Wind (a novel)

Dead End

11:45 am.

Now I was here, in the middle of the ocean, where I chose to be. And I looked forward to the next 72 hours of being alone and doing nothing.

It was almost lunchtime. The rain rested and a few seagulls flew majestically above my cottage as I quietly ate two bananas. Suddenly, the sound of roaring engines filled the air. Must be tourists headed for these ocean huts for the day. With the noise, the serenity of the morning was ruined. Normally, these kinds of things irritate me as I always wake up early and enjoyed the quietness of mornings. But I surprised myself by finding peace from the tourists' arrival.

I saw three bangkas approaching the edge of the sandbar. Each boat was loaded with about seven to ten passengers. Big Filipino families, I thought. Two of them moored on the sand while the last one headed straight toward where I was.

At that time, the water on the surface of the sandbar was only ankle deep, and most of the sand was showing. But the waves far out were severe, even offensive. I saw the tourists on the two boats hesitating to get off. Maybe they were waiting for conditions to improve as it was a rainy and awfully windy day. The last boat stopped directly in front of my cottage.

"Hello, ma'am," said who seemed was the boat's captain. "Do you have extra drinking water? We badly need some because no one remembered to bring one."

I was reminded of the three bottles inside the cupboard and hesitated. Those were my supplies so why would I give them away?

"We're willing to trade you some cold cuts and eggs, if it's okay?" The captain offered even before I was able to respond.

Now, they're talking. I could just boil some of the water in the containers for drinking. But what I needed was more food to last me till Monday. It should be a wise decision to say yes.

"Okay!" I shouted and got up to get the drinking water.

I gave one bottle and the boat captain handed me a half-emptied pack of spiced ham and an egg.

"I need more for that one bottle." I shook my head.

"Give us another and I'll give you five more eggs."

"What about I give three bottles and you give me a whole pack of ham and one dozen eggs?"

Scratching his chin, the boat captain looked at his assistant as if trying to get her approval. "Deal," he said.

The trade was made, and so my food supplies just went packed. I gathered the ham and eggs on the table inside the cottage and turned on the stove to start boiling some water for me to drink. Funny, but I felt a little thirsty as soon as I let go of the water bottles.

Half an hour passed and boat engines began to roar once again. The boat captain shouted, "Dolphins, dolphins!" and pointed toward the east. I was sure they would be headed out for the Tannon straits, the channel separating the islands of Negros and Cebu, to spot dolphins. I heard that as a side trip to the dolphin-watching tours in town, a stopover to this sandbar was included in the package. They must have gotten tired of waiting for that something that will make them disembark from their boats.

I, on the other hand, came here exactly to stay for the next three days. I love dolphins, I enjoy watching them, but I thought now was not the right time.

2:00 pm.

All the boats had left, and I haven't eaten lunch yet. I was frying one of the eggs when I felt a strong breeze enter the front door and the windows. The wind almost snuffed the stove's fire out as it evolved into furious gusts. I shut the front door while heavy rain followed the wind.

Outside, the wind created whitecaps cresting into huge swells. Those were conditions downright detrimental to swimming and snorkeling. I looked out the window and saw that the tide had suddenly risen to around shoulder-level over the sandbar.

I can feel the waves hit the cottage floor. It gave off a scary noise, and so I suddenly doubted the integrity of the cottage's posts. It was dark outside, not pitch black, but I could not see the horizon anymore. Rain had engulfed the whole cottage.

Another boat had crawled up from out of nowhere and passed by the cottage, bobbing to the surf's cadence. It had no tourist passengers as only a boat captain and an assistant were in it. If not for the outriggers, the boat would have surely tipped over, I thought.

I tried to fight off the fear by focusing on what I've prepared on the table: fried ham and eggs and some cooked rice. Luckily, I had kept in my pocket the three ketchup sachets I got from McDonald's yesterday. Sweet, I whispered.

I ate slowly, savoring every bite. I could taste the spice emerging from the tender meat, while the tanginess of the freshly fried organic eggs went up my nose as its yolk gently broke on top of my tongue. The soft rice and overcooked, crispy egg whites made it a perfect bite, at least for me.

Bite after bite satisfied me. Everything went into a climax as I washed it all down with the soda, the carbonized beverage tickled my tongue and throat and amplified feelings of fullness and contentment, and for a moment I had forgotten why I was here.

The coldness of the wind on my body and the heat inside my mouth were night and day... and right then my thoughts went back to Paulo and our dead end relationship.

After the satisfying lunch, I began to feel drowsy. Sleep slowly invited me. Rain rested again as if it was welcoming the late afternoon. The chilly weather and gloomy sky made it easier to surrender. The rain stopped completely, and I felt my eyes close slowly for what I hoped would be just for a little while...