ELEVEN

 

IT HAS ALREADY BEEN EIGHT DAYS that the islanders have been in the cargo dungeon. Food comes once a day, anytime during the night or day. People have lost the sense of time. Sunbathing time has been decreased substantially. Each time the soldiers give them food, the gates are open for only a short time. So, as soon as the gates are open, everyone gathers in the middle of the loading zone and tries to get as much sun as possible. It would be a maximum of thirty minutes. It makes the islanders no different than hungry rats or indescribable cockroaches. As long as the islanders get their basic human needs, there is no need for sentiment or philosophical bullshit.

Anij is not avoiding the sunlight, but as he sees people gathered for sunlight and food, fights always break out. There is not a single day without a fight. It starts with literally anything. Anij can even name the topics of the fights from A to Z. It has become that trivial and tedious. He tries to find some normal people with less insanity or at least closer to his level. It would definitely help him at this stage.

It is long after everyone ate. People are starting to get cranky and easily ticked off as they are slowly getting hungrier. There seems to be an argument about something.

“Hey! You took my box!”

“It was too cold. I had to cover my ass. What is your problem?”

“Give! Me! My! Box! Back!” With each word, he grabs and punches the other guy’s face hard. Finally, the other guy falls down on the floor. He takes his box from the other guy’s spot.

Now, everyone knows that he is not supposed to get pissed off. In general, people are getting meaner, hungrier, deadlier, and crazier, with fierce eyes. Lack of social responsibility almost becomes their second nature. It is not news that you hear from others in some other town anymore. This is not a fighting arena. But they are certainly willing to make one, anytime.

One day, a guy who became completely mental was staring at a rat for a while. This might have started after the invasion of the rats and cockroaches the day before. He suddenly grabbed the rat and lifted it in front of his face. No one cared at that point. There was a long gaze at the squirming rat. Then he put on a smile and slammed the rat really hard on the ground. Blood gushed out and splattered all over the floor and onto his face as well. Right after that, no surprise, millions of cockroaches were having an annual feast. Heads into the plate and just enjoying themselves.

People’s minds are hallucinating and maybe also haunted, like the spinning siren lights. All this gets permanently recorded by Anij’s brain and plays back as soon as the film runs out. He cannot escape this horror. As a result, he tries to keep himself calm by saying things to himself quietly over and over. “I really want to get out of here. I have to get out of here fast . . . I hate this place . . . I just hate this place . . . I just hate this place . . . I can’t live like this . . . Where are my parents? Will I ever see them again? I am not an orphan yet . . . I never want to be an orphan . . . I want to live happily . . . with my parents . . .”

Anij is reminding himself of who he is, what he wants, and what must happen for him . . . and he wants his hopes to be fulfilled soon.

“Shhhh! Shhh! Shhh!”

Before Anij can gather himself, the gigantic engine stops with a huge steam release noise. Everyone freezes. They all turn their heads fast in all directions. They all look at one another with unspoken words of curiosity. Then again . . .

“Shhh! Shhh! Shhh!”

Again, with the noise, everyone is slowly standing up to prepare for the next step, whatever it will be. No one talks yet.

“Booh . . . Booh . . . Booh . . .”

They hear a quiet horn from a far distance. Everyone is slowly turning their ears to where the sound is coming from. It sounds like it is coming from another ship. But they are not too sure what it means. Not a word is spoken yet.

“Booh . . . Booh . . . Booh . . .”

“Booh . . .”

“Booh . . . Booh . . .”

Now there are multiple horns making sounds. It seems to be not just one ship out there, but a few of them are nearby. Then suddenly, the cargo gates are opening, slowly. The islanders, with their filthy and ripped clothes, are looking with sparkling eyes for their last hope. Sunlight is strongly squeezing its way into the dark cargo dungeon. They squint their eyes and turn their heads away from the sun. As much as they want to see outside, they have to turn their heads away for now. Bob is lowering a skid to pick up the islanders.

“Hey! Wait a sec. I am doing this for you. When I lower this thing, get on it and come outside. Okay?”

The islanders have no idea what Bob is saying. But they can sense it. So they wait for the skid to come down. They badly want to see outside but they are also afraid. The skid finally lands on the floor. People are gathered in a big circle. No one is getting closer to the skid. A silence of fear and curiosity leads a man to get on the skid and take the rope. As soon as the man gets on the skid, Bob pulls it up.

There he goes. He is breathing and gulping deeply in his neck. Everyone is watching him go. It must feel like a mission to Mars or something. His heart is pounding faster than ever before. As the skid reaches the deck, he sees a few other ships. He steps off of the skid and walks out on the deck to see more. But that is about it. He thinks that this is as good as it gets and, with a big sigh, he looks down.

Bob notices that the man didn’t look in the other direction, where their new home is. Bob yells at the man. “Hey! You are looking in the wrong direction. Look behind you! Behind you!”

Finally, Bob points his finger to the island, where he should look. Then the man looks at Bob and slowly turns his head around. There it is! Hawaiian islands. Right in front of him!

He is speechless. Tears of joy and awe drop like a faucet. Then he yells at everyone down in the cargo hold, “Hey! We arrived! We made it! It is there! I can see it! Wow! It is right there! I mean it! Come up and see!” He jumps for joy with tears falling. As soon as his words are out, a bunch of islanders scream out and get onto the skid.

“I want to see!”

“Is it real? No joking?”

“I want to go up now!”

“Wow!”

“We finally made it!”

Anij is very excited and also eager to see outside. He gets on the skid with the first group. This is finally the end of this horrible journey. Deep down inside, he starts to call out his parents louder than ever before. He can finally taste victory. His emotion takes over, and tears are falling. He firmly swears to himself that he will find them, no matter what. “I will find you. I will find you. Okay? I am coming now.”

Everyone is jumping, screaming, and hugging. The final taste of arrival is indeed sweet. Most of the islanders are swarming in the centre of the loading zone and reaching out for the rope. After quite a while, everyone is finally on the deck to see Hawaii and a few other ships nearby. There are lots of people on the other ships looking at the island, just like them. They can sense that those people could be from Bikini island or from somewhere close by it. Lots of people are wiping their tears. With all the pain and suffering, the drama is playing its climax . . . a good one.

“Booh . . . Booh . . . Booh . . . !”

With welcoming horns, the ships are moving in to the Hawaiian port.