Beyond Frontier - 33. BF Chapter 33

We returned to the yacht feeling very relaxed after a wonderful night out.

After having a bit of a sleep in we had a late lunch, then went into town to do some food shopping in preparation for our trip back to home port. After a light lunch we climbed into my vehicle, which Finn had driven down a few days earlier, and we headed to the domestic airport to collect Kirk and Leon.

When we heard that the Canadian flight had landed, I started to get a little nervous. Simon tried to calm me down a little as we waited for the passengers to disembark. Simon and Finn stepped to one side out of sight of the arrivals, while I stood behind a tall man who was waiting for a passenger. When I saw Kirk and Leon arrive they stopped and looked around to try and find Simon.

They were just a few metres away from me as I stepped out from behind the tall man and took a few steps forward. I was just two metres away and directly in front of them when they recognised me. They both dropped their luggage in shock and their mouths dropped open as Simon and Finn came up beside me with big smiles.

“Simon, am I dreaming or is that really the boss standing there?” Kirk asked my best friend, and both Simon and Finn chuckled.

“No, my friend, you are not dreaming. It is really Anton standing beside me,” Simon said, and both lads rushed forward and wrapped me in a group hug. Both had tears flowing down their cheeks.

“Ok, guys, let me breath, and let’s get going. I will explain everything when we get to the Last Frontier,” I said to Kirk and Leon.

“How was your trip back home?” Finn asked the lads as they let me go and retrieved their luggage, before they followed us out of the terminal.

“Yes, it was good to see the families again, but we couldn’t wait to get back, even thou there was a lot of uncertainty on what will happen in the future with Hamilton Ocean Cruises,” Leon replied, as we walked through the huge carpark.

“Anton, do you remember how someone did a mobile video recording of you when you were talking about our remote island adventures in the northern Pacific? I was thinking if we do something similar to explain what happened during the past 2 ½ years that you were missing,” Simon suggested.

“I will think about it,” I said as we all climbed into the vehicle and set off for Fremantle.

About 45 minutes later we arrived at the fishing boat harbour. We helped the lads to get their luggage on board and they settled into their usual cabin on the port side pontoon.

“I think we better go back to our usual starboard side pontoon cabin,” Simon announced.

“Can you start doing that please, Love, while I get started on dinner?” Finn said to Simon, who smiled as he headed down to the guest cabins to start packing the clothes that they had there.

I sat at the navigation desk studying the charts. I pulled out a piece of paper from my pocket, and grabbing the sat phone I dialled the number.

“Good evening, Horizon and Beyond, 1^st officer Steve speaking,” I heard the familiar voice.

“Good evening 1^st Officer. How are you tonight?” I replied with a smile.

“Joe, I mean Anton. Is that you?’ came a reply, and I chuckled.

“Yes, Steve, it is Anton speaking. I am back on my yacht again and I am happy to be home. I will be seeing my grandfather and brother’s tomorrow afternoon, which I am looking forward to. So far just my crew know that I am alive and well,” I replied.

“Ha ha ha, I can imagine the shock they got when they saw you,” Steve replied.

“Yes, one of the crew members fainted twice before he believed that it was really me,” I said and Steve laughed.

“Well, it is good to hear that you are happy and back with family and friends. I will let the captain know that you called. He is sleeping at the moment,” Steve said.

“Ok, mate. It was good talking to you. Bye for now,” I said and ended the call before heading downstairs to help Finn with preparing dinner. Once we had eaten, I announced to the crew that we would be leaving at 7am the next morning with an ETA at home port of 1pm. I decided to relax in the crew lounge for a while before heading to bed early.

The next morning, after a shower, I headed to the galley for some breakfast. Finn had some toast and a cup of tea waiting for me.

“Good morning, Boss. It looks like we have a beautiful day ahead of us,” Finn said with a smile.

“I have just checked the weather. We have good seas and a 20 km per hour wind from the south west for our trip up the coast, Boss,” Simon added as he came down the stairs from the bridge.

“That is good. What are the lads doing?” I asked as I took a sip of tea.

