The Island of Poa - 3. Exploration

(Kaleo)

My health (well, at least my mental health) had stabilized since I returned to Poa. I found that spending my days on the island, and my nights at my old home with grandpa, was doing wonders for me. I felt calm and at ease. I still had the occasional pains caused by the tumor, but at least I made peace with the fact that I had the illness, and that the outcome would be fatal. I wasn’t so desperate like before, but somewhere deep down, I was still afraid.

As much as I didn’t want to admit it at first, I realized that one of the reasons I felt more relaxed was the fact that my mind would often wander away to think about the stranger. His name was Adam, like the first man. I liked that. Willingly or not, thoughts of him occupied my mind, making me forget about my predicament at least temporarily.

He was obviously a foreigner to this world, to this type of life. I wonder if I would have eventually turned out like him if I had stayed back in America and… had more time to live? He seemed lost, in need of guidance, or maybe just in need of a really good friend? Granted, he obviously seemed to be very intelligent, but with some issues. According to him, he wasn’t living the life he wanted, but did he actually know what he wanted? I’m not sure… Would I get a chance to ask him? I’m not sure about that either, but I’m starting to hope I will.

The day had come for me to go out in search of the Morning Tear, the plant with supposed miraculous healing properties. I knew my destination and I was anxious to get going, but I also knew I needed strength before the long walk. I needed to eat and bring food and other supplies, just in case.

I fixed breakfast for Pa and me, and we sat down to eat. I enjoyed cooking back at home, and I was happy to do it here, especially since I had someone else to cook for now. Pa seemed to be enjoying my cooking skills, which I was very pleased about.

“So, are you ready?” Pa asked. I had already told him about planning to go and search for the plants today.

“Yes, I am… I’m going to head out soon after we finish breakfast.”

“Good, you should go as soon as possible. I hope the Morning Tear will help you,” Pa said, his voice packed with emotion. “Are you sure you don’t want me to ask someone to come with you?”

“Yes, Pa, I’m sure. I’ll be fine, I promise. I have my map in case I get lost, but I won’t. I think I still remember the way.” He wasn’t thinking about me getting lost, and I knew it.

“If you’re sure…”

“I’ll be back in time to make dinner,” I smiled and squeezed his shoulder.

As we finished breakfast, I got up to pack the rest of the stuff for the trip, while Pa went to his room and returned after a minute.

“Here, you should take these.” He handed me some medical supplies, bandages, some medicines and other stuff he thought I might need. I packed them in my backpack, along with some food, water and a knife.

“Ok, I should get going. The sooner I leave, the sooner I can return,” I said, trying to remain positive. In reality, I knew there were many things to doubt. Would I be able to reach the plateau where the plant was supposed to be growing? Would I even find the plant? And, of course, would it have any effect on me? “One thing at a time,” I repeated to myself.

We said our goodbyes, hugged it out, and I went on my way. I had a bunch of pictures and drawings of the Morning Tear saved on my phone, just so I’d know exactly what to look for. I’d never seen the plant in real life before, so I wanted to be sure. After all, I was counting on this little herb to save my life, so I really couldn’t afford to make a mistake.

Far in the distance, I could make out the plateau near the top of the mountain, where my prize was supposed to be located. With my eyes firmly fixed on it, I started slowly advancing, allowing myself to get hopeful, at least a little…

(Adam)

I woke up thinking about the mystery man. We met at the restaurant a few days ago, and I now knew his name was Kaleo, but I still thought of him as ‘the mystery man’. I don’t know, it just suited him. He didn’t spoke much, especially about himself. Maybe he was just a closed person, or maybe it was because I was basically a total stranger to him. Yeah, that would explain it.

Come to think of it, I opened up to him and told him my life story! Why did I do that? If I’m a stranger to him, he’s as much of a stranger to me. Besides, I don’t usually talk to people about my feelings. Maybe that’s why I did it – because he’s a total stranger and I’ll probably never see him again. Not that I wouldn’t like to…

I’m still not sure about him, though… Not just talking about being gay (which I think he is), but about what kind of a person he is. Anyway, if he decides to keep his distance, so will I. I certainly don’t plan on chasing him around the island and begging him to go out with me and tell me his secrets.

I wanted to start exploring the island and see some nature. I didn’t come all the way to sit in the hotel or at the restaurants. It was still morning and I wanted to get an early start, so I got dressed, went down to the hotel restaurant for breakfast, and then headed out. I didn’t have any specific route planned, so I just thought I’d go to whatever area seems nice, snap some pictures and enjoy the fresh air.

I realized how much I got used to living in the city, in the noise, crowd and pollution. On the island, I felt like my lungs had expanded, like I could breathe in twice as much, that’s how clean and fresh the air was. Also, there was no noise, only the sounds of the wind, sea and animal life. It was beautiful.

As I walked through the fields, I completely immersed myself in the nature. At first, I whipped out my cell phone to take pictures, but after a while I put it back in my pocket and decided not to distract myself with technology. I climbed up a small hill and continued walking through fields of beautiful tall grass and the occasional flower patch. On my left, I could see a forest in the distance, covering the mountains on the west, while on my right was the coast. Waves were crashing on the rocks, with flocks of birds circling above the sea.

