Читать книгу Tarana and the island of immortality - Michel Montecrossa - Страница 10

A sand beach, sprinkled with rock formations, spread out before me, surrounding an enormous lake. I stood in front of a cliff face, which was obviously of volcanic origin. Ancient lava caves that were now flooded by the ocean had saved my life! I squinted my tired eyes and exhaustedly brushed my disheveled hair from my forehead. Farther in the distance I could see the edge of the jungle, which extended from the beach to the foot of a gigantic mountain, whose snowy cap was partially covered in clouds and which had the characteristic form of an inactive volcano.

After getting a confusing impression of the surroundings into which an unbelievable fate had thrown me, I sat down on one of the sea chests, exhausted and powerless.

I only vaguely noticed that my head immediately sank forward and that my eyelids were becoming heavy. An overpowering dreamless sleep compelled me to lay down on the ground.

It was dusk when I awoke again. All sorts of sounds and calls were coming from the jungle. My head was clear again and my body hurt all over, but I was able to move.

Now fearful thoughts came over me: How could I be on an island considering that we were travelling with the Mayflower II in an area of the ocean that was far away from islands and coasts? Had I drifted so far in the diving sphere?

No, it just wasn’t possible. Images slowly came back to me of the moments before the catastrophe. Margaret and I had had ourselves swung into the seaweed forest, but on the other side of the bluish half-darkness there had been a large coral reef wall!

I pulled myself up on the sea chest. My confused thoughts were penetrated by the razor-sharp realization that the Mayflower had obviously been in the immediate vicinity of an unknown island without our noticing it!

For the moment I didn’t want to try to explain how it could have been possible to overlook a huge island. I somehow attributed it to the storm, but in reality I was now consumed with a single wish: to look for the Mayflower. And my heart beat with the burning hope that I might perhaps see Margaret again.

I jumped to my feet.

I now took a better look at my surroundings and realized that the gigantic lake was an enormous sunken volcano which now only peaked out of the ocean with its uppermost tips.

I turned around in a circle to find the lowest possible point in the cliffs that surrounded me. To my great relief, not far from the cave out of which I had crawled there was a break in the cliffs that looked like what I needed.

I dragged the chests away from the cave and placed them under the protective branches of a bush. Then I opened them and put together a bundle of what seemed like the most important equipment. In a blanket I took to keep me warm at night I wrapped a few pieces of rope to help me get through the rough terrain. I put the rest of the items I had chosen in a rucksack, put everything on my back and headed out.

The area made up of sand and rocks around the lake soon turned into savanna. Behind it began the forest, which, in the direction I was walking, ended at an elevated rocky spine, behind which I expected to find the ocean.

I hurried forward as fast as I could. I wanted to get through the forest while it was still light.

I was soon surrounded by the twilight of the jungle with its uncountable tree species, massive roots, vines, mushroom-carpeted leafy floor, and the confusion of sounds that accompanies the onset of evening as the animals of the night awaken and those of the day retire.

I was heading for a spot that I had already made out from the edge of the lake and was expecting to run into the rocky spine. As I determinedly pushed through the growth myriad insects swarmed around me.

After a short while the earth became more and more rocky until I stood directly in front of a steep cliff face. It was slippery with plants, and as there was no way to climb it I looked for a better place. But, as far as I could tell, the tropical rain had smoothed the rock face for so long that any edges or holds that would have been useful to me had worn away.

In front of me lay several large chunks of stone, which I climbed on in order to be able to see over the thick jungle growth..

However, my elevated perspective did not reveal any better possibilities. the cliff face remained smooth and dismissive.

Just as I was about to decide whether to follow the course of the rock face to the left or the right until I found a place to climb it, an animal leapt from the treetops onto my shoulder, giving me a terrible fright. The animal immediately leapt away again – and I saw it was a flying squirrel. It stopped a few meters in front of me on a large rock like the one I was standing on and seemed to regard me attentively.

I was still in shock and could only stare at it.

Then, just as my heartbeat had slowed down again, the squirrel jumped onto the rock face and disappeared!

There must have been a cleft in the rock face that I had overlooked due to the oncoming darkness and the thick green moss that covered its surface.

Now I slid down the boulder as quickly as I could and moved closer to the place where the flying squirrel had disappeared.

