CHAPTER 13

As if viewed through a murky lens, the world suddenly distorted. My chest tightened and my palms started to sweat. My muscles tensed up, causing me to feel stiff and on edge. Breathing rapidly, I staggered up to Lysander and held him by the shoulders, ignoring the stench of fish emitting from everywhere. “What did you just say?” I distraughtly asked with bated breath.

Lysander looked down apologetically and nodded, “You heard it right. This…this is the Efate Island.”

The Efate Island; the island that was currently at war with Malden Island, because they refused to unite under the rule of Efate. Both islands were neighbors to each other in the Atlantic Ocean, and the Efate Empire wanted to bring the Malden Realm under his rule. Malden Island declined the invitation, resulting in Efate Island to force Malden into submission by declaring war against them.

Should I rejoice that I was in the more powerful and secure country from the two? If I had to choose between being stranded in the sea and being in a country at war; which one was safer?

But it was too late to think of the inevitable and unchangeable now.

Tavin seemed to be in a paralyzed state of shock as he stared at Lysander with disbelieving eyes and a gaping mouth. Did we fall from the cooking pot to the fire, I didn’t know.

“I should have mentioned it to you, I’m sorry. My mind was not in the right state since I had my daughter sneaking up on me and helping you two adjust,” Lysander remorsefully said. “We all go on with our days as before, waiting until the day death looks down upon us. But we cannot just up everything and stay holed up in our houses. Us spending the day as we usually did before the attacks is how we get on with life normally. Nothing’s changed.”

Tavin fell onto the sand as if all energy drained him and buried his face behind his palms. Before I knew it, his body was shaking and he was taking in deep breaths as if he was hyperventilating. I rushed towards him with Lysander and Reggie following in from behind me and I wound my arm around his hunched frame. “Tavin? Tavin! What is happening? Tavin, can you hear me? I’m here,” I frantically said, trying to calm him down. By now, we had drawn quite a crowd as they looked down at Tavin with wide inquisitive expressions.

The worst happened when Tavin passed out right into my arms.

“Tavin!”

“Reggie! Hoist him up!” Lysander immediately instructed and Reggie took him by the arms and hoisted him onto his back. Lysander beckoned me, “Come with me, Miss Candace, there is no need to panic. We will bring your lover to my house where my wife could attend to him. Charlotte, accompany her.”

The girl determinedly nodded and held onto the edge of my dress, “Don’t worry! We can treat him!” With a shaky nod, I followed the group, leaving the on-looking glances behind me.

Oh Tavin, please be okay.

° ° °

After running through the sandy beach for about two minutes, we came to a stop between two tall coconut trees and a wooden fence that has seen better days. The waves crashed against my feet making me grimace as my worn-out shoes became mushier and squishy. I looked around, confused since I did not see a clinic or a hospital. Reggie, with Tavin on his back, followed Lysander inside…a hut?

The small hut had clay-coated walls, bordered by weathered bamboo sticks, and a roof that was thatched by overlapping layers of palm fronds and straw. My eyes continued to survey its condition while Charlotte led me inside. Once inside, I was taken aback by what I saw. To my right, I could make out a soot-covered wood-burning stove, accompanied by three pots made of clay, resting on the ground beside it. There were two wooden chairs, clearly handmade, their backrests decaying around the edges. If this was the kitchen, it was even smaller than my personal studio, where I used to create my paintings.

Charlotte directed me towards the left side where I noticed that low walls, constructed using bamboo and clay, separated the kitchen area from two other rooms. The entrances to these rooms were covered with plain, discolored curtains, instead of a door.

Reggie took Tavin to the furthest room and laid him on a huge mat while kneeling beside him wordlessly. “Where-where are we?” I managed to ask and Charlotte sat down beside me, “This is my home!”

Lysander must’ve seen the shocked expression on my face because he said, “We welcome you to our humble abode despite the circumstances. I’m sure that this may not have been what you expected, but I hope you will be patient enough until we find a place with better living conditions?”

“Ah, n-no…that’s not necessary! Thank you so much. We couldn’t ask you for more, what you’ve done for us is more than enough. But, what about Tavin?”

Before Lysander could reply, I heard a voice booming through the house and in came a frenzied woman with black hair tied up to a knot, her figure so small and short, and her hands wrinkled as she took Lysander by the shoulders, breaking into sobs. “L-Lysander! Our child! Our d-daughter! She-SHE IS MISSING! For two days! Lysander, FOR TWO DAYS! What will I do without my precious daughter?! Please, bring our daughter back!”

The woman hadn’t noticed her guests yet, instead her crazed eyes begging her husband who caught her by the arms to stable her, “Martha! Calm down! Charlotte is-”

“CHARLOTTE! My poor, innocent girl! SHE MUST BE TAKEN! GOD SAVE HER! She must be so scared! I’ve been searching for her every day! Every hour without eating or drinking! The villagers are looking for her, I came here as soon as I got the news that you sailed back safely! My husband, why don’t you look worried?! We need to search for OUR daughter! She is MISSING!”

