Chapter 7- The Prodigal Son

~1995~

~4 months later~

         Ernesto clutched his notebook as he lay on the top deck of the vessel. His clothes were tattered. His shoes had fallen apart and had been tossed aside. The notebook he held was still in decent condition, he'd guarded it carefully.

         In the early months of their stay on this island, he tried to draw in the notebook as he usually did. But eventually, his only writing tool wore away.

         The ocean was turning orange as the sun set. His family watched the horizon often, hoping that someone would sail by and save them. No one ever came.

         Near the boat was a dim bonfire, with a small shelter over the top of it. Using palm tree leaves, Delilah had woven together sticks to create a structure. The shelter had fallen over a dozen times, but they'd reinforce it each time.

         At the bonfire, Delilah was dashing flint and stone together to stoke the flames. The lighter they used before had run out of gas, and they were forced to make fires the old way. Maggie had learned how to make campfires in school; they never expected that to come in handy.

         Ernesto's father and little sister were wading along the shore. His father had grown a beard, and Maggie's hair was growing long. The two were carrying a handful of fruit they'd picked from the trees in the jungle. That, as well as a few other sources of food, had sustained them over the last few months.

         But... they'd all lost weight. His father had lost muscle mass. Ernesto's mother and sister were thinner than he'd ever seen them. But none lost more weight than himself. But it was his choice. Ernesto made sure to only eat when the rest of his family had eaten enough. Only taking enough to calm his hunger.

         Delilah called out from the bonfire, "Ernesto, we have food. You can come down if you want."

         Ernesto took a breath and replied, "I'm good."

         He could practically sense his mother's anxiousness, but she said nothing. He could hear his family muttering to each other until footsteps came near the boat. Maggie peeked up at him and set a few open oranges on the deck. She smiled meekly and went back to the bonfire.

         Ernesto sat up and grabbed an orange. He was certainly hungry, but he still hesitated to eat.

         What's the point?

Ernesto knew he was going to die on this island. Eating would just delay that. Not just him, but his whole family. Every one of them was going to die here. Except Paula; she was the only one smart enough to leave him to fend for himself. She was probably starting her career back in Rhivera, carving out a future for herself. If his family had just left him... they would be too.

"You need to talk to him," Delilah whispered at the campfire, "He should help out a more."

Ernesto sighed. He knew that'd come eventually. He set down the orange, stood, and stepped off the boat towards the ocean. He continued to walk along the coast until he could no longer hear his family speaking about him.

The sun had disappeared beneath the horizon, and the waters turned a dark blue. But as he walked, another jogged after him. He glanced back and saw his father.

"Hey, Ernesto!" Ignacio said as he drew close.

"I can stop eating what you gather. I'll find food for myself," Ernesto promptly responded, his back still turned to his father as he walked along the shore.

Ignacio walked behind him, "Don't say that. We're a family. We take care of each other."

Ernesto almost muttered, that's why we're in this mess.

"I think we need to talk," Ignacio said.

"No, we don't," Ernesto replied, still walking away from him on the beach.

"We do. You've always been quiet, but never like this. You barely eat. I know things are bad, but we'll get through this," Ignacio tried to reassure him.

Ernesto stopped on the beach, "...It didn't have to be this way."

"What do you mean?" Ignacio asked.

Still refusing to face his father, Ernesto replied, "You didn't have to leave Rhivera."

"I kinda did, son. It was the only way to save you."

"Maybe you shouldn't have."

Ignacio grimaced, "Don't say that."

Father and son stood silently on the beach together as the moon started to rise, illuminating the sands around them. Ernesto took a deep breath and said, "I wanted them to take me."

Ignacio fidgeted before asking, "...why?"

Ernesto turned to his father, "I didn't want to be born."

"Now, son... you don't mean that."

"Oh, I do. You either fall in line and do what everyone wants you to do, or you suffer. Even if you do everything you're supposed to, things can go terribly. The good just doesn't outweigh the bad...Life just isn't worth it. I was waiting for Population Control to come for me. "

Ignacio was stunned but composed himself and tried to persuade his son, "Look, you're young. You haven't done much yet. In the end, life is worth it."

"What right did you have to bring me into this world!? I didn't want any of this responsibility!" Ernesto shouted, "Population Control gave me an easy way out. A way that all of you should've been able to accept! But you couldn't even let me have that!"

Ernesto wasn't sure if he ever shouted at his father before. But Ignacio was steadfast. "Have you ever considered what that would've done to your mother? Or your sisters? Have you thought about what that would've put us through if you died?"

"I didn't want to be born. That's on you, not me!" Ernesto replied with a scowl.

Ignacio stopped, paced in a circle, before turning back to his son, "So, what are you responsible for then, huh? It sounds like nothing. You could've gone to work, and Population Control would've left you alone. We never would've had to leave Rhivera then."

"We left Rhivera because you couldn't let me go!" Ernesto spat back.

"Of course not! I love you!"

"So what? I either fall in line, or everyone I know suffers. Life isn't fair!" Ernesto shouted.

Ignacio clenched his fist and thought for a moment, "I don't know how you formed this world view of yours, but you're wrong. You haven't done enough in life to know better. I always thought you'd figure it out for yourself, but I guess not. I should've pushed you more."

