~Chapter 8- Winds are blowing~

~3 months later~

"What exactly do you want to show us?" Ignacio asked.

"You'll see!" Maggie replied as she guided her parents along the coast.

Ignacio and Delilah followed Maggie across the beach, while Ernesto followed closely behind them. Ignacio couldn't help but wonder what could be new on the island. Maggie's steps slowed as they came to a palm tree on the beach. Against it was a structure standing taller than Ignacio and just as wide.

It was a series of palm tree leaves weaved together very tightly, with a tree trunk across the center acting as a column of support. A few oars from Julian's ship were weaved across the sides, appearing to act as additional support. The structure ebbed with the wind.

"What... What is this?" Delilah asked.

Maggie smiled lightly, "We made a sail."

"We?" Ignacio glanced back. There he saw Ernesto with his arms folded. As Ignacio looked at him, his son nodded.

"The hard part was the mast. Luckily, there was a tree that must've fallen a while ago, that was a good size," Maggie explained.

"When did you do this?"

"The last few months. I didn't want to show you until it was done," Maggie explained further.

"Why didn't you tell us you were working on this?" Delilah asked.

Maggie folded her arms, "You get impatient sometimes Ma. I was worried that Pa might get frustrated and break it accidentally too."

Ignacio watched as the sail the children made moved with the wind while still maintaining its rigidity. Could it actually work?

"I'm not sure how long it will last," Ernesto spoke up, "If we use it to leave the island, we want to make sure the wind is with us so we can get as far as possible. We should stock up on supplies before we leave too. Once we're ready, we could try and mount this thing on the boat."

Ignacio and Delilah turned to their son... They couldn't recall a time when he was so well-spoken. Over the past month, he was still his quiet self, but they noticed he'd been running around the island more independently.

"What do you think?" Maggie asked.

Ignacio and Delilah glanced at each other. They looked for affirmation from each other before nodding, "It's worth a shot!" Ignacio remarked.

As a family, they brought their sail back into the jungle into a clearing to shelter it. They wanted to avoid wearing it out before leaving the island. As they carried the sail, Ignacio couldn't help but watch Ernesto... this might've been the first time he'd helped with anything since he was a child. The sail was already on the beach when the kids showed it off, so Ernesto and Maggie must've taken it on their own earlier.

The family began rounding up as much supplies as they could. Maggie picked fruits and coconuts from trees and placed them in the boat. Delilah boiled water and filled every container they carried until they were brimming.

Ernesto brought Ignacio onto the boat and began to detail where the sail could be mounted.

He knelt and gestured to an area roughly at the center of the boat, "I was thinking we'll have to make a hole in the top deck that the mast will go through. It'd take a few days, but we might have to grind out the hole with something we have on hand."

Ignacio was quiet as he listened to his son. He nodded and said, "Ah. Okay. Maybe something sharp from the jungle. I could work on that the next few days."

"We could take turns with it. If you can find something jagged I can use, I'll start," Ernesto replied simply. He actually volunteered.

"I still have that knife Julian stowed on the ship. I've tried to keep it sharp, but it's pretty worn down now," Ignacio answered.

"That's fine."

Ignacio headed below deck, found the knife, sauntered above deck, and handed it to his son. Ernesto went to work quickly, holding it in a reverse grip and bringing the tip to a portion of the deck. He scraped across it, creating a small cut that he continued to deepen.

Ernesto stopped, "You can go do something else for now. I'll tell you when I need you to take my place."

Ignacio didn't realize it, but he must've been watching Ernesto work for a while. "Oh, sorry! Yeah, just let me know."

Ignacio turned and was about to step off the deck when he stopped himself, "The last time we really talked... what changed?"

"Nothing," Ernesto said as he continued to cut into the deck.

"Why are you-"

"I'm here. Might as well try my best and see what happens," Ernesto said simply.

Ignacio leaned against the rail of the ship and looked at his son, "What about me? Do you still think I made a mistake?"

Ernesto stopped again. He sighed, "You were too young. You shouldn't have had me when you did. You weren't ready."

"Oh." Ignacio replied meekly.

The two were silent once again. Ignacio was letting his words set in. He always tried to do his best to be a good father. But maybe he had failed Ernesto in some way. Maybe. There's only so much one person can do for another.

Ignacio nodded, "Well, I'll leave you to it."

Ignacio stepped off the ladder and began down.

"Pa?" Ernesto called before he had completely stepped off the boat.

"Yes?"

Ernesto glanced at him, "I'm going to make it up to you. For everything."

Ignacio smiled softly. "You never have to worry about that. You're my son. I love you, Ern."

"Love you, Pa."