There, between the fleshy, green leaves, undergrowth and tangled roots, I indeed found a cleft and a small path that led around a corner. The path was so narrow that I couldn’t follow it with my rucksack on, so I took my equipment off my back and put it down. I heard a soft bubbling sound. I saw that water was flowing out near the cleft in the rock. I quickly grabbed the canteen that Professor Pickering had put in the diving sphere. I had already drunk all the emergency water in those few hours, and so I was very happy to have found a water source.

I filled my canteen and splashed my face with the cool wetness. Then I squeezed my way along the cleft sideways and carefully dragged my pack behind me.

The path soon widened and I reached a plateau of lava rock. From here I had a clear view of the ocean!

My heart beat faster. Would I be able to see the Mayflower II? Or were they on the other side of the island?

I hurried on.

I soon found myself at the edge of a cliff. In front of me the rough rock face plunged down into the sea. I could see a coral reef some way out that had formed along the island’s coast.

I anxiously scanned the sea in the twilight. And then I saw her! It had to be the Mayflower II that was floating out there on the ocean!

I guessed the distance between us to be about two kilometers.

I pulled a spyglass out of my bundle. To calm my shaking hands, I propped the spyglass on a large rock and now clearly saw the Mayflower II. The onboard lights were just being lit.

Confused thoughts coursed through my mind once again. How could the Mayflower crew overlook an island that rose out of the sea at a mere distance of two kilometers?

I had no answer for the inexplicable.

It grew dark quickly. The moon appeared glowing red on the horizon, and as it rose I was able to make out the plateau on which I was standing.

Not far away I saw a dead tree. I decided to try to set it alight in the hope that someone on the Mayflower would see it. But the wood was soaked from the storm rain and I soon gave up.

In any case, how could they have noticed a tiny fire when they hadn’t spotted an entire island!

In the end I just unrolled my blanket and wrapped myself up, exhausted: I still had a piece of hardtack from the ship, which I ate with a mango I had picked along the way.

I laid my head on my arm and pulled up the blanket as far as possible to keep out the mosquitoes that were swarming around me. As I drifted quickly towards sleep I noticed something strange: the mosquitoes were flying very close to my face, but just before they landed to bite me they seemed to be surrounded by a flash of light, whereupon they moved away again!

However, before I could reflect on this unusual phenomenon, I had fallen into a deep sleep.

When I awoke the sun had just come up. The sky was clear and from the spot where I lay the first thing I saw was the large lake on whose shores I had emerged the previous day. It was somehow difficult to reconcile my waking state with the dream I had been having, which involved me tossing about in a narrow bunk on a ship. So I remained where I was and let my eyes wander over the morning landscape. The lake was very big indeed, and I could now make out its well-balanced form far better than I had been able to from the shore. I guessed the diameter to some 10 kilometers or more, and it was surrounded by jungle that spread out over the island. My eyes followed the green carpet towards the mountain, which now seemed more like a mountain chain whose highest peak I reckoned to be some 4000 meters high.

As far as I could see, the jungle seemed to extend a long way into the island’s interior before fading away into a hilly landscape, behind which a savanna spread out to the foot of the mountain. I concluded that the mysterious island therefore hosted a tremendous variety of life.

The largest peak was capped in snow and exhibited the typical form of a volcano.

As I lay therefore absorbing these impressions of my environment my memory suddenly returned.

“The Mayflower II,” shot through my mind.

I was about to jump up when I spotted a well-ordered pile of bananas, coconuts and other fruits lying not far from my camp. On it was perched a shama thrush, which was looking at me intently.

I stood up abruptly. Fearfully I looked around. There was nothing threatening in sight. I looked over at the pile of fruit again. To my surprise the shama thrush had not been disturbed by my sudden movement and was inspecting me calmly.

Something emanated from the bird that made me feel at peace. I even had the feeling that I was welcome to eat the fruit!

But again I jumped back, suddenly beset by the idea that I was already falling victim to the fits of loneliness experienced by shipwrecked souls which lead them to dangerous acts and even into madness.

The shama thrush moved its head slightly. It seemed to be nodding to me as if to say, “Don’t be afraid.”

At that moment something jumped onto my shoulder. I was shocked and yet it was a familiar sensation. It was the flying squirrel that had shown me the cleft in the rock face!

