Carlo’s journey to Bahamas is not that smooth. The cargo ship’s marshal wants some money for him to sneak into the ship. “It’s the money you want, then it’s the money you’ll get.” He said. The marshal gave him three months to prepare the money because the ship will leave America in three months time. He ended up becoming a grass cutter as what most Mexicans do. The numbness of his stomach is stingingly aching and he still occasionally coaches out blood. It is obvious to say that after two months of border crossing, he managed to get on the promised land of milk and honey, only to end up becoming a grass cutter.
Surviving is an understatement. His will to live is the only thing that keeps him striving. Living by the day even if tomorrow is questionable is his only option. Every single penny must be saved, every chunk of food must be eaten (especially the neck, intestine, and head of a chicken, it is nutritious anyways), and every single fever must be ignored.
One time he was cutting grass and a huge chunk of wood was caught on the razor and got stuck. He pulled the chip in the razor and stupidly forgetting to off the switch, the razor started to spin. He shouted the most ungodly words man can think of, often combining two contradicting words like "holy hell" or "heavenly shit". Heavenly shit is better than holy for him because you can really stress out the pain, the curse, and the anger all at the same time. As a gift from all his curses, his pointing and middle fingernail was cut in half. He simply bandaged his aching hand and maybe because of the infection, he got a very high fever.
That night he was suffering from serious chills and palpitations. His eyes were going up, so very pale and red at the same time; hair is standing all over his body, like a possessed demon. Back then on this terrible night, he began to dream things he wished he would’ve never done. Having that kind of moment in your life, where you feel you are in the verge of death without having anyone around you makes you feel hopeless. Indeed, man's greatest weakness is falling apart using only his mind. Having no hope, no forward movement is the ultimate causality of every torment and grief. "God help me, I need to work tomorrow," he mumbled with desperation. He became healthy the very next day, and forgot how pray again the next day after that.
Carlo has prepared the money just in time. The marshal has allowed him to enter the ship for $500; he agreed that his food will be any leftover and he’ll sleep on the stock room. His sea voyage was far smoother than his border crossing-tunnel hauling-grass cutting-survival expedition. He simply sits, looking at the vast sea. He has longed for this peacefulness for a long time, simply whistling till the sun sets. He rests his back on a post. He’s drowsy and is beginning to fall asleep when he heard someone snoring. Carlo turned his head around and he saw a thin man wearing a very loose shirt. On his left hand he’s carrying a notebook, and on his right, a pen. Carlo looked down on the man’s notebook and saw that it’s blank. The man’s head suddenly leaned down then he jerks. He turned around and saw Carlo staring at him.
“Do you need something?” the writer asks him; his head tilted to Carlo’s.
“Nothing. I am just looking at your pen, it is peculiar.” Carlo felt awkward. His eyes by some means are gazing at him yet he can’t find it threatening. He is playing his very long moustache using the non-writing tip of his pen.
“Ah this? It is a pump pen.” the writer handed it to Carlo. Carlo examined it thoroughly. The pen has a long tube at the end, similar to a dextrose tube which has two ends: one for putting the ink and the other is the pump. The writing end has a small bearing, similar to a sprinkler.
“You need to pump it to control the ink. It really depends on you if you want a fine line or thick line. You can also adjust the end to make it finer or if you want the ink to spray out.” He said.
“So this can be also used in coloring right? Are you an artist or a writer?” Carlo asked.
“Both I guess. When I was a child, I really love to draw pictures, but then something is missing.”
