The Adventure Island Part 2

I was smiling excitedly as the pump boat’s engine roared to life. It wouldn’t be long now, I thought. The ride was boring as the boat attempted to slice the blue seas and the mainland turned smaller each time I looked back. I thought I saw me smile as I dozed off trying to forget my stubborn empty stomach.

A splash of seawater forcing itself to enter our boat woke me up. As the engine shouts while making its way against the nasty waves, I smiled. Not bad, not bad at all. I stood up and climbed out of the boat. I want to be where the action is and I want to see it up close and personal, I thought. I was standing on the deck as the boat see-sawed itself against the unruly waves. My clothes are now wet with splashing seawaters and my hair gave in to the charming wind. I think I was in a trance or was perhaps levitating when a deckhand ordered me to get inside the boat. Safety first, he said. That is a construction site’s motto, I thought.

Inside I could tell the waves were angrily hammering our little boat. The windows were all close but I could tell from the darkness that the seawater is slowly invading our floors. My ukay-ukay jacket is now damp from seawater and my socks are wet - my old robertson’s shoes must have holes in it that I know nothing of. I’ll check it out as soon as I survive, I thought. The ceiling started to drip. My, oh my.

I stared at the life vest hanging above my head as soon as I saw a bundle of the day’s issue of Manila Bulletin floating in the floor all bloated and wet. Five sacks of rice lay still and wet under our seats. I was trying to figure out what kind of an enemy I have outside when my phone started to vibrate.

Unlock keypad. Read Message.

S: Hi, Bru! Can I use ur blogs in my clas? Pls? I’ll mek most of ur work samples of paragraph *****ment.

Click Reply. Write Message.

Y: Do whatever u want. Just don’t give out my name. Mine is conversational English. Not a good idea for an English class. I’m on board a boat bound for Siargao. Waters are starting to fill the boat.

Click Send. Message Sent. Lock Keypad. Phone vibrates. One message received. Unlock keypad. Read message

S: D author shld be acknowledge bru. Urs is *******istic dats y I wana use 8 n class. U surfing there? Take care. U can swim ryt?

Click Reply. Write Message.

Y: Make another name. I can’t swim but I might if survival calls for it. Grrrr…

Click Send Message. Check Operator Services. Gasp. Lock keypad.

My last connection to the world has just been unplugged. Great! So much about adventurism! As the waves tossed our boat mercilessly, my stomach vacuumed and I felt the need to pee and fart at the same time. The ocean would have been a great venue if it were not for the waves and wind.

The woman beside me, I presumed is a local islander, grabbed my knees for support as she murmured “this is the IT place”. She said we are approaching the accident-prone area and many boats sunk in that place. I tried to peek from the window and saw a turbulent current running at full speed. This place is good for white water rafting, I thought. But a white water rafting on a boat as big as this is an entirely different story.

As we approached the “IT” place I tried to make a mental inventory of the contents of my bag that will sink with me. Dirty clothes and undies, toiletries and hankies – they all can go right down. My phone, it’s outdated but I love it. We have many memories together. I held on to it when my brother offered to swap it with his N91.My camera, ew, lots of beautiful memories trapped inside. The phone and the camera can't possibly go down with me. There will be no one else to tell where I have been and what I have seen if it these two goes down with me. So, I sealed them both in a ziploc and whispered, "You both tell the world of my story, alright?

I don't know when is the next installment of my story, but right now I badly needed a bath...