GOD of a man

“It’s the worst of situations which bring the best of learning.”

Chapter Sixteen: Look! Land!
Dated: October 2425 to 10th November, 2425

Learning curve is a strange entity, the more pressure you put on it the greater it expands. The best of learning happens when the time is testing one’s mettle. Perhaps it’s the constraints of time and results which make a man tryout and discard or accept what he may have never thought of or tried under circumstances ordinaire. However, should this new learning be shared with others caught in a similar situation or not has always remained a boon of contention for most human beings. They tend to share only as much as they need to boast of their expertise and achievements. The finer details are always a well guarded secret. Fortunately the unfortunate circumstance human misadventures drove the entire, or more aptly the remainder of humanity into, dawned a newer and better sense into human psyche. Whatever knowledge could be saved was shared and spread to keep it living.

When Nakata collapsed on the floor while having dinner there might have been no doctor on the ship but just a nurse who was so much in love with him that she panicked and couldn’t make a head or tail out of the whole situation, but almost everybody else had an idea as to what the issue might be.

“Is he choking?” Andy asked Steve and Robin who fervently tried all the first aid they knew.

“He is choking but it doesn’t look like it’s a case of physical choking,” Robin said.

“What do you think Clara?” Steve asked Clara.

“I don’t know,” Clara’s speech broke as panic had gripped her completely. Her hands were shaking, her eyes were flowing, and she was trembling, “Please do something. Please save him.”

“Clare, please don’t panic, we are doing our best,” Steve said, “But can you tell us what the problem might be? You are the one who is a trained nurse amongst us.”

Clara fumbled, cried and fumbled again before she finally muscled over her emotions and said, “I think he’s suffered some kind of allergic reaction to the crabs. His food pipe might have swollen as a result constricting his wind pipe depriving him of oxygen. Please do something.”

“What can we do?” Robin asked.

“I think if we could make him throw out what he has eaten, it might help in recovery,” Steve said.

“Daniel, can you get me something that I can push down his throat to his Uvula,” Clara finally gathered herself, “Steve, Robin, can you guys please hold him in a way his head is tilted lower to his wind pipe. I don’t want anything to get logged in his windpipe and choke it.”

As Daniel brought a piece of a stick, Steve and Robin put Nakata’s body on a bed with his head hanging down. As Clara hit his Uvula, Nakata threw out all that he had eaten into a small tumbler that Andy brought from the store room. Nakata coughed but was still not completely conscious.

“Why is he not waking up?” Steve asked as Clara sat by Nakata’s side holding his hand and begging him to open his eyes once.

“I guess we have to do what we did with Clara, just wait,” Robin shrugged his shoulders.

“Perhaps you are right,” Steve said as everybody slowly moved on to what they were going to do, while Clara sat by Nakata’s bed side.

For the next three days Nakata’s condition worsened as his fever rose. The only thing that changed was that he was regaining consciousness in between, sometimes talking to Clara and others and at others a bit delirious. They tried to feed him and give him water as many times as they could, in small meals but his body became weaker and weaker, his face darkened.

“I don’t understand what is wrong with him,” Andy was as upset as anyone else. Nakata was a neutral person whom everyone liked, unlike Steve or Clara who were considered to be an opposing party by the other three, not directly but in the sinister corners of their dark hearts.

“I am scared to say,” Clara bemoaned as she broke down.

“What do you mean?” Robin asked.

“I think he was suffering from gastric ulcers and the allergen from the crabs that caused this reaction diffused into his blood stream,” Clara gathered some courage to make her diagnosis.

“So, is it very bad?” Robin asked.

“If he is allergic to something, it will affect his organs internally and possibly even destroy them,” Clara broke down.

“But we are only guessing he has ulcers, right?” Steve asked.

“I have ulcers too and I think you all might as well. Remember how we had very little to eat for more than a couple of weeks,” Clara managed to gather a sentence as she struggled to overcome her emotions.

“Yep,” Steve nodded his head.

“The acidity of an empty stomach of a hungry body must have ruptured his stomach lining because he was always so physical in his activities even when he was weak and on little diet,” Clara said.

“That is indeed very concerning,” Steve said.

