The Island of Ted

by Jason Cunningham

  The camp on the south beach was always festive, though a solemn prayer-time was conducted each morning at the stir of a handmade wind chime. Ted heard that sound as he stood in the clearing. A gentle fog rested among the huts under an orange smear of sunlight. The smell of salty ocean water caught his nostrils as the wind chimes danced in his ears. From afar, he watched them gather and kneel prostrate in the sand.

  Ted knew from his research that Filipinos were deeply spiritual but he had never seen this kind of worship anywhere. These people were not on their faces to grovel before an angry God but looked more like survivors pulled from deep waters onto dry land, and that’s exactly what they were: a band of refugees who were thankful for every breath they took. Ted looked on, wishing his father could be standing there with him to see such a sight. He felt a strong urge just to show someone these Mindanao refugees bowing to their creator on a misty beach at sunrise. “It’s one of those sights you carry to your grave,” he thought.

  • • •

  Mindanao was a large, war-torn island to the south of Cebu. A faction of militant terrorists called Abu Saiif made the local news every so often by setting off random bombs around metro buildings and transit stations. They lived among the villages in small holdouts that protected them from the US military, which had partnered with Filipino troops in the region. The US was mainly there to train an underfunded local task force and assist with aid. But their efforts were often undermined by the jungle terrain – one that proved advantageous to the indigenous, machete-waving Abu Saiif, who rolled into town on dusty Jeeps and wore scarves over their mouths.

  Ted watched these saints of Mindanao kneel in the sand, lifting up their prayers to heaven like burning incense rising upward. Lanie was among them. She wore that familiar white jacket, hair pulled into a ponytail, loose bangs hanging over her eyes like a silk hijab veil. Her tanned face was wet with tears.

  Lanie wiped her bangs back over an ear and rose to her feet. She smiled down at Manny, who always flocked to her like a chick to a mother hen. They joined hands and she spun him around like a carnival ride. Ted wondered if Manny had told her about their conversations, and kind of hoped he had. But a new fear now plagued him: what if Lanie were to accept his courtship? Would he and his cynicism eventually wear on her and choke the life out of her? And would it be worth abandoning his chosen path of isolation? How would her presence change things at the house?

  “I’m getting ahead of myself,” he thought.

  Ted motioned Manny over and handed him an envelope that looked like it had been torn open, then re-taped.

  “I need you to put this inside Lanie’s room when she’s not there. I wedged a note inside so hold it upright.”

  “Aye aye, captain!” Manny replied with a salute before running back down the hill with the envelope in all manner of direction. Ted just shook his head.

  • • •

  Nako spun the baseball on the tip of his glove, then popped it up into the air and caught it behind his back. Ted applauded the effort and then ran to the far end of the rice field to make his catch. He returned to home base a little out of breath.

  “She read it yet?” Nako asked him, teasing.

  “I don’t know. I sent it over with Manny two days ago. Haven’t had the guts to go over there.”

  “I will have to meet your friends sometime,” Nako said with a big smile.

  “Yeah, speaking of which… thank you for bringing those extra items,” Ted told him.

  “No worry,” said Nako. “They easy to find.”

  • • •

  Light rain fell on the south beach village. No one seemed to be around. Small lights from lanterns dotted the insides of the bamboo houses. The door to Lanie’s tent was open but Ted saw no one as he passed by. A gray fog rested over the beach, making it feel deserted and eerie. Suddenly, a noise. Then faint singing.

  Ted walked the beach for some time and noticed a small point of light coming from inside the trees. He moved toward it carefully. A stick crunched under his foot as the voices grew in volume.

  Ted stopped outside of a large tent that had been erected near the edge of the forest. The saints of Mindanao were inside, holding candles and singing softly. Through the plastic tent window, Ted watched them sing with tremendous joy in a language he barely understood. His eyes scanned the huddle of people before resting on Lanie, who stood in a corner. Her eyes were filled with a beauty that surpassed the physical. This woman, who could seem solemn and yet jovial in the same moment, further intrigued Ted. It was hard not to stare at her.

  Lanie walked back to the south beach with the others and saw Ted standing outside of the Red Cross tent. He pretended not to notice her as she approached. The rain had stopped and most of the fog dissipated. Lanie waived at him and he walked over casually.

  “Oh… hi there,” he said, being coy.

  “Are you waiting me?” Lanie asked.

  Her face was hard to read.

  “No, not at all. Yes.”

  Lanie gave him a tentative smile and Ted held out a flower. Her eyes narrowed a bit, not sure how to take the gesture. Ted began to withdraw his arm slowly when she reached out and took the flower. She put it to her nose and sniffed.

  “Is nice flower,” she said. “Thank you.”

  “Did you get my letter?” Ted asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Did you read it?”

  Lanie gave him a look that could only mean: of course, you idiot!

  “Okay then,” he said. “Enjoy your evening.”

  “Bye, kano.”

  Lanie entered the medical tent and saw a gift box on the table. Her hands caressed the box as she began to untie the red ribbon. As it fell to the floor she opened the box and looked inside. Then she paused.

