The Lost Ones

Chapter 15

It took about three days for them to finally land ashore. When they did, neither of them knew where exactly they were. They appeared to have landed on another island. But this one was a lot bigger and had other people living on it.

As their lifeboat came to a stop in the soft, grainy sand, a family dressed in bright, summer clothes with black hair and brown, tanned skin came running towards them.

The older woman, who appeared to be the mother, held back the four young girls with bowl-shape haircuts, as the father helped Kit and Skye out of the lifeboat.

"Thank you," Skye told the man.

But by the expression on his face, it didn't seem like the man understood her. Then he spoke. "Anong nangyari? Ito ay kung saan ka nanggaling?"

Skye looked madly confused. "They don't speak English, do they?" she discreetly whispered to Kit.

But Kit wasn't as lost as he thought. "I-I think I know what they're saying," he told her. If I'm right about where I think we are... He turned to the man and said, "Kami ay stranded sa isang pulo. We were stranded on an island."

The man widened his eyes and looked back to his wife, who had the same appalled expression. Then the woman spoke, gesturing to them and pointing behind her.

"What did she say?" Skye asked Kit.

"She said we should go with them. Their house is right around the corner. They'll take care of us until they can contact the Philippine authorities to help us."

As the mother and father helped assist Kit and Skye to walk, though they didn't really need the help, the four children followed, bouncing excitedly.

Kit and Skye sat at the bamboo kitchen table while the children prepared them a rice soup and noodles with vegetables. When the youngest, who had chubby cheeks and a missing tooth, carefully placed the bowl full of noodles on the table, Skye smiled at her.

"Thank you. What's this dish called?" she asked.

The bright-eyed girl gave her a blank stare.

Kit tried not to laugh at Skye's flushed face. He looked at the child and asked, "Ito ang tinatawag pinggan?"

The girl grinned, showing her small, white teeth. "Pancit," she answered. Then she scurried away to help her sisters find matching silverware.

Skye turned to Kit, who was intently watching the children fight over who should give him the spoon and fork. "I didn't know you spoke Filipino."

"Tagalog," he corrected her.

Skye nodded. "Ah," she said. "I assumed you were Japanese or something because of your name—Kitaro."

She's very meticulous. How did I not notice before? "I am," Kit responded, modestly. "Only part. My dad is half-Japanese, half-American. My mom is Filipino. She wasn't born here in the Philippines, but she managed to teach herself the language in college. She taught me a little bit. That's why I can understand them." He looked back at the children, smiling when the second youngest girl shyly placed a wooden spoon and fork in front of him and darted away.

"A little bit?" Skye repeated. "It's like you're from here. You know, except your accent sounds way too American and you have blue eyes and brown hair." She glanced to the side. "But it seems like you're adored here anyway."

Kit watched the girls simper at him and at each other as they finished setting the table. When he returned their smile, they sighed with infatuation and disappeared into the family room.

He overheard the father speaking on the phone and turned to Skye. "How are we going to get home? Once they contact the authorities, we'll have to tell them how they can reach your parents and my mom."

It took a while for Skye to answer. When she finally did, Kit only had a slight idea of what she was getting at. "No one knows we're here. No one back home even thinks we're alive."

"What are you saying?" Kit asked, before trying to guess.

"I'm saying that we have a chance to start all over. If we pretend we don't remember anything, who we are, our names...then maybe—we can finally escape from our past."

Kit had to stop and think.

Then Skye added, "Unless you're ready to go back. Because if you are, so am I."

After a few minutes, the Filipino father came up to them, holding the phone in one hand and a pencil and paper in the other. In a thick, native accent, he asked, "What are your names?"

Kit and Skye exchanged looks.

Then Kit responded.