“What can we do now?” Andy asked.

“Unfortunately nothing but wait and hope,” Steve said the dreadful words, “Lets’ hope his body recovers from the effects of the toxins.”

“The worst is we still see no signs of finding land and if the same state continues we will be left stranded on this ship forever,” Daniel said, his frustration clearly showing in his voice.

“Lets stay calm my friend. We will loose our direction and control over ourselves if we let this frustration build up and get the better of us,” Steve said.

“What else can we do? You have got us stuck in this mess,” Andy yelled, “Why the hell did you have to pick me up?”

“Look, I am as much stuck in this as much as you are. But we all were in it for the good of mankind,” Steve reasoned.

“What good of mankind, now we are all destined to die and the people in Hatsu Saisho will forget us and live at peace,” Daniel blew off the lid as well.

“They will forget us? Do you think they still remember us? Forget it buddy, they have already got on with their lives and we will be lucky to be even mentioned once a month in their conversation now,” Robin said.

“Will you guys stop it? Are you so insensitive not to realize there is a sick man lying right next to you people? Can he have some peace in his death,” and Clara’s emotions burst out as her wails reverberated across the sea on all sides of the ship. Their heads fell down at their behaviour as they walked out of the room still with a bit of distaste in their mouths.

Meanwhile in Hatsu Saisho one lady was frantically searching for her son braving the icy cold winds that were blowing.

“Ono! Ono! Where are you?” her painful voice echoed in the empty streets of Hatsu.

“Aika! What are you doing out in so cold,” a voice from behind stopped her.

“Demetria, have you seen my son Ono? He hasn’t returned for the last two days!” Aika asked Demetria, Steve’s wife.

“What? That is not good. It’s been so cold for the last two days. I will immediately ask my neighbours the Ramsay’s to send some one to go and look for him. I hope he is alright. You come inside my scube,” Demetria requested her but now even she was concerned.

“I went looking for him yesterday as well but I couldn’t find him where he generally sits, you know where we have you know what,” Aika said.

“I know and we all have told him a lot of times not to go to that place as that is evil. Seems like you haven’t told him the story of Henry yet,” Demetria asked as she escorted Aika inside her scube.

“No, I haven’t. He is too immature to understand it yet,” Aika replied.

“But we have to tell him one day,” Demetria said as she seated Aika and said, “Now you just sit and wait here while I go to the Ramsay’s and ask Vir Ramsay to go to the congress and get a search party dispatched to look for him.”

Aika broke down as Demetria left for the Ramsay’s scube and do the needful. Immediately Vir rushed to Shiva, the President who called an emergency congress and a party was dispatched to look for Ono. The party headed straight to the burial place of Father Alan and his son Joe but he was nowhere to be found there. The party divided itself into three groups of two each to search in all directions. Finally after nearly eight hours of search one team found Ono lying unconscious in snow near a cliff in completely the opposite direction of Hatsu. They picked him up and supported his body by stretching his hands around their shoulders and slowly dragged him back to the hospital for Dr Susan to have a look at him.

“He is hypothermic,” Susan said on examination, “Who knows how long he had been lying over there like that. It’s lucky he ain’t already dead.”

“What do you think doctor, will he survive? I’ve already lost my one son, I don’t want to loose the other too,” Aika started crying incessantly.

“Hold yourself Aika. None of your sons is dead. I am sure Nakata is doing fine. Steve is with him,” Demetria said as she herself started crying.

“I don’t know I have been having some real bad dreams since the last week and my right eye has been twitching continuously as well,” Aika exclaimed.

“Look, you need to be strong. I know it has been really tough on you but we cannot loose hope,” Susan said.

“I don’t know what to do. Nothing gives me any strength anymore. I don’t know whom to look for support. More than my son, it’s me who is breaking piece by piece. Someone who’s one son’s fate is balanced on a knife edge and the other is struggling to come to terms with a missing beloved brother, the whole world is a lonely place to live in,” Aika said.

“We completely understand the tough situation you are in and I must say you are a strong woman to be still doing so good. I would have broken down weeks ago if I were you. Now don’t you loose hope and let your emotions get the better of you now,” Demetria said, “Even I miss my husband sorely but I can’t let those thoughts wreck my emotional balance or otherwise I will loose my sanity. So please Aika, hold yourself together.”