Then with a heart-wrenching cry that could trigger a thousand tsunamis, she collapsed onto her knees, weeping her heart out, even causing tears to well up in my own eyes, even though I could sense Charlotte slowly moving forward from behind me.

“M-Mama?” came the feeble reply from the girl, and Martha, tears still gushing down her cheeks like a waterfall, looked at her daughter, “Huh?”

For a moment, the mother stared at her daughter before sucking in a harsh breath and scrambling up from her husband’s arms to gather Charlotte into a bone-crushing hug. “My daughter! Charlotte! My precious, you-you are here!” Martha pulls back and grabs her daughter’s shoulders, looking at her as if to make sure that she was really in front of her.

“M-mama…” the girl sweated, peaking at her father who shook his head to himself, ignoring the fearful wide-eyed his daughter was giving him.

“Martha, the kid sneaked into the boat.”

A tense silence filled in the air. I inched closer to Tavin’s motionless body on the floor, cautiously looking between the daughter and the mother who was breathing deeply, her hands fisted by her side. I flinched when she suddenly stood up and left the room.

A few silent seconds went by when Lysander finally spoke up, “Well, that went better than I thought it would…”

But just as he said that, in came Martha, with a rough-hewn broom. “Charlotte dear, why don’t you come here for a second?” she called out in a sweet voice while Charlotte cowered away, fear etched in her doe eyes. One step back and that snapped the final thread of the mother. Martha bellowed, broom in the air, “COME HERE, YOU DISGRACEFUL CHILD! I OUGHT TO BEAT EVERY INCH OF YOU UNTIL YOU HAVE NO TEARS LEFT TO CRY!”

Charlotte screeched and fled for her life with her mother chasing her like a predator would chase after a prey. It baffled me that they were doing this despite being in a crowded room with four other people, but Martha chased Charlotte right out of the door, the girl’s screams filling the house, leaving a collection of noise from clashing pots and pans in their wake.

Reggie stood up with his usual blank face and gestured outside, “ ‘m leaving.”

“Ah, Reggie, are you going to your base in the other town now? Thank you for the help, don’t mind the girls, just make sure you don’t get hit on the way!” Lysander warned him with a chuckle, as if his wife wasn’t abusing their child right next door, and Reggie simply nodded before turning to head out.

“Uhm, Reggie! Thank you for everything! For carrying him in and all that!” I awkwardly thanked the man and he blinked at me before nodding again and parting away, “Goodbye.”

“Man of a few words, I see,” I expressed and Lysander laughed in agreement, wetting a cloth and placing it on Tavin’s forehead, ignoring the cries of Charlotte in the background. “Uhm, should we…?” I uneasily looked out the room, worried for Charlotte, but her father only sighed, “The little devil had it coming. Martha looked like she had aged thousand years ahead! Quite a scare she had given my poor wife!”

At the horrific expression on my face, he flashed me a reassuring smile and said, "Don't worry, Miss. This isn't the first time Charlotte has pushed Martha to her limit. I'll let Martha vent her frustrations before intervening."

What?! Why was he encouraging child ab-

“-Weehee!” I heard Charlotte squeal as she burst back into the room. To my great surprise, she had a mischievous smile on her face as she yelped and sought refuge behind me. Shortly after, Martha appeared, gasping for breath and the broom in her hand still in the air. Stray straws fell from the broom in pairs as she stormed into the room.

I stiffened when she drew closer with crazed eyes, wild, frazzled hair that looked like it hasn’t seen a comb in weeks, and gritted teeth that looked like they could take on a lion. Charlotte giggled from behind me, “Mama can’t catch me!”

“Can’t catch you?’ ” Martha repeated, laughing out loud in madness as Lysander calmly tended to Tavin while I watched helplessly, trapped between the two females. “You WILL SEE what will happen WHEN I catch you, YOU UNGRATEFUL CHILD! What a disobedient child! What a troublemaker! What a disgrace! Always causing trouble to your poor parents! Do you see my graying hair? You take days out of my life!”

I could feel Charlotte clutching the fabric of my dress from behind and I shakily brought my hands up in a futile attempt to calm her down, “E-Excuse me, ma’am, I would like i-if you could put down your b-broom now…please?” Martha cut her eyes onto me, her eyes narrowing as if she saw me for the first time here-which was true- and thankfully her broom lowered, although not fully. “Who are you?” she inquired dubiously before her eyes met the motionless body of Tavin on the floor. “Goodness, gracious! And who is that!”

Martha dropped her broom and scrambled down next to Tavin, feeling his forehead and pulse, and fuzzing over him by taking the wet cloth from her husband and thumping it all over his face. “What happened to him, Lysander? Who is this handsome man? Who is this beautiful lady?”

“I will ignore the fact that you never rushed to treat me like that ever before,” Lysander mumbled before introducing us and relating our story to her when she paused to look at us with horror-filled wide eyes. During that Charlotte had sneaked away from the room, seeing how occupied her mother was while listening to our story with gasps, tears and sympathy.

“Oh, you poor souls! To have survived like that! That must’ve been traumatizing indeed!” she wailed in empathy. “Your lover just needs some rest; he is tired and exhausted. The shock of it all must’ve worn him off.”