Ernesto shook his head and turned away from his father, "That doesn't matter. You did your best."

Ernesto sighed and began to walk away from his father along the beach. He was exhausted and was done talking.

"We're going to get off this island, Ernesto. You'll see that you're wrong," Ignacio uttered.

Ernesto shrugged and continued down the beach.

Ernesto circled the island's shore, simply thinking. He had always thought of confronting his father like that. Thought that maybe he'd be able to make his father understand. But of course, that didn't work. If anything, it made things worse.

Ernesto circled the island back to their boat. His family wasn't in sight; they must've been sleeping in the bottom deck of their vessel. Usually. they'd all sleep there, but Ernesto didn't want to that night.

Their bonfire had mere embers glimmering from it. Ernesto lay down in the sand around it and closed his eyes, clutching his notebook in one hand. He tried to sleep, but it didn't come.

He heard motion and opened his eyes. It was Maggie, tiptoeing across the top deck of the ship before stepping down onto the shore. She crept along the beach until she was a decent distance from the boat, then hurried into the jungle. Ernesto quickly stood and followed her.

Maggie was more familiar with the jungle than he was; she moved with certainty, while he kept getting caught up in the brambles and leaves as he went. He followed Maggie to a small clearing among the trees.

There was a pile of large palm tree branches set out there, and... something was set against one of the trees. Maggie knelt down near the palm tree leaves and began bending the leaves to crisscross and weave together.

Ernesto entered the clearing, "What're you-"

Maggie immediately jumped and ran behind a tree, before identifying her brother. She circled the tree and shouted, "Ern! Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"...Sorry. But what're you doing?"

Maggie raised an eyebrow, glanced around the clearing, and asked, "Can you keep a secret?"

Ernesto chuckled, "There aren't exactly a lot of people to tell."

"But you can't tell mom and dad! Not yet!"

"I won't tell."

Maggie nodded and beckoned Ernesto to one of the trees where something was lying against it, "I'm making a sail."

Ernesto took a closer look. The structure laying against the tree was many palm tree leaves' weavings laid on top of each other, their corners knotted together to keep them as one object. The stems all sat in the middle, making something like a mast.

"How long have you been working on this?"

"Not too long. I don't think anyone is going to come and save us. We don't have any fuel, so the only way we'll get off this island is if we sail away," Maggie explained.

"Why haven't you told mom or dad about this?"

Maggie placed a hand on her 'sail', "Pa is too rough. If he helped, I'm worried he'd accidentally break it. Ma is impatient and would get frustrated working on it. I've been better off working on it alone. Once I think it's ready, I'll show them."

Ernesto nodded, "That makes sense, but I'm not sure this will work. I feel like the wind would go right through it."

"Not if I create enough layers," Maggie combatted, "Help me bring it to the beach, and you'll see."

Maggie gripped the bottom of one side of her sail and waited for Ernesto to grab the other. He hesitated but did so anyways. He followed Maggie's lead as they carried it through the jungle. She seemed to chart out a path so she could bring it out.

"This is a lot easier with you. I damaged it a few times while taking it out to the beach before."

"I can imagine. Did you learn how to do this from mom?"

"Yup."

They reached the beach and set it up straight. Maggie licked her finger, stuck it in the air to gauge what direction the wind was coming from, and turned the sail in that direction. Ernesto watched as the tiny sail started to shift with the wind.

"That's better than I expected."

"It needs to be much bigger. I'll have to figure out a way to attach it to the boat. But I think it could work," Maggie explained, "Mind helping me to take it back to the jungle?"

"Sure, I can."

         As the two carried the handcrafted sail back to the jungle, Ernesto spoke.

         "Maggie?"

         "Hmm?"

         "Aren't you upset with me? We had to leave home to save me."

         Maggie slowed her steps and answered, "...I am sad about leaving. About Paula.... But we're here now. I just want to make the best of things."

         Ernesto and Maggie reached the clearing and carefully set the sail against a tree. Maggie promptly went to work on the palm tree leaves on the ground, preparing to combine them with the sail she had already made. He couldn't help but admire her tenacity. But... he didn't want her doing it all for nothing.

         "Hey, are you sure this is worth it?" Ernesto asked.

         "Whaddya mean?" She asked, continuing to work.

         "All anyone has ever heard is that life is very hard outside of Rhivera. What if leaving the island will make things worse?"

         Maggie stopped working and sat back for a moment. But then she replied, "I guess it could be... But things will never get better if I do nothing, right? Might as well try and see what happens."

         With that, Maggie went right back to work with single-minded determination. Once she finished that weaving, she brought it to her sail and carefully knitted the ends together, extending the structure.

         This young woman clearly had so much potential in her. If he wasn't so inactive... they wouldn't be here now. Ernesto sighed, "Could I help?"

         "Yeah, I was hoping you would. You don't know how to weave them together, do you?" Maggie replied.

         "No, I don't."

         "That's fine! I'll teach you!" Maggie ushered Ernesto to the pile and taught him the process step by step.

         Ernesto would've liked to say he understood after the first night. But he didn't. But after the following nights, he started to understand it and even became good at it.