At the campsite Friday early evening, around 6 or 7pm, no electricity only solar torch and no one around except the dogs. It was already pitch dark, the wind was blowing as usual and the stars were shining like diamonds. We were sitting in the kitchen, we listened to the constant noise of the waves rolling to the beach. We were wondering what we would be next: cooking or just sitting. We were leaving the next day. We already packed and gave some presents to Juli. His wife Nising was not there, it was a bit unusual. We offered what they need such as rice, potatoes and eggs. The light of our neighbours was still burning but the family was not there. It was strange. In the evening, they eat and listen to the radio together and go to sleep between 8 and 9pm. That night even Juli left and did not turn the light off. The “door” was still opened. When out of the blue, Juli, our neighbour popped in the kitchen and tried to explain us something with signs. Three years ago he had a stroke and lost his speech, one of his arm is partially paralysed. We could not really understand but what we understood is that something wrong happened. We had to follow him, barefoot with two solar torches, in the jungle. But where to??? We did not have a clue. When passing our tent, I put the postcard I carried with me, it took few seconds but Juli and Önder were already at the end of the property. I tried to run after them but barefoot was impossible. I lost their trace. I stood in the darkness, nervous. I wanted to walk more but I was lost. I could not find the path, it was too difficult. I could not even shout their names, the wind and the sea were too loud and took away any screaming. So, I went back and sat on the beach, resigned and waited for how long??!!! I could not tell, our mobiles were out of batteries. The dogs were around but they could not help much! The puppy distracted me for a while. I panicked 1000 of thoughts went through my head: what could have happened in a virgin island? Another fight, our host found drunk somewhere and Önder where did he go???? At some point I was about to go to Alvin´s but why and what??? There is no connection on this side of the island. I decided to wait in the tent until they came back. The wait was unbearable. 500m away from the campsite The villagers gathered at someone´s place and something occurred. It was a hectic and chaotic. Önder still did not know what happened as everyone spoke Tagalog or Cuyanon (the local dialect). Two of the villagers Mari Jane and Juli´s son in law were ready to go to the other side of the island and Juli wanted Önder to go. He went with them, still barefoot, without having a single idea what was the matter. He knew it was terrible. He was worried about me as I was alone, he could not go back. He walked up and down the hill in the jungle without shoes. Once they arrived at Henkie´s place, a part of the villagers were waiting. It was already 7:30pm. Henkie´s daughter, Jirren, translated to Önder the story: two people were missing since 5:30pm. Nising (Juli´s wife) and Julian, her grandson, were missing. They went to Linapacan for the day to buy rice and maybe to sell some homemade brooms. It was a frightful news. What stroke Önder was that people were relaxed. He asked few questions such as where are they? What did you do so far to find them? Did you contact the coastal guards? Then the villagers started to show some concerns and called Linapacan but no one saw them. They reached Ben, the future mayor candidate, to call the coastal guard. The tension rose suddenly. They said that they did not see the boat at the harbour. It meant that they were still at sea. Everyone feared the worst, but no one spoke about it. At some point, Önder asked Jirren, (Henkie´s daughter) to call Alvin. But Alvin was not reachable. Jirren called Ben in Linapacan to call Alvin! There was no direct signal. Alvin got the news and went immediately to the campsite. At the campsite, I was still in the tent, worried to death. I saw a light and jumped out. It was not Önder but Alvin. He shouted that my husband was fine. I did not understand at first who is my husband??? Ok Önder!!! I: “Where was he?” A: On the other side of the island! I: WHAATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT????? HOW COME???? In one second, I put my shoes on, took a torch and grabbed Önder´s shoes. Let´s go to the other side of the island. On the way, we met a villager who talked with Alvin about the situation. Alvin translated and mentioned that Önder was on a boat but he is safe now, everything is fine!!!! I could not believe it, Önder went to the other side of the island on a boat although he is not the best swimmer and the weather was stormy. It did not make sense at all. It was time to walk up the hill. Alvin had only his light of his mobile, he lost tracks several times until a villager showed him the right path. It was the second time that day that I went through the jungle. At that time, it was not fun anymore, I was very worried but sometimes my mood changed to anger, despair. I needed to see Önder alive. Alvin was maybe nervous but was just laughing all the time. He could not say much about the situation, he did not get any information. We walked as fast as we could and eventually we were on the other side of the island. The last meters were a torture, I could not run in the soft sand. On the other side of the island We arrived at Henkie´s place. The villagers were sitting and chatting as if nothing occurred?!!! What mattered is that Önder was there…he sat amongst them. I was shivering, it was such a relief, but so confusing to see everyone so relaxed!!! I could have cried but I could not. People don’t show feelings here! Önder was also so happy to see me but he could not comfort me neither. No one could understand why I was in such an emotional state. Alvin was not laughing any more, he was very concerned. I listened carefully to the story and I could not believe what Önder was telling. Nising and Julian were missing, the boat was seen for the last time around 5:30pm but no one undertook anything until Önder asked questions! It was now 8pm. The villagers were just about to call the coastal guards for a second time! At first they could not start the speed boat, it was broken. The second news was the waves were too big so they could not go at all. Three hours were gone and everyone was resigned and could