"Have you seen any sign of my sailing crew? The sooner we get off this island, the better. I think I've had quite enough of the tropics for a little while."
"There's been no sign of them. But my father says a cargo ship is due to pass by any day now. We won't have long before you're sent away."
She lifted a bowl full of figs and sliced pineapple, and I closed my eyes, breathing in the heavenly aroma.
"Are you hungry?"
I nodded, and she pushed the bowl through the hole in the bottom of my crate.
"This reminds me of our first day in the lagoon," I said, lifting the sweet fruit to my parched lips. "I remember waking up to the fresh scent of these hanging above our treehouse after we made love that night."
"It's all I can think about too," Te' said, squeezing my hands so tightly they began to turn red. "It's the only thing that keeps me going."
I looked at Teuila with sad eyes and frowned.
"I'm sorry, Te'. I should never have come to this island. If you had never met me, you'd never have known anything different—"
"I'd still know what it feels like to be abused by a man," she said. "If it weren't for you, I'd have never known what it feels like to be truly loved by someone."
"Oh Te'," I cried, thrusting my body against the front of my crate and throwing my arms around her. "I don't want to lose you. I can't imagine my life without—"
Suddenly, the flap covering Teuila's hut swung open and Manaia turned to face us, glaring angrily in our direction. He quickly descended the steps and began running in our direction, and Teuila turned around and began running toward the woods. But he already had a healthy head start, and he quickly closed the distance, tackling her in the sand. Then he picked her up and threw her kicking and screaming over his shoulder, snickering at me as he strutted back up the steps of his hut. Soon after, Te's father emerged from his cabin and nonchalantly sat down on his rocking chair.
Teuila wasn't kidding about the men on this island, I thought.
As the thumping sound resumed in Te's hut, the chief leaned back in his chair and began to rock it slowly, nodding to my guards to keep a close watch over me.
31
For the rest of the day, I didn't hear from Teuila and wondered if Manaia had tied her up in their cabin to prevent her from communicating with me. Fortunately, Nona kept me well fed and hydrated, emptying my toilet bowl every few hours to keep my enclosure tolerable. I had plenty of time to ponder my situation, and the more I thought about it, the more hopeless I realized our predicament had become.
It would be nearly impossible to escape from my cage under twenty-four-hour guard. And with Manaia keeping a short leash on Teuila, she'd be hard-pressed to find a way to slip away before the cargo ship arrived. Almost as worrisome, I wondered why my sailing crew hadn't yet returned for me. It had been almost two weeks since they'd abandoned the island, and I couldn't understand why they'd left in such a hurry.
Had they run into members of the other tribe who threatened to harm them if they didn't leave immediately? Had they aborted the search once they realized how large the island was and how much ground they'd have to cover to search all of it? Had Teuila's father convinced them that I was likely dead after they'd stopped by the village? Or were they going to get reinforcements to search for me more thoroughly?
Either way, I didn't have much time before this was going to be out of my hands. There'd be very little I could do to salvage my relationship with Teuila once I left the island. It wasn't like I could come back with a team of mercenaries and forcibly abduct her. For all intents and purposes, Anuta was a sovereign nation and I'd be flaunting the rules of maritime law by interfering with their right to privacy.
And once I left, what chance would Teuila have escaping the island on her own? Even if she managed to evade Manaia's clutches, he and the rest of the tribe would hunt her down until they found her. With hundreds of miles of open ocean surrounding Anuta, there'd be no way for her to navigate to friendlier waters using one of the few remaining outrigger canoes.
The isolated beauty of the island was both a blessing and a curse. It was the tropical paradise where I'd found the love of my life, but it was also a refuge from which few could ever hope to escape. What right did I have invading their personal space, thinking I could steal away their most important daughter? Anutians had lived for centuries in peace and tranquility until I arrived. Teuila wouldn't even have known what it felt like to experience lesbian love if I hadn't contaminated their culture with my promiscuous Western values. I was acting like the typical arrogant American, thinking I could impose my superior Western mores on their backcountry civilization.
I slept fitfully that night, tossing and turning while trying to reconcile my selfish desire to hold on to Teuila with my knowledge that I had no right to intervene in the tribe's personal affairs. I awoke the next morning to the smell of fresh sea breeze wafting under the curtains of my hut. I pulled the blinds aside and watched the sun gleaming off the pristine waters of the lagoon as children ran playfully across the sand. Their mothers and grandmothers looked on from the porches of their huts as they prepared another healthy breakfast of fresh fish and locally harvested vegetables. On the beach, a team of young tribesman were busy chipping away at the trunk of a felled breadfruit tree, hollowing out a new canoe.
I smiled at the bucolic scene, realizing I had no right trying to interfere in their tranquil life. Suddenly, I noticed movement in the direction of Te's hut and I saw her grandmother walking toward me with a heightened sense o
f urgency. She had a strange look on her face, like she knew something foreboding was coming. When she approached my cage, she glanced at the guards nervously as she passed me a handful of fruit. A curl of bark fell to the sand and she gestured for me to pick it up. I leaned down and unfolded the husk, noticing some writing had been etched onto the inner skin.
"Mai Teuila," she said, placing her hands over mine. Then she turned around and hurried back to her hut past the imposing figure of Manaia, standing on his veranda with his arms crossed.
I unfurled the parchment and read the message scrawled into the pulp.
Cargo ship on the horizon. Will be here within two hours. Manaia is not letting me leave the hut. If I don't see you before you leave, find your way back to our treehouse. I'll meet you there as soon as I can. Thinking of you always, love Teuila.
As I stood reading the message, my heart beat a hundred miles an hour. I wanted to scream out across the courtyard to tell Te' I loved her and would never forget what we'd shared. But that would betray the vow that I'd made not to meddle any further in their affairs. But I couldn't just leave without saying goodbye. I had to let her know what she meant to me. I ran my fingers through the sand at the base of my enclosure and found a small stone. Then I peeled off the top layer of the bark and placed Te's message in my pocket. I sat down in the sand and began to scratch a new message on the parchment.
Dearest Teuila,
I'll never forget the delicate love and tenderness we shared during my short stay on your island. I'll carry the precious memories with me as long as I live. But I don't want you to pine for me after I leave. Your people share this wonderful culture of aropa, and in time I believe you will grow to appreciate the peaceful comforts of your community. I'll always be with you in mind and spirit.