Towards the Light

The wooden oars rubbed against his palms roughly, making him wonder if he would walk away from this expedition with a few splinters in his hand. His fishing gear sat behind him, swaying as the row boat moved forward, every stroke through the water bringing him closer to what was his goal. Well, what he hoped would be his goal. The direction that was his destination was purely guesswork based on tides and currents in this wide ocean. 

He was a captain of a fishing boat in his prime years, catching fish with great nets, braving storms that made the simple man cower in fear, he knew his way around the oceans and seas he called home. It was fate, he thought, that led him to fish just in view of a small yacht this dark evening, it was his trained eye that noticed that it had capsized not long before he had arrived, and it was the young girl’s cry of fear that caught his ear so that he could save her from where she floated adrift on a stray piece of wood.

He was old, beyond the age where should be out fishing alone, according to his friends back on shore, but today he was thankful that he did. His rowboat couldn’t fit more than 5 people, and he still had two more to save.

He glanced at the darkening sky, hoping. There was nothing yet, but he just had to be patient. Thankfully, patience was one of the many virtues he had learned in his younger years. 

The girl he saved sat in front of him, shivering despite the blanket wrapped around her shoulders. She was young, possibly six or seven, and her hair was wet from her dip in the sea. He hoped that her mother and brother, who were with her on the yacht before it was lost to the ocean, were still alive; he couldn’t imagine that girl growing up without a family. Even he had a family, long ago. Now, they had all left him because of his love for the sea. 

“Where are they?” The young girl whispered, with a strong accent that he couldn’t place. Her small frame shook, and he wished that he had brought more than one emergency blanket in the first aid kit. 

“They’ll be around here, we just have to keep following the waves.” He replied gruffly, taking a break from rowing, rubbing his hands together to restore some of the warmth. The night air was getting colder now, but he wouldn’t let it stop him. One more glance at the sky told him that he would have to brave the cold for at least a bit longer.

He’s saved many people in his time. So often they would find capsized ships on their voyages, many were not as fortunate to have time to escape the boat before it succumbed to the waves or the storm, yet today, according to the girl, the only other two occupants had safely escaped on an inflatable lifeboat. Why they left the little girl behind, floating on a piece of wood, he had no clue. Perhaps she was separated from them? Perhaps the storm that had died out not long before he went out to the water pushed her far away from them, too far to reach. 

He knew that he would know more if she would speak, but she wouldn’t. Fear and trauma does that to people. He had seen it in his own old crewmen and his own self too often. 

“Do you think they’re still alive?” She asked, and he nodded. 

“Yes, I do, little missy.”

“Will we find them?”

His mind was filled with tales when he didn’t find the survivors, but he wasn’t about to tell them to her. Instead, he told her what his heart and gut told him, and as an ex-captain of dozens of fishing vessels, he knew that he needed to follow his gut. 

“Well, let’s see.” He said, stroking his beard, as if he was deep in thought. The girl looked back at him, her dark eyes clouded with something close to fear, and he continued. “What color was that lifeboat that they were on?”

“Yellow. I saw Mama packing it up before we left shore.”

“Even in the darkness, is yellow easy to see, even with a bit of light?” 

The girl looked down at the yellow life jacket she wore, easily visible even in the dark of night. The lamp that he had on the boat no doubt helped. “Yes.”

“Good. So, we’ll likely spot the boat, especially with my handy flashlight. And, they had an emergency kit?”

“Yes!” The girl said, smiling a bit. “They did.”

He smiled knowingly. 

“What’s in an emergency kit, especially those for the sea, that might help us find them? Any ideas?"

The wind picked up around them, but he kept the rowboat on its course, looking up at the sky once again. Still nothing. 

The young girl appeared to be deep in thought, counting on her fingers as she mumbled under her breath. He waited patiently, knowing that the quiet task was distracting her from the worry and fear she no doubt felt.

“A flare?” She finally replied, her voice lifting in question.

“Yes.” He replied, giving her a wide smile.  “Now, if you keep a steady eye on the sky, you might see a bright red light. That’s the flare. And that’ll be where your mother and brother are. We’re heading in the direction that they should be in, but then we’ll know exactly where to go.”

Almost immediately, she looked up to the sky, where stars were beginning to twinkle from the darkness. He kept glancing at the sky with her, not wanting to miss the critical factor of rescue. 

The wind had gotten colder, then, and he didn’t need to see a watch to know that it was getting late. If he had gotten his radio before his small fishing trip, he could’ve asked someone for the time, and even called for some help, but it was just them, so he would just have to rest in the fact that it was late and nothing more. That it was only him out here to help them.

He always loved nights like this. Nights that were calm, where the wind caressed his cheeks, like a young lady who loved him dearly. He would always let his mind wander with the swaying of the boat. It was easy to fall back into the habits of old, but he forced himself to stay present. He couldn’t let this little girl’s mother and brother be lost to the sea because he didn’t see their flare.

A part of him knew that they might not even use it, but he brushed that part aside. These people had been on the water many times, if the young girl’s knowledge of the emergency kit was anything to go by, so they would know what they were doing. His gut told him the same, so he stuck with it. 

He began humming an old tune that his mother had taught him, filling the silence with something that would pass the time. His muscles burned with every stroke of the oars, yet he didn't stop. He wouldn't give up as long as there were people who needed him, as long as there was some glimmer of hope left. It wasn't in his nature to turn around when the goal was in sight, so he continued rowing. 

“Hey! Hey, look!” The girl shouted suddenly, and he looked up to see a bright flare in the sky, cutting through the darkness like a knife through butter. He smiled, turning the boat towards where the flare originated from. The girl was smiling now, nearly jumping up and down on the boat, watching the light just as he was. 

“We’re on our way, don’t you worry.” He replied, “Why don’t you grab some of the food from my bag? They might be hungry.”

The young girl nodded, digging through his bag, glancing up every so often, and he watched as the light died in the sky, leaving a trail of smoke that they could still follow. 

Occasionally, he would stop rowing and shine the flashlight across the water, looking for the bright yellow lifeboat. He didn't let himself be discouraged by the consistent billowing waves without a boat on top of them. But then he saw it. A small lifeboat, and two figures sitting on top of it, waving their arms in the air. 

"Mama! Johnny!" The girl yelled, and he suddenly realized that he never asked the girl for her name.

Grabbing a rope from the bottom of his boat, he wrapped it around his hand and threw the other end out, letting out a small sigh of relief as one of the people caught it. 

"I'm going to pull you two here, alright?" He exclaimed loudly, shining the flashlight over to them. A boy, who appeared to be twelve or thirteen, gave his thumbs up, helping his mother, who was beside him, kneel down and hold the edge of a lifeboat. They were both wet, so he knew that they would have to get them as warm as possible, but they were alive. He was glad that his gut wasn't wrong. 

It didn't take long for him to drop his anchor and pull the lifeboat over, smiling as the girl embraced her family, her mother kissing her forehead longingly. The older woman looked up to him, her gaze boring into his, full of gratitude.

"Thank you." She said, tears of joy falling from her cheeks, "She was on the other side of the boat, all I could do was watch…"

"You're all okay now, it was no worry at all." He replied, helping her son into the boat. "Besides, you lit up the sky, I just kept an eye out for it." 

She nodded, keeping her kids close, and he lifted the anchor, gripped the oars once again, and headed back to shore.