Mahingga

Chapter 13: At Sea

By day three, Ako had noticed that the skin on his head and face was getting tender.

"It's because of the sun. You should be wearing that hat I got you," Kita said with a sly smile as she tapped her own hat.

Ako didn't say anything, but he grudgingly retrieved the hat and placed it on his head. "You know, this is just about the most boring thing I've ever done. Maybe I should have brought a book or something to study."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "You still think you have something to learn? I thought you knew it all, Ako."

Ako gave her a blank stare. "I've got to learn Pawidan still, don't I?" They'd been practicing intermittently since yesterday. With nothing else to focus on, Ako had been putting his sharp mind to the task of memorizing as much Pawidan as he could.

Just then, he noticed a sudden jerk on Kita's line. She noticed it too, and she popped to her feet in a flash. She grabbed the pole and started reeling in as fast as her arm could move.

"What is it?" Ako asked. He'd never seen somebody catch a fish before.

"A fish, probably," Kita said.

Ako sighed, but he was still interested to see what would happen. He hurried to the back of the boat, stood beside Kita, and stared down into the water, hoping to catch a glimpse. The line flicked from side to side, following the course of the fish as Kita reeled it closer. Finally, Ako could see the fish as a thin line of blue and silver that snaked up to the surface of the water. It jumped out and flailed in the air before splashing back down.

"Not a bad size," Kita said. She lifted the dangling, wriggling fish out of the water and brought it over the edge of the boat. "Hold this." She handed Ako the rod.

"You put a living fish in here?" Ako asked, his lip curling up.

"Yup. And next, I'll show you how to gut it," Kita said, flicking a knife out of her pocket. Ako's lip curled even further.

* * *

On day ten, Ako figured he'd give fishing a try himself, but his line had been dangling in the water for hours without so much as a nibble. There wasn't much else to do but check the compass, adjust their direction, or learn some Pawidan from Kita. In his impatience, he'd recast the line over and over. At the same time, Kita had already caught two fish.

"How did you learn to fish, anyway?" Ako asked.

"My father taught me," Kita said. Her eyes were closed as she leaned her head against the side of the cab. "I used to go out on the sea with him. He taught me how to navigate the boat and adjust the riggings and everything. It was fun."

"I figured that's why you've known all this other stuff too."

Kita barked a laugh. "Honestly, it's been a few years since I've sailed or anything, so I guess it's a testament to my intelligence that I still remember everything."

"Why has it been so long?"

"Well, he wanted me to go to school." She gave Ako a quick glance. "He'd actually wanted me to study engineering, but I think living organisms are a lot more interesting than inanimate objects."

"He was okay with you studying something else?"

"Of course. He encouraged me to pursue my own interest."

Ako grunted and turned his attention to the water. Another hour had passed in silence before they said anything. "This is just ridiculous," Ako muttered. "Whether or not I catch anything is all up to chance. Where's the skill in that?"

Kita shrugged, holding back a smile.

"What?" Ako asked, turning up his nose at her. "Is there some trick you deliberately didn't show me or something? I bet this is very funny for you."

Kita shook her head, her sandy hair flicking up from a breeze. "No trick. It's just amusing to see you so disgruntled."

Ako scowled and turned away. He reeled in his line and cast it on the opposite side of the boat so that Kita wouldn't see his expression. He brooded in his thoughts as he stared out at the glimmering water, the sun beating down. His present predicament was far from preferable. The days were incredibly boring, but he was driven by his determination. Furthermore, he disliked the idea that Kita, a paleface, knew more than him about something—even if it was just sailing.

It was then that Ako felt the tug on his line. At first, he cocked his head in confusion, but as the line went suddenly tight, he knew something was awry. "Hey!" he said excitedly. "I think I've got something."

Kita came to his side. "Well, reel it in, then. They don't just jump in the boat." She placed one hand on the rim of the boat, the other on her hip.

Ako started to reel in frantically as his line darted from side to side. He laughed, "I can feel it pulling. This thing must be huge!" It was drawing closer. Soon enough, he could see the silver blue color of its back shining beneath the surface. He reeled it close to the boat and Kita grabbed his line, lifting the fish over the side of the boat. It was no larger than the span of Ako's hand.

"Congratulations, we might be able to use it as bait," Kita said. She unhooked the fish and dropped it into a small bucket.

Ako frowned. "It was surprisingly strong," he said as he scratched the back of his head. The straw hat really made his head itch. It probably didn't help that he hadn't bathed in a week and a half. His skin felt raw and salty. He put away the fishing rod—he'd been fishing far too long, and most of the day was already behind them. He squinted at the distant horizon where the sun was getting low. "How long do you expect it will be before we see land?"

Kita shrugged. "No way of knowing, really. Could take months."

Ako felt an instant pang of anxiety.

"Or a couple weeks," Kita added.

"Hopefully the latter," Ako said. He took a deep breath, hoping his heartbeat would slow down.

Kita said nothing, but reeled in her own rod and set it inside the boat beside Ako's. She sat on the opposite side of the boat. They practiced Pawidan together as they both watched the sun dip lower, a scattering of fiery-colored clouds floating lazily after it.

When the sun was just about to dip below the water, Kita said, "Alright, I'll stay up first tonight. You can get tucked in."

"You would tuck me in?" Ako said as he pulled the blanket out from under a seat.

Kita rolled her eyes and turned back towards the setting sun.

Ako put an extra set of clothes down on top of the blanket. It didn't add much padding, but then again, adding just about anything seemed to make an improvement. He settled down on top of the makeshift bed and stared up at the sky, watching as stars winked into life between the clouds. The first thing he'd do when he got back from this adventure would be to sleep in his comfortable bed for a week straight to make up for his loss. But even on this, the tenth night, Ako was growing accustomed to the steady rhythm of the waves, and in a short moment, he was rocked gently to sleep.