  Her hand moved to her trembling lips as a wave of emotion hit her like a brick. Inside the box sat a new medical coat, neatly folded. She took a moment to collect herself, deeply moved by the gesture. Her tiny hand moved to her face as tears began to spill out through her fingers.

  She lifted the coat out of the box and noticed that another note lay at the bottom. She removed it and read it silently:

  You give me hope. Hard to explain. Your friend,

  Ted

  3

  Ted spent the next week resisting the urge to visit the south beach village. Lanie knew he was interested and that was enough for now. He felt a strange peace about the whole thing and resigned himself to the couch, where he ate copious amounts of popcorn while immersing himself in Korean pop culture. He knew well the addiction of those sappy dramas but was already in too deep. He liked how each show had the same recycled hero and heroine.

  There’s always a stoic, rich Korean guy with Anime hair who is all too mean and hostile toward the simple girl under his employ until he discovers, by episode 10, that he’s actually in love with her. Each of the Korean dramas were some derivative of that basic storyline, and it never got old to him.

  The golden sun raked across Ted’s property, which produced an emerald rim of light atop the palm trees. He stepped onto the concrete patio at sundown and remembered why Hollywood folks call this “magic hour.” In LA it lasts about twenty minutes and hits right before sunset. It’s that last moment of daylight before night takes over, and it’s the best time to shoot a scene. Many Hollywood films shoot their most tender moments at this time of day because of the soft glow that wraps around the actors. Though likely an exaggeration, he’d once heard that director Terrence Malick shot an entire movie at magic hour. Shooting for twenty minutes a day can wreak havoc on a production schedule!

  It was on days like this when Ted missed being a movie producer. Or perhaps the nostalgia came from being so far removed from the industry that its warts no longer showed. But he did love the thrill of stepping onto a set and always got a rush when the lights were struck and cameras were moved into position.

  Ah, the glory days.

  Ted had been on the island for less than six months but it seeme
d like an eternity. He wondered what might happen when the Mindanao saints packed up to return to their homeland. He wondered if Lanie would reject him like all of the others. He even wondered if his affection for Lanie was real or just a whisper of the former life he renounced before stepping onto an airplane.

  He was a man of mixed emotions and only wished that the magic hour, with its warmth and perfect beauty, could remain. But before he even finished that thought, the sun had set and night sprang forth. The crickets began their serenade and Ted walked inside, the darkness at his back.

  4

  Lanie slept on the wooden cot in relative comfort. Filipinos often slept on hard surfaces due to necessity but it afforded them certain advantages, like healthy backs.

  She awoke from her slumber and heard something knocking against the frail tent door. She yawned with a cat-like stretch and pulled it open. Manny smiled at her mischievously, the look of a used car salesman.

  “Kamusta, Manny. Magandang umaga,” she said, which means, “Hello, good morning!”

  “Are you busy, Dr. Lanie?” he asked.

  “Hindi, Manuel. Just sleeping.”

  Manny danced around like children always do when they want to say something but lack the necessary social timing.

  “Okay,” he said. “I only come by to ask for you walk on Ted.”

  “Ano?” Lanie said, which means, “What?”

  Ted then appeared behind Manny, smiling with embarrassment.

  “Walk with me, Manny. Not on me.”

  Manny shrugged.

  “It’s all the same,” he said, not seeing the humor. He hit Ted with an energetic high-five and ran off to play with the other kids.

  Ted looked at Lanie and asked, “Are you free?”

  She hesitated, then turned back inside the tent and returned with a small tote bag.

  Ted was relieved – and nervous.

  • • •

  They walked along the much treaded dirt path through the bamboo forest. For the first time, Lanie was not wearing her doctor’s coat. Ted had learned a few Tagalog phrases the night before but decided he’d rather not try them out. They had been walking for a while in silence; Ted grew uncomfortable.

  “Have you ever seen snow?” he asked, randomly.

  It took a few moments before Lanie responded. Ted thought perhaps she was translating the answer in her head before speaking.

  “I see that before, yes,” she said.

  “Really?”

  “Yes,” she said, a mischievous look forming on her tanned face. “I saw in the movies.”

  She smiled. It was the first time Ted had witnessed her trying to be funny since telling him he had contracted malaria.

  “You need to visit Chicago. We get tons.”

  “Ted, can I ask?” she said, out of nowhere.

  “Sure.”

  “Not to be a nosy, but I feel on your back is knife wound?”

  They stopped walking. Ted wondered if he wanted to go into all the gory details. He was afraid the silliest little thing would scare her away.

  He took a deep breath and said, “I was robbed.”

  Lanie didn’t understand his words so he made a finger gun to illustrate. She seemed to catch on.

  “Stabbed by someone I was trying to help,” he said. “Ironically, it was snowing at the time.”

  “It still hurts?” she asked.

  “Only when I cough.”

  “Can I ask?”

  “Anything.”

  Lanie hesitated a bit. Ted knew she was having a hard time finding the exact words.

  “You have a person there to worry for you?” she asked with a voice so soft it was hard to hear.

  “No… no, I don’t,” he said. “But I might have a person here. Who knows?”