“Demetria, you stay here with Aika while I make some arrangements for a few hands to rub Ono’s body to make it warm,” Susan said as she rushed out of the hospital. She gave instructions as to what needs to be done to the six men of the team that went looking for Ono. The men carried Ono to his mother’s scube which was a bit smaller and cosier unit than the hospital and they vigorously started rubbing his body without taking his clothes off so that the friction of the clothes scratching his body generates better heat and keeps it insulated as well. Demetria, Susan and Aika arrived along with them and soon Shiva and Larry, Susan’s husband arrived too.

“How’s he doing?” Shiva asked.

“He is still unconscious,” Susan replied as Demetria consoled Aika while the six men continued taking turns, rubbing Ono’s hands, feet and body. After about two hours of continuous rubbing, Ono finally started to regain consciousness.

“Ah! He’s waking up,” Susan said triumphantly as Aika immediately rushed to her son’s side.

“Mother! Mother!” was all Ono said.

“Yes Ono, I am right here with you my son,” Aika said, tears rolling down her cheeks as she stroked Ono’s hair softly.

“Mother, where is Nakata,” Ono said as he opened his eyes and then looked around at all the faces surrounding him, “What happened? Where am I? What is everybody doing here?”

“You are fine. You are at your home with your mother. Fuku! Shukufuku!” Aika said as she hugged him tightly and showered kisses on his forehead blessing him for long life and happiness.

“Mother! What is GOD?” Ono asked surprising everyone in the room.

“What? How do you know it? Who told you?” Aika was surprised as she hasn’t told him anything about GOD yet and nobody used that name in Hatsu anymore.

“I don’t know,” Ono showed ignorance, “I think someone said it to me. I think it was a dream.”

“What dream are you talking about?” Susan asked.

“I don’t know,” Ono replied and held his forehead as he stressed to remember, “I can’t remember. My head hurts.”

“That’s fine Ono, don’t stress yourself right now. We can talk about it later,” Susan said.

“Wait! I remember! I fell asleep at the place where I sit, where I saw Nakata’s ship for the last time. I saw a man, an old man in white robes. He was saying; Your brother has been chosen for a special purpose, so you need to be strong, GOD needs him. And then he vanished and I woke up and started walking towards our home,” Ono said.

“How many times have I told you not to go to that treacherous place,” Aika got angry, “See what has happened? That place is evil. It has corrupted your mind and it sent you in the wrong direction nearly taking your life.”

“That place has got nothing to do with it, I just lost my direction somehow,” Ono rebelled, “And I will go there everyday and wait for Nakata over there.”

“No you won’t. I will not let you go there,” Aika forbade him forcefully.

“That’s fine for now Aika. Just let him relax and rest right now. He must have lost his direction because the cold must have disoriented him. It can happen in extreme weathers. People can loose their tracking of place and sense of direction. But the question is, if you didn’t tell him about GOD so far, where did he get the knowledge from? Did he read it somewhere?” Susan asked.

“I don’t know!” Aika said before she remembered, “Yes, he might have read that diary Nakata found on that cursed ship. I read a few pages of it before he left. He took it with him. Oh! Now his brain will be corrupted too.”

“Relax Aika, you are forgetting he is with Steve and Robin, they will explain it to him,” Demetria said.

“I hope so. I don’t want to loose my sons or them to loose their knowledge and wisdom,” Aika sobbed.

“Don’t worry Aika, nothing like that will happen,” Susan said as Demetria grabbed her stomach and stepped back supporting herself against the wall.

“Oh! I think I am going to have it,” Demetria said.

“Don’t tell me you are having the pains, it’s only been seven months yet,” Susan said.

“I don’t know but I am having some cramps,” Demetria said.

“You sit down right now, infact lie down on the bed on the side of Ono and lets’ hope this is just a false alarm. Once you are alright we will take you back home,” Susan said.

“Oh I miss Steve,” Demetria said.

Meanwhile, in a distant place, on the seas, Steve’s loud and triumphant shriek woke everyone up on the ship, “Look! Land!”