so choppy from the commotion of the sinking ship and containers that it was becoming treacherous for their little boats. There was screaming and yelling as the last life boat that had been swinging from the ship failed to release. The ship went topside with an almighty groan of screeching metal that resounded all around them, the crew spilled out like sardines from a can as they were pitched into the turbulent sea yelling. There voices were strangled past the point of fear.

Jeff saw several heads bobbing towards them desperately trying to keep their heads above the water. Some were swimming supporting others whilst some were holding onto jagged pieces of debris. Jeff waved and called to the nearest group of men and one woman. "Over here!"

Kyrano started the motor again and drew near them. Together with the help of the survivors pushing each other up into the boat and Tin-tin and Jeff dragging them on board they managed to rescue six people in all. They were shivering from the frigid waters. One of them had a deep laceration to the head which Jeff instantly ripped a strip of cloth off his shirt and secured it around the woman's head. It was bleeding profusely running right into her left eye. She thanked him gratefully and hoped he could understand. He nodded and smiled.

Tin-tin noticed other boats had also hauled several people into them. They hovered for several minutes seeing if they could see anyone else. The ship finally started to slip further into the abyss only the bow was visible above the water line now. The crew looked on distraught some of them openly wept on each other's shoulders. The loss they were experiencing was incomprehensible.

Just when they were sure there were no more survivors a ship was sighted making a swift approach to the area. Jeff pointed it out suggesting they should wait. As it got closer, he could see what it was. HMS Elizabeth was on the scene. "Kyrano! It's the British Navy! we should try and get the crew to them, they will have the resources to treat and get them to safety."

They were the closest to the ship and tried to hail it over as close as they could. The big boat was causing mini tidal waves, they would struggle to approach it so heavily laden, Tin-tin was already clinging on riding the waves at this distance as were the others. Jeff shouted and waved his arms. He could hear a megaphone "Standby, we are going to deploy our smaller vessel and come to you directly."

Sure, enough Jeff could see a smaller but robust vessel being lowered. She would be large enough to take at least thirty crew members at once. They waited patiently until the boat pulled up alongside them.

"Hello we're with the HMS Elizabeth, we picked up the mayday. We diverted and got here as soon as we could. What happened here? We heard there was an explosion in the engine room." The man conducted a quick mental assessment of the people in the boat.

One of the crew tried to speak but it appeared that they were Russian. Jeff couldn't understand and neither could the petty officer. Jeff spoke up. "We're not sure what happened but we sighted the ship off the coast in distress, it was smoking heavily and listing to the right already losing some of its cargo. We launched the boats from the village but by the time we reached the ship it was well on its way down and people were jumping as some of the lifeboats had already been lost. Some were still trapped on deck with the loosening cargo. We picked up six crew members but there are more dotted around in the boats you see here."

"Ok, lets get these guys on board then". He motioned for the other personnel to come forward to start hoisting up the casualties on to their ship. The petty officer advised they could go back to shore they would pick up any survivors and get them evaced or transported to the nearest port dependent on their injuries.

Some of the crew members waved at them in thanks before the boat pulled off to the next group in need. Kyrano turned the boat around, Tin-tin hastily wiped the tear that had spilled out the corner of her eye. She had never witnessed so much loss and destruction first hand, the remnants of the ship and the bodies in the distance were a sight that would haunt her for many days to come. She was so overcome she hadn't noticed that Jeff had slumped forwards slightly on his bench. "Mr. Tracy? Are you alright?" She put a hand on his shoulder and leaned forward. He had his head in his hands moaning. "Father, get us back to the shore as soon as you can there's something wrong with Mr. Tracy!"

Jeff had his head between his hands, there was an intense pressure building in his head all of a sudden and he couldn't explain why. His ears began to ring and the sounds around him became muffled. He could hear Tin-tin calling him in the distance but it seemed so far away. He gazed up at her face unable to move as she shifted to cradle his head in her lap. His eyes had rolled back into his head but he remained limp, memories flashing in his head. The disaster with the ship had triggered something long repressed. He caught glimpses of snowy peaks, a mountain lodge and of five young men snowboarding and skiing nearby. They were so familiar why? Then his vision was filled with strawberry blonde hair and bright green eyes, so full of love and joy. The laugher lines around her eyes crinkled as she smiled. He could smell the faint hues of jasmine, she smelt like home. He recognised her, his wife! It was Lucile! He watched from above through the panoramic glass walls as she walked through the cabin to check on something in the oven. She looked over her shoulder and smiled at an older man sat on a breakfast bar stool talking to her. His father! Jeff could see them through the window of the cabin as he was coming in to land on the helipad just outside the cabin. He smiled at the sight of both of them, he couldn't wait for them all to be together, they had been waiting for this moment for months. It was their thirtieth wedding anniversary and they were going to celebrate with the whole family. All the boys were back and his parents had come too. He was so excited, he hadn't seen Lucy for the last two days, he had missed her so much! As he descended Jeff glanced over from his cockpit position and could see his boys on the slope all racing each other. He knew they were competitive but they were going so fast he was worried they were going to get hurt. That was the moment he realised something was terribly wrong. Behind his boy's trails there was a huge billowing white cloud, he could hear the terrible rumble over the chopper now. The thundering intensified along with the shaking of the ground as an avalanche descended after the boys churning up and swallowing trees in its path like they were matchsticks. Jeff looked on in horror as he realised the cabin was moments away from being engulfed in the white inferno. He was close enough to landing to see his wife pause at the sound, tray in hand. She saw his helicopter out the front window and looked concerned. His Dad was still facing away from him. Jeff cried out helplessly as he had to pull back up to miss the torrent of snow, ice and rubble that crashed over the top of the cabin. He barely lifted up in time but previous flight training served him well. On his right he watched in terror as his father and wife were buried alive and as he looked to the left below the cabin, he was just in time to see at least three of his son's get taken out by the slide. One crashed into a tree and the other slid to a halt just outside the danger zone and dropped to his knees, holding onto his sticks for support. Jeff yelled a cry of pure anguish, it didn't even sound human he still couldn't believe he had been capable of producing such a noise. He had witnessed it all trapped in the sky, unable to save any of them. It had played out so quickly he couldn't believe what he had just seen. He could barely see for the tears swamping his eyes. It was all too much.

He was dimly aware of someone stroking his hair, whilst he was being rocked. "Mr. Tracy, please talk to us! What happened?" the hard-wooden bench pressed into his back as he looked blankly upwards. Tears rolled silently down his face as he choked out "I remember; I remember everything."