Chapter 12 Scene 7

The group begins to eat the large meal they have prepared. As they are finishing, Tom turns to Phato and asks,

"Phato, can you tell us about meeting Kuruka on Sanctuary Island?"am

Phato takes a deep breath. "That island is my home. My parents are Nomato and Boguro."

"What! They never told me they had a son."

Tom looks at Kuruka, who nods and explains, "They were not supposed to."

"Why?"

"It is the will of the Spirits."

"Can't you say more than that?"

Kuruka and Phato look at each other, and Kuruka continues.

"Phato wants to be a great hunter. I tried to teach him, but he was far too impatient and kept getting into trouble, even when we stopped helping him get out of trouble.  The Spirits spoke, and said he must live alone until they were satisfied he has overcome his impatience."

Machk nods. "That sounds like spirits from my tribe would do."

After a brief pause, Kuruka adds, "I have important news, Phato. You have a baby sister."

Phato's face breaks into a smile but quickly resumes a stoic expression.

Kuruka continues, "Are you ready to come home when we can find a way?"

"I have one more task. There is a monster in a tunnel blocked by large rocks on my island.  I must defeat it."

"There were many oversize animals on Sanctuary Island, and two more here so far. But ... somehow only Tom has had the ability to defeat them.  There is some force that prevents our tribe from shooting them with arrows.  You might not be able to defeat this monster alone."

Phato looks at Tom, and responds, "I must participate in this battle."

Tom replies, "If we encounter this beast and must attack it, then yes, we will combine forces. You, me, and Kuruka."

Sophia has been attentively listening to the conversation, and when there is a long pause, asks Phato, "How did you know to come to this island just in time?"

"A new Spirit told me. He appeared as a large man with red hair and spoke in a strange accent."

"That was Gilles! He's still protecting me."

"That appears to be my assignment."

Sophia's curiosity gets the best of her and she has to ask, "What kind of trouble did you get into when you were hunting?"

Phato pauses and glacnes at Kuruka, who suggests, "How about the crab trap?"

Phato answers, "I wanted to learn how to hunt crabs, but Kuruka said it was too late in the day."

When he stops speaking, Kuruka continues, "That's right. I told him I would teach him in the morning, but he wouldn't wait.  Phato, will you tell the story, or shall I?"

Kuruka's look told Phato that he should tell the story. "I picked up the crab trap on the beach where the crabs are. I swung it over my head, but it was heavy with those stones on the edge and before I got it going fast enough I lost my balance.  The trap wrapped around me and knocked me over.  Since I was close to the shore, I panicked and rolled away from the water, above the high tide line.  But the trap wrapped around me tighter and tighter, and when I was safe I could barely move.  When I tried to get loose my hands and feet went through gaps in the net, and I just got more tangled up.  The sun set and it was too dark to see what to do, so I had to lie there all night, caught in the crab trap."

"No one came by to help you?" asks Sophia.

"We all came by, but were forbidden to help by the Spirits," answers Kuruka. "This was necessary to teach him to be responsible."

Phato continues, "I eventually fell asleep, and when the sun rose I woke up. It was weird waking up all tied up and alone.  Even with the sunlight it took me two hours to get free from the crab trap.'

"Actually, you weren't alone," comments Kuruka. "Someone was watching from a distance. Your father in particular found it amusing."

Sophia giggles. "I wish I could have seen that."

Phato's eyes glaze over. "You shall. Is there a crab trap here?"

Tom speaks up, "Yes, it's on the beach over there, but ..."

Phato mechanically strides to where Tom indicated.

Tom gets up and asks, "What are you doing?" but Kuruka speaks up.

"You must not interrupt him!" warns Kuruka. "This is the will of the Spirits. We can keep watch to make sure nothing bad happens to Phato."

"Is he really going to ...? " Nicole trails off as it is clear what is happening.

Phato silently picks up the crab trap, swings it awkwardly above his head, deliberately loses his balance and makes the crab trap wrap tightly around his body. He falls and rolls away from the shore to a safe grassy area, but appears to purposefully get himself tangled up as much as possible.

Sophia can't help but laugh, but then approaches Phato, now pinned to the ground on his back by the weighted crab trap and says, "You didn't have to do that!"

"Yes I did," is the calm reply. "The Spirits willed it."

Sophia feels a litlle guilty. "Let's get you out of there."

"No! You must leave me alone."

Sophia jumps back at the sudden loudness of Phato's voice. "But ... you need a place to sleep. If not here then on your island ... I know, Phatoland!"

Phato hadn't thought of naming that island after him. "I was wondering if I should go back to my island to sleep since you probably don't have a shelter for me here, but this will work perfectly. Good night."

Nothing comes out of Sophia's mouth when she opens it. Kuruka states, "Phato is right, you must leave him alone. You will see him in the morning.  Be careful what you say because his mission apparently is to protect you,  Do you understand?"

"I think so. Tomorrow morning I will get to watch him struggle for two hours to get out of that crab trap."

"Good, you are understanding. There may be a long journey ahead."

Tom gradually accepts the situation and heads back to the shelters which are not very far away. He then notices, "Look, the Oke Bur has grown back. That's the last thing I need for the sacrifice to that statue in case I need it some time." Tom picks the Oke Bur.

Quest 5 complete!

Tom, Sophia, Kuruka, and Machk return to the others. John announces, "It appears that the best herb to fight Amelia's illness is the Datura Bowl."

Tom points out, "Since those grow slowly and they're on Phato's island, I think we should build a real bridge between the two islands, not just the rope that only he can use."

John and Machk agree.

Quest 9: Build a bridge between the Castaway's island and the one Sophia calls "Phatoland."

Amelia asks, "Sophia, where is your new friend?"

Sophia casually answers, "He's all tangled up in a crab trap and is going to sleep that way tonight."

Amelia isn't sure she has fully recovered so lets it go. "That's nice dear. It's time we all went to bed."

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