Chapter 21

Tirad counts the first five hundred coins and hands them to the boatman. He is a tall, broad man with muscular arms. He takes the paddle and with a few strong strokes, takes the boat away from the Oxan harbour, looking at Tirad the whole time or maybe staring at the sack of coins that he hangs around his neck. Tirad wants to put down the heavy sack he had taken from Mart’s room and hide it somewhere in the boat and he is waiting for the boatman to go to the rudder. He can’t keep it around his neck all the time or put it in the only cabin of the boat. He could have bought this boat with the money he has given to the boatman for taking him to the Saviour Island, but he doesn’t know how to sail and navigate the boat and needs this stout man to take him there. He just hopes to get there on time before anything bad happens. He has left everything to save Hurmaz’s life: the mission that could get him into the Circle, Lealy who may not survive Mart’s cruelty without him to protect her and Dalia. He would have been separated from Dalia very soon and even if she would come back with him to the Saviour Ship, he isn’t sure he could keep her there. She wasn’t made for the Saviour Ship. She shared the same quality of the white bubbles that float on the waves, belonging to the floating ships not stranded ones. The Saviour Ship would seem like a cage to her, making her feel captive. It was hard saying goodbye to her and to know that he will never see her again. They had only known each other for a few days and Tirad is sure that if this acquaintance lasted a bit longer, he would fall for her. Maybe he already had but didn’t want to confess to it. Saying goodbye to her in the Oxan market had made him feel heartbroken and how can a heart be broken if not in love?

Tirad is waiting for the boatman to turn on the engine and speed up, but the boatman had told him that since their trip is off the books, he can’t start the engine before distancing themselves from the Island. Tirad doesn’t understand what he meant. A trip off the book? The port officer had introduced this boatman to him, what seems to be off the books is the money Tirad had gave him. If Tirad takes a complaint to the Saviour Ship announcing how much money the boatman had taken, he would certainly put the boatman’s life in danger. The boatman goes to the steering wheel but still doesn’t turn on the engine, he just stares ahead looking at the grey sea. Tirad sighs. He puts down the coins and his leather bag between his feet and sits on the bench next to the gunwale looking at Oxan. He takes up his hand and measures the size of Oxan with his fingers, like when he wants to draw from something and wants to get the proportions right. Oxan is three hands wide from where he is and its height is nearly two finger joints in its highest point. It slopes down to the sea like a wide cone. It also has a tail now! The refugee harbour on the east stretches on the horizon like a thick line. He measures the tail as well; it’s two finger joints. He could draw Oxan on a paper, having its proportions measured.