Chapter VI

Alarm Wave

Huge waves greeted Ronn's ship as they patrolled the northern region of the country. A massive wave hit them and capsized their ship, and they immediately rushed into the sea to prevent sinking. He discovered a piece of the container and created buoyancy, but he was sunk by one of his colleagues. He pursued the swim while also pulling the container, and they both pulled the pull. "Aahhh!" yelled a shark after biting his leg. He thought it is a shark, but it was not like what he was seen in his dreams. This time it is not a dream, a reality while they were patrolling at the sea.

Their almost century ship was sunk due to the massive storm that hit them when their captain avoided the big 1000-footer oil tanker toward their vicinity at the northern part of the archipelago. Most of the crews are adept at the waters, fighting for survival and finding buoyancy to survive. One of them grab Ronn’s feet and tried to steal his buoy, that is when he thinks he was bitten by a shark but it is not. Nevertheless, he was able to fight for his own survival he did not want to lose his last resort of giving an opportunity to the level in which he could give help to his parents.

There were so many floating buoys, but why was his comrade stealing what he already had? He drew a buoy close to him and attempted to push it away from his pompous but nervous friend. He thanked him after receiving the buoy with a smile. Their Captain took a head count and then told them to be calm and not leave the group. They floated in the sea for more than eight hours, knowing that rescue would be delayed due to inclement weather. They attached each end of their rope to their buoy so that they could not be separated. Their Captain was able to send a message to the Base about what had happened to them, but because it was still dark and the weather was horrible, he made sure that the rescuer would arrive the next day.

A helicopter and a new Navy frigate arrived to rescue them around dawn. They were all only slightly harmed, with scars and small wounds from the enormous waves that battered them as they floated in the sea. They were rescued one by one and transferred to the Navy's new frigate before the larger ship arrived to salvage the sunken ship's remaining equipment. When the weather and sea calmed down, their Captain instructed them to place a buoy or sign in the location to destroy the sunken ship's parts.

When they got to the shore, there were already ambulances, and the reporters were distracted by the news that a ship had sunk, and they were waiting for an update from the authorities. They are frequently sent to the Base since they have their own healthcare equipment and are individually examined. Those with wounds have been admitted to the hospital bunker; he has no scars or wounds, and he is also calm, especially when they are at sea because they are used to such experiences in their province, where they sometimes experience when fishing that the weather suddenly turns bad, causing their boat to sink and they must still be salvaged as well as their nets. Because they could afford to lose the net and just buy fishing equipment in their stead because one volume of them was nearly equal to two sacks of rice.

The Commodore also arrived and inquired about the status of his men; the Commodore cursed at him and inquired about his health. Because of their Commodore's special treatment of him, one of his coworkers was probably jealous of it in a subtle way.

They are news headlines from newspapers, radio, and television. So, his father quickly phoned their Commodore and informed him about his and the rest of the army's predicament. His father's concerns were allayed because he was most likely in good health. The Commodore also spoke with his father, greeting him and telling him not to worry about them, making him feel relieved that nothing horrible had happened in their area.

He'd heard about what had happened in their neighborhood, which had been struck by the prior powerful storm. He communicates with his acquaintances but has no information source. So, he decided to take a vacation to assess the damage caused by the hurricane. He went to the Commodore's office to request a two-week leave of absence because he had not yet used his allowed leave. The Commodore granted him permission and told him to return soon before the conclusion of his leave; he remained mute for a time but agreed with the Commodore's assertion.

After his leave of absence was accepted, he returned to his aunt’s house. His aunt hugged him, crying and thanking God that he had returned safely to her house.

"How are you feeling, Ronn?" his aunt inquired, concerned. "Aren't you hurt? Is there no physical wound on your body? ", His Aunt kept asking, intrigued by him.

"Don't worry, Aunt," Ronn said. "I'm in good shape, and I wasn't wounded even if I didn't have any scars," he added. "I'm used to such a situation at sea, and I can't count how many times we've had such an incident at sea," he reassured his aunt.

"Thank God!" exclaimed his aunt. "God heard my prayer," his aunt stated. "I didn't have any news there; the typhoon was strong, and many places were destroyed," his aunt explained. "All-powerful God!" Please do not allow our family members to have a horrible experience there."

"I'm leaving for the province tomorrow," he told his aunt. "I also said my goodbyes to the office," he explained.

"Virgilio, ah...eh...the Commodore?" his aunt questioned, surprised. "Did you bid him farewell?"

"Yes," Ronn said, smiling.

"Why are you smiling?" His Aunt said, a sneer on her face.

"Is there anything I don't know?" he smiled at his blushing aunt. But he already knows that Commodore is looking into his aunt, but he doesn't know how the two are getting along.

"Hmmm!, I'm not sure about you!" His Aunt said, smiling. "Get dressed, and we'll buy the items you'll bring to meet you," he said.

"Yes, Aunt, we will!" he said as he headed up to his room to dress.

He and his aunt went to the grocery shop after getting ready to get items for him to take home from the province. The majority of their purchases were canned goods, coffee, milk, sugar, and noodles. He always bought a battery-powered flashlight and a gas-powered light lamp. His Aunt was pleased as she observed him purchasing a special perfume.

"Will you meet your girlfriend, is that for her?" His Aunt inquired, smiling.

"Yes," he said shyly.

They prepared two boxes full of groceries and others and ate at a local diner before returning to his aunt's house. He packed his belongings to carry home when they returned to his aunt's place.

His aunt accompanied him to the provincial terminal the next day.

"Be careful on the trip, Ronn," his aunt said. "Say hello to everybody and let me know how they are right now so that my mindset remains tranquil," she continued.

"Yes, thank you very much, Aunt," he murmured as he left.

"You must be returning," she reminded him. "Your future will not be accomplished if you only fish and plant, especially since strong storms always pass through our area," his aunt continued, and the two have already said their goodbyes.

When he boarded the bus, he couldn't get the reminder and command from his aunt, as well as Commodore, out of his head. They recognize that he will never return to the military, but they insist that we don't know what the future holds unless we try. The bus he was traveling had stopped at the terminals twice, but tiredness had not visited him. Myriad enters his consciousness, things he must carefully assess. It took them over twelve hours to return to the province, so he would be at the port for their island at six o'clock in the morning, where the passenger boats would arrive.