Luno climbed down the ladder and boarded the ship.
“Now then,” he smiled. Let us be off.”
The crew went to work quickly. Kilani and James hoisted the sail as Luno took up position behind the wheel. Roger and William untied the bow and stern line. The sail flapped uselessly in the rain.
“ Poikelo,” James said, extending his open hands. Immediately, the sail billowed and the ship lurched forward. Luno tightened his grip on the wheel while Kilani kept watch on the port side to make sure the ship didn’t scrape the pylons as they passed the end of the pier. Waves blowing in from the north battered the front of the ship. The crew could not hear the cheers from the spectators on top of the pier nor see their arms waving. Luno turned the ship to its heading, which was barely visible in the storm. He kept the bow oriented with the eastern tip of North Harbor. Once he spotted the jagged outcropping of rocks over Kilani’s shoulder, he held that course and gave James a nod. James repeated the incantation, extending his hands toward the sail. The ship responded by gaining speed. As the speed increased it began skipping over the waves. Each time the bow dug into another wave the ship would shudder. William and Roger exchanged concerned looks and moved aft to have a discussion with Luno.
“I don’t reckon zee vill stand zis for very long, Capitan,” William, said.
“Don’t worry, boys. She’ll fare just fine,” Luno said, yelling over the roar of wind and rain. He nodded to James again, and again James asked for more power in the sails. The ship sped up. The impacts of the waves increased until they sounded like a rapidly beating heart, jolting the ship with each beat. As the speed increased further the ride smoothed and the ship felt as if it were traveling over much calmer waters.
Luno relaxed his grip on the wheel and let a satisfied smile cross his face. He checked his bearing, making sure they were still heading in the proper direction. Suddenly, a stiflingly hot gust of air struck the ship, pushing the rain away and leaving them in the sticky humidity one would normally find in the jungle. Breathing became a forced effort. James and Kilani exchanged concerned glances.
It didn’t take long to sail clear of the hot air and all were grateful to be able to breathe normally once more. Luno smiled knowingly and asked William to take the wheel. He made his way to the bow where James and Kilani were securing the rigging.
“We are on our way,” he said excitedly.
“It appears as though the island isn’t fond of our little voyage,” James said.
“My friend, if the island didn’t want us to leave Harbor Town, this ship would be at the bottom of the sea. Always remember that she is in control here and we miscreants have nothing to say about it.”
“What do you presume all that weather was about?” James asked.
“I do not pretend to know her mind and speculation usually leads down the wrong path. Let us look onward. Now, my dear,” Luno said, looking at Kilani. “How long do you estimate our arrival at the first of the three widows?”
“At our current speed, I’d say less than twenty minutes.”
“Excellent, we will drop anchor on the western side of the island and row to shore. All three widows are approachable from the west, which will make our trip briefer than if we had to circumnavigate each bloody island looking for a place to land.”
Luno had done his homework. During his tenure on the island he’d explored most every crack and crevasse The Never had to offer-that is, with the exception of the six perimeter islands. It had taken him decades to map everything. He had lost several people who’d volunteered to accompany him and been injured more times than he cared to remember. From the cliffs on the northern cape, Luno could see that each of the three widow’s western sides had white sandy shores. A perpetual mist hung over their centers, preventing anyone from seeing far past the coasts.
“What is the plan if we cannot find running water on the island?” James asked, recalling that one could not drink standing water in The Never without dying a terrible death.
“You worry too much, my friend. We drank just before we left and have more than enough time to find water,” Luno replied.
“And if we don’t?” James asked.
“Depending on how long the exploration takes, we can either move on to the second widow or make our way back to Harbor Town.”
“I have a suggestion,” Kilani said.
“By all means,” Luno said.
“Finding running water should be paramount. We move swiftly to that end. If, by midday, we do not find any, James and I make our way to the second widow to search there. We meet back at our landing point before sundown and either return to Harbor Town or to the water source. If we do discover running water, we set up our camp there.”
“A brilliant idea,” Luno said, smiling as he walked back toward the wheel.
James looked at Kilani, who gave him a wry smile and continued securing the supplies that had been strewn about in the storm. Once complete, he made his way toward the stern to make sure the dinghy was still tethered to the rear of the boat. Despite everything they had set out to do on this voyage, his mind couldn’t help but return to that which had infested it as long as he could remember. The prophecy. Here he was, in a place far away from his home and once again he was the one everyone was depending upon. He thought it ironic that the moment he’d arrived at this place-once he’d regained his lucidity, that is-that he had felt a weight lifted from his consciousness.
The moment Luno told him he believed James was the one who could return them to their world, it came rushing back, sitting squarely upon his shoulders. He hadn’t realized what a burden it was until it had returned with the force of a massive boulder. Never free to live his own life, James had always been expected to serve others. Despite his outward appearance of strength and acceptance of this destiny, James struggled with this responsibility every day. What if he didn’t live up to the expectations? What if he couldn’t? It is never easy to live under the shadow of greatness. Especially when you’re expected to fulfill the expectations everyone has laid out for you since you were a child.
And yet, in this place he had found reprieve. Not once, but twice. First upon his arrival and second through the touch of a woman. Despite their age difference, James and Kilani had grown close. Her relationship with Luno was complicated at best. Every time James asked her about it she deflected the question and steered the conversation in another direction. Nobody in Harbor Town shared residence, which James found particularly odd since there were equal numbers of men and women dwelling there. He couldn’t get a clear answer to that question either. Kilani spent a considerable amount of time with Luno. Virtually every moment she was not with James she spent with Luno. Every morning when they’d meet to explore or study, Kilani would come walking out of Luno’s house. Every night she would retire to her own.
Luno had sent James and Kilani to confirm his map details in grid 14, which was on the western coast. Kilani and James talked constantly during their trek. Kilani always spoke about the plants. He quickly learned she was the resident horticulturist. When they would go on mapping expeditions, Kilani was always on the lookout for undiscovered plants. She invariably returned with bundles of plants and leaves with which she would conduct experiments.
She was the one who discovered the fire trees of the west. When the fire tree’s leaves touch, they immediately burst into flames. The sap of these trees is also highly flammable. This discovery was the catalyst for the construction of nearly all of the modern amenities at Harbor Town. Most of all, Kilani was hell-bent on finding a local plant that would enable her to make transporting powder.
As they reached the lichen-choked boulders that lined the small cove (aptly named Lichen Cove) on their map-plotting mission, James and Kilani sat and looked out over the sea.