I Burnt It
Keturah was starting to stir where she lay on the floating board and trepidation filled me at what lay ahead of me to convince her to come off of it. What I was about to attempt could go so badly and I almost backed down again from attempting it, but Keturah needed to be free and I wanted to help her become so. I just wished my methods weren't so brutal.
Her eyes opened and she abruptly sat up and looked around in fright.
"Where am I? Where's my boat?" She exclaimed in question her eyes frantically imploring me for answers.
"You're on a little island off by itself with its own little lagoon."
"My boat?" She broke in accusingly.
She was clearly panicking and I regretted my decision to enact this strategy all over again, but there was no going back now. I had to commit to the task, because if successful the prize would be worth it.
"I burnt it."
"You what!!!" She screamed coming up to her knees on the tiny raft I had made for her.
I'd tied three small logs together. The raft was barely big enough for her to lay down.
"Why?" She screamed out hysterically, as she visibly unraveled before my eyes emotionally.
She didn't wait for my response but continued with, "You marooned us on this island? You're a fool!" She screamed out as tears started to fall.
"No Keturah, I am not a fool."
I pointed to a pile of tools further up the beach near the tree line, "Look Keturah. See those are tools. In specific there the tools we need to build a bigger and better boat than your old one and we have all the timber we need to do it right here on this island."
Her eyes went from the tools to the trees and the level of fright in her eyes went down a little.
"I need you to help me Keturah. I need your help to build a boat that both of us can share and be proud of, but to do that I need you to get off the raft and come ashore."
She immediately glanced down to the shallow two feet of water that the raft floated on and said, "No!"
"Keturah honey I need your help. Please come ashore."
She looked up with misery showing clearly in her eyes, "You don't understand!" She screamed out with raw emotion.
I kept my voice calm and loving, "What don't I understand honey? Talk to me darling."
She gazed down at the raft and said, "You know that I was offered by my own people as a sacrifice to the water gods when I was a child?"