The refugee ship had more than a hundred refugees. Everyone knew each other and Dan, being an ex naval officer, became good friends with the captain. Things were on on the right track and everyone seemed eagerly happy to see the land of great hope. Thuan and his sister were the two youngest members on board but were the most dangerous. Why so dangerous? Thuan was more curious than the average George and got into trouble so many times. He would do stupid things like turn on the gas stove and run away because of the noise it made. He would also take ashtrays and dump the ashes on the floor to play in. His sister was far worse than him. Together, they would yell and scream for fun while annoying everyone else. Nobody liked them. Not even the captain. Something had to be done; otherwise the kids were going to jeapordize the lives of others on board. For many days, the two kids were beaten into silence. There was even a time when Thuan became really sick and without any medication, his life was at risk. Day by day, his little body became thinner and weaker. He wouldn't eat and if he did, his body rejected it. His mother was in tears every time she sat by her sick dying child. Day by day, she would pray, hoping that God would not take her son away. Day by day, she sat in silence and wept.
For nearly ten days, the people saw nothing by the sea and no sign of freedom. Tension began to arise as people started yelling and fighting. There was no food left and very little clean water to drink. The captain had no sympathy for throwing any passengers off board. He too wanted to seek land and forever be remembered as a hero. His heroic deeds though ended when his ship encountered pirates near the coastal regions of the Philippines (pirates were very common during these times). Everyone panicked when they saw these merciless savages. The women and children all hid in the bottom bunker and only the men remained at top. They all sensed the angel of death as the two ships came closer to each other. The fighting began again. From below, the women and children heard gunshots and the sounds of men crying in pain. The sounds of death murmured throughout their ears. They all had lost hope for their goals of living in freedom. Later, they heard the sounds of pirate footsteps heading towards them and sadly enough, they were all discovered. Many of the women were raped while the men were beaten. Thuan and Kelly were locked in a secret closet drawer. Scared as they were, they never yelled or screamed. It was far worse than an endless nightmare for them. His sister began to silently cry and tears began to shed for him too. Together, the siblings embraced for dear life, hoping that everything would be back to normal. Moments later, it became a dead silence. There were no more screams, no yelling, and no gunshots fired. The quiescent sound made Thuan wonder if his parents were dead. If they were, who would free them? Were they going to die from suffocation too? Was this suppose to happen? Is this what they deserved for believing in hope? Fortunately, the pirates spared the lives of many in exchange for the captain's fortunes. The two children were saved from suffocation by their mother while their father and uncles were cleaning the pool of blood on the deck with the others. Nothing was on board for the injured people. There was no food, no money, and no water left for these people. Everyone was traumatized from the massacre and were waiting to die at any given time. The dead and severly wounded were thrown into the sea. Tears were shed everywhere, even on the captain himself. |
