Harvesting Acorns (11 page)

Ethan
choked back a sob and hugged Grace, apologising for the bad news. She collapsed
wordlessly into his arms and he helped her to a chair. He left her momentarily
to help the little girl call her mother and waited with her until her mother
arrived before returning to Grace to offer his support and condolences. Grace’s
mother arrived just then, and one look at her daughter’s face told her that her
whole world had just fallen apart. Ethan explained to her what had happened,
told her he would be in touch if any further news cropped up, and left. Grace’s
mother took her daughter in her arms and held her as she sobbed.

Grace
continued to teach, but she walked around in a stupor of sadness, her lifeless
eyes just reflecting pain and loss. Her mother was so worried; Grace had always
been the quintessence of eternal optimism, serenity and wisdom beyond her
years. This was the first she had ever seen her daughter so bereft and without
the will to do anything other than exist from day to day. No one could reach
her. Slowly her students dwindled, their parents empathised with Grace, but she
was not a positive influence to their children and their music practice had
been affected.

After
six months she began to pull herself together, ever so slightly. She took a
little bit of pride in her appearance again and began playing her violin, which
she had abandoned the day she had received the devastating news. It had been
almost a year since she had stood on the beach and watched Joel sail away,
watching the words ‘Amazing Grace’ getting smaller and smaller.

One
morning, the anniversary of the day Joel left, she got up, suddenly driven by
something she couldn’t interpret. She dressed quickly and ran down to the
beach. She climbed to the top of the sand dune and sat quietly. She felt the
universe wanted to tell her something - something important. She sat quietly,
eyes closed, shutting out all thought and just listening. She heard: ‘Open your
eyes, Grace!’  She obeyed, and as she squinted against the sun she was sure she
was imagining it, but there seemed to be a boat on the horizon.

Her
heart started pounding but she told herself to stop the foolishness.  It was
her heart playing tricks on her because of the significance of that day. Still,
she could not tear her eyes away from the horizon. In a few minutes there was
no doubt, there definitely was a boat. She dared not hope, she told herself it
could be any boat. Boats came and went all the time in their harbour. Yet she
was rooted to the spot, willing herself to leave and spare herself the
heartache, but unable to move a muscle. In half an hour it was in full view,
and Grace’s heart leaped with joy as it passed and she read those beautiful
words: ‘Amazing Grace.’

She
jumped up and sprinted down the beach as fast as she could go to the harbour.
Ethan had seen her running, but had not seen Joel’s boat. He hurried down to
Grace, concerned that she may be having a meltdown; he knew what this day was.
As he approached he saw the look on her face and followed her gaze as the
Amazing Grace came around the corner and into full view. Joel stood at the bow
while Simon steered her into dock.

He
leaped off as soon as he was near enough and ran to sweep Grace into his arms.
They cried and laughed and hugged each other. He promised he would never ever
leave her again. Everyone in the harbour came rushing down and crowded Simon
and Joel, who was holding tightly onto Grace, oblivious of the crowd. Everyone
had heard of their disappearance and the whole town had been in mourning. Ethan
had asked them to back away and give Joel and Grace some space. There would be
plenty of time for questions later.

Joel
left her side for a moment, intending to help Simon moor the boat and unpack,
but Ethan stepped in front of him. He told him to take his lady home and he and
the rest of the Sea Rescue staff would sort the boat out. He ordered Simon to
go home as well.

The
following morning as Joel and Grace woke up; they heard a commotion outside the
cabin. The beach in front of the cabin was swarming with photographers,
journalists and all the villagers. It was a huge mix of welcome home
celebrations and squabbling for front page stories. Joel decided that he would
give one speech to all at once, get it over with, no individual interviews. He
just wanted to rest and recover and bask in the glow of Grace’s love. He got
dressed and then stood on the veranda with Grace beside him and recounted his
story.

He
and Simon had set sail, full of excitement. All had gone well for the first two
months of their voyage. Sailing had been a breeze; they had visited many exotic
places. One afternoon, just towards the end of their third month at sea, and
about the time they were have meant to head for home, huge storm clouds had
begun to gather and approached rapidly. They were far off from any continent,
or so they thought - they had not too long ago left the islands but thought they
had sailed a good distance away already. They braced themselves to push through
the storm.

Huge
swells pounded their boat. They tried to pull down the sails before the gales
hit but were just bringing down the main sail when a huge gust ripped it free of
their grasp and tore it from the mast. They had still been struggling with this
as a rogue wave hammered the side of the Amazing Grace and capsized her,
flinging Joel and Simon into the water. By grace alone, they managed to grab
hold of the side of the boat and clamber up. They had both put on their life
jackets when they had seen the clouds gathering. They were battered by waves
for what seemed like forever. It was pitch dark, and they had lost their
flares. They both thought they had seen another boat or ship’s lights, but as suddenly
as they had appeared, they disappeared. All Joel and Simon could do was cling
to the boat and pray.

Then,
as quickly as the storm had appeared, it passed. Weak and shaken, they lay on
top of the capsized boat, which miraculously had not sunk yet. The sun came
back out and warmed them and slowly they had begun to gather their thoughts and
between the two of them had tried to figure out what to do. Not too long after
they saw land approaching and realised they were being carried by the current
towards it. Night approached and they prepared for a long, frightening, cold
and wet ordeal.