I just lay there in the grass, thinking how I could get used to this. The thought of returning to Chicago almost made me physically sick. I know, it’s always like that when you’re on a holiday at some new and exotic location, of course no one wants to go back to work. But this time it was different. This place was giving me some internal wisdom – ok, maybe that’s taking it too far – but I felt like it was giving me some insight into my life and what I should do. I didn’t want to think about it then, I just wanted to enjoy the moment. I would think about my problems when I get back home.

After a while, I felt my stomach calling me to return to town and stuff it with food, so I slowly turned back and headed to town, thinking about what I wanted for lunch. I did a lot of experimenting over the past few days, trying out different restaurants and dishes, but this time I decided to return to the place where I talked to Kaleo the other day.

Sure enough, there she was again – the little girl with her pencils and drawings. She was sitting at a table, by herself, her nose buried in her papers, while her mother was working. Every once in a while, she would look up around her and when she finally saw me, she waved to get my attention. I smiled and waved back, and she quickly picked up her stuff and came to my table.

“Hi! You’re back,” she greeted me happily.

“Yes, I got hungry! How are you, Hanna?”

“I’m good. May I sit with you? Other people are boring.” She was always honest, and I liked that. It’s so easy talking to children.

“Sure thing!” I stood up and pulled out a chair for her to sit on. “What are you drawing today?”

“Not drawing,” she said, “doing homework. Can you help me?”

“I hope so! Let’s see…” As I scooted over to see what she was doing, her mom showed up to take my order.

“I see she’s already trapped you,” she chuckled.

“I don’t mind it one bit,” I replied, smiling at her.

“What will it be today?”

“The usual,” I said, not in the mood to experiment.

“Sure, I’ll be right back,” she replied and quickly left to get my lunch.

As I sat there and ate, the little girl would occasionally ask me questions and make me laugh with her innocence and honesty. I felt so relaxed and content. Looking around, seeing her mother dance from table to table, serving and every once in a while glancing at her little girl, I realized that it’s actually possible to love your job. That’s something that should’ve been obvious to me, but I’ve never experienced that. For me, work was just a means of earning money so you can live. This woman maybe wasn’t earning as much as I did (probably ten times less), but she seemed to love what she was doing, she seemed to enjoy her job and her life. I envied that, but I was happy for her.

Next day, I decided to muster my courage and venture into one of the parts of the island that I’ve been avoiding so far – the forest. Picking out what to wear, I chose a long-sleeved shirt and long, light pants, thinking the forest would probably be full of mosquitoes and other nasty stinging insects. I sure as hell didn’t want to spend the rest of the holiday scratching myself all over or contracting God knows what disease.

Of course, I checked in with some locals and asked them about how safe it was to go there and how far I should go. They said it was mostly fine, there were no dangerous beasts like wolves or bears, but that I should be careful not to get lost, so I shouldn’t venture too far into the woods.

As I stepped into the forest, I felt excited and maybe just 1% scared. It felt like I was discovering a brand new world, entering a place where no man has ever gone before. Stupid, I know, but that’s how I felt, probably because I’ve lived my whole life in the city and never went out on trips like these alone.

The trees quickly surrounded me, but it wasn’t dark. I set out in the morning, so I’d have enough time to explore and return before the night came. I guessed it would be very easy to get lost, especially for a foreigner like me, so I decided to just stick to one direction and always go straight ahead. I brought a compass with me just in case.

The forest fascinated me. It wasn’t some tropical rainforest like you’d see in the movies or travel documentaries, you know, full of exotic trees, snakes, monkeys and colorful birds, but it was fascinating nonetheless. Wherever I turned, the different shades of green were calming and just breathtaking. I had no idea there could be so many different shapes and colors of leaves. I had to force myself to stay on track and not get lost, but it was difficult. Before I knew it, I went too far, so I decided to stop and get some rest, after which I would return where I came from.

As I was sitting on a rock, just looking around me, I noticed something that scared the crap out of me at first. It was the first time I actually got frightened since I came to Poa. There was a small hut nearby, looking awfully strange and ominous. Like, who would be living in the middle of a forest?! Also, how did I not notice it before, while I was approaching it? It’s like it just appeared out of nowhere. I immediately thought of all the horror movies I’ve seen and all the horrible ways I could end up dead here.

Just as I got up from the rock to leave, a woman stepped out of the hut.

“Adam, hello.”

Ok, how the FUCK does she know my name?!

“I see you’re scared, and that’s understandable, but please, don’t be,” she said gently. For some reason, I felt inclined to believe her.

“Uh… Who are you? How do you know my name?” I was confused and scared, but my fear was rapidly vanishing. A few seconds later, I found myself walking toward her. This would be the point in the movie where the audience would probably yell “Don’t go in there, you idiot! Run!!!” However, I didn’t run. I wasn’t afraid of her, I was just confused and wanted to find out more. I wanted to hear what she had to say.

“I’m Hiri, this is my home. Please,” she opened the door and motioned for me to go in after her.

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