Mahingga

Chapter 11: The Boat

Ako was up bright and early. He took the first Leytrain of the morning down to the harbor. A salesman took him straight to their array of boats with a patient smile. The selection of boats wasn't quite as broad as he might have liked. There were perhaps a dozen fishing boats, all designed in a similar fashion.

It took a bit of perusing, but he settled on one that was newer, more polished, and had a trunk space or cabin that was large enough to lay down in. Kita better be okay with it, he thought as he transferred the funds. He jumped on board as soon as the deal was done and moved it out into the open water. Some of the rigging was different than his waterglider, but the boat had a steering wheel, making it easier to maneuver. All things considered, Kita was right: the boat would be much better for sailing long distances than his glider.

He arrived at their meeting place a little late. As he sailed up to the beach, he could see Kita sitting on the sand waiting for him.

"You're late, you know," she hollered out to him.

Ako didn't even say anything back. He pulled down the sail and jumped out of the boat while holding onto one of its ropes. His feet touched the sand in the waist-high water. The screen of his Palam blinked on as the connection with the ground resumed. Kita walked out into the water just enough to help Ako pull the boat onto the sand about halfway out of the water.

"Not bad," she said as she examined the boat. "You just up and bought this thing, huh?" She hopped inside to look around. She wore gray, tight-fitting shorts and a shirt, both made of slick material—perfect for swimming.

Ako shrugged. "Yeah, it wasn't too bad. Only cost a little more than my water glider actually."

Kita clucked and shook her head at that. She crawled into the cabin space and hummed approvingly. "Plenty of room here." There were two benches on either side of the boat for sitting, and the seats could be lifted up to expose more storage room. She checked those promptly and nodded her head. "Yeah, this should definitely work. You actually did a good job with your selection, Ako."

Did she just compliment me? He was positive he hadn't heard a compliment out of her before. "Alright, so what do we do now?" Ako stood with his bare feet buried in the sand, waiting for an answer with his arms folded.

"We stock it up," she said and jumped down from the boat. She picked up her things—including a fishing pole and a net—and put them inside the boat. "I know a few suppliers at the market that we can get most of the stuff from, but I'll send you into the city to buy some preserved foods. I've got a list of items. Is there a way for you to get me some cash? If we split up, we might be able to get it done this morning."

"Uh, yeah, I suppose I can do that," Ako said. She was already acting like she owned the operation. Was Ako some kind of sponsor?

"Alright, go ahead and push the boat out, Ako. We'll sail it back to the docks and then we can stock up from there."

Ako hesitated. Some of his friends would still be at the docks by the time they'd arrive there.

"What're you doin', Ako? Let's go."

He'd probably have to hide or something until his friends were gone. "Yeah, okay." With Kita's help, he pushed the boat off the beach, sliding it into the water. Once it was all in the water, Kita climbed inside to get the sail up while Ako kept pushing it out until the water was up to his chest, and then he climbed in as well.

They didn't talk much as the boat sailed on. They just kept checking the workings of the boat as if to avoid conversation, which Ako was okay with. Further out the bay, Ako could see some other kids sailing out on their water gliders, and for a moment, he wished he could be out there with them. He wished he could still dream about flying, and he wished Taiyo wasn't gone, but wanting to fly had brought this on them. His chest tightened with the pain of thinking about his brother.