I decided to ignore my racing thoughts and simply accept these strange and mysterious occurrences.

I slowly approached the coconuts, bananas and other fruits. I was filled with a penetrating sensation that also somehow gave me a sense of release – the desire to completely surrender myself to a momentary impulse as an animal does. I focussed only on my hunger and realized that my senses were becoming ever keener. The eyes of the shama thrush, its black feathers and the curve of its body were filled with a mysterious life and expression, and as I came closer and looked in its eyes I had an increasing sensation of seeing several worlds at the same time. There was the pile of fruit, my hunger, my sense of despair and in the dawn light a small bird in which and through which I thought I saw different landscapes.

I decided to chase away any unsettling thoughts and not to doubt my sanity.

Again I took a step closer, and as I did the perceptions I was receiving through the eyes of the shama thrush seemed to become more precise. I recognized real landscapes and many animals.

I stared so intensely that my eyes began to water. I blinked and for a moment these spellbinding visions disappeared. It was only now that I realized that the flying squirrel was still sitting on my shoulder. However, I wanted once again to immerse myself in the shama thrush’s eyes. I moved closer, hoping that the bird would not fly away. The thrush remained completely calm and I looked at it. And again there came, as if from a long way away, images and landscapes. I was certain that in some mysterious way I was seeing the different parts of the island.

Gradually I became more curious and courageous. I tried to formulate a clear idea, for I suddenly felt the desire to know whether there were perhaps also people here. I whispered softly, “Human?”

The eyes of the shama thrush seemed to light up in an odd way and I saw myself whirling through a storm of leaves as if in a nosedive. For a moment I thought I could see a being, but then it became clear to me that what I was actually seeing with the eyes of the thrush was its progress as it flew down from the treetops to the ground, where there was some sort of living creature. The speed of the descent made it impossible to make out whether it was a human or an animal.

Again I had to blink. The vision disappeared but then returned. Now the image that I was perceiving through the thrush was a much more peaceful one. I saw a small lake of pure, inviting water, whose shores were covered with wonderful plants. The image wavered and the perspective changed, and I realized that the thrush has landed on a living being that was walking along the shore of the lake. However, my blinking again prevented me from seeing whether this creature was a human or an animal. From time to time I saw something glowing golden in the sunlight flit into my field of view. Was it a piece of fur or hair – perhaps human hair? I simply could not make it out.

At this moment the vision disappeared. Without realizing it, I had continued to move closer and had reached for the coconut on which the thrush was sitting. It took off, turned in flight and disappeared into the distance.

However, for the moment my senses were focussed solely on the satisfaction of my hunger. I peeled away the fibers encasing the coconut and then broke open the shell on a sharp stone. Now I was able to drink the coconut milk. It filled me with an extraordinary strength and freshness. When I finally sat down in front of the pile of fruit in order to take the coconut apart, I began to reflect on what I had experienced. The flying squirrel had jumped off my shoulder and now sat, as the thrush had, on the pile of fruit, regarding me intently.

These first two days on the mysterious island had wrought great changes in me. This morning particularly had shaken and altered my consciousness. I knew that this was no ordinary island and I could feel that the dried out shells of an old, tired past were constantly falling away. In the midst of my jagged emotional landscape a new Douglas Goldfield was emerging, for whom supernatural experiences with a bird were almost normal.

“And you,” I said to the flying squirrel, “are you my friend?”

I held out a piece of coconut to it, and it came to me eagerly and took it.

I took a banana.

Then both of us ate. I was at peace and felt a golden current of life flowing within me.

Without thinking about it I had become much calmer and relaxed.

I finished my meal, warmed by the rays of the rising sun.

I had a clear plan.

I took another sip of water then stood up, packed my bundle together and walked over to the steep slope that led down to the coast. The squirrel followed me and jumped onto my shoulder.

I felt strong and rested.

I took the spyglass and aimed it at the Mayflower II. I could see that several dinghies had been lowered into the water. I supposed that a search was being started for me in the desperate hope that I would still be alive and floating somewhere on the ocean.

I was happy because this strengthened my resolve to follow the plan I had formed.

I heaved myself unceremoniously over the edge of the slope and slid down over pebbles and sand followed by the nimble squirrel.