“They have eaten and are on deck ready to set off when you are ready,” Simon replied. I looked at my watch which read 6.40 am.

“Have you eaten, Simon?” I asked my best friend.

“Yes, Boss. Finn and I ate half an hour ago,” Simon replied.

“Ok, let’s get going them. Take her out please, Si,” I replied.

“The six-hour journey up the coast was very uneventful. We arrived in the early afternoon and moored at our usual spot where another vehicle was there waiting for us with a note on the windscreen; “Simon, keys in usual hiding place. See you when you get here, Gramps.” Leaving Kirk and Leon staying on board, Simon, Finn and I climbed into the vehicle with Simon driving.

“Can we go to the school first please, Si? I need to see my brothers first,” I said, and Simon smiled. We set off to the district high school that was only five minutes away. On my own I walked up to the admin centre and walked through the front door.

“Good heavens! You are alive,” the receptionist lady said to me as she spotted me enter.

“Yes, ma’am. I was just lost and had no memory for a couple years, but I am ok now,” I replied with a smile as the lady stepped over to the side.

“Attention students, can Neal and Jedd Hamilton please report to the administration office right away,” the reception lady said into the PA microphone. I smiled just as the deputy headmaster walked out to find out what was happening.

“Holy cow! You are alive,” he said when he saw me.

“Yes, sir, I am. I don’t know about the religious cow, but I am alive. I hit my head and lost my memory for a couple of years, but I am fine now,” I replied. I had my back to the front door when it opened.

“You called us, Miss,” I heard one of my teenage brothers say, not sure which one it was. I slowly turned to face them.

“Anton!” the boys chorused and raced towards me.

They had grown so much I hardly recognised them as I was given a group hug by my brothers who burst into tears.

“We missed you so much, Anton,” the boys said to me almost at the same time.

“I have missed you guys lots too. Now if it is ok by the deputy I would like to take you home early,” I said as I turned to face the deputy headmaster.

“Yes, Mr Hamilton, you have my permission. It is nice to see you again,” the deputy headmaster said, and waved us goodbye. The boys followed me out of the administration building and grabbed a hand each to stay in contact with me as we approached the vehicle. A few minutes later we arrived at my new home, that I was seeing completed for the first time, since it was still being built when I disappeared. It looked wonderful.

Simon opened the door to the stairs below the office and called out, “Gramps, it’s Simon. Are you here?”

“Yes. Come on up,” came a reply from Gramps. Simon stepped to one side to let me and my brothers go up the stairs.

“Hello, Gramps. How are you?” I said softly as I arrived at the top. The boys stood next to me.

“Good. I am just working through some plans with… my god… Anton. Is it really you?” Gramps said when he realised that it was me.

“Yes, Gramps. It is really me. I lost my memory and just got it back recently. I have been working on a cargo ship as a navigator travelling all over Asia,” I replied, as I stepped towards him and gave him a long warm hug, which my brothers joined in.

“My Dear Boy, how much I have missed you,” Gramps said to me as he struggled to fight back tears.

“This office looks great compared to what was on the plans. I look forward to seeing the rest,” I said as I heard a noise coming up the spiral stairs. It turned out to be Roey. “Hello you. Oh my! Look how much you have grown!” I said as I squatted down to pat her. Roey jumped into my arms, knocking me down to the floor, and she began to lick my face, wagging her tail like mad, so happy to see me again.

“Well it looks like she hasn’t forgotten you, Anton,” Gramps said to me, as he smiled, as I rubbed her tummy and hugged her some more.

“It is wonderful to get such a nice welcome home. The boys were a little shocked when I was in the admin building at school waiting for them when they were called to the office,” I explained.

“Well, let’s show you the rest of the office. Then we can go over to the house,” Gramps said to me. We followed him around the administration centre before we headed down the stairs, and Roey followed right behind me like old times, which made me smile. I glanced over to the wildlife reserve as I was looking forward to seeing Emma again.

