Visited by the Dreams

Chapter 23 - Favorable Winds

“Are we ready?” Susan asked the next morning, eager to move on as soon as it was light enough to navigate around the point.

“I think we are,” Greg assured her as the first light of morning touched the sky. “By the time we eat and pull up anchor, it should be light enough for us to leave.”

“Good,” Susan said firmly. “I am very eager to be on our way.”

Greg arched a brow at the conviction in her voice. He smiled in grim understanding and did what he could to help them through their morning chores. They ate a good meal of left over fish from the night before, wrapping the cooked leftovers in banana leaves to take with them.

Then as the first rays of light hit the sky, they pulled up their anchors and set out. Susan sat beside Greg as he manned the rudder, dressed in a blouse and make-shift skirt made from the scarf. A light breeze played with its fringe as it began to fill the sail. They rounded the point and set a course to the west of the island. As Greg predicted the night before, they crossed the barrier of the reef before they got there, and upon arriving at the west side of the island, they could see the peaks of their own island extending beyond the horizon in the distance.

“You can see it from here,” Susan commented.

“You can, but not our side of the island. Look at the shape of the peak. Any boat approaching it from this direction would not be able to see our beach,” Greg said.

“Which means, we wouldn’t have seen them,” Susan realized.

“And they in turn would not have seen either us or the Oyster,” Greg added.

“Is that what we needed to know?” Susan wondered.

“It is,” Greg said and he turned the boat directly to the south as they talked crossing ever so briefly into the area enclosed by the reef once again. “We know now why they didn’t see us. We also know that from the point where we turned around, any boat outside the inlet used by the villagers would have been clearly visible to a boat traveling between the two islands.”

“Which supports our theory for how they were found,” Susan said.

“It does. We must do what we can to disassociate ourselves from the crash until such time as we are amongst friends we are certain we can trust,” Greg said.

“And our first step in doing that is to put as much distance between ourselves and the Orchid Island place fast as we possibly can,” Susan realized.

“The Orchid Island?” Greg questioned.

“I’d rather remember it for the beautiful orchids we found there rather than the tragedy. That way if we need to refer to it in public, it would give away what we know actually happened there,” Susan proposed.

“I like your idea,” Greg agreed. “The Orchid Island it is.”

She exchanged a look with Greg, but neither of them spoke for a time. They simply concentrated on getting as much speed as possible out of their make-shift sails.

Again Greg headed towards the outer reef but on the south side of it this time, headed towards the open sea. Solemnly Susan reached up and kissed Greg on the cheek as they crossed the reef several hours later.

“What was that for?” he asked in surprise.

“For luck, Greg.”

Greg nodded. “May good fortune follow us,” he said as he gave her a hug.

The wind pushed the craft southward with no obstacle larger than the swells of the waves to block their path. After a few hours, Susan manned the rudder as Greg worked to manipulate the sail.