Two weeks and it happened again. Joseph recognized the noise in the distance; it was another airplane. He got up and tripped over himself frantically trying to get to the beach to light his makeshift flare. “Wait wait!” he bellowed at the top of his lungs. “This is hopeless,” he whispered to himself while dropping to his knees. This was the second plane to pass the small island and not seeing the SOS traced in the sand. Joseph was a traveling business man trying to get home from Thailand. Mid flight on the way out, their plane plunged into the sea from an engine failure. Using his seat as a floatation device, he escaped the wreckage and swam to the nearest island. Despite missing his second chance at freedom for the third time, Joseph decided to start his day.
Joseph’s daily routine was strict and he made sure he did everything on the tree he etched instructions into the day he got there. It was somewhat of a reminder so he could maybe hold onto his last grain of sanity; if he doesn’t find help. His first job in the day was to find water for him to drink or bathe in. The day he woke up on the shore (which Joseph thinks was September 17th) he took a look around the small island to see if there was anything or (most importantly) anyone there. Unfortunately there wasn’t a soul on the island except him, but fortunately enough there was a freshwater spring next to a beautifully lush palm tree in the middle of the island. Joseph would try to crack coconuts into halves so he could have something to drink out of rather than his hands.
Next on Joseph’s agenda was to build a fire to heat water for the ramen noodles that landed on shore a few days later from the same aircraft that was carrying him. This wasn’t Joseph’s most preferred food of choice but given the circumstances, he didn’t really have a choice in the matter. In Joseph’s free time on his small island, he frequently walked around the island looking as much as he could for boats. Joseph thought it was imperative to make sure he was always prepared to try to signal boats that he is in need of help, so he built large bundles of timber and dry grass to set fire on a moment’s notice. Day after day, Joseph made his rounds finding food and collecting his water waiting on a sign of life, or maybe someone to talk to.
One starry night, Joseph was laying in his makeshift bed-mat of palm leaves and other various soft leaves when he heard a horn sound its horn in the distance. One again, he sprang into action to try to see where the boat was going and figure out where he was going to light his SOS fires. He found the boat not too far from Joseph’s island and was moving away from the island. Since it was dark at that time of night, all Joseph could make of the boat was its two lights; one faint light each on the front and back. From its size he guessed it was a fishing boat, but he just hoped he got their attention.
Once the fire got going, the dry grass went up into a fiery blaze and set the pile on fire. Joseph yelled at the top of his lungs hoping they would hear his pleas for help. The boat slowed down and turned around. Joseph screamed in relief “Yes! This way! I’m right here, this way!” The boat slowly approached the island, and Joseph had his first reality check he’s had since he had landed on the forsaken island. He ran like a mad man back into the brush where he had made his hidden shelter where he kept his leaf bed-mat, and hid as best as he could to get a look at the boat landing at the shore. Once the men had gotten to the shore, they pulled the assault rifles strapped on the back around to their chest and started to yell at each other. Shortly after, the men split up. Joseph knew what he had just gotten himself into.
He continued to hide in his bungalow, praying that the men with rifles didn’t find him and carry out whatever they are trying to do. He had remembered he stomped a path down to help him find his way back to his shelter and knew one of them was bound to find it. After a few minutes of critical thinking, Joseph heard them approaching the path entrance. He left out of the side of his bungalow and ran for his second hiding place; the cave hidden behind the fresh water spring. He sat behind the entrance of the cave, peering out to see if the men had left. Joseph slowly started to walk for the door to get a better look at the beach, but heard them coming down the hill where his shelter was located. They yelled at each other in what had seemed like annoyance, but they continued towards the spring with their flashlights. Joseph crawled back into the entrance of the cave and waited it out. He figured they would be gone by morning and the birds he had eaten would hold him down until tomorrow, so he decided to rest.
Joseph woke up and crawled back to the entrance of the cave. The horizon was turning back into its beautiful dark pink and getting brighter by the minute. Joseph knew all the best places on the island to look at the beach while staying hidden in case he would land himself in this sort of situation. He looked at the beaches from afar for the boats and didn’t see any of them. Joseph let out a considerably intense sigh of relief, and then it was back to work.
