CHAPTER 11

My heart was pounding so hard I could feel it in my ears. The boat that was towing us was noticeably larger than our own; it seemed to be a motorized fishing boat; it was adorned with fish nets hanging from the white rim of its wooden hull. Nothing could be seen further than its navigation cabin, so I deduced that the people towering our boat were at the front.

My mind was plagued with flashbacks of the similar recent encounter which hurried me to shake Tavin awake. Waking him up was like trying to rouse a hibernating bear, I almost felt sorry when he finally woke up, appearing disoriented as he scanned his surroundings through sleepy, half-opened eyes.

“Tavin,” I whispered urgently, “Tavin, we have company.”

Tavin sat up as if lightning had just struck him. “Take the knife and stay behind me,” he instructed, getting into a crouching position. “What about you?” I asked him, taking the knife and reciprocating his position. Tavin stilled, thinking for a minute before saying, “Never mind, give me the knife, I’ll get into that boat and see what’s up. You, keep both oars at your side.”

“Oars!?” I screeched lowly, bewildered but knowing exactly why he said so.

“Sorry, not that I’m saying you are good with oars but that’s exactly what I’m saying. If something happens, I need you to get the hell away from here.”

“Are you freaking crazy, Tavin! Don’t go being heroic and shit on me! We promised that we were a team! I don’t want to be alone! I will come with you!” I demanded, holding the knife away from Tavin, feeling betrayed that this guy’s first thought was he was going ahead alone just after we had promised to be there for each other.

“Is everything all right?”

We froze before whipping our heads in the direction of the voice. A frigid chill sparked up my spine as my heart quickened its pace, hammering against my ribcage as if eager to break free.

There was a man on the neighboring vessel peering down at us, hands planted firmly on hips, watching us. He wore waterproof gear, complete with a jacket and pants, sturdy rubber boots and a red cap from which I could see trusses of his curly, silver hair peeking through. His rugged face bore the marks of weathered skin, while a thick beard concealed much of his tanned face. It was as if I was being under the eye of a Greg 2.0. The mere sight of him sent me scurrying behind Tavin's broad frame, my body trembling and shaking with a fearful chill that made my skin crawl.

“Oh, I’m sorry if I scared you, Miss. But, am I right to guess that you are survivors of ‘The Meredith’?” the man asked while we guardedly examined him. Tavin decided to reply briefly, “Yes, we are from that ship.”

"How traumatic it must have been for the both of you! I am relieved that the Gods decided to spare your life!" the stranger exclaimed, his voice tinged with disbelief. "It has been precisely two weeks since the ship explosion, and most of us thought that it was impossible for any to survive.”

Tavin spared me a glance before turning his attention to the stranger. "And who might you be?" he inquired with a stern tone.

“Excuse my lack of manners, I’m Lysander Benjamin, you can call me Lysander,” he states with a smile that does nothing to ease my nerves. George also had smiled similarly before pirating into our boat.

“Did you board our boat while we were asleep and tie it to yours?” Tavin demanded warily and Lysander raised his eyebrows, looking like he was not expecting us to be so defensive.

“Uhm…Sir, Madam, looks like I had given a wrong first impression somehow?” he wondered in confusion. “I may have overstepped my boundaries by stepping into your safe space, but I can cross my heart and assure you that I did nothing except tie our rope into your bollard. Being in the sea for so long without solid ground must have done a number on your poor souls.

“We will be boarding land in approximately two hours,” he continued and smiled when Tavin and I widened our eyes in shock. “If we hadn’t found your boat, who knows where you would’ve strayed away to?”

“Are we- Are we truly approaching land?" I asked for the first time since meeting Lysander, my heart close to bursting with hopefulness.

“Yes, I reckon you are eager and brimming with hope at the sound of that, right? I can relate to that, being a fisherman and all,” he gave a hearty laugh and gestured to his boat. “Why don’t you hop on board, instead? You look like you hadn’t anything to eat for days!”

