Slave Of Destiny (8 page)

Michael worked hard
for the rest of the week and he didn’t see any more ghosts or Pricilla for that
matter, but he heard she was pissed off about something.
Vijendra came to see him the very next
morning on his day off work.

“I’m going back out
to sea today and I’m going to be trading. Are you willing to come with me?” he
asked.

“Has your schooner
been painted?” Michael enquired, still unsure if it was safe to go out to sea
with the legendary pirate.

“Yep, the
Mabuhay
is just plain white above the waterline now and it flies the British flag. Are
you coming with me, Lad?” he asked me again.

“What are you going
to trade and when are we coming back?” he asked innocently.

“I’m going to trade
rubber, my boy. Are you coming with me or are you going to keep asking me all
these goddamn questions, because we’re leaving now and we won’t be back for
months?” he stressed.

“Let’s go!” Michael
shouted with glee, bundling his few possessions and cash together. “I hate my
job anyway.”

“The eastern part
of this archipelago has plenty of new rubber trees growing, imported from
Brazil. Rubber is going to become the number one export commodity, instead of
sugar and spices” he admitted.

“Is all your crew
coming with us?” Michael asked him as the two of them walked out the door.

“Only a few of my
old crew are willing to swap the excitement of piracy for a boring life of
trading. Constance is coming with us!” he mentioned as they climbed onto the
wagon.

“Welcome aboard,
Michael” said George as he slapped the reins on the horse’s rump. “It’s going
to be a real adventure.”

“Well said, George”
he suggested.

* * *

The longboat bobbed
gently on the on the water, tethered to the end of the small rickety jetty and
Dayang was there to greet them. The Light breeze seemed to be swirling around
haphazardly and Michael wondered if the large schooner would be able to sail
out of the small cove. The other crew members were already on board and they
were the last to arrive, so the small group wasted no more time and boarded the
longboat. George, Dayang,
Vijendra
and Michael assumed the oarsmen positions as Constance untied the line, jumped
in and pushed the boat out into clear water. Michael looked back to the beach
and watched the activity as he tugged on the oar. Several men were busy
attending to their unfinished crafts, while two young boys played about in a
canoe.

The strength of the breeze increased slightly as they boarded
Mabuhay.
Michael
was the only one who carried any personal items, so he stored them below in the
corner of the galley while the longboat was raised on the rear davits. The
schooner had also under-gone a minor refit to make it look like a normal
trading vessel.
Gone were the
multitude of cannons and the four longboats, only to be replaced with just a
single longboat on the davits and two small dinghies upturned on the top deck.
The top deck was redesigned so that it could open up to accommodate bulk
loading of goods and there was also room for the entire crew to bunk down below
decks. The food lockers were also large enough to allow for months at sea and
Michael felt pleased with all the other minor changes. The blue sky was
streaked with thin wispy clouds and the sea birds were everywhere looking for
the unwary fish. The gentle breeze appeared to be blowing over the hill and
down the valley, because the palm fronds rustled ever so slightly and the water
in the cove was smooth. There were eight other crew members on board and they
rushed about, preparing to raise the sails, once the anchor was raised. Michael
cast his eyes towards Constance, who was standing by their Captain’s side. Her
skin had healthy milky-white glow to it and she looked beautiful as she stood
there in the early morning sun. A splashing sound broke Michael out of his
daydream, so he looked over to see a large school of mullet rushing to get away
from a predator. The sea breeze had a mix of different smells to it; smoke from
the smoke-house, freshly sawn timber, hot pitch which filled the thin gaps in
the boards, rotting fish and a multitude of tree blossom. A few pelicans
crowded around a lone fisherman as he cast his net, waiting for a free feed.
Small long-legged sandpipers raced up and down the beach, looking for soldier
crabs.

“Raise the anchor and set the sails!” shouted Vijendra, to
the two men standing by the hand-operated anchor winch and the others near the
masts. He then addressed his helmsman. “Keep away from the sandbank near the
mangroves, Dayang, and the reef on the point.”

He and Constance clambered down from the helm, before she disappeared
down into the galley.

“The water’s deep over the north side, near the cliff” he
mentioned, when he saw Michael standing there; looking bewildered, thinking
we’ll get shipwrecked.

“How…How deep’s the draught?” Michael enquired.

“It’s 12’8’’.  There’s plenty of water and the tide’s with
us. Constance mentioned you’ve lost some weight, but she will feed you up
again” he mentioned, before shouting an order to two men and walking away.
“Ease the Mainsails slightly.”

Mabuhay
eased slowly through the
cove’s aqua blue water at about three knots as Michael reflected on his life
now.

“
Am I crazy? I have to be absolutely stark raving mad to
dream about all this
” he thought as he watched the passing scenery.

Michael had never stopped wishing he was back in Australia
and back with his family.

“No you’re not crazy Michael” whispered Constance as she
approached him.

“Did…Did I say that out loud?” he mumbled.

`Yes you did, but only I heard what you said” she replied in
her usual calm voice. “On the other hand, do you absolutely think you should be
out here with us?”

“Yes, because I actually miss the sea and I hated cleaning
the bloody tavern and the kitchen” he mentioned, smiling. “How about you, do
you regret going back out to sea with Vijendra?”

“Hmmm, let’s see” she said, trying to appear if she was
thinking really hard, before laughing. “No! But you need to prepare yourself
for ….”

She left him pondering her abrupt finish to the question,
before she ascended the steps to the top rear deck.

“Pirates” Michael mouthed, finishing off her sentence.