“Uhm-he-he is not my l-l-“

“-You must be exhausted too, Miss. I’ll bring you a mat so you can sleep beside him. Some fresh water and fruit will do you good! Our facilities may not meet the standards from where you must’ve come from, but you can rest assured that you will be safe here," Martha said cheerfully, with Lysander nodding in agreement by her side. "Yes, my wife is right. It's already past noon, and we'll wake you up for lunch. For now, please get some rest," he added.

“Please, just call us by our names,” I cracked an awkward smile.

I felt the throbbing soreness from my body and a yawn left my lips just at the mention of sleep. I hadn’t realized how tired my body was, because I was too overwhelmed by reaching land and Tavin’s condition had me forgetting where I momentarily was. Martha came in with a mat, pillows and two blankets that had threads poking out.

It was evident to me that they were not living in ideal conditions. Based on what I had seen earlier, I could tell that we were in some sort of fishing village. Nevertheless, I was immensely relieved, SO RELIEVED, that life was looking starting to look hopeful just because we were not at sea anymore. After spending two weeks on a boat, I wouldn't mind sleeping on a mat which was definitely better than sleeping on a boat. In fact, I would be content with anything as long as I didn't have to go back to the boat.

Lysander placed a pillow under Tavin’s head and covered his body with a blanket. Martha helped me lay a mat down and handed me a glass of water. We hadn’t even asked for accommodation, but here they were, generously giving us a place to stay, despite the lack of resources they had and me not having asked for it. I felt myself tearing up because I was so thankful, so happy and comforted that we were not helpless and alone anymore. I know that there must be something that could be done to go home despite the fact we were in a war zone.

Oh my God, we were in the midst of war, I am reminded harshly.

The couple didn’t see my internal struggle or panic, instead smiling reassuringly at me. I struggled to get my words out, “I-I am so thankful, th-thank you very much for helping us. Thank you so much.” My voice reduced into whispers as I finally let my tears fall. My heart overwhelmingly beat against my chest letting out all the pent-up emotions I had during the past week at sea because I feared what might happen to us.

“Oh, come here,” Martha cooed and brought me to her arms, stroking my hair as she rocked my sobbing body soothingly. I burst into more tears as I was reminded of how my mother used to do the same to me whenever I was in distress. I reveled in the motherly touch of Martha until I calmed down. Lysander watched us with a sad smile and left the room while Martha wiped away my tears and the hair strands away from my face.

“Sleep well, dear,” she kindly said and I wobblily smiled back, unable to say anything more. I shakily laid my head on the soft pillow. Some loose ends of the mat poked my back, making me want to itch it away. I tucked myself under my blanket and exhaled deeply, the events that led up to now catching on to my mind.

The Efate Island, huh? I placed my arm over my eyes.

Just weeks back, Larisa and I were discussing the war between Efate Island and Malden Island while we were ravishing our last classy feast of a dinner. Little did I know that I would soon find myself in the said similar situation. And I had talked so carelessly about it too. What if we were bombed while we were asleep? There must be a constant fear residing in everyone’s mind. Well, at least I was not on Malden Islands, as it endured the heaviest toll and suffered the most destruction during the war than Efate.

What am I supposed to do from now onwards? I was so confused and my energy was drained. We must find a way to get out of here as soon as possible. And Larisa…I wonder what happened to her…I hope you are still alive, Larisa. As soon as I wake up, I must get ready to plan our next step and connect with Larissa through my phone. I still hadn't caught any bars yet.

I shifted to my side and came face to face with Tavin’s sleeping face. I watched his face for a moment before I blinked myself back to reality, realizing that I might be looking like a creep. “I hope you are okay, Tavin,” I whispered into the silence. Before I realized it, my hand was moving toward his still face. My fingers hesitantly reached out my fingers to touch his ash-blond hair, which was tousled in various directions. Unable to resist, my fingers instinctively traced along the contours of his chiseled face, starting with his relaxed forehead, then glided over his perfectly shaped nose- did I mention that I have a thing for men with long eyelashes? -before pausing just inches away from his pale pink upper lip.

‘Pervert alert’, a voice daunted my mind.

What was I doing?

I yanked my hand away as if his skin was suddenly set on fire, my loud heartbeat the only sound filling my ears. I closed my eyes in shame. Oh Candace, yes; he is attractive, yes; he is handsome, but why did you go ahead and touch him like that? Do you not have any self-control?

When I slowly re-opened my eyes, Tavin was still soundly sleeping. I’ve never been this close to him before- even when I had, I hadn’t taken time to observe him; only from afar. Even though his face was unshaven and his eyebrows were less groomed after being on sea for two weeks, it did nothing to lessen his handsome features. They remained unaffected and undiminished.

“Thank you for being here with me,” I muttered to him to which he, of course, didn’t respond except for letting out a gentle snore. I smiled to myself and closed my eyes. For the first time in a while, I slept unbothered, reassured of our safety by the sound of Tavin's calm and steady breathing that filled the quiet atmosphere around me.