Tavin turned back and looked at me, a silent question in his eyes. Truth be told, I was still hesitant. What would happen when we board their ship and have no way of getting back into our boat in the face of danger? What if they trap us? What if they were worse than Greg and George?

“Papa! Are they awake?”

Tavin and I shifted our gaze to the other boat, where a little girl skipped to a stop beside Lysander, observing us with large, innocent brown eyes. We watched the girl with unblinking eyes and mouths slightly agape, struggling to comprehend the reality that a young child was traveling with this man.

“What is a little kid doing with you?” Tavin asked breathlessly and the man looked down at the girl in disapproval.

“She is Charlotte, my daughter, who sneaked into this boat without anybody knowing.” The little girl innocently beamed at her father who shared the same eyes as hers. “Wait till you get home, buddy. Your mother will whip your rear end to no avail and then it’ll be me.”

“But Papa! You never take me to sea with you!” Charlotte whined, crossing her arms over her chest to show her anger, but instead, it made the brown curly-haired girl look exceptionally adorable.

“That is because it is not safe!” Lysander said back, making the little girl pout.

Meanwhile, I inclined my head closer to Tavin’s. “Tavin, should we-”

“I don’t know, Candace. But one thing I'm certain about is that they can't be as perilous as… our previous encounter. There is a little girl there after all. With a young girl on board, I doubt this man would dare to do anything in her presence.” Tavin relayed lowly to me, our eyes remained fixed on the father and daughter, who were engaged in a heated exchange.

“I’ll deal with you when we get home, young lady. Just you wait. These young lads need attention now,” Lysander said before replacing his scowl with an inviting smile when he catches our intending gaze. “Sorry for that. Would like to board and have some homemade bread and cheese? That’s all I’ve got for now, but I bet it’ll be a great step up from what you’ve been having,” he said, gesturing at our supplements and snacks.

“Yes, please! Mama’s bread is the del…deliciousest!” Charlotte boasted while her Papa just shook his head at her. “Most delicious,” he corrected before looking at us. “You don’t have to be wary of us. It’s only us and another one of my neighbor’s sons who came fishing with us.”

Tavin and I exchanged contemplative glances, both lost in thought. Finally, Tavin broke the silence, asking me, "What do you think? Do you want to...?"

The possibility of being closer to civilization, solid ground, sane people, and food was too tempting to ignore. If boarding Lysander's boat could grant us easy access to these things, the answer was clear. "We'll take the risk, but we're bringing everything we have on our boat with us," I replied firmly, as Tavin already began gathering our survival kits and supplies.

Land. After being surrounded by the endless waves of the Atlantic Ocean, we were going to see land.

We bundled up our possessions into a blanket tightly. Soon enough, we were each clutching a blue bundle of our belongings securely, standing unsurely at the edge of our boat. Tavin was the first to make the leap, hoisting his right leg up high onto the larger boat with our belongings clutched tightly against his chest. When Tavin attempted to board Lysander's boat, the man offered to hold his bundle for him. But Tavin politely declined, tightening the hold on it cautiously. The action doesn’t go unnoticed by Lysander, but the man silently stepped away, but close enough to help if it was needed.

However, as Tavin attempted to board the larger boat, he realized it was more difficult than he anticipated. He swiftly handed me the bundle and jumped back onto the fishing boat with grace. With his assistance, I too leaped onto the larger boat, after carefully handing him the bundle of our belongings.

I have to admit, the feeling of getting into an unfamiliar but more sturdy boat than what we had lived in- the congested, enclosed space of our lifeboat- was daunting, yet more liberating. The sudden change of atmosphere despite still being the sea and the unfamiliarity of the boat's layout made me feel uneasy and off-balance. But we had room to move around and breathe without the constant hassle of tipping over or tumbling. We had always lain down or sat in our boat, never standing on our feet for too long due to imbalance. After spending so many days at sea, it felt almost unreal to be on a different vessel with different people, heading toward an unknown destination.

As I looked at the warm smile on Lysander’s face and the giddy beam on his daughter’s face, I could only hope we made the right decision this time.