* * *

Michael woke up to a light morning drizzle which persisted
all day and he felt miserable. It was probably because he still wasn’t entirely
sure if he was doing the right thing, what to expect and what was going to
happen.

“How are you coping Michael?” asked Constance during the
middle of the dreary afternoon.

“Nothing…nothing at all” he mumbled. “It’s just this bloody
rain, that’s all.”

“Don’t worry, because it will clear up soon” she added,
before moving away again.

Michael left the dry galley and climbed the steps to the top
deck, before walking out into the misty drizzle. He ventured up to the bow and
took a deep breath, hoping the fresh air would make him feel better and
disperse any worries. They’ve only been out to sea for two days, but the land
had disappeared or it was hidden by the mist. His clothes felt very damp, but
he actually felt pretty damn good as he sucked in another lungful of the
oxygenated air. Michael could still remember the words he overheard his
grandmother whisper to his mother one day. “
He will grow up one day, Marion!
”
If she could see him now, she would be pleased as punch with the changes he’s
made. All of a sudden Michael felt the wind pick up remarkably and then, on
cue, the first rumble of thunder and then another louder burst. Lightning
flashed above his head and the rumbling grew louder. As he rushed to get back
to his safe, stuffy haven, the heavens opened up and the rain teemed down, hard
and mean.

“Son of a bitch, I didn’t see this coming.” swore our Captain
as he rushed past Michael when he paused at entrance to the galley. “Lower
those mainsails, NOW!”

“What are we going to do?” Michael asked Connie.

“We have to go below and secure everything that we can find.
The storm’s only going to get worse, so we need to be ready for a mini typhoon”
she added. “Let’s get to it.”

Her words had barely left her mouth and the two of them were
on their way down into the galley, when the schooner groaned and lay over,
sending them tumbling down the steps and into its belly.

“Aww…shit” she mumbled, picking herself back up from the
floor.

“Are you all right?” Michael asked, noticing blood seeping
from a deep gash on her forehead.

“Yea…I’ll live, How about you?” she shouted above the
thunder.

“Just a couple of lumps and bruises” he groaned, hoping that
all it was.

Vijendra secured his footing before he ascended the steps to
the helm, shadowed by his first mate, George; the schooner angling dangerously
to port. Dayang was nowhere in sight and the wheel was spinning wildly. He
rushed over to take control of the wheel, while the rest of the crew members
struggled to lower the mainsails. Another huge wave struck the
Mabuhay
and
Vijendra slipped as he struggled with the wheel; the decks awash with foam and
water. The storm was in full pelt with lightning and thunder all around them.

“Man overboard” he shouted as loud as he could, before
yelling his name. “Dayang?...George, can you search for him?”

After a few seconds, which seemed like an hour, he was able
to steady the schooner. George frantically searched everywhere, before scanning
the wake the schooner left behind in the turbulent sea.

“He’s over there, Vijendra” he shouted. “He’s waving his
arm.”

Throw him a life preserver and I’ll try and come about” he
shouted.

“I’m going in” he shouted, getting ready to run and dive.
“Aim for the life preservers.”

“Noooo…I don’t want to lose you too” he shouted, before he
realized it was too late.

George had already dived into the wild sea, so he had no
other option but to succeed with turning the schooner around quickly. The
distance between the moving schooner and Dayang was much greater than George
first thought and the two life preservers restricted his movements, but he was
a strong swimmer; most seamen were. Dayang managed to swim towards his rescuer,
which allowed George to close the gap quickly.

“Hold onto this and pray Vijendra can find us again” he
shouted in between gulps of air.

The pair watched worriedly as their captain managed to turn
around the schooner, complete a full semicircle around them and slowly come
back up into the moderating breeze towards them. Garjarja, Ameya, Hakim and
Malik were standing on the stern, holding onto two trailing ropes.

“Take a good hold of the rope and we’ll pull you both in”
Hakim shouted.

Slowly but surely the four men hauled in their mates and
dragged them onto the boarding platform

“Thanks” they whispered in unison; their throats raw with the
salt water they ingested.

“We’ll get you down below decks” mentioned Hakim, helping
them up.

The storm slowly abated and seas returned to a slight swell
as the men bailed out the water from the bilge. The clouds dissipated on
sunset, leaving behind a sky filled with grey, pink, orange and red. After
dinner everyone sat up on deck, either smoking, drinking or simply gazing up
into the beautiful night sky filled with stars that twinkled like diamonds. The
seas were peaceful and calm again and they showed no evidence of the turbulence
a few hours ago. Michael leant back against the wall of the rear cabin, his
eyes searching for the few constellations he knew, but he couldn’t recognize
anything except the milky-way. Michael had been introduced to the people on
board and he began to recall their names; Garjarja, Ameya, Hakim
, Malik, Raditya,
Dayang, Manshur and Shafwan were all the crew members, George was the Captain’s
first mate. Along with
Vijendra,
Connie and himself, the total of people on board the
Mabuhay
was twelve.
All of the eight crew members were a mix of native
-born Chinese with
some Indonesian ancestry. They were classed as
Peranakan
and they were treated differently to
full-blooded
Indonesians and full-blooded Chinese. The Chinese
minority in Indonesia had long played a major economic role in the archipelago
as merchants, artisans, and indispensable middlemen in the collection of crops
and taxes from native populations. They encountered considerable hostility from
both Indonesians and Europeans, largely because of the economic threat they
seemed to pose. One by one the men turned to their bunks, leaving just Garjarja
and Ameya to take the first shift for the night, so Michael went below to sleep
when the Captain and Connie went to their cabin.