The Beginning of a Journey

Yakota's choice ended up in the way that he had never predicted : deaths. However, at that moment, he believes that he made the best decision ever. There were four connected dots directing him to his moment of eureka. The first dot was the prophecy itself that sounded more promising everytime he re-thinking each of its words : his daughter will live outside, she will help built a civilization. His mother's wished will come true. Perhaps, Alma will not be the head of the village because she is a woman, but she will have an important role just like one. What if there is place out there where a woman can be a leader? Yakota could not imagine it, but he felt as if the sky above him was getting brighter and bluer at this thought. The second dot was the fact that his wife survived the cold harsh wind when she was just a baby. This fact raised his hope. There must be something that could protect them too. And that is -Yakota was never so sure about this before- the prophecy. Alma needs to reach that different island, whatever it is and wherever it may be located. She has to. Therefore, the ship will not be sinked. There is a possibility that Alma will survive alone, and the thought weakened his heart, but then he remembered how Berima told him that he would help his daughter reach her mission. The psychic did not even mention Karuna. He ignored her presence. Probably because there were rumours that he slept with Dakita when they were young before leaving her. The rumour that could be true because how else would Dakita knew the blessing words? However, this leads Yakota's thought into the third dot : the fact that he will help his daughter in the future meaning his safety is guaranteed. His wife's fate is also secured because she survived it once, and Yakota believed she will survive it twice. The fourth doth was his own innate feeling that death will be more certain to happen in Kalima island than in the sea.

He also quickly decided to wait till the midnight, if he is alive, he will work on the leaving plan, and oh, how hungry he was because he skipped lunch. Standing upright, he changed his clothes. There was cassava and corn in the farm house, he could baked it and eat while waiting…

**

She did not understand why they need to leave, or whether or not his father's plan was reasonable and attainable, and will not bring them all into death, but Alma learned to trust her parents before she learned how to speak, just like every Kalima's people. Besides, she always had a strong intuition, just like she has a strong bond with her father. When her father talked to her mother, she reflected on how little she knew about her mother. She didn't know that her mother was not born in Kalima. No one ever talked about that in the house! She knew she was raised by her adopted mother, the late grandmother Dakita. She knew that her mother didn't know her real parents, and that was that.

How many things she didn't know about her mother while she believed she knew everything because she had stayed in her womb for nine months?

She was imagining about how cool it must be to be born outside of Kalima and surviving the cold harsh wind that also works as a border between Kalima and the outside world, when her father commanded her to put all stuff into the ship. She will lead their way, holding the oil lamp. Both of her parents would dragged the ship put in a wheeled wooden cart that ussually being used to load the harvest.

The weather was too cold, it freezed Alma's brain. She looked at her mother's eyes, seeking for an approval. There was a silence yes. She took two fabrics from her belonging to cover her body and her head.

"Should we say goodbye to both the deceased mothers?"

"No. We will run out of time."

"We can do it here, Yakota. You can say a goodbye out loud. It is our tradition. We also need their blessing."

"Mothers, we will leave. Send us blessing so we will reach our destination safe and sound!"

Alma felt like her mother did not want to leave. Was she afraid of death just like herself? She did not feel right in her gut, and all of a sudden she wanted to rebel agains her father by asking him question,

"What if there were no more deaths? Are we leaving to kill ourselves?"

She held her tongue. Her sudden anger was a shock for herself. She never felt that way toward her father. Her mother was still looking around when her father told her to not making any noises. She asked the reason, while thought to herself : why would I make any noise? While the cart, and their foot steps would.

**

Before sitting on the boat, her mother looked up into the sky, making a prayer. Alma could not help but thinking to herself, how could she keep the secret? How did an entire villagers keeping the secret, and why? Why she didn't know that? She looked at the crescent moon, wondering how many secrets were kept from her because she is the child. Then a new realization hits her. No matter how much she loves her parents, they are their own person. They have secrets, failure, passions, dreams, that they could not share with others. Her parents are normal human being just like her. As she grew and having her own life, she also kept secrets from her mothers, about the friendship, the boys, so she could feel like she owned something that is especially hers, things that she does not share with everyone else, things that made her Alma.

All the gossip, and the chat, and the crush... Her mother must have her own secrets too. The fainted light of the moon enlightened her mother's body. Alma was scared of death, but seeing her mother's shoulder strengthen her. This is just a journey, a new journey, she whispered to the stars up above.