  Lanie blushed. She then smacked him on the arm.

  “You would lie to someone sweet as me, kano?” she said with a hint of sarcasm.

  Ted saw in her a strange confidence mixed with cute insecurity. It was a playful energy that was getting less and less awkward as the minutes wore on. They walked along at a slow clip, just enjoying one another.

  Ted had so many questions for her but didn’t want to come off as obtrusive.

  “Where did you go to school?” he asked.

  “Ano?”

  “University. Where did…”

  “Ah, in Manila. School here is hard. Our exam is difficult compare to Stateside.”

  “Someone else told me that,” he said, trying to think of whom.

  “Is true. Very hard to complete your studies here. And you need foreign sponsor for the cost.”

  “Did you work during university?”

  “Yes!” she said, exited. “I serve drink to tourist.”

  Lanie grabbed a smaller tree by the trunk and gave it a shake.

  “Move!” she said, gently pushing Ted out of the way as three coconuts fell from the heavens.

  Laughing, she grabbed one of the them as Ted sat down on a log to observe. Lanie struggled to crack it open with a jagged stone she had found nearby.

  “Hey, don’t hurt yourself,” he said. “You’re the only doctor around for miles.”

  “Hey, kano… I’m city girl,” she countered. “This how they do in my place.”

  The third swing cracked the coconut down the middle. She twisted it to make two separate halves and handed one to Ted.

  “Is easy with machete. For professional like me, is only just rock,” Lanie told him with her charming brand of sarcasm. “Drink up, kano.”

  “I’ve gotten pretty handy at whacking these myself. They’re all over my property.”

  Lanie looked up from her coconut smoothie.

  “I’m sorry to ask such question but… may I see it?” she asked with big eyes.

  • • •

  Ted led her to the clearing with a full view of the rice terraces and Ted’s massive house in the middle. Lanie’s eyes scanned across the land, taking it in.

  “Your rice need harvesting,” she said.

  “You know how to do that?”

  “Of course,” she said with a bit of concern for him.

  “Well, consider me impressed,” he told her. “Let me show you the pad.”

  “Pad?” she inquired. “This what we call when helicopter put on hospital roof.”

  “Well,” he said, “you could probably land a chopper on mine too.”

  Ted and Lanie walked through the rice field, stalks snapping as they moved past.

  At the house, they entered the foyer and Lanie immediately removed her shoes. Ted had forgotten how other cultures always remove their shoes out of respect for the homeowner.

  “It’s so big for you.”

  “I enjoy my space,” he said, a bit defensively.

  “So what your occupation back there?”

  Ted took in a long breath.

  “I talked banks into loaning my company money to make overly expensive movies, and then talked actors into thinking the script was right for them, even if it wasn’t. Often times I doubled as a glorified secretary for a boss who didn’t appreciate me nearly enough and every so often I’d attend award shows and watch Roger get credit for my own brainchild. When that wasn’t happening, I was cashing very big checks and avoiding people.”

  Ted noticed Lanie looking at him and realized he had gone off on a tangent and she had no idea what he was talking about. She turned her eyes to the entertainment system.

  “That pay for all this?”

  “Well, I invested most of it and got lucky. Kind of worked out for me.”

  “It’s exciting, your job?”

  “I mostly sat in front of a computer.”

  Lanie nodded. She didn’t find ironic humor very funny.

  Changing the subject, Ted asked, “So what do you do for fun? I mean, when you’re not helping sick people?”

  “Oh, I love the cinema. My auntie teach us English using American movie. You know Sound of Music?”

  “Of course.”

&nb
sp; “As a girl, I watch that million times. I wanted to be Von Trapp kid.”

  “You wanted to be hunted by Nazis?”

  Lanie gave him a strange look.

  “Want to see upstairs?” he asked.

  He led her up the steps and into his bedroom. Lanie looked around with wide eyes.

  “So beautiful in here,” she said. “It look Chinese.”

  She pushed the door open and walked out onto the bamboo deck. The breeze lifted the strap from her shoulder and she crossed her arms gently before pulling it back. Ted watched the graceful way she moved and found himself staring at her. He saw that she looked cold from the strong breeze so he positioned himself behind her in an innocent way. He began to wrap her in his arms when suddenly she turned.

  “You are rich guy?” she asked.

  “That’s kind of relative.”

  “Can I say something?”

  “Of course. Yes.”

  “I’m sorry,” she began. “I find rich people isusually unhappy.”

  He broke eye contact with her and looked away. She had a way of cutting to the chase and Ted, in all his years of schmoozing, knew only how to beat around the bush with women. It was a social art to Americans.

  “Rich people, poor people… I find that most people are unhappy,” he replied.

  She just looked at him, searching his face.

  “Except you,” he said. “And Rene and Manny. All of you guys seem so happy and honestly, I can’t say I understand it. But I’m intrigued. You could make a lot of money in Manila or even in the States. But, you’re here. For free. Why?”

  Lanie looked at him like the answer should be obvious. “We are from different worlds, kano.”

  Her tone was soft and non-judgmental but Ted felt a sting. He smiled to hide it.