TALES FROM THE CARIBBEAN

Dave, (everybody called him Shark Boy), laid on his back and looked up at the white cumulus clouds drifting across the emerald sky while Jesse pondered their next move. The coins could be easily divided between them but the other artifacts would have to be weighed and appraised but not anywhere near the Caribbean. He recalled that his Dad suggested if they found the cache they should sail to South Florida and once inside the inter costal waterway put the boat in dry dock, buy a used car and drive the treasure to Chicago. Dave’s aunt and uncle had friends who could appraise and cash-out the treasure and they could transfer Jesse’s half to a West Virginia Commercial Bank where he had a business account. Dave and his Dad could put the rest in the Bank of Chicago, return to South FL, scrape and paint the Circus’ bottom and do other needed repairs on her before sailing back to Cruz Bay—mission accomplished. The only fly in that ointment was that they were smack–dab in the worst part of hurricane season and such a trip at this time of year could prove fatal.

Jesse decided they should finish excavating the treasure ASAP and leave the skeletons until later, and after they had re-hidden the treasure they could notify the sheriff that human remains had been discovered, but where to hide the treasure—that was the question. Dave suggested they should move it under the cover of darkness, to the Monk’s place until it could be moved off the island.

“What safe place is there?” inquired Jesse.

“Well, that’s a secret, but the Monk, discovered Santana’s hiding place—the place where he hid his money.

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“I’ll be hanged,” said Jesse, I searched this island from stem to stern after he died but, I never found the first penny, where was it hidden?” he asked.

It’s a secret,” insisted Dave. “But if we ask the Monk to hide it, he will. By the way, the resident archeology professor on St. Thomas said that any treasure discovered on, or around these islands belongs to the people and it should be donated to the public museum.”

“Yeah,” said Jesse, “The archeologist at Port Royal Jamaica put the treasure he found in a museum there and the locals broke in stole every single coin and artifact. We discovered this treasure and excavated it; it’s ours—finder’s keepers, loser’s weepers. So long as we photograph and record this treasure properly we can put replicas of it in the museum and the tourists won’t know the difference. And if the greedy politicians, and other institutions want to fight over the skeleton’s let them, I can make replicas of them too.

While Jesse and Dave plotted and schemed, a sailing dinghy with a young girl at the helm approached the Dream Weaver. Jini (Dave’s mother) was busy polishing the scuppers when she noticed the girl.

“Ahoy” said Jini, “Would you like to come aboard for tea?”

“Yes, thank you,” exclaimed the well-tanned girl as she tossed her bowline to Jini, who fastened it to an aft cleat and then handed the girl a silk sarong to cover her self with.

Jini asked, “What’s your name child?”

The girl answered, “I’m almost 16 and I’m not a child.”

“Yes,” said Jini, “Please forgive me and what a lovely young lady you are. My name is Jini–and your name?”

“My mother named me Marina Aura and since in Latin the adjective and the noun can be in either order in English it would probably be reversed to Aura Marina, or Sea Breeze, my school friends call me Aura. When my father legally adopted me he re-named me Irene Elizabeth because that was his mother’s name.

“Are your parents still living?” asked Jini.

“My mother is, but my father died last year in Afghanistan, after him and some other operatives were killed by a suicide bomber.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” said Jini. “Was he regular military?”

“Well sort of,” said Aura. “He worked for the C.I.A. but he never married my mother—she was, of course, heart broken. Dad sent me to a sailing school at Long Island, NY and that’s where I learned to sail, but the reason I’m here is to ask a huge favor of you. Mona and Catrina Analusleiscu who secretly work for the Company told me that you could be trusted. I was supposed to start school this week at St. Mary’s Hall in Burlington, NJ, but my mother suffered a stroke so, I will have to miss at least, the first week of classes. I’m desperate to find somebody that I can trust to check on Mother and keep me posted. I’m her only family-all the others are gone. I’m hoping that she gets better, but the doctors have not given me any reason for hope and I don’t know what to do,” she sobbed.

“Don’t fret Aura,” said Jini. “I’m sure there’s enough altruistic souls anchored here to keep an eye on her-we will work it out.”

Their tea was interrupted by Dave’s phone call, “Mom,” he said. “I’m with Jesse and we’re going to stay another night on Lovango until we finish this dig.”

“OK” consented Jini. “But be careful and guess who I’m talking to?

“Who,” inquired Dave.

“A young lady who would like to meet you,” said Jini.

“No kidding,” exclaimed Dave, “The one in the sailing dinghy? I’ve always wanted to meet her too, but the opportunity has never presented itself.”

“Well,” said Jini, “You’d better hurry if you want to meet her this summer because she’s going off to school soon.”

“That was my son Dave,” said Jini, as she closed her cell phone. “You and him are about the same age.”

“I know,” said Aura. “Mona and Catrina told me all about him, and you, his Dad, Ryan, and your other friends too. I’ve always wanted to meet Dave, but he didn’t seem at all interested in me.”

“I’m sure he’s interested in you,” said Jini. “But he’s shy around women.”

“Please, take my cell number,” said Aura. “And give it to him so he can call me and maybe we can go sailing together before I leave for school.”

“I will do that,” said Jini. “But please, don’t worry yourself because everything will be OK.”

“Please caution Dave that my calls are monitored,” explained Aura.

“I see,” said Jini. “I have resigned myself to the idea that you and him are destined to become inseparable friends and maybe lovers. At tea time yesterday, Mona said that love is written in Dave’s star chart and Mona said that you had appeared in her crystal ball and that she believed you are the one he will fall in love with.”

“I don’t know what to say,” blushed Aura. “She stood up and started to remove the sarong as she prepared to leave, but Jini insisted that she should keep it as a token of their friendship. Her burden suddenly lifted, Aura removed the painter from the aft cleat, leaped aboard her dinghy, hoisted the main and as her slender transom disappeared it appeared that she was floating on air.