not hope for good news. We were all silent. The way back It was time to go back and meet Juli. Before leaving, Henkie wanted to prepare dinner and even offered us to sleep at his place. It was very nice but we could not. We had to see Juli. 5 of us went back: Alvin, Marie Jane, Juli´s son in law, Önder and I. The walk back was not tiring as our mind was so busy! We were heading to Juli´s place when we saw him getting out a house we were passing by. He waved at us and we had to face him without news. It was a hard moment for everybody. Juli understood instantly… Minutes of heavy silence followed. Everyone was crying without showing tears. Alvin wanted to help but knew that it was impossible to search for Nising and Julian that night. He is a fisherman and explained that the current now was going to open sea. The problem in Patoyo there is no island around apart from Linapacan. No hope, Nising and Julian were still missing… Juli wanted to go back home and speak with his daughter. We said goodbye to the villagers. Juli, Önder and I went back to the campsite. It was a hard time for everyone. Juli was lost, went home but did not know what to do. Önder gave him a solar torch and he went to his daughter´s house. We stayed for a while outside silent, starring at the big waves and then went to sleep at 11pm. We were so tired but we could not sleep. The next morning After few hours sleep, Önder woke up even before the sun rose. It was 5am. Our tent was pichted 2 meters away from Juli´s working place. He heart him grating coconuts. He was preparing some food for the pig. He started his day as any normal day but without Nising. His grandson, 8 years old was with him. The situation remained the same. Still no news. Önder went to see Juli and sat next to him for a while. They did not speak, it was a gloomy atmosphere. Silence spoke for them. 20 minutes later, I woke up, I had a swollen face. Why? What happened to me? In less than a micro second, everything came back to me: the wait, the walk and Juli. For the first time, I hated the sea. In 12 days, we assisted to our first beautiful sunrise, we could not enjoy it. I went to greet Juli and with signs he made me understand that two people were still missing. It was hard to handle. Juli was looking at the sea every minute, still hoping for Nising and Julian to come back. Önder and I already gave up. We could not hope any more. Juli carried on with his tasks and we tried to make fire. Around 7am, Alvin passed by and was on his way to the beach to see how he could help. Juli came to our place. We were not in the mood to cook although we had our last meal at Henkie´s place at 2pm the day before. We were hungry but we could not feel the hunger. We prepared coffee, eggs and rice. We shared the coffee with Juli and gave him some eggs. He could not eat neither. He stayed around for a while and started to cry. He gave up as well and he described with signs that his grandson and his wife were dead now. We burst into tears, we could not control it any more. Juli, despondent, went back home. We stayed in the kitchen and starred at the sea. I hated it even more. We were supposed to leave that day but we could not. We wanted to be with Juli one more day and we postponed our journey. What went through our mind was Juli is now alone and has to keep up with his life. He is 70, how difficult it will be. He has his daughter and his 4 other grandsons but it would not be the same any more. The news We did not know how to start the day. We were in despair, it was 8am. We were still in kitchen, the rice was still cooking. When I saw Alvin and Juli making signs and finally smiling. Juli was saying to Alvin: go to them, they are crying. I turned to Önder and told him something was going on. They were smiling. Önder did not believe in what I was reporting until Alvin announced that Nising and Julian were alive. We could not believe it, few minutes ago we thought they were gone for ever and now the NEWS: they are alive!!! Alvin, Juli, Önder and I laughed and cried together. Juli showed his heart and said he was relieved. It was a happy end! We were all reassured. Other friends were there and we all waited for Nising and Julian to come back home. After a short while, Juli could not wait any more, he changed his clothes: put a jeans and a T-shirt on, was on his way to his wife and his grandson. We accompanied him, we needed to see them as well. We were at the place within 10 minutes, where we were the evening before. The villagers gathered there, they were chatting and drinking instant coffee. Then we saw Nising and Julian. We could not believe it, we were so joyful but Juli restrained from showing his joy. Nising and Julian were safe and alive. What really happened, we will never know. We had just a part of the story. As it was too stormy and as the villagers there were big waves, Julian – 15 years old- decided to go back to Linapacan as it was getting dark. They stayed somewhere in San Miguel and came back early in the morning. The villagers and Nising thanked us for looking after Juli and supporting him. She told her God will guide us in our journey. As a present, they offered us 5 coconuts, rice and sweet potatoes. It was time to go back to the campsite. Their daughter visited us and she sat with us and her children in the kitchen. We offered the coconuts to the family and the children drunk the coconuts and ate the meat as if it was their first time! They were the happiest children on earth. They have a very simple life and they were satisfied with a couples of coconut. It was so beautiful to see! We laughed a lot with them. Then Alvin came and also joined us in the kitchen. After chatting and speaking about the night, he said that his sister was on her way to Linapacan. The boat will be at noon in San Miguel. Time to leave A boat was coming!!! Really?! In few seconds, we took the decision to leave. We took the opportunity to get a boat back to Dipnay-San Fernando. Boats were so irregular, people could wait few days before leaving the island. We started packing and within 15 minutes we were ready to go up the hill through the jungle with our pack backs. Nising and Juli ´s family and Alvin were very as sad as we were. We really could not miss the chance. Now everything was fine, the family was reunified so we could leave. Juli and his grandsons/daughter
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