The Historically Unhistorical Work of Historical Fiction

Chapter 12-September 25th, 1495

September 25th, 1495

It took an unbelievable 3 days to actually reach the landmass that had lifted everyone’s spirits with just one glance. Those three days were filled with a happy anxiety that came from everyone. When the island is close, I felt like I was going to hyperventilate. Land was so close and everybody was huddled around the bow-the front if the ship. Everyone was ready to jump off the tall ship just to feel land underneath their feet again.

After an hour of tense waiting, the ship finally touched the shore and all of the crew members shouted in joy. The rowboats were let down with surprising swiftness and before I knew it, I was on a boat with 7 other men, rowing for land. Once we touched the sandy shore of the island, everyone scrambled out of the boat, practically tripping over each other. When I got out, all I did was collapse on the sand, after getting sea legs; my father had always told me that walking would feel different. This solid surface felt so familiar, even though we were out in uncharted territory.

Once I could get back up without falling over, I saw a tree that had fruit on it. They looked like the fruit called ‘pears’ that my father had described to me one day when I was younger. I walked over to the tree that they were hanging off of and stood on my toes to reach one. I’d almost reached it when some rustling in the bushes startled me and I fell to the ground. Backing away from the green bushes, I saw a pair of eyes that were staring at me. I almost screamed but covered my mouth just in time.

Instead I just called out to the Captain, “Captain? I think you should take a look over here!”

Captain Nyle came over to where I was laying in the sand and almost jumped out of his skin when he saw the pair of eyes that were staring at him from the bushes. A tan-skinned person stuck his head out in the open and I was relieved that it was a person and not a monster. Captain Nyle subtly motioned for Peter to come over who wasn’t standing too far away. The tan person started to retreat at the sight of all three of us. To help up, I started backing away to give the person some more room. The captain followed suit and Peter kneeled down in front of the person, offering his hand.

Peter was pretty good with communication, and managed to get some kind of language going between them. After at least half an hour, Peter broke away with the person and came back to the captain to tell him what he’s learned from him. He told us that they were called Taino, and that there were more of them back at the place where they resided. The way he was speaking, I figured that there were more of the Tainos elsewhere.

All of a sudden, lots of rustling came from the bushes and 3 tan-skinned people emerged from the leafy shadows. The tallest of the 3 was wearing some type of crown, something that was skillfully made with feathers and beads. I figured that he must be the leader of the Taino. Captain Nyle whispered in Peter’s ear to try and establish some sort of trade and then pushed him forward. Peter looked nervous and his hands trembled a little, he must not have been too confident in his abilities. The conversation seemed to be going smoothly but all of a sudden, the leader shook his head and retreated into the shadows with his people. Their leave was sudden and I guessed that the negotiation didn’t go to well. Peter looked back at us and shrugged sheepishly.