As
dawn arrived they saw that they had drifted into shallow water and they were
able to anchor the capsized boat and swim ashore. They would work out how to
get the boat to shore once they had recuperated and gained a bit of strength.
They had no idea where they were. Wherever it was it was very remote and unspoiled.
In fact, there didn’t seem to be any form of buildings or civilisation at all. Too
tired to explore, they both collapsed, exhausted, onto the sand.

After
a few hours they went in search of shelter for the night. When they had found somewhere
reasonably enclosed, they swam out to the boat to scavenge any food they could
find. They took turns diving under the boat and hauling out whatever they could
grab in the space of time that they could hold their breath. They managed to
fish out a few tins and some chocolate bars before returning to shore.

The
next morning they ventured out to see if they could trace where they were and
find other people. They came across a small village, which, while not entirely
uncivilised, was not very advanced as far as technology, and amenities were
concerned. It was a settlement of possibly two hundred people, all who had
relocated to this small island in search of an alternative lifestyle to that
from which they had come on the mainland. ‘Flower children’ they liked to be
called, not ‘hippies’. They were peace warriors, living naturalist lifestyles
in a commune-type village. They were opposed to war, capitalism and all forms
of stereotyping and conformity. They grew their own food, made their own
clothes from natural fibres – when they actually wore any clothes at all – and
shared responsibilities of raising and educating their children.

They
stood for love, respect and equality and dreamed of a world free of violence
and greed. Where they had come from, they had been outcasts – ridiculed and
prosecuted for their ways that were seen as rebellious and antagonistic. When
they protested against abuse or for equal rights they were subjected to
physical attacks by the authorities. Many had been wounded. Young teenagers had
been ostracised by their peers and families. The first fifty who decided that
enough was enough had set sail for the island three years before, seeking to
create a sanctuary for like-minded children of the Earth who had no place in
conventional society.

Sanctuary:
the word alone seemed to embrace the person who spoke it, engulfing them in
peace, providing comfort. You could see it in the eyes of each person who told
their story of finding their way to the sanctuary. It was not only a physical
place of refuge, but peace within a person’s heart.

Once
the settlement had been established, the elders went back to the mainland to
fetch others needing escape. Even now, new flower children found their way to
the island each time the supply boats made their visits – they were not quite
self-sufficient on the island. There were still a few items they needed to
purchase, but in time they hoped that need would be eliminated as their
resources grew.

Joel
recounted the immediate peace he had felt when entering the sanctuary. One of
the elders, he called himself Logan, welcomed them in and offered them a place to
stay. Their accommodations were very simple, but very beautiful –made from wood
and reeds, mud and straw bales. The rooms were all built facing inwards
surrounding the inner gathering area where many of the families were
interacting quietly. There was a serene ambience: everyone spoke quietly and
calmly, even the children playing were gentle and peaceful. People were lazing
in hammocks or sitting quietly in meditation, others were playing instruments,
quietly and ethereally.

Joel
and Simon were offered breakfast which they gratefully accepted. They were
given fruit, nuts and freshly baked bread. The inhabitants lived vegan
lifestyles on the island; they didn’t keep animals for providing food in any
form. After breakfast Logan asked them to share their story and offered to help
in any way they could. They decided that they would take a team of strong men
down to the beach that afternoon and try to bring the Amazing Grace in and turn
her right side up. They would do their best to help salvage her so that Joel
and Simon could sail her home.

Logan
explained that their supply ship only visited once every six months and so if
anything was needed they would need to wait, but would be most welcome to live
in the sanctuary until then. Joel was grateful, but devastated. He just wanted
to get home to Grace. There wasn’t any form of communication with the outside
world so Joel couldn’t get in contact with Grace in any way to let her know he
was safe.  He would never leave her again if he could get to her safely.

They
ended up having a revolutionary experience living among the Flower Children and
learning their ways of life. There were definitely principles that Joel felt
aligned with his own and ways of living that he could adopt. Simon found his
niche with those responsible for growing produce, he helped wherever he could
and tried his hand at cooking and discovered his culinary skills were greater
than he thought they were. He may have found his calling.

Joel
used the time to search within himself. He participated in morning and evening
meditations and yoga and when he allowed the thoughts back after clearing his
mind, he focused all of his energy on the dream he and Grace had planted all
those years ago. Both of them had realised their individual dreams, and now the
most important one he prayed he would have an opportunity to realise. He spent
a lot of time with the musicians and craftsmen, honing the talents he already
had.

Eventually
the supply ship arrived and they were able to fix their boat. It took about a
month before they were satisfied that she was ready for the trip home. It took
them a full two months to travel home because they took a slow trip just to be
safe, and took a longer route home, hugging coastlines as much as possible.

Through
the long trip home all he could think of was Grace, and their love for each
other. It was her love guiding him home as the stars had led sailors in ancient
times before him.

Joel’s
audience had been silent and awe struck throughout his recount but when he had
finished the reporters started snapping away with their cameras and surrounding
him all trying to have their individual questions answered. Joel told them that
he had already given them all the information and would not be conducting any
further interviews. He wanted to be left in peace, to claim his own sanctuary
with Grace and he asked that everyone respect their right to privacy. He also
would not give the location of the island where he and Simon had been out of
respect for the privacy of the people who had been so generous with their
hospitality.

From
then on Joel and Grace were inseparable – as they had been when they were
children. The years apart melted away between them and their love grew and
blossomed into a commitment to each other that came before anything else.
Through their travels and searching they had found and established their
individuality and were able to maintain that within the union of their
relationship. They were neither dependent on each other to define themselves
nor so independent that there was no need for the other. Instead, they stood
together, two strong individuals with a shared dream and a mutual commitment to
that dream.