With the cargo hold full of green bananas and Orange Crush we sailed with the tide, saying our final farewell to Bwanha-Hana.The seas were calm and the sun warm, as we settled in for a lovely sail. We lazied about on the small but tidy deck of the SS Bearington. Penny busied herself knitting a shawl, in bright south-sea colors, Fred and Charlie played rousing games of Canasta, and I read my favorite poetry book, Poems that Touch the Heart. Even Spencer happily relaxed, swaying in his web hammock. All was well.
Then suddenly, out of nowhere, a storm arose and we found ourselves headed straight for it. The captain said we had no choice but to hit it head-on. And so we stayed our course.
It was an awful storm. The captain told us to go below and hang-on. Penny was terribly frightened, I wasn’t far behind. Fred and Charlie tried their best to ease our fears, but to no avail. And poor Spencer was overwhelmed with worry. He webbed himself up as tight as he could, shivering with fright.
The seas were awful rough as the wind and rain beat down on us. The ship was taking on water fast and the engine was sputtering. Being that we were slowly sinking, the crew was ordered to throw our cargo overboard. So all the bananas and all the Orange Crush was tossed over the side. Then the engine failed completely.
We found ourselves adrift at sea. The storm eventually subsided, and with the cargo gone, we managed to stay afloat. We drifted for days. We thought all was lost when the captain spied a tiny island. As our fortunes would have it, the winds took us straight to this little island. We put down anchor and headed ashore in the lifeboat.
It’s a strange looking island. Rugged high cliffs peek out from the thick misty fog that engulfs the island. One cliff face almost looks alive. It resembles a monkey, hanging on. Rather curious looking.
The island seemed uninhabited at first. But we shortly were greeted by a small group of natives. They were very unsure of us, as we were of them, but they finally decided not to cook us for dinner.
The name of the island is Koko-Waputa-Kiki. And here we stay until the crew can fix the engine and plug up all the leaks in the SS Bearington. Which, they tell us, may take a while.
So we’re off to explore the island. And try to stay out of trouble!
Hugs,
Miss Chloe
Oh, Charlie hiked into the jungle earlier and took a picture of that mysterious rock outcropping.
