An Island Unto Himself, The Novel (9) Stu held the rope with Tawni as she pulled it taught. "Now pull!" She directed. They pulled in unison but, the boat barely budged. "This isn’t going to work," Stu thought to himself. But, Tawni was already bracing for a second tug. "Again," she said. They pulled again and the boat moved slightly. "Again," she repeated and they pulled again... and again, and again, and again, and again. Each time the mast seemed to rise a couple more inches out of the water as Tawni and Stu got into a rocking rhythm. They pulled and relaxed, pulled and relaxed until finally the tip of the mast rose to about a 45 degree angle. It was almost ready to overcome the unseen obstacle that pulled it back toward the water. "Jump now!" Tawni yelled and before Stu could say anything, she grabbed his arm and lept off the pontoon back into the water drawing the rope with them. The mast and the rest of the catamaran followed. The upended pontoon crashed into the water narrowly missing Stu’s bobbing head. Stu breathed a sigh of relief at the close call and turned to find Tawni. She was treading water just a few yards away. He started to swim to her but froze in mid stroke when a gray dorsal fin broke the surface of the water directly behind her. It wasn’t nearly as big as the great white Stu had hooked days earlier. Judging from the size of the fin, Stu guessed it was probably about a six footer, not big enough to swallow him whole but, certainly big enough to take a sizable bite out of him! His knee jerk reaction was to back stroke toward the catamaran but, he realized that would leave Tawni to the shark. Bravely, Stu decided to sacrifice himself in order to save his beautiful friend. He started toward her, determined to place himself in harm’s way between Tawni and the shark. "Shark!" he yelled. "Shark!" "What’s wrong with you?" Tawni asked. Before Stu could tell her, two more dorsals appeared and the trio of fins began circling her. "Look!" Stu yelled, pointing to the circling fins. But before Tawni could react, one of the fins headed straight for her from behind and disappeared under the water. "Tawni!" Stu yelled. I It was too late! Tawni let out a yelp as if she had just been goosed and she also disappeared under the water. Immediately, the other two fins went under as well. "Oh, my God," Stu thought, "feeding frenzy!" Stu turned for the cat! He was only a few feet away but, if he had slapped and kicked the water any harder, he would have literally been crawling on top of it. He made the catamaran and pulled himself onboard. He leaned over the water and tried to row with his bare hands to the spot where Tawni went under. "Tawni!" he yelled over and over. He stroked for all he was worth but was making absolutely no progress. "Tawni!" he wailed. Though he was sure the situation was hopeless, he was just about to dive back in and take on the sharks with his bare hands when one of them broke the surface... and Stu’s jaw dropped open. Tawni was holding onto the big fish’s dorsal fin, riding him piggy back. "Hang on Tawni! I’m coming!" Stu said. Before he could dive in, Tawni and the shark dove under water again and he lost sight of them. They resurfaced on the other side of the cat. This time Tawni was being towed by two of the sharks. She held onto one with her right hand and one with her left. "What the hell are you doing?!" Stu shouted. "Swimming with my friends!" Tawni shouted back. Just then, the third shark rose straight out of the sea next to the catamaran and performed a moon walk, moving backwards across the surface, supported solely by his tail fin. He emitted a cackling, chattering noise as he passed within inches of Stu. They was the kind of sounds a dolphin makes, not a shark. "Oh... I knew they were dolphins all along," Stu muttered to himself. Tawni invited him to join them. "Come swim with us," she said. Stu declined. "Oh, that’s all right", he said, trying not to let on that he was really a little scared of the graceful sea creatures. "I’m good here." He took a seat on the floating catamaran and watched Tawni swim and play and frolic with the three dolphins. He couldn’t believe how naturally Tawni interacted with them. The sleek, gray dolphins jumped and splashed and pulled Tawni around and around. This went on for some time. Then, as impetuously as they had appeared the trio was gone. Tawni turned back toward Stu and the drifting cat. "Whew, that was fun!" she exclaimed, out of breath. Then she realized just how far away she had gotten from the security of her boat, about fifty yards. "Stu Stu," she said, "come get me". Back on the cat, Stu couldn’t make out what she said. So, he stood up as if that would enhance his hearing. He grabbed the mast to steady himself. "What?!" he yelled, leaning in her direction. "Come and get me!" she yelled. "Oh,... yeah, okay." Stu had never been so unsure of himself. After all, he had just capsized the cat and that was with Tawni helping him. Now she wanted him to pilot the boat all by himself... for a whole fifty yards. No, Stu had never been so unsure of himself. But, he wasn’t about to admit that to Tawni. "Hold on,... I’m coming," he said as he stumbled in uncoordinated fashion to the steering position between the sail grip and rudder handle. "Hang on, I’ll be right there," he finished the statement under his breath, "I hope". When Stu took his seat, he inadvertently grabbed the sail grip to steady himself. That was his first mistake. He turned the sail just enough to catch a passing breeze and the boat moved a few yards in the opposite direction from Tawni. Stu jerked the sail back the other way to correct the maneuver! That was his second mistake. The sail caught another gust of wind and moved even farther away