Another four days went by, collecting food and water and waiting for the sunset. He tried to entertain himself by fashioning a makeshift hoop and attached it to a tree. Joseph also took the top of the ration bin that floated to shore and positioned it above the hoop as a backboard. He would spend some days trying to find the most round looking coconuts and try to shoot them in from as far as he could. As Joseph made more shots into his homemade hoop, the farther he walked back to take another shot. If he missed, he would start all over again. As the weeks rolled by his aim he sharpened his aim with spears he had sharpened with other sticks. Joseph realized that he had learned a rather valuable skill in this mess and still couldn’t appreciate it. Under different circumstances this would be a happy occasion for him, but not when every day was a struggle for survival. Joseph was starting to have his doubts about his outcome on the forsaken island.
The next night started as usual and Joseph sat down at the beach to unwind. Joseph spotted to what he thought was a boat in the distance but ultimately shrugged it off, thinking he was slipping into madness. He sat back down and closed his eyes. In about what it felt like minutes later, Joseph heard an engine. A boat was coming. Joseph sprang up and dashed for the tree line and looked as hard as he could. He saw two men at the front of the boat and another man driving the boat in the back. Joseph had also spotted the rifle slings on their chests by the lights on the deck of the boat. The men were back for Joseph.
Joseph ran for his bungalow again, but this time he started to wonder why he was running so fast. “What is the point,” he thought. “What is the point of running if there is nowhere to run to? I’m trapped.” He finally reached his shelter and looked down at the beach. The men were getting out of their boats and turning on the flashlights. They were flashing them at the tree line below him so Joseph put his head down to avoid being spotted. The three men looked around for a few more moments and headed down the right side of the beach still searching for him. Joseph looked on to the sea, trying to enjoy the last of what he thought were the last minutes of his life. While staring at the horizon, he noticed they left their boat unattended. Joseph made a mad dash for the boat.
Joseph was sprinting through countless trees and shrubbery to get to the beach where the boat landed while at the same time trying to avoid being spotted by the men with the rifles. He finally reached the beach and dove into the water to get into the boat. He climbed up the back of the boat where the engine was still running. He climbed into the driver's chair of the boat and shifted it into drive without a second thought. On the dashboard sat a GPS device and compass, all at Joseph’s disposal. He set the coordinates for the biggest land mass available and put the boat into full speed. The men had come sprinting back to shore to see their boat being stolen by the person they were hunting down. They took their rifles from around their backs and shot at the boat. A few of the bullets hit the boats dashboard and one even skimmed Joseph’s arm. It was merely a small flesh wound, but that didn’t matter to him. Joseph was free.
After a half hour of driving his new stolen boat, Joseph started to feel woozy. His eyesight was strained for looking at the GPS so much, and his neck hurt from whipping it back and forth to see if he was being chased again. It was still relatively dark and the clock read 1:42 AM. Joseph slowed to a stop and turned off the engine. He looked at the sky, took a huge deep breath and sat down... He felt something strange, a feeling he hadn't felt in what seemed like a very long time. He got up cautiously and looked at the GPS. The distance he had left to land was another 21 miles. He took another deep breath and powered on the engine.
Joseph continued onward into the early morning hours driving slowly to avoid detection. Once he spotted land felt an enormous sense of accomplishment, but he wasn't out of the woods yet. He drove very slowly with the lights off when he approached the bay. He turned the engine off once he got close to the shore and looked around the shore for any signs of life. He could see headlights moving through the tree line so he decided to wait another ten minutes. Once he was sure there wasn't anything waiting to kill him on shore he swam in and retreated into the woods. Once again, he was to fend for himself in the wilderness but Joseph came to learn that it isn’t going to be as easy as it was on the island. He found a somewhat comfortable cave indented on a stone wall near the beach and rested until morning.
