Land of the Setting Sun
5/19/2007 - The Final Feast
I managed to ignore my temptation, if Aubrey was good enough for the rest of them, he was good enough for me. A few minutes later, Aubrey came back, quite content fall asleep exactly in the same place he had left, alleviating my concerns. I fell asleep to the rocking of the fragile boat, feeling oddly secure.
----------
Our voyage was long and tiresome; without the under-appreciated joys of the internet and other creature comforts, we remained bored and perpetually slightly hungry for nearly three days. That is, until Captain Ganbataar decided to exit his cabin.
Seeing the captain exit his cabin was like seeing a bear emerge from his cave after an entire winter of hibernation. It was bizarre, and yet the entire crew grew excited, some of the men finally awakening from their drunken stupor. Captain Ganbataar strolled from sailor to sailor, greeting them jovially. It was apparent that the men were not used to receiving much attention. Some of them began to gather stacks of wood in the middle of the deck.
“It's going to be a clear night tonight, boys! The spirits of the ocean have smiled upon our ship.”
Within minutes, the crew had set up a proper bonfire. They waved us forward inviting us to join the circle. Captain Ganbataar gestured towards us welcomingly, giving us a seat by the fire. He had smirk on his face, and the gait of a man who had stories to tell. He explained that the goddess of the sea, Mazu, had given him the blessing of a clear night, so we could regale in tales of past adventures.
He was a hauler by nature, weilding a tugboat, so the cargo was primarily other ships. Some of the propositions that had come in were quite strange, like an offer to rescue a half drowned pirate sailboat from a small rock outcropping. Surprisingly, he told us, the pirates were far nicer while being saved than they were out in open waters. The strangest offer he’d had yet was us, of course. Nobody goes to Japan, hell, nobody sails within thirty or forty miles of the place, if they can help it. Unless, of course, said people were crazy enough, and had a focused goal. I looked around at our rag-tag group, and was unsure if we really fit that description. Everyone had different goals, Itaki wanted to make it to Tokyo, Qara and I wanted footage, and Dr. Blythe and Ogasawara were just along for the adventure. Aubrey… I really had no idea, and perhaps it was better that way. I suppose we were all united in one aspect though; we were all batshit crazy.
The captain broke out the good stuff, the whole works, their finest rum and an assortment a preserved foods that he kept in the cabin for occasions just like this. It was his own personal tradition to keep at least one good meal on the ship at all times; similar to death row inmate’s last meal, if he was going to go out, he was going to go out enjoying the finer things in life. He and Dr. Blythe put their arm around each other's shoulders and shared tales in soft tongues around the fire.
Ogasawara decided to spark a conversation with me, oddly enough.
“How was your dip in the East China Sea?” he laughed. He had a contagious smile, and reminded you a little bit of buff Santa Claus.
“Wetter than I expected, honestly.” The blatant sarcasm felt weird and lame coming out of my mouth, but Ogasawara laughed anyways. He was good at making people feel at ease. I was suddenly more glad we’d chosen to keep him with us at the checkpoint, god knows I wasn’t going to be the life of the party. It became easier to speak to him, and we talked for a while, about our homes, and about our dreams. He’d been attached to the hip with Itaki for years, helping him through depression and the loss of his heritage. Ogasawara was always a traveler, with no home to speak of, and was born after the bombs dropped anyways. Itaki, however, was a young child when it occurred, stranded in China as his home country faced annihilation. Someone had decided Itaki would not pay for his country’s mistakes, but Itaki felt differently.
Ogasawara quieted down, and I followed suit. For the first time, sitting with everyone felt very natural. I leaned my head against my bag, and my eyes suddenly grew very heavy. Nestled next to the bonfire, I slowly waded into sleep.
I managed to ignore my temptation, if Aubrey was good enough for the rest of them, he was good enough for me. A few minutes later, Aubrey came back, quite content fall asleep exactly in the same place he had left, alleviating my concerns. I fell asleep to the rocking of the fragile boat, feeling oddly secure.
----------
Our voyage was long and tiresome; without the under-appreciated joys of the internet and other creature comforts, we remained bored and perpetually slightly hungry for nearly three days. That is, until Captain Ganbataar decided to exit his cabin.
Seeing the captain exit his cabin was like seeing a bear emerge from his cave after an entire winter of hibernation. It was bizarre, and yet the entire crew grew excited, some of the men finally awakening from their drunken stupor. Captain Ganbataar strolled from sailor to sailor, greeting them jovially. It was apparent that the men were not used to receiving much attention. Some of them began to gather stacks of wood in the middle of the deck.
“It's going to be a clear night tonight, boys! The spirits of the ocean have smiled upon our ship.”
Within minutes, the crew had set up a proper bonfire. They waved us forward inviting us to join the circle. Captain Ganbataar gestured towards us welcomingly, giving us a seat by the fire. He had smirk on his face, and the gait of a man who had stories to tell. He explained that the goddess of the sea, Mazu, had given him the blessing of a clear night, so we could regale in tales of past adventures.
He was a hauler by nature, weilding a tugboat, so the cargo was primarily other ships. Some of the propositions that had come in were quite strange, like an offer to rescue a half drowned pirate sailboat from a small rock outcropping. Surprisingly, he told us, the pirates were far nicer while being saved than they were out in open waters. The strangest offer he’d had yet was us, of course. Nobody goes to Japan, hell, nobody sails within thirty or forty miles of the place, if they can help it. Unless, of course, said people were crazy enough, and had a focused goal. I looked around at our rag-tag group, and was unsure if we really fit that description. Everyone had different goals, Itaki wanted to make it to Tokyo, Qara and I wanted footage, and Dr. Blythe and Ogasawara were just along for the adventure. Aubrey… I really had no idea, and perhaps it was better that way. I suppose we were all united in one aspect though; we were all batshit crazy.
The captain broke out the good stuff, the whole works, their finest rum and an assortment a preserved foods that he kept in the cabin for occasions just like this. It was his own personal tradition to keep at least one good meal on the ship at all times; similar to death row inmate’s last meal, if he was going to go out, he was going to go out enjoying the finer things in life. He and Dr. Blythe put their arm around each other's shoulders and shared tales in soft tongues around the fire.
Ogasawara decided to spark a conversation with me, oddly enough.
“How was your dip in the East China Sea?” he laughed. He had a contagious smile, and reminded you a little bit of buff Santa Claus.
“Wetter than I expected, honestly.” The blatant sarcasm felt weird and lame coming out of my mouth, but Ogasawara laughed anyways. He was good at making people feel at ease. I was suddenly more glad we’d chosen to keep him with us at the checkpoint, god knows I wasn’t going to be the life of the party. It became easier to speak to him, and we talked for a while, about our homes, and about our dreams. He’d been attached to the hip with Itaki for years, helping him through depression and the loss of his heritage. Ogasawara was always a traveler, with no home to speak of, and was born after the bombs dropped anyways. Itaki, however, was a young child when it occurred, stranded in China as his home country faced annihilation. Someone had decided Itaki would not pay for his country’s mistakes, but Itaki felt differently.
Ogasawara quieted down, and I followed suit. For the first time, sitting with everyone felt very natural. I leaned my head against my bag, and my eyes suddenly grew very heavy. Nestled next to the bonfire, I slowly waded into sleep.