It had to be in the triple digits, no cloud to mask the sun in the sky to be seen anywhere. The boat, a single hulled small catamaran slowly made it's way across the stretch of placid water headed for my final destination, home or where my new home would be on a small island in the Philippines. The captain apologized for the lack of a shade canvas, he had informed me it had been ripped from it's frame in the last storm that had blown through, but assured me that the trip only took 45 minutes and I wouldn't have to suffer the heat for too long. To be honest, it wasn't the heat that was overbearing, I grew up in Texas where I am accustomed to the heat, it was the humidity that was killing me. Humidity so dense it hurt to breath, I could almost feel it condensing in my lungs with each breath I took. I felt like I was drowning my chest ached so.
I looked around the boat at the passengers, or rather to the capacity of the passengers. This was not a large boat at all. As far as the seating I calculated it would hold at the most 20 people and counting heads, including myself and the captain, there was 41 aboard. That too worried me a little, you could see the water every now and then splash over the gunwale which was only inches above the water. Not only was the boat over crowded with passengers, there was the items they were bringing back to island with them, which added to the weight. The sweat running down my forehead was an intermingling of the heat and the worry I felt thinking that if this boat goes down, I hadn't seen but one life vest and that was being worn by the captain. As my eyes scanned the boat I noticed a sign over head hung from the frame the shade canvas used to be, "The captain is not responsible for lost articles or loss of life. Please be ready to swim in case of an emergency.". I didn't find that very encouraging and started wondering why he hung the sign to begin with.
We were about 30 minutes into our trip from the mainland to the island that I would soon call home when it the distance I could see the faint outline of palm trees, more palm trees than I have ever seen congregated in one place in my life. I tapped the captain on the shoulder and pointed towards the island, he smiled and shook his head and said, "She is there sir. Not long now.". I thought to myself, no, not long now as long as the boat doesn't sink before we get there. I tried to reassure myself that the captain has apparently made this trip many times before successfully, but that too concerned me thinking that all those successful trips had been made on this boat and according to Murphy's law he is about due for the inevitable, I was just praying it wasn't on this trip.
By some miraculous chance of good fortune or the answering to my prayer we slowly glided into the terminal dock where I would disembark and kiss the slab of concrete beneath my feet in a ceremonial jester of gratitude that in our Creator's infinite mercy He delivered me safely here. I told myself Sunday I would be in church to properly give my thanks to Him. As I stood there looking around I felt like I had been taken back in time, at time of no noise pollution that commercialism brings, a time of no air pollution that modernization brings and the lack of stress both bring hand in hand.The people looked happy, heads nodding with a smile and saying "Hai!" as they passed me by heading to and from the boat. They moved with no sense of urgency and no Mad Hatter attitude professing they were late for something or the other. They looked genuinely relaxed and happy. That instantly put me at ease, as I am not the gregarious type, but not a total introvert either, I felt I could settle in and get to know the locals with little effort on my part.
My luggage, all 9 pieces lay around me and I wondered how I was going to get them from where I was standing to where I was going. Looking around me I scanned the area hoping I would see some mode of transportation, a jepney, a cart or even a donkey with a pack rack, but much to my dismay I saw nothing. This was becoming a slight quandary on my part, start hauling as many pieces as I could at one time, hurry back and hope when I returned the luggage I left behind was still waiting on me? Leave it all and search for someone or something to help me convey it to where I was going? I sat down on the largest piece of luggage and started pondering my predicament I was in. As I started thinking as to how I was going to resolve the issue that surrounded me I thought in the distance I could hear kids laughing and singing, I tried to ignore it, but one of those little voices I had heard before or at least it sounded very familiar to me. I tried to block it and get back to my thinking and as to this point hadn't came up with any solutions and still I could hear that voice and it sounded as if it was getting closer. I glanced down at my watch, 11:05 a.m., oh I thought to myself, must be lunch time at school now. I wiped the sweat from my forehead and thought I should have parked myself in the shade of one of the thousands of palm trees that surrounded me. There was that voice again, I looked up just in time to see her turn her head in my direction. She looked startled as she looked in my direction and froze in her tracks as her friends, seeming not to noticed continued on. She slowly turned the rest of her body in the direction she was looking and as if her feet had suddenly turned into two great weights she slowly started placing one foot in front of the other. Her eyes seemed fixed on me and I stood up as she got closer. Slowly, very slowly her paced quickened as she came closer and then she started wiping her eyes, I don't know if it was from tears or the sand that the wind kicked up with each gust. Then her voice, weak and nervous broke the silence, "Papa?". "Ate?", I answered. She dropped her books at that point and she started to run towards me, her arms out, tears flowing down her cheeks and before I could blink I could feel her arms around my neck and her tears soaking through my shirt. "Papa you're home, you didn't forget us, you're home!". "Yes Ate, I am home.", assuring her. She looked about me, "Much luggages papa.". "I know Ate, but where else should my clothes be?", I teased her. "Yes papa, you're right. They belong home.", she answered smiling. "Let me go get kuya and mom. You wait right here papa, I won't be long, just a minute, okay papa?", she said over her shoulder heading towards #2 Republic Street. I smiled answering, "I'm home Ate, I have no where else to go.".
As I watched her run towards home to let the family know I said to myself, "I have no where else to go, I'm home."
Later...
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