"We are no fools, you fooled yourself. All of us made it alive," Akib bragged.
"As you can see, you're back to pay for that. You will die for your brothers. The crocs are waiting for you," he said.
Akib's eyes lighted on another paddle and he aimed for it. As he bent, he could reach down. He felt a sprain. He stopped.
"What do you think, my friend? I thought I broke every bone in your body with this," he showed Akib the paddle. "But you seemed to have carried extra bones in your body. That's why you find it difficult to move and you feel pain all over, don't you?"
The reason why he could not use his body was just discovered.
"What's your name?" the boatman asked.
"That's not necessary anymore since we are like this," Akib said.
The man hit Akib on his side. Then, his leg. He threw his metal at his head, but he dodged that cleverly. Taking advantage of his wounded body, he kept bashing him to the left and right, landing some hits and missing a few.
"Aw-aw! Aw!" Akib gnashed his teeth under the torture of the boatman.
He was feeling the pain, but he was waiting for him to come close. Studying him, he realized the boatman was brutish and wouldn't be satisfied with little. Most definitely, he would get close — and that would be a trap he wouldn't escape, never.
Wanting to push him over the edge, Akib held his paddle under his armpit and got a grip on it. Pulling it toward himself, Akib didn't let go.
"You can't have this anymore," he said to annoy him.
Like someone baited, the deaf and dumb man crossed to his side to finish what he had started. At that time, having calculated what he had to do, Akib aimed for his loin. His teeth were toward the pubic area. The boatman knew this could mean Akib had targeted his groin. He started raining blows on his back, but that didn't dissuade Akib. He was surprised to see that what he expected didn't happen. But Akib was doing something different.
"Tear! What have you done?" He was shocked to see that Akib had torn the rope that held his trousers.
Down came his trousers to reveal his secret part. He laid hold of the trousers to hide himself from Akib. He could no longer continue the fight.
"C'mon, let's fight," Akib mocked.
Then, it was his turn. But there was no strength for Akib to fight. While the boatman was hiding from him, trying to repair his clothes, Akib took an advantage. He launched a kick. The man was sent into the water where the carnivorous beasts were waiting.
In a few minutes, the crocodiles were feasting.
With the demise of the boatman, he remembered his friends with whom he boarded. But he had to take care of himself first. He searched the boat for something to devour. Fortunately, the man left a compensation: some roasted fish. Without wasting any time, he sat to do justice. In no time, Akib had finished three full pieces and he could still have more. But that was all there was. He drank some water nearby. He laid down on his back to rest, but the rest of the night was history. He went into a deep sleep.
The boat was pushed about by the night's gentle breeze. From nowhere to nowhere, the boat basked about aimlessly.
"Death! Death!" had been the wish, so here on the water, anything could happen.
In the morning, the birds chirped around him. There was this particular one that wouldn't let him die in sleep; its noise was shrieking. Akib woke at last.
"What's it?" He was annoyed with the noisemakers.
Reluctantly, he sat up. The morning sun was just coming up and it was another torment as it focused its rays directly toward his sight. He put forward his hand to block the reflection.
"Oh, good morning," he said.
With the pain still over him, he was sure sitting there wasn't going to help. The most important thing was that he was alive and so he had to carry on. Pain comes and goes, it's always like that. But he wanted to make the best out of today.
The thought of those friends with whom he embarked on the mission returned.
"Oh, I must find my way back to the academy," Akib said while he took the paddle again.
He turned to find direction. He was lost. The water was everywhere before him. The direction where the crocodiles were located was out of the way and the boatman was already dead. He knew he had to do what he hadn't done before — follow his mind on water. He launched towards the opposite of himself.
"Am I in the right direction?" He was confused.
Not convinced, he turned to the other direction and started again. He felt sharp pain in his bicep and his body getting weaker. He could feel his strength deteriorating because he had not fully recovered. To avoid sudden collapse like the other time, he decided to cease paddling.
"What's the way forward?" he thought.
Helpless, frustrated, and sick, he had to wait for a messiah.
Life had been so unfair and not a place for some people. Many had tasted the bitter side of everything, including their birth. Children — innocent souls — born to step into the suffering they knew nothing about. Orphanages filled with souls with clueless futures still lament misfortunes from these unwanted children. So many hidden circumstances about man himself he didn't know. How could someone's parents die without giving the child anything to hold onto? They've left the child to misfortune, tragedy, and woes.
Akib's eyes went to the sailor's seat. Something struck him about it as he stood. He tried to start the boat engine.
Surprisingly, he heard the smooth engine respond positively. He was overwhelmed with joy. He had some relief to know that he wouldn't need to row using his strength.
He took the direction of the birds. They were heading toward East Forest. On getting close to the edge, he found himself where he had unboarded with the boys. He recollected the boatman when he had approached him on the boat.
Good enough, the footprints of the passersby were still on the ground. He had no one with him now. He aimed into the same path to find the missing friends or to find what the future held for him.
The pathway showed people hadn't been frequent on this path. The grasses along the way were fresh and greenish. It was clear the passing aspirants had stamped on them. There were heavy shrubs which were medicinal for certain ailments known to him.
Akib had to walk as fast as he could. It had been hours since his friends left him. By calculation, he must have been behind by ten hours. When he thought of this, he started running. Running through this way wasn't much of a problem, thanks to those who had gone ahead and made his way straight.
"Where is my staff?" he remembered.