Chapter 5 Swallowed By The Sea

While she was still all in her head, she felt something hit her back. She snapped out of her thoughts immediately and became alert.

She felt another object heading towards her again but this time, she caught it on a whim before it could hit her again.

"Whoo-hoo!" A hailing sound came out from behind a big rock at the sidebefore a clapping sound followed,pakpakpakpakpakpak.

“What a nice defence! I was beginning to doubt your skills when you did not get the first one." Festus mentioned cynically as he emergedfrom behind the big rock.

Dimitri’s face creased in distaste. "Always in the wrong time." 

She threw the kernel she had caught back at him but he successfully dodged it and smiled victoriously, making Dimitri scoff.

"If I wanted to hit you, I would have done it without stress." She rolled her eyes and continued walking.

Festus shook his head, "tsk tsk tsk." 

He ran past her to stop in front of her. "Don't be so grouchy. Like I said earlier, I am your guardian angel," he smiled as he looked at her face.

Dimitri sighed out heavily and pushed him away with her arm so she could keep walking, but Festus grabbed her hand all of a sudden.

"What is wrong —" she was about to protest but Festus beat her to it.

"Did your father really let you train till your hands became so hurt?" Festus stared at her hands which were red and covered with cuts.

He felt pained on her behalf, even he could not go through such strenuous exercises like she did.

Dimitri retracted her hands back; she did not want to seem weak in front of anyone. "It is my duty as a Saw heir. I have to get home before my father looks for me," was all she said as she turned to the side to walk past him.

"Let's get your hands treated first before you get an infection." Festus said as he grabbed unto her leaving no room for rejection.

He pulled her towards the seaside where there was a clinic.

"Let me go, I don't want your help." Dimitri struggled, trying to pull her hand back. 

To her, receiving help was showing weakness.

"Do you want your hand to be cut off?" Festus shouted at her, feeling annoyed by Dimitri’s stubbornness. He just wanted to help his friend but she was making it seem like he was a bad person.

Dimitri’s body stilled in shock. "Cut off?" her eyes almost fell out of their sockets, she did not understand why her hands would be cut off.

Festus knotted his brows as he informed her. "If your injury gets infected, your hands will be cut off to stop the infection from going into other parts of your body. Don't you know that?" 

His mother works in the clinic so he knew things like this.

Dimitri got scared at this newly found information.How will she be without a hand? Her father might even disown her.

"Okay, let's go," she finally relented and they went to the clinic peacefully.

When they got to the clinic, they got the injury cleaned and treated then wrapped it with a bandage before leaving.

"Don't you feel better now?" Festus asked as they sat on a tree stem that had been cut off.

Dimitri just nodded once as she gazed towards the sea.

"You know, those tree beds (referring to a boat now) can take someone anywhere in the sea." Festus said as they looked at Fish hunters (Fisher men now) peddling their boats back to the shore.

Dimitri’s ears perked up. "Anywhere? Is there a place beyond the sea?" She asked.

"I heard dad say to mom one night that he saw a lot of trees from afar when he went fish hunting one day. Maybe there are creatures like us there?" Festus eyes glimmered as he delivered the news.

He would like to take his best friend far away from the Island if he could.

Dimitri’s eyes shined brightly as she watched the tree beds in the water. 

She would have to learn how to move the tree bed and maybe one day she would leave this Island and go far away.

YEARS LATER…

It was very stormy that night, the thunders and lightning were taking their turns in the sky. The third thunder clapped and a set of eyes snapped open, revealing a determined ink black eye.

Today was the day she had been planning since she was twelve.

She rose up quietly from the bed and stretched her hand to get a leaf bag under the bed. When she got hold of it, she traced her steps carefully towards her room window and leaped out to land as quietly as possible, then she fled to the seashore as fast as she could.

"Dimitri!" A voice called out to her but she did not look back as she kept on running.

If she gets caught today, she was sure there won't be a next time.

"Tri!" The voice called out again, sounding hurried this time.

Dimitri knew it was Festus calling her but she had no intention to stop, she got to a tree bed and unhooked the rope from the large wood used to keep it at bay.

Only when the tree bed started floating away did she turn back.

"I will be fine Fes, don't worry about me!" She shouted through the heavy rain downpour, but their voices were barely audible.

"You turn 20 tomorrow! Are you just going to leave like that?" Festus was hurt. If he did not see her jump through the window, she would not have bothered to tell him that she planned to leave.

Dimitri smiled sadly. "That's why I must leave today," she said to herself.

"The rain is too heavy Dimitri; you will get yourself killed!" Festus shouted with worry in his heart. He knew she could fight, but could she fight the sea?

"I won't die! I will be fine!" Dimitri replied, but her voice was already like a whisper to Festus whose distance was far away from her moving tree bed.

Her head fell dejectedly, “If I die, then at least I would die doing one thing I wanted to do." she told herself sadly.

The sea did not show Dimitri any mercy as its waves tossed and hit against each other, pushing the boat violently. She tried to pedal, but unfortunately for her it broke, leaving the boat moving aimlessly.

"Ah!" 

Those were the last words that came out from her mouth before the sea swallowed her and the tree bed whole.