Boating (1)
That day, while spending time at the Seaside Villa, Chester and Monia decided to practice sailing the nearby waters on the raft they had built and set aside in advance.
The passengers numbered three people and one beast: Chester, Monia, Rex, and Ant. To simulate the weight of provisions, survival gear, and everything else they would need for a long voyage, they loaded stones onto the raft. They gauged the weight by feel.
Truth be told, Chester had wanted to build something like a storage hold in the middle of the raft for stowing supplies, but with their level of boat-building skill, anything that sophisticated was out of the question. They had to settle for good enough.
"All right. Everyone ready?"
Chester asked from beside the boulder where the raft's mooring rope was tied, looking at Monia, Rex, and Ant, who were already aboard and watching him.
"O-ohhh…"
Startled by the raft bobbing and swaying on the waves, Monia steadied herself, spread her arms for balance, and rose to her feet.
"We're ready!"
"Great!"
Chester untied the rope, tossed it up onto the raft, then sprang from where he stood and leapt toward it.
"…"
Monia stared blankly as Chester soared upward.
He launched himself as if he might take flight—then, like everything else without wings, he came down hard, landing just behind the raft's mast.
The raft lurched wildly. Surging waves soaked everything on board.
"Kyaaa!"
Unable to keep her footing on the violently rocking raft, Monia screamed and toppled—she was about to pitch into the sea when Chester's hand punched up through the pale froth of the waves and caught hers.
"Whoa there. You okay?"
"Y-yeah."
Trembling, Monia clung tight to Chester and held on.
"Hwaaang. I almost fell in."
"It's okay. You're okay."
Chester patted Monia, who looked ready to cry, while he checked the sail rigged to the raft. He had studied the structure of a sail from shipwreck debris and built this one himself.
The design was simple: one thick central spar and two crossbars for the sail.
First he lashed the thick spar and one crossbar together in a cross. Then he connected the free crossbar to the fixed one by attaching the sail between them. After that, he rigged a rope to the free crossbar so the sail could be raised and lowered with ease.
Additional rope was wound around the raft, and the line from the mast was run through it. A firm pull was all it took to draw the sail taut.
"All right. Let's try it."
With one hand, Chester worked the rope, releasing the mast line and hauling. The free crossbar dropped, and the sail snapped open, stretched tight.
The unfurled sail caught the wind.
"Uwaaah!"
"Kyaa!"
"Kiii!"
A gust from the opposite direction slammed into the raft at the same moment a larger wave hammered it from below.
The bow shot upward—then the whole raft flipped, dumping everything into the sea.
Pinned beneath the overturned raft and driven underwater, Chester immediately grabbed the nearest rope he could feel. Clinging to it, he felt his way along the raft's shape, swam free, and hauled himself up onto the flipped hull. Before he had even caught his breath, he seized another rope.
These were the safety lines he had tied to himself, Monia, Rex, and Ant—ropes meant to haul them back to the raft the moment anyone went overboard.
Chester yanked hard. Something shot up out of the water.
Weight-wise, that's Ant.
Through salt-blurred vision, Chester tracked the rope and reached out. Ant, arcing up into the air and falling, landed squarely in his grip.
"Ant! Hang on!"
— Kiiing, kiiiing.
Ant whimpered and clung to Chester. Chester grabbed the next rope at once.
When he pulled, the resistance was nothing like Ant's.
"Monia!"
Chester shouted immediately.
"Monia! You're okay! Don't panic!"
The rope kept thrashing. Chester kept pulling, sending her a signal through the line.
"Monia! It's me! Go limp! I'll pull you up!"
He roared until his throat burned. The moment the rope finally stilled, he drew her in slowly. Shortly after, Monia broke the surface, scrambled onto the raft, and retched up the seawater she had swallowed.
"Cough! Cough! Hrrk! Kh—! Cough!"
Chester thumped her back as she spat seawater again and again, then reached for the last remaining rope. Before he could even pull it, Rex clambered up onto the raft on his own.
"Kiii! Kiiiuuugh! Nooo! Nooo! Eyes hurt!"