Joseph awoke to the sunlight creeping into the cave. The sun was about a quarter of the way from the horizon, so he assumed that it was about 10:00 AM. He swam back into the ocean to rip the GPS device off of the boat he left in the bay. He scavenged for batteries so the GPS wouldn’t die on him during his adventures in the wilderness but only found 3. He was going to have to find somewhere to go fast. Joseph zoomed out on the map displayed on the GPS and saw the nearest city. To Joseph’s surprise, the GPS told him he was in Indonesia. He had also learned from the GPS that the nearest city was Makassar which sat on the coast. Joseph powered off the GPS to save battery, fashioned a stick spear and then went out on his way south towards the city.
It was very hot in Indonesia considering it lays in a tropical climate, but today was a lot hotter than the rest of the days Joseph spent on the island. He was still exhausted from his encounter with the men on the island and barely got any rest on the boat. He knew this was going to be a long journey. Fifteen minutes into his walk he found a winding dirt road, so he decided to follow it. As he walked down the road an occasional car would come in Joseph’s direction. When this happened he dived into the tree line to avoid being seen. As much as we would love to ask for help especially at a time like this, he couldn’t take any risks. All Joseph wanted was his freedom again. Joseph walked the dirt road until the sun hit the horizon again. The vibrant blue sky was turning into a deep pinkish purple, so it was time to rest. Joseph took leaves and sticks and made a small shelter for him to sleep. Before he went to bed for the night he looked at his GPS to track his progress. He had another 13 miles to go. Just for a few seconds, Joseph had a smile on his face again.
Once the sun crept onto his palm leaf shelter, Joseph sprang to his feet to follow the road to the city again. With each step he could feel the excitement building inside him. While walking on the dirt road he dozed off and began thinking of what it was like at home. He had a wife and little boy at home who were either worried sick or given up on hope that their father might return someday soon. Joseph hoped it was at least the first one rather than the second one. He came to what looked like a gate and two wooden towers surrounding a small building at the end of the road. Joseph slowly started to creep into the tree line to get a better look at what was going on. He watched the front of the gate until he saw a man in the tower next to the fence. He was a muscular looking man with a rifle in his hands. In the other tower was another man with binoculars. Joseph hit the floor and crawled away from the road.
“What am I going to do, oh god what am I going to do,” Joseph said over and over again to himself. With the fear of more men with rifles trying to hunt him down again, he scrambled to turn the GPS on again to find an alternative route around the camp. After it powered on it took a long time to get a signal so Joseph sat in the tree line trembling in fear. The gate opened for a car to pass through. He poked his head of the tree line to see two armed men traveling in the opposite direction. He didn’t want to know what would have happened had he not found the camp earlier and the two men found him on the road. The GPS powered on again and the miles remaining box read 7 miles. Joseph was so close he could have tasted it, but couldn’t because of the fear of being shot. The GPS indicated that there was a small road to the right of the camp, so he quietly crept through the grass towards it.
While crouching on the small road he heard two men talking in a language that was foreign to him. He hit the deck again and hid from the men. Joseph must have made too loud of a noise because the men stopped talking and approached the bush Joseph was in. They looked around and poked their guns into the brush. Joseph was poked with a cold barrel of a rifle and tried his best to remain quiet. The one man said something to the other in a dismissive tone and continued down the road. Joseph put his mouth against his arm and screamed as quietly as he could into his sleeve. Joseph was getting tired of running and hiding.
Once Joseph reached the two mile mark on the GPS, Joseph began to run faster and faster. He could feel his heart racing extremely fast but he didn’t care. He was almost to the finish line. The road started to become wider and eventually led to a paved road along the coastline. Joseph realized he was out of the woods and on a little ways down the coast was the city of Makassar. Joseph’s rarely occurring smile once again returned to his face. He tossed his GPS and sticks to the side of the road and went into full sprint towards the city.
Joseph made it into the city and frantically asked one person after another for a telephone. Nobody really understood what he was saying and were slightly offended by his overbearing stench so he went into various shops to ask for a telephone. Joseph sat down on a bench to catch his breath. “There’s got to be someone here that speaks English.” said Joseph while wiping the sweat off of his forehead. He looked at the sky and saw the sun was almost reaching the horizon. He walked down the street until he found a bar.