When I reached the bottom, I scrutinized the sandy beach, which here formed a small bay. And indeed I found what I needed to put my plan into action. Not far away I spotted some large pieces of wood that the storm had torn from the forest edge.

I immediately got to work. I gathered several large and medium-sized pieces and tied them together with my rope to form a small raft. It was just big enough to enable me to lay the upper half of my body on it and it offered secure handholds for me to cling to.

With the help of the raft I might be able to reach the Mayflower II – this was the plan that had formed in my mind as I sat by the pile of fruit. In the bay the water was fairly calm but further out on the coral reef I would have to deal with larger waves, which I hoped the raft would help me overcome.

When I had tied the wood together tightly, I paused and said a quiet prayer. The squirrel was sitting next to me.

Then I stood up and waded into the water. The first meters were quite shallow. I carried the raft and, as the water became deeper, I put it down and let it float.

The water now very quickly got deeper so that my feet no longer touched the ground. I lay across the raft, which I propelled forward by kicking my feet and paddling with my hands. When I reached the larger waves and they began to wash over me I was able to hold myself on the raft and propel myself forward with powerful swimming movements using my feet and hands.

I turned my head once again and saw that the squirrel, which now looked very tiny, was still sitting on the sand and watching me.

But now I needed to concentrate exclusively on the open sea.

I made good progress and the hope that was growing within me lent me additional strength.

If the Mayflower boats were moving in the direction of the island then this would perhaps shorten the distance I had to travel. I looked straight ahead but was only able to make out the Mayflower II in the far distance for a few moments when a wave lifted me up.

The only thing I could see clearly was the coral reef, which I was steadily approaching.

And then I reached it.

I rested on one of the coral banks that were sticking out of the sea.

From here I was able to make out the Mayflower II clearly, and I felt absolutely certain that I would reach her.

The late morning sun bathed the reef and the clear ocean water in a powerful light.

Then I commenced my risky voyage.

I paddled on between the tips of the reef projecting out of the water, buffeted by the waves crashing around me. I felt almost delirious, and the approach of my goal filled me with cheer and strength.

I soon made my way through the bends and turns in the reef and now finally was able to steer towards the open sea.

However, I had barely left the reef area when I realized that the ocean in front of me was beginning to glow ever more brightly!

It was as if I was swimming directly into liquid silver!

But I was driven forward by a powerful desire. I wanted to reach the Mayflower at any price.

I paddled on.

Yet the more powerfully I pushed myself forward using my arms and legs, the brighter and more blinding the ocean became.

Finally the light was so harsh that I could only look into the shimmering glare through blinking eyes, and I had soon lost all orientation. Silver light was everywhere and I seemed to be floating in an indeterminable sphere of light with no sense of what was up or down, or forwards or backwards. Only the slowly tiring movements of my arms and legs provided a sense of where I was. The harsh light and the saltwater, which I now only felt but could no longer see, burned infernally in my eyes. Tears ran down my face, tears of pain and tears of despair.

“Now I must get through!” I screamed inside myself. But my strength was waning rapidly and I now lost all sense of which direction I should be moving in.

Then everything happened very quickly.

The light became so powerful that I had to close my eyes completely. I lost control of my movements and a large wave swept me off my raft!

I tried to grab hold of it – but without success. I sank like a stone. The shock had caused me to hold my breath. I forced my eyes to open and saw that even under water I was surrounded by the harsh light. I had no choice but to quickly close my eyes again.

In my state of mortal fear time seemed to stretch out infinitely and during the brief moment my eyes were open I was able to make out the raft as a shadow above me along with two rapidly moving forms that were heading directly for me.

As a I sank deeper I felt myself beginning to lose consciousness. The rush of water in my ears gave way to a gentle sound, and it suddenly seemed as if I was once again gliding through the foliage towards an unknown being with golden hair.

However, with this last image everything faded and I lost consciousness.

When I came to awareness again I found myself looking up into the blue sky. Water was splashing around me and under my body I felt something living steadily carrying me forward. I quickly regained my senses and realized that I was being borne along by two dolphins. From the brief glimpse I was able to get, I concluded that I must be back in the bay.

I was utterly exhausted and allowed myself to be carried along. As soon as the dolphins reached shallower water near the beach they carefully allowed me to slide from their backs and, using the last of my strength, I dragged myself onto land.