Chapter 6

My Little Journey

"Let me ask you this first, son. Will she be worth it?" Papa's facial expression and tone even become too momentous. "I mean... New York City was miles away from here. We don't know what lies ahead of you when you get there. And besides, she was still a stranger to you. And so is you to her."

I'm not sure about how far my distance between me and Nathalie was, considering I haven't experienced leaving the island since the day I was born. But I don't care about the distance. It's just numbers. One thing is for certain, never have I ever felt to be that eager and excited to meet someone.

And she was the first half-human and half-wolf who tried to communicate with me without judgement. Needless to say, the kind of communication we have. A letter sending in a bottle.

"She's worth a try, Paps. I'm losing nothing if I try, right?" I shortly heaved a sigh and smiled at them positively. "And besides, she was the first wolf in my entire life who accepted me."

"Brother Josh, you might say that for now because she doesn't know about you yet. What if she will hate you the moment you two see each other, huh?"

"All right then. We don't know. You two might be destined for each other, right? And besides, I believed in destiny. There's has so much to tell when it comes to love So, you have my blessing, son." Mama chuckled before she moved out from her seat and slid to the lavatory carrying her empty dishes.

"Come on, honey. Joshua was still too young for that!" Papa exclaimed his disagreement.

"I'm already twenty years old, Paps. And besides, you already taught me a few things. I'm no longer the no-read-no-write kind of wolf as what the others think of me. I wanted to at least try instead of doing nothing on this island. Don't see my future here, to be precise."

I blinked at Mama in exchange for her full support for my decision. at least, Papa's approval is now my problem. With Mama's help, Papa would just shut off.

"Fine," he replied. "But, you must follow everything I will say to you when you get there. Are we clear?" As expected, Papa would say such a word if mama and I already have one thing in common.

Papa then instructed me about the do's and dont's for my journey to New York City. One to mention that I should control my wolf's rage every time I will be put into undesirable situations. That no matter how extremely furious I will be, I should not unfold and awaken the beast inside me to avoid conflicts, especially when no one from my family will tag along with me.

Two days from that day forward. That was Papa's high advice for me to start my journey to New York City since he knew the distance between us was miles away.

He offered me to use his newly made small wooden boat, compass, an old map, and some of the essentials I needed for my travel such as ropes, extra pedals, a galloon of water, dried foods, bars of gold,

In the meantime, I used the remaining two days to prepare everything I needed to make sure my journey will be successful.

So, I made sure the wooden boat would be ready to take its first journey. I checked every corner of the boat if there will be a leakage or abnormalities.

Also, I studied the old map and compass to make sure I will not get lost. Even tested the boat traveling a few kilometers from the island, thinking I might see some bottles floating from the ocean.

Sadly, even after two days of roaming around the ocean, I haven't seen any bottles from Nathalie. The last letter was about her eighteenth birthday invitation. Good thing she included a few pieces of information for my reference.

"Are you ready, son?" Traces of sadness has marked Papa's voice. Full of uncertainty if I may describe the tone.

Papa was currently helping me prepare for my departure. He and Mama helped me pack up my stuff and securely set them on the boat.

Justine, on the other hand, made me a lucky charm bracelet. He said that it will help me guide me in the right direction even with the possibility I could meet uncertain events like typhoons and huge sea waves.

"I am Paps. Don't worry, I'd be fine. I promise." I immediately wrapped my arms around him right after settling all I needed in the boat. Next to him were Mama and Justine.

"Don't promise, son. Promises are made to be broken. Instead, do your best. Get back to the island without a scratch." Mum's tears suddenly dropped to her cheeks while clapping my chest.

"Just don't forget everything I taught you, all right. Two days. As soon as you and Nathalie will see each other, we'd be expecting you to get back to the island two days after that. " Papa added.

"Everything was duly noted, Paps. I believed our wolf ancestors will guide me in my journey." I smiled at them to enhance their awful moods.

The three of them could not help but burst out crying as soon as I hopped into the wooden boat. Justine kept waving his hands at me, trying to leave me with a smile on his face.

"Good luck, Brother Josh!" Justine yelled.

So, I waved my hands at them. A few minutes later, the three of them were already out of sight. In a few hours, I could barely see the island from my distance anymore.

And there has no turning back.

Three nights and two days. That was about how long I traveled while floating through the wide blue ocean before I finally see a few colorful and beautiful bright lights lit up from the distance.

The sun had already set down when I docked Papa's wooden boat on the seashore. From where I was standing, I could tell that I was in the right place when I could see a huge banner with a "Welcome to New York City" banner.

I was supposed to feel excited since my journey to New York City was successful. However, my thunderous heartbeats were in a race as I could barely comprehend what to do next.

Compared to the island, the air in New York City smells a bit polluted. Even from a distance, I could hear loud horns wooshing and a few chatting.

Based on my quick observation, they were not wolves. There was no werewolf blood that runs through their veins. Perhaps that was what Papa referred to as the humans.

With regards to the loud horns, I'm not sure what are those things. But I'm pretty sure they were moving at the speed of light.

"Welcome to New York City, Josh!" I exclaimed to myself before I started lifting my feet away from the boat.

This time, the only thing I brought with me was her photo, a bottle, and a letter inside it. Those will be the only proof for Nathalie to believe me.

"You?" A human's furious voice suddenly reverberated in my ears from behind me. "Stop there or I'll shoot you!" He added.

When I turned around and got the vision to see the human, I was completely surprised after seeing his clothes. His entire body, except his arms and face, was covered with linens.