from his intended target! Tawni was beginning to worry. "Where are you going?" she yelled, trying not to sound panicked. Stu was starting to worry too, but he wasn’t about to let it show. "Don’t worry," he said. "I’ve got it!" "The rudder," he thought to himself. "Of course, that’ll do the trick." Stu turned the rudder. But, the rudder action, together with the gentle wind blowing in the same direction only served to turn the sailboat in circles. The silliness of the situation began to outweigh the seriousness of it and Tawni couldn’t help smiling to herself at Stu’s predicament. She decided she better save herself. "Stay there, Stu Stu. I will come to you," she said and she started swimming toward the slowly turning boat. Unfortunately, Stu was determined to save the day. "No, I’ve got it, really," he assured her and he pulled the rudder the other way. The boat stopped revolving but, once again moved farther out to sea. Stu continued making his desperate, maritime adjustments and in like manner continued widening the gap between he and Tawni. She swam faster and faster but Stu drifted farther and farther away from her. Tawni was really starting to get worried now, not for herself but, for Stu. The wind was carrying him out to sea. They yelled encouragements to each other. "Turn rudder, other way!" Tawni yelled. "Don’t worry, I’m getting the hang of it," Stu yelled back. "Just let me swim to you!" "Hang on Tawni, I’m coming." They yelled to each other until they couldn’t hear one another any longer. Proudly, the last thing that Stu heard Tawni yell was a paraphrase she had just learned from him, "What the hell you are doing?!" The last words Tawni heard from Stu were, "Don’t worry, I’ll be back!" CHAPTER 20 Tawni watched Stu sail away erratically until he became just a spec on the horizon and ultimately disappeared altogether. Then she swam for shore. It was a long haul, three or four hundred yards but, she had done it before. It took a long time and she had to stop and tread water three times in order to pace herself. Finally she made it. She crawled up on the beach exhausted and sprawled out on her back breathing deeply. Meanwhile, back at the raft, Stu was drifting aimlessly. He had given up trying to master the craft, as that only seemed to make matters worse. Besides, he couldn’t see the island anymore. He wasn’t even sure which direction it was. He was disorientated. Stu was in dire straits but, he wasn’t worried about himself. He was worried about Tawni. When she was sufficiently recovered from her lengthy swim, Tawni sat up and searched the horizon, vainly. "Poor Stu", she thought. Surely, he was lost. She wondered if she would ever see him again. It seemed he had left the island as unexpectedly as he had arrived. Tawni thought about Stu... how much fun he had been to have around these past few days. She remembered the first time she had seen him when he appeared out of thin air aboard his orange, mobile hut. She remembered how sorry she felt for him when he fished all day and caught nothing... except for that big shark of course. That had to be the biggest shark she had ever seen. Leave it to Stu Stu. She remembered how silly he looked when he fell head first over the water fall. She would never forget the expression on his face just before he splashed into the creek. She remembered how funny he looked that day when he trapped himself in her snare and how funny he sounded trying to teach her to say ban-a-a-a-a-na. No doubt about it, that Stu Stu had been a fun guy to have around. Meanwhile, out at sea, drifting aimlessly, Stu was sitting Indian style on the rattan seating of the catamaran. His chin was propped up on the palms of both hands and his elbows in turn, were propped up on his knees. He was deep in thought about Tawni; how quickly she had come into his life and how abruptly she had been snatched away. He thought about how beautiful she was. He remembered the first time he saw her bathing under the waterfall. He remembered her child like laughter and innocent, good nature. He remembered the first time he touched her hand, how soft and delicate she felt, not at all what he would have expected of someone living in such primitive conditions. He thought about the sunsets they had shared on the previous two nights. Stu couldn’t help thinking about how deficient tonight’s sunset would be without her... and every sunset from now on. "Damn!" he said out loud. "Way to go Stu!" Pity party over and determined to do something right for once, Stu stood and positioned himself between the rudder and the sail grip. He would master this vessel or die trying... not that he had any other choice. This time Stu took it slowly. He played around getting a feel for what the rudder did and how the sail reacted and more importantly how the two interacted. There wasn’t any pressure on him this time. Nobody he wanted to impress was watching and besides what was the worst he could do, go the wrong way? Hardly, since he didn’t have a clue which way that was. Stu toyed around with the boat for hours. He did well at times and not so well at others. Either way he had improved greatly since his first try at captaining the vessel. If not proficient, he felt at least capable. Now, if he only knew which way to go to find the nearest land. He hoped he wouldn’t have to spend the night in the open sea. It was starting to get dark. He was wet and tired and hungry and thirsty. Tawni was probably safe and snug back in her bamboo house. She was probably warm and dry. She had probably just finished one of her great meals and quenched her thirst with one of those cool, berry drinks. Probably. "God, I hope she isn’t dead," Stu prayed. Just then a strong wind rose behind Stu. This wasn’t merely a gust of