It took a week to gather enough supplies to confidently leave confidently. A few days passed before a southward wind blew and the skies were clear. The family worked together to mount their new sail. It wasn't perfectly centered on the ship but seemed to be working with the wind properly.

With bated breaths, the family double-checked their supplies and made sure they were ready for their voyage. Before they left, Ernesto ripped out a page from his notebook, wrote the words 'Orania Island' on it, and pinned it to a tree on the beach.

They pushed the ship off the coast and into the water using oars to push it further away from the island. Nerves were tense as the ship simply idled in place for a time. Maybe the sail wouldn't work at all.

Momentum picked up and the winds carried the boat southwest. The positioning of the sail caused the boat to veer west at all times. But as long as they weren't making a circle, they were making progress.

It was nearly sunset when Orania Island was no longer visible to the north. There was only open sea all around them.

Days passed at sea. The family took great care with their rations and were eyeing the horizon constantly. Ernesto took the helm whenever he wasn't resting. One day, Maggie noticed a tear in the sails. With it already mounted, it'd be impossible to repair. They just had to accept their reduced speed and keep going.

It was far worse when the mast seemed to weaken, and the entire sail seemed to buckle around it. From that point on, someone had to brace the mast to keep it from breaking. Whoever wasn't at the helm or tending to the mast was using their oars to push their forward momentum.

Ignacio was certain that Ernesto was no longer sleeping. It was he who saw the storm coming. The entire family braced the mast as the storms swept through them. If it fell, they would truly be stranded. More tears formed in their sail, but they were able to keep it aloft through the tempest.

When the sea finally calmed down, the family was exhausted. They needed their rest. All of them retired to below deck and slept. All except for Ernesto, who refused to leave the mast unattended.

The moon was high in the sky when a crash woke Ignacio. He assumed their sail had finally given way and fell over, and he rushed above deck. The sail had a tear across the middle that made it practically useless, but it was still standing tall.

The crash was with land.

Before him was a steep cliff face, and they were run ashore with a reef. Atop the cliffs, Ignacio could see pine trees. And at the helm was his son.

Ernesto turned with bags under his eyes and pointed at the cliffs, "I got us as close to land as I could! We'll have to swim a little, and I think I see a place that's safe to climb too!"

"Where?" Ignacio stepped up to the helm alongside his son.

Ernesto pointed to the left of their boat; it had to be a quarter of a kilometer away. But the slope of the cliff wasn't so intense there. If they were careful, he could see them climbing it.

"We'll have to swim along the cliff face for a while and take a lot of breaks to reach it, but that's our best shot," Ernesto explained.

Ignacio smiled. Then he began to laugh. He couldn't help it. He wrapped an arm around his son and hooted. Even Ernesto laughed a little bit.

"Well damn! I say we get a good night's rest, eat and drink as much as we have left, and then head out for that cliff," Ignacio suggested with a grin.

Ernesto nodded slowly, "Sleeping sounds really good right now."

"You deserve it."

Once the family had awakened fully and used up the remainder of their supplies, they jumped into the water and headed for the cliffs. Ernesto's sedentary lifestyle had caught up to him, as the swim exhausted him more than anyone else. They stopped along rocky outcroppings whenever they needed rest, taking care not to get too close to the cliffs and the waves around them.

It must've been noon by the time they reached their entry point. These cliffs were at an angle that made them scalable, but the family had to practically crawl up the rough terrain.

Delilah went first to chart a path, while Ignacio stayed in the back, making sure that he could catch them if they fell. By the time they reached the top, their hands were calloused and bruised, and their knees ached.

Ernesto reached his hand down to his father and pulled him up over the cliff's edge. They stepped into a wooded area smelling of pines. Despite being tired, the family still wanted to continue.

They made their way through the pine forest, hearing animals scurrying around them. The sun was getting low when they left the forest, and they came out to an open countryside.

In the distance, they could see a large city. In the city several towers billowed plumes of black smoke. Outside the city, they could see many vehicles traveling on the roads, far more than they had seen before. Vehicles were far more common here than they were in Rhivera.

They were still several kilometers away from that city. With a lot of ground to cover, they began marching towards the nearest road. They must've been a sight for all those driving along the road. A family dirtied and run down by months at sea, walking along.

Oddly enough, the vehicles seemed to only carry one or two people at a time in most cases. Even if there was space for more. Ignacio couldn't help but think that was extremely inefficient compared to the tram lines back in Rhivera.

What surprised Ignacio more was that people would glance their way only to keep going. None of them stopped, checked with them, or gave them a ride. Even if they clearly had space in their vehicles.

"Can't count on any of them." Delilah muttered.

Ignacio smiled, "We've got each other. We'll be fine."

The family continued along the road towards the city, prepared to brave whatever the future might hold.