Page 14 of Ace

“I heard you tell the team they would, and then I heard a lot of resistance on their part.”

He waved away her concern, though he shared it. “They will figure it out. If not, we can always take a canoe.”

She laughed. From her expression, he wondered if she took him seriously. Truth is, he was dead serious. A middle of the night escape in a canoe was better than nothing.

“In the meantime, it seems like the villagers’ lives are mostly unaffected.”

She shook her head. “But they’re hungry. We’ve been cut off from all aid and supplies. I’m working on methods for them to get food when storms wash away their rice. And they need protein. They need other sources.”

“Chickens?”

“Yes, some have them. But no safe places to keep them.”

He nodded. “What else?”

The smile she gifted him almost took away the ache in his head.

“You gonna help me?”

“That’s why I’m here, making good on my promise.”

Her expression clouded, and he regretted his words. With a sigh, he shifted. Then he reached for her plate. “Let me clean these up.”

She nodded and pointed toward the pump. “There’s our water.”

He climbed down her ladder and was immediately surrounded by children. Their curious smiles and giggles made him laugh.

“Hello!”

“Hello. Hello. Hello.” They imitated his accent and followed him to the pump.

He washed off the dishes and took in what Gianna called her village. Basically it was a few rows of bamboo huts like hers around him. He assumed her school and orphanage were nearby. And a small shop. He handed the plates and forks to a cute little boy who grinned. “Could you take this back to Gianna?” He pointed.

The boy nodded and ran back to her hut.

Could they clear a spot in the center of the trees to garden? A sheltered spot? Or perhaps they could build a fence around it? He didn’t know. Flooding was a real problem in most islands. During a rainstorm, they could be walking around in water up to their knees for several hours. Any garden would be destroyed. Except sugar cane or rice.

What else? Caribou? His mind kept spinning, going through ideas. And his feet carried him along the line of houses toward the sea.

Fish. What if they stocked a pond?

His feet carried him all the way to the edge of the ocean. The water and the sky were grey. The sun was hazy, which was a blessed mercy because when it rose fully and burned off the clouds, it would be oven hot with a heavy dose of humidity.

Already the air felt thick.

He stepped into the shallow water. The smaller pools spread for a mile out into the ocean before the actual drop into the deep blue water. It made for a stunning green and grey. The water tickled his bare feet. He rolled up his pants and stuck his hands in his pockets.

The air shimmered, and he knew Gianna stood beside him before she said anything. “Hey.”

“Hey.”

He turned to her. “This is a beautiful place.”

“Yeah. It is hard for the people who live here, but everywhere you look there’s something beautiful to see. Especially in the people.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, they’re just good. They’re kind to each other. They have hard lives. But they just take it, make the most of it, and keep a smile on.” She shrugged. “I’m changed forever.”

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