wind but rather a healthy, sustained gale. Stu snapped out of his train of thought. He wasn’t sure where he was headed, but this was certainly his best chance to get somewhere... anywhere fast. He cut the sail and trimmed the rudder and he caught that wind just right and he was off. Before he knew it, he was skimming across the top of the water, just like Tawni had done, maybe faster. He made the slightest of adjustments to keep the cat in line with the wind and get the most out of the powerful draft. This wind seemed endless. He raced and he raced and he raced even faster. Finally, he was traveling at such breakneck speed that it was getting scary. But, he refused to let up. After all, he might not get another chance to cover this much area in such a short time. Just how far that was, Stu couldn’t say but, it was pretty darn far, that much he knew. Still, he was picking up speed. The thin little lines of tears were starting to stream from the corners of his eyes again, driven by the force of the wind in his face. Through his watery eyes and the dim of approaching dusk, Stu saw something dead ahead. Then, it was gone. No! There it was again, a faint glow, a beacon, maybe it was a lighthouse. Stu raced faster still. He got a fix on the wavering, illuminated guide and headed straight for it. Finally, he spotted land on the horizon. He couldn’t tell much about it, except it looked big. The closer he got, the wider it seemed to stretch, from one end of the skyline to the other. Maybe it was the mainland! Before he knew it, Stu was closing in on the source of light as well as the fast approaching beach. That’s when he remembered that there was still one thing he hadn’t figured out about piloting a catamaran; how to stop it. He had no brakes and trying to turn at this speed would result in a disastrous capsize. Stu wasn’t sure how many knots he was traveling or even how fast a knot was but, he was pretty sure he was setting some kind of world speed record for sailing when he hit the beach. He remembered inching back toward the rudder as if that would somehow save him and he remembered figuring out what that flickering light was just before he hit it... a tremendous bonfire on the beach... and that is the last thing he remembered. CHAPTER 21 When Stu awoke, he was lying on his back on the beach. Someone was cradling his head in their lap and wiping his brow with a cool, damp cloth. "Stu Stu?" a voice said gently. Tawni! Stu bolted straight up and turned to face his nurse! It really was Tawni! He grabbed her and hugged her tight and nearly cried. "Tawni! Oh Tawni, I’m so glad you are alive! I thought I had lost you!" Stu wailed. "I know, me too", she said and hugged him back. Stu stood up and pulled Tawni up also. He looked into her eyes. "I never would have believed it was possible," he said. "What?" Tawni asked. "You look more beautiful than ever," Stu told her. Maybe it was just the reflecting glow from the scattered bon fire but, it sure looked to Stu like Tawni was blushing. "Oh dear," Stu said, looking around at the disaster he had wrought. He had driven the cat onto the beach and straight through the tremendous signal fire that Tawni had built. The sturdy cat sat idle almost at the tree line, not too worse for the wear, so it seemed. However, the bonfire had not been so lucky. Burning timbers lay scattered in every direction. There were two matching tracks in the sand leading from the surf, straight through the fire to the cat. "Look what I’ve done," Stu said. "Do not worry, Stu Stu," Tawni consoled him. "I am just glad to have you home." Home... that word sounded so unfamiliar coming from Tawni, nice... but, strange. "Come, sit," she said "and Tawndalayia will dance for you". "Dance?" Stu asked. "Yes, it will make you feel better." "I’ll bet," thought Stu. Tawni led him to the boat and helped him sit down on one of the pontoons. Tawni started to dance slowly, a hula dance of sorts. She moved and swayed and motioned with her willowy arms and hands. "Sing for me Stu Stu," she appealed. "Me, sing? You don’t want me to sing, trust me." "Please." "I don’t know any songs." "Sing the pretty song you played for me the other day, when you took me for a ride in your house." "If?" Stu asked. "If what?" Tawni asked back. Now it was Stu’s turn to laugh at Tawni. "Never mind," he said and he began to sing the slow, love ballad. He didn’t know many of the words, so he half sang and half hummed and half improvised a little ditty about the ironies and obstacles and ifs that star crossed, would be lovers face in the reality of their lives and what might have been if only in another time or place... if. Bad as Stu’s singing was, Tawni somehow matched his tempo, telling her own version of a love story in graceful, seductive movements. As if decreed by destiny, the two finished at just the same time. They looked into each other’s eyes. Neither said anything for a moment. Tawni broke the silence. "That was beautiful", she said. "No," Stu corrected her, "you were beautiful. Your dance told a story, didn’t it? What did you say... in your dance, I mean". Again, Tawni blushed. But, she didn’t say anything. Instead, she joined him on the pontoon. Stu was straddling it. Tawni sat in front of him and leaned back against him for support. Neither of them said a word. They didn’t have too. They watched their third breath taking sunset together. It lasted an hour and by the time the sun had melted into the ocean, Tawni was asleep in Stu’s arms. Stu was in heaven... and Stu was in hell. The most beautiful, charming woman he had met in years was asleep, cuddled in his arms but,... he was after all, still a married man.
Go to part: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Copyright © 2000 Tony Mossor |