The Passions of Santos

Chapter 5

Three days had passed since Santos had pretended to die in the arms of his son. You see, the night before Santos was "killed," he overheard Leonardo speaking about taking over the presidency, and he suspected Leonardo might try to kill him. And so, Santos did what any rational president would do: he wove himself a protective vest out of coconut fibers, pretended to die a terrible death, held his breath while he was "buried" at sea, and then swam as fast as he could away from Tigrititi Island. If it weren't for the terrible storm that followed, Santos' plan may have actually worked. But alas, it did not. Santos was forced to endure the towering waves and icy waters for three days straight. And he hit his head on so many rocks along the way that by the time he washed up on the shores of Estadodo Island, not far from North Ecuaduras, Santos had completely lost his memory.

Santos emerged from the ocean, dripping wet, and stared at the new island before him. He felt cold, fatigued, and hungry, but mostly, he felt confused. He quickly searched his clothing for any information and he soon found an ID in his wallet, which said: "El Presidente." Just then, a fisherman walked by and Santos quickly approached him.

"Excuse me, kind man," Santos said, as the man turned. "I beg of your help. Where am I? And why does the ID in my wallet say El Presidente?"

The fisherman looked him up and down, noting his sopping wet hair and the rank seaweed stench.

"I don't know," the fisherman said. "But you don't look like El Presidente. And also, he was just killed."

"Killed?" Santos said, even more confused.

The fisherman shrugged and said, "So I hear."

Santos nodded, and then he looked up, as if noticing the fisherman for the first time.

"Excuse me, kind man," Santos said-again. "I beg of your help. Where am I? And why does the ID in my wallet say El Presidente?"

The fisherman stared at Santos.

"I think you have amnesia." And with that, he walked off.

Santos felt distraught as the truth sank in. Of course he had amnesia. That explained everything.

For the next few hours, he walked aimlessly around the island, willing his memory to come back. What bothered Santos the most-more than the headaches, the dizziness, and the constant repeating conversations-was the pain he felt in his heart. As he looked up at the clouds, he had the deep sense that he was missing someone important in his life. But he could not figure out who, why, where or what... his brain was just a hazy mystery, and he ached to know the answers.

When the sun began to set that night, Santos stared at the great ocean before him. Just then, he saw someone approaching: a woman, bathed in golden light, staring at Santos. He wondered if they knew each other, or if she was just taken aback by his good looks. Santos approached the woman and explained that he could not introduce himself, because he did not know his name, due to his amnesia. The woman then nodded slowly, and continued staring. Finally, she asked if she could watch the sunset with him.

"Of course," Santos said. "After all, sunsets are no fun to watch alone."

The moment the words escaped his mouth, Santos felt that pain in his heart again; he suddenly had the distinct feeling that he loved somebody very deeply-somebody who was awfully far away. The woman could feel Santos pulling back, and so she kissed him, out of nowhere! As their lips touched, Santos started to remember flashes of his life: sea urchin... leopard apparel... waterfalls... Santos pulled back from the kiss as the memories flooded his mind. Although he did not know why, he knew this kiss felt wrong; it was as if his memories were holding him back, dragging him away from this woman beside him. But the woman kissed him once again, more strongly this time. And once again, Santos remembered: wicked pirates... sunset boat rides... evil relatives... Santos then pulled back again, and thanked her for the kisses, but explained he was searching for someone-someone else. The woman quickly suggested that perhaps she was the person he was searching for. Did he ever think of that? She then kissed him yet again, and this time, Santos kissed her back, figuring, he might as well make love to her and see if she was right; after all, anything was possible! But as they made love beneath the setting sun, Santos knew she was not the one. Afterwards, he thanked her for the lovemaking, but kindly explained that she was definitely not his one true love.