He walked in and to his surprise the bartender spoke English but with a heavy Australian accent. “Hey mate. Whoa you look like hell. You alright man?” said the bartender. “Oh thank god,” yelled Joseph and stumbled to the bar. “Do you have a telephone I could use? Please? I need to speak to my family please,” said Joseph desperately. “Easy mate, just take a seat I’ll get you the telephone just a minute. Have a glass of water.” said the bartender trying to calm him down. Joseph took the glass and swiftly drank the entire thing in the blink of an eye. The bartender gave him a strange look and grabbed the phone from under the counter. Joseph picked up the telephone and dialed the number to his wife’s cell phone. Joseph was waiting for the call to connect. Once the ringing began to sound, he started to break down into tears. The ringing came to an abrupt stop and the woman on the other line said “Hello?” in a low tone. She could hear the person on the other line sniffling.”Hello? Hello?” She continued. Joseph cleared his throat, smiled and said “It’s me.”
“Where the hell have you been? It’s been two and a half weeks and you don’t even bother to call?” Joseph’s wife yelled at him through the phone. “You don’t understa-” Joseph tried to say before being cut off. “We’ve been absolutely worried sick and what area code are 62?” She continued to yell but slowly became quiet. “I’m in Indonesia honey. My plane was downed and I have no idea where everyone else is. Please you need to get me out of here.” Joseph said tirelessly. “Okay just tell me wher-” the phone cut their conversation short. The line was dead. Joseph went to the phone and tried to dial the number again. The line was still dead. He looked up at the bartender who was shrugging. “Sorry boss. It happens. It’ll probably come back in fifteen minutes or so. You can relax till then if you so choose.” The bartender said from behind the counter while polishing a glass. “No, thank you though I have to keep looking for a phone. I really need to get out of here.” Joseph said while walking out of the door.
He continued down the street while trying to make sure he was keeping a low profile. Joseph patted down his clothes looking for his GPS device and slowly started to frantically search his clothes. He couldn’t find the GPS. Joseph almost broke down in the middle of the street. He dropped to his knees and pressed his hands against his forehead. Joseph got back up and sat down on another bench. At this point Joseph was extremely exhausted and figured if he didn’t get food or have a rest he would be as good as dead. He walked as fast as he could back to the bar. He felt like he was still moving pretty fast but in reality was walking as fast as a zombie and looked like one too. He stumbled back into the bar and saw the bartender still polishing his glasses. “Hey mate. Any luck down the street?” The bartender said. “Yeah I-“Joseph stopped mid sentence and looked at the ceiling. “You don’t look to good mate. Sit down before you hurt yourself.” Joseph couldn’t hear what the bartender was saying. Joseph looked on in a daze. His vision was becoming hazy and felt his knees becoming weak. All of the sudden, Joseph stumbled to the floor.
Joseph regained consciousness and sprang to his feet. He was in a small dark room with a couch and a coffee table. Sun beams where reaching through the blinds so he figured he had been there over night. “Where am I?” he shouted. “Damn it,” he continued to yell. He couldn’t find his GPS or his shoes. Still frantically tearing the room apart for his things, the bartender came through the door. “Calm down mate, calm down! You passed out on the floor of the bar last night and I figured I shouldn’t let ya die on the floor of my bar while your families looking for ya! Just sit down for a second.” Joseph stopped dead in his tracks.
“Sorry.” Joseph muttered. “I haven’t even got your name yet mate. What would it be?” said the bartender. “I’m Joseph. And yours?” he said quietly. “James Wilson. I’ve been here for about six years. I needed to get away from home. Thought this place would suit me best; it’s quiet for the most part and nobody knows your name, until now at least.” James said. “Well I can’t thank you enough for letting me stay here. What time is it?” Joseph said stretching. “It’s time for breakfast. Let’s go downstairs.” said James walking down the stairs. James must have lived on the second floor of his bar. In the back room behind the bar was a small kitchen. James kept it pretty tidy to Joseph’s surprise. James was cooking scrambled eggs and ham. “Thank you for your kindness James. I really don’t know if I would have made it any longer than last night if I was still on my own.” said Joseph. He was looking down at his filthy hands. “I understand mate. I would hope someone would do the same for me if my plane went down. I overheard your conversation if you didn’t know.” He said jokingly.
