by Kitty Margo
Shivers of stabbing pain behind her eyelids caused Lynna to open her eyes. Then she was immediately forced to lift a trembling hand to cover them from the blinding rays of the blazing morning sun. Quickly squeezing her eyes shut, she painfully rolled onto her stomach, groaning as she dropped her parched and swollen face into the scorching sand.
Every muscle in her body screamed with agony.
Where was she? How did she get here? How long had she been here? But most important, why couldn’t she remember the answers to these questions? Her mind was blank.
She remembered nothing before opening her eyes to the too brilliant sun that was now searing her skin. The roar of crashing waves sounded extremely loud in her pounding ears and answered one of her questions. She was on a beach. With tremendous effort, she lifted her head.
Ahead of her was the vast ocean and on both sides nothing but sand as far as the eye could see. Wet sand clung to her face, stinging her eyes, and she could feel it gritting against her teeth.
She brushed at the sand, yet her gentle touch brought fiery pain to her sunburned skin and scalding tears to her red rimmed, bloodshot eyes. Her hands reflexively went to her hair to smooth the knotty mass of tangles there, but with the combination of salt, seaweed, and God only knows what else, she found it to be an impossible task. Rolling back over, she buried her face in the sand heedless of the pain as heartfelt sobs shook her body.
Feeling somewhat better after a good cry she took a deep breath and pulled herself up. Her arms jerked violently as she rose on quivering hands and knees and cried out at the pain that small effort caused her, especially her upper arms and shoulders.
After several attempts, she stood slowly, wondering if her knees would buckle as they threatened at any moment to do. As she turned from the beach she saw the cool shade of the forest beckoning her. If only she could dig deep into her soul and find the strength to make it there, she would never ask for anything else as long as she lived. “Please, God,” she prayed, “just let me make it to the shade.”
Each step she was sure would be her last, but after what seemed like hours of lifting the dead weight of her legs and dropping her feet into the hot sand, she finally reached the edge of the forest and sank down into its shady haven. Closing her burning eyelids, exhaustion overwhelmed her and she welcomed the cool, soothing darkness that once again enveloped her.
“Wake up. Is you alive? Wake up.” The voice seemed to come from far, far away, pulling her back from the welcomed darkness. “Dis heah’s Rob. Kin you heah me?”
Lynna opened her eyes slowly, terrified of the enormous black giant of a man kneeling before her who seemed determined to shake her bones loose. The whites of his eyes were angry red and bloodshot causing her to back against the trunk of a coconut tree in fear for her life with a look of stark terror marring her features.
“Why is you actin’ like you is sceared of me?” Rob asked, puzzled by her reaction and reaching out to gently brush the sand from her face. “I ain’t gwine hurt you.”
She saw the look of genuine hurt in his eyes and for reasons unknown to her, her fear for the bear of a man gradually began to dissolve. From somewhere deep within her soul she knew that this gently giant would cause her no harm.
“You knows I ain’t gwine hurt you aftah whut you done fo’ me.” He hung his head in shame, recalling how she had bravely given herself to the pirate captain to save him from the lash.
“What I done for you? I don’t even know who you are.” Her words came out as a scratchy croak. “Where am I?”
“I cain answer dat, ma’am.” He shook his head sorrowfully. “I come to down on de beach dis mawning’. I figured I was de onliest one whut made it ta sho’ alive. So, I struck out through dem trees lookin’ fo’ food an’ water.” He pointed to the thriving jungle behind them.
“Water,” she croaked, nodding her head rapidly. Tenderly touching her dry, swollen lips she whispered, “Did you find water?”
“I sho’ nuff did.” His huge calloused hands pulled her gently to her feet. “Kin you walk?” he questioned worriedly. “Cause if’n you cain, I kin carry you.”
“Thank you…yes…” She looked at him oddly. “Who...who are you?”
“Rob, ma’am. My name be Rob.” For the first time he noticed the distant look in her eyes. “You ‘members me, from de ship, don’t you?”