“Sara and James are on lunch break and they will be back soon,” Gramps said to me, as we entered the downstairs section of the house. The boys showed me their bedrooms, and the theatre room, before we headed upstairs. “The study is my bedroom, as I didn’t want to disturb your bedroom,” Gramps explained to me, as we looked around the upper part of the house, which looked great. We all sat down in the lounge area.

“Gramps, we have finished all of the maintenance on the trimaran, and done a thorough spring clean, so the yacht is ready to go again. Simon suggests that I do a phone video to explain where I have been for the past 2 ½ years, and I think that might be a good idea to explain to all of our friends and past guests,” I said to Gramps as I heard Simon coming up the steps.

“I will be the videographer, so the family can be together for this. And where you are seated now is perfect,” Simon said when he appeared. He pulled out his phone. “Ok, Gramps, maybe you can do a short introduction without revealing Anton being here. Then we can move to Anton to explain everything,” Si said.

An hour later, after three attempts, we had completed the 15-minute video clip, and Simon transferred it onto a computer where we all watched it to see if there were any mistakes before we agreed that it was fine. Going online to the company website Simon removed the notice about closing down the company, and added the video clip on the front page.

“Dear family, friends and former guests, I am very happy to announce, that the decision to close has been reversed. I have someone here to explain everything,” Gramps said in the introduction as the video moved to include me and the boys in the picture and I began my explanation.

“In conclusion, I wish to thank everyone who has supported my grandfather and two brothers during the time that I was missing. A big thankyou from me. For now, we as a family, will be spending some time together to catch up on the past two years, so we will not be accepting any cruise bookings until further notice. Thank-you,” I said as I concluded the video clip.

A few minutes later, as we sat around chatting, we heard a scream coming from the office. We saw Sarah running across the walkway towards us. Simon opened the door for her and she came rushing in and raced into my arms. I just laughed.

“Looks like someone was watching the website,” Simon said with a chuckle.

“Well this is a nice welcome back,” I said to Sarah, who blushed a little.

“Well, I better get back to the office. No doubt I will get lots on enquiries now that you have posted the video clip. It’s great to see you again, Boss,” Sarah said. Then she headed back to the office, and I chuckled at her enthusiastic energy.

“I think it is time for me to go and see my favourite pet, to see if she remembers me,” I said.

“We want to come and watch too, Anton,” the boys chorused.

Once I had passed through the double gates, I sat down on the ground where I watched the wallabies grazing on grass hay.

“Emma,” I called in a normal voice. “Emma, where are you girl?” I said a little louder, and suddenly I saw not one but five spikey creatures racing towards me, which made me chuckle. Emma stopped in front of me, then stepped onto my open hands.

“Hello, Emma. It is nice to see you again, and you brought your family too,” I said as I ticked her under her chin. She rolled onto her back, and I ticked her tummy too, before turning her back onto her feet, and holding her close to me, where she licked me with her long sticky tongue, which I was not expecting. I carefully placed her back on the ground, where her four babies were close by watching our interaction. I placed my hand on the ground again.

All four puggles, hesitated at first, then cautiously approached my hand, and smelt it with their noses, before backing off and hiding behind their mother, which made me chuckle. Emma came up to my hand and I tickled her under the chin before she led her brood back to their nesting area. As I left the yard I came face to face with James.

“Holy crap! I thought you… wow you are alive!” James said in shock. I chuckled as I wrapped him in a hug.

“Hi, Mate. How are you enjoying life as a wildlife carer?” I said to him, as he returned the hug, before stepping back a little.

“I absolutely love it. I have learnt so much, and we get visits from your vet friend at the zoo once a month to check on them and bring any supplies I need,” James replied.

“Thank-you for doing that for me in my absence. I hope you will stay and continue the great work,” I said to James, as Roey came up to me and sat down beside me. “I think Roey is saying she wants to go for a walk, so I better take her. I will talk to you later,” I said to James. I gave a small whistle and Roey followed me as we crossed the road and walked onto the beach.

As I walked with Roey I thought how happy I am again. I was back with my family, friends and crew, and I was hoping that this would be the start of a new chapter in our lives, where we would not have any more dramas with terrorists, and crazy reporters, and just be able to enjoy what I have now.

The End