After checking on Rex as well, Chester reflected on his mistake.
Damn. Harder than I thought. I knew I had to account for the waves as well as the wind—but actually doing it is another story. How the hell do you even read a wave?
He had known the wind was coming head-on. What he hadn't expected was that the instant he raised the sail, a strong gust and a wave would hit together and flip the raft in a single breath.
"We need practice."
With that, Chester took a rope in hand, swam for the island, and made for shore.
Once he reached land, he hauled on the raft with all his strength, secured it to the island, and had his family climb off.
"Everyone off?"
"Yes."
"Yeah."
Confirming they were all ashore, Chester flipped the overturned raft right-side up again.
"Ah—this one's the sail line."
Judging the ropes by thickness, Chester took the one attached to the sail and climbed a nearby tree.
From high up, he pulled the rope and gradually levered the raft upright. When it was nearly over, he gave a hard yank and dropped his full body weight, using himself as a counterweight to flip the raft the rest of the way in one go.
They dragged the righted raft up onto the island, tied it down securely, then headed to the villa, lit a campfire, and dried themselves off.
"We've ridden rafts up on the Summit before, you know."
"Yeah. A lake and the ocean are totally different."
"I knew that, but now I really feel it."
While the couple lamented the failure born of a moment's carelessness, Rex—who had suffered the sting of seawater in his eyes and nose—kept hurling stones at the ocean in revenge.
Before long, the way the stones went plop-plop into the water seemed to fascinate him, and he became absorbed in the act of throwing itself.
"Rex, is throwing rocks fun?"
"Yeah! Fun! Like it!"
"Want Dad to show you something cool?"
Chester found a flat stone, stood beside Rex, and set his stance.
He flicked the stone with an easy motion—and instead of sinking, it skipped across the surface, bouncing away over the water.
"Huh? Whoa!"
"Wow! Wow!"
Monia and Rex both gasped at the marvelous sight.
The stone skipped more than ten times before finally sinking. Chester muttered that he wasn't as good as he used to be, sounding a little disappointed.
"Dad! Me too! I wanna do it too! Me too! Let me!"
"How do you do that?! That's amazing! So cool! How does it work?!"
In the end, Chester abandoned sailing practice for the day and taught Monia and Rex how to skip stones.
— Aren't you worried?
Late that night, Black Wind had just lain down to sleep in his cave when his wife's sudden question made him look at her.
— About what?
— About Rex. They're family to us, but they're not us.
— It was my choice. And if it's Chester, he'll raise him well.
— But how long will they stay on this island? You said it yourself. Chester has always wanted to leave.
— Yeah. Someday, he'll go.
— Will Rex be all right even after he leaves the island?
That was the heart of his wife's unease.
They were born on this island, lived on this island, and would die on this island. Could their child—even raised by human hands rather than their own—truly thrive beyond these shores?
— He'll stand on his own before then.
His wife pressed him again.
— And if they leave before Rex is independent? Or if, even after he is, Rex chooses to go with them?
Black Wind looked at his wife.
— It'll be fine.
— Why? How can you say that? I'm so worried. When the others give their children to a family, those children still grow up near us, so it's all right. But Rex isn't like that. He's down on that far lower level. So far from us.
— You can tell every time we go to see him, can't you? That child is growing up happy.
— …
Black Wind's wife nodded.
— I know he's happy. I just want him to stay happy forever.
— Even if he stayed by our side, there would still be times when that child is unhappy.
— …You're right. There's no such thing as a life that's only happiness.
— We gave our child to a good family. So that child will surely know a great deal of happiness.
Black Wind drew his worried wife into his arms and held her close.
— I'm sorry. My choice made things hard for you.
— …No. I saw them for myself. They're good people. They'll raise our child well. I'm sure of it.
At his wife's words, Black Wind nodded and held her tighter.
— Want to make a second one?
At her sudden remark, he quietly rolled over and turned his back.
— Hey.
— N-no…! Too much of that and a warrior gets weak!
— But you get better as a dad!