Over breakfast Joseph had caught James up with his escape from the island and the people with the boat. “That’s unbelievable mate, really. You sure you weren’t hallucinating or anything?” James said. “I surely hope not. If that’s the case how do I even know you’re real?” said Joseph jokingly. “I don’t know mate, but out here I’m the realest it gets. You’re lucky you found me.” James said while pulling out a couple cigarettes from his jacket. “Smoke?” said James. “Uh, no thanks. I quit year’s ago.” said Joseph quietly. They walked outside into the bright morning sun. “Well let’s get in the truck. I have a plan.” James said while climbing into his pickup truck.
Once they got onto the road James tossed his cigarette out of the window and cleared his throat. “Alright. So I have a friend at the port that does some dealings in shipping ‘certain things’ to the United States. Lucky enough for you they might have some room on their boat for a ship that’s sailing out tonight. I talked to him earlier this morning. Do you think you can handle it?” James said. Joseph looked down at his feet. Joseph felt as though this nightmare would never end. The only thing keeping Joseph going was his hope to make it home. “Isn’t there an embassy around anywhere? Can’t they take care of me?” Joseph asked nervously. “I don’t think you’d want to make a visit to that particular embassy mate. I have heard some stories and not a single one sounded pleasant.” James said to Joseph. “Well sounds like I don’t have a choice at this point. Just for the love of God James, get me home safely.” Joseph said firmly. “I’ll try my best mate.” James said reassuringly to Joseph.
Joseph and James drove all day and into the night. Joseph fell asleep about two hours into the ride and slept until about 2 in the morning. James stopped to refuel the truck from the tanks he had in the bed of the truck. The truck halting to a stop was enough to wake Joseph up from his slumber and hopped out of the truck to stretch. James was pouring gas into the truck and letting out an enormous yawn. “James I never really got a chance to appropriately thank you. You’re helping me out of kindness and I don’t understand why you're helping me this much, especially in a place like this. Why are you helping me?” Joseph asked. James was silent for a moment. “I know what it’s like out here. It’s not easy living here and it sure as hell wouldn’t be any easier for you. I’ll be frank with you; I’m your only hope at this point mate. I know you want to see your family. I’d sure as hell would love to see mine, but I can’t. Like I said before, I’d hope I would receive the same kindness.” James said to Joseph. “Thanks.’ Joseph said with a slight smile on his face.
They approached a large boathouse on the sea. There was a large boat with cargo crates on top of it. They hopped out of the car and walked into the office in the front of the boat house. When James got to the counter he spoke in what Joseph assumed to be the native language of Indonesia and the man at the counter directed them down the hallway to their left. They walked down the dark hallway to a door at the end of it. There was a small hanging light bulb swinging above the door. James opened the door to the dock and said “After you mate.” to Joseph. They walked outside to the boat and walked aboard. “This is my dear friend Ryan. He’ll get you home safely. He’s got a room for you near the deck but you need to be smuggled in a crate when you reach the States. I wish you luck my friend.” James said. He stuck his hand out to shake Joseph’s. “Thank you so much man. I’ll find a way to repay you. I swear it.” Joseph said to James. He let out a laugh and said “Whatever you say boss. Good luck.” James walked off of the boat and went through the door they came in. Joseph walked to the top of the ship where James's friend Ryan was. “So, how long do you suppose the trip will be?” Joseph asked Ryan. “Sit tight friend. It’s going to be a long long time. We’re leaving port in just a minute though. Watch your head walking through the halls down there.” Joseph nodded and left the room. He walked to the front of the ship and put his hands on the rail. The ship reversed out of the dock and accelerated into the sea. Joseph looked on in front of him and felt the breeze of the sea pushing onto his body. Joseph closed his eyes and said “I’m free.”