“What ship?” Lynna scarcely got the words out, but Rob didn’t mistake the sincerity in her tone. It was then that he realized she had not survived the ordeal unscathed as he had first hoped. He tried to make light of the situation and conceal his concern for her. “Weah talk ‘bout dat later. Fo’ now le’s git you some watah.”
With his strong arms helping to support her, Rob led her through the jungle to a small clearing and a sparkling blue pond. He heard her soft gasp and then she was gone, plunging headfirst into the cool water.
Lynna drank deeply and when she had her fill, she began rubbing the thick layer of salt, sand, and grime from her hair and skin. Her eyes closed blissfully as the water seemed to drain away her pain.
Rob watched silently from the bank, thanking God for sparing her life. He had searched for her under the black, murky water until his lungs threatened to burst. Exhausted, he had surfaced calling her over and over until he finally gave up hope after realizing that no one could stay under water that long and survive. Rob knew that God’s hand had brought her safely to land.
“You stays rite chere til I gits back, ma’am. I’se gwine find you sumphin’ to eat.”
“Thank you. I will,” she promised. “Rob, do you know my name?”
“I sho’ don’t. But since you got all dat yeller hair, an’ ‘minds me of one, I’s gwine call you Buttercup.”
She floated dreamily in the water that was so cool on her sunburned skin. Looking around, she was left awestruck by the lush splendor of the tropical paradise. She relaxed, feeling the tension leave her tight muscles, then tensed when something large bumped against her back.
Her gasp echoed through the still forest as she froze, too terrified to turn and see what manner of man or beast was behind her. God only knew what hideous creatures lurked beneath the depths of the clear, inviting water, waiting to devour her. Her heart seemed to form a lump in her throat as she waited, galvanized for the attack.
Holding her breath, when she realized that no harm had befallen her, she gathered her courage and slowly turned around. As she did the breath left her in a burst of merriment.
It was a water lily. Or at least she assumed it was. Having never seen one with such huge dimensions she could not be sure. At least six feet in diameter, the lily pad was strong and buoyant, its brilliant color somewhere between lavender and pink. The flowers in the center were closed and she would later learn that they opened only after the sun went down.
Feeling strangely adventurous, she climbed into the lily pad to see if it would support her weight. It did, and she relaxed into the cushiony softness, dangling her feet over the side and into the water as exhaustion from her trying ordeal once again settled over her and she slept.
Rob returned to find her asleep and floating on the giant pad. “Buttercup!” he called several times, but to no avail. Her sleep was one of physical exhaustion. He debated whether or not to let her rest. Then, deciding that she needed food in her stomach, he called to her again, receiving the same response. Picking up a large rock he threw it in the water beside her, grinning when she sat up sputtering and wiping water from her face.
“What did you do that for?” she cried, sounding put upon.
“I call’ and call’, but you ain’t wake up.” He smiled mischievously. “Come an’ eat dese nuts an’ berries I done foun’ fo’ you.”
Forcing herself to leave the comfort of her lily pad, Lynna left the water and went to sit beside him on the damp moss. Hungrily, she grabbed a berry and stuffed the sweet, plump, juiciness into her mouth. She found the berries much to her liking, the same with the nuts. The tasty fare stopped the growling
in her stomach, but left her far from satisfied.
Rob noticed. “Aftah we finds us a place ta sleep tonite, I see whut kind of meat I kin roun’ up fo’ supper. I done seed plenty of rabbit’ an’ squirrel’ on dis heah island an’ dat big ole sea is full of fish, so we ain’t gwine starve.”
Lynna was immediately on her feet. “Where do we begin?” She was eager to help, having no desire to sleep on the open ground tonight.
Directly across from the pond Rob noticed for the first time what seemed to be an overgrown path. From the height of the grass in comparison with the surrounding vegetation, it was obvious that the path had once been well traveled. Tensing, then forcing his body to relax lest he alarm the girl, he realized that they might not be as alone on this island as he had first suspected.
He wondered if the natives were friendly and issued a silent prayer that they were not the cannibals the pirate captain had often threatened him with. His insides tightened involuntarily at the thought of Lynna meeting with that hideous fate. He would not let her see his fear as he vowed to protect her with his very life.
Taking her hand, they followed the path for several hundred feet through the dense jungle. They soon came upon another shaded clearing of soft grass surrounded on all sides by towering trees and scrubby plant life. Again Rob noticed that some of the undergrowth wasn’t as tall and thick as the rest. Moving to part the thick tangle of vines, he was amazed to find the entrance to a cave.
Stepping inside, he squinted, trying to see through the eerie darkness, but his eyes could make out nothing except pitch black. The cave had been well used, for what he wasn’t sure, but he intended to find out. He walked around the clearing gathering dry leaves, twigs, and two flint rocks as Lynna relaxed on the soft carpet of grass.
Rob rubbed the flint rocks over a pile of kindling until a spark ignited it, then he fashioned a makeshift torch and headed toward the cave entrance. “You waits heah while I takes a look inside.”
“Oh, no. I’m going with you. I’m not staying out here alone with...with…” Lynna peered into the jungle, moving even closer to Rob when she heard what sounded like a woman’s piercing scream. “That.”
“It jus’ a bird, Buttercup. I spent time on a plan’ation in Jamaica, so I knows dat sound. Ain’t nothin’ to be sceared of.”
“Just the same,” she insisted adamantly. “I am going with you.”
They shoved spider webs and other debris aside to enter the cave, gasping in unison as the light from the torch illuminated the interior.
“This is unbelievable,” Lynna whispered.
“We ain’t de onliest ones on dis heah island,” Rob mumbled, nervously surveying his surroundings. “Dat’s fo’ sho’.” His huge hands clenched into tight fists as his sides, suddenly alert to danger.
While he stood motionless, Lynna took the torch and walked around the spacious cave, lighting torches that were attached to the wall. Light spilled across the room illuminating a carved oak table with two sturdy chairs. A cabinet stood in one corner filled with an assortment of carved wooden plates, bowls, cups, spoons and forks. What she found most pleasing was the bed. It was a four-poster with a canvas mattress and spread, presumably made from the sail of a ship.
“This is incredible,” Lynna breathed, astonishment in her voice. “Someone must have lived here for quite some time. And whoever carved this furniture was a master of the art.” She was quiet as she moved around the room, amazed at the craftsmanship. “But where are they now?”
Rob relaxed a little, realizing that neither natives nor cannibals were accustomed to the furnishings exhibited in the cave. “I reckon weah be safe nuff heah, fo’ now.”
“I reckon we will,” she teased.
They both assumed from the vast amounts of cobwebs, dust, and small furry creatures inhabiting the cave, that it had been vacated by its previous occupants long ago. Lynna immediately set about cleaning the place, hoping to make it livable by nightfall. On closer inspection of the much cherished bed, they found the moss filled mattress to be the home of a lively family of noisy squirrels. Rob chased the critters away and carried the mattress outside to refill with fresh moss. Lynna lugged the canvas spread to the beach to wash.
Returning to the cave, they confronted the filthy interior together.
“Rob,” Lynna asked, unable to reach the ceiling. “Can you get those cobwebs down for me?”
“Yes, Ma’am,” he answered dutifully.
Lynna turned serious blue eyes on him. “Just yes, Rob. On this island we are equals. Here there is no color barrier between us. No master and no slave. Who knows, we may be on this island for the rest of our lives with only each other for companionship. I hope we can be friends.
“You is a fine lady, Buttercup, dat’s fo’ sho’.” Then he turned to leave. “I’se gwine look fo’ supper, so it mite be a w’ile fo’ I gits back.”
“Here, you might need this.” In one corner of the cave stood a various array of spears of all shapes and sizes, a wooden bow and arrow, and a collection of hand carved knives. Picking a spear at random she held it out to him.
A huge grin split Rob’s face. “A man cain axk fo’ a better place to be shipwreck’, can he?”
Chapter 34