The Pyle Inside

It was May 1926, when Rayon’s daughter, Naina, and her husband, Roco, told Rayon that in nine months Rayon would be a grandfather. Naina, Roco, and Rayon lived in a small hut on the island of Bora Bora. It would be only one hour until Roco and Rayon would leave for their two-day fishing trip around Bora Bora. Rayon packed his fishing boots, an extra rain coat, a long twelve-inch knife, a harpoon, his lucky socks, and the most important thing to him: the golden necklaces with a picture of Naina, his wife, and Rayon. Naina’s mother, Asoka, had died last year from a snake bite in the woods.

When it was time to go, Rayon and Roco said goodbye to Naina, then the two men who were about to become a father and grandfather started for their canoes.  There were five canoes and three fishermen per boat. They weren’t in the same canoe. Rayon was stuck with two drunk fisherman that smelled like one-hundred rotten fish.

The first day went well. The fishermen gathered all different types of fish: salmon, trout, cod, tuna, and more.

The next day went well, but not as well as the day before. At 10:00 pm, the only light was from the torches of the fishermen’s canoes and their village, which was just up ahead. In minutes, Rayon would see his lovely daughter and sleep in his warm, soft bed.

Rayon was so caught up in his head that he didn’t notice the fin of a shark creeping up towards the side of his canoe. When he did notice the shark, he tried to throw his harpoon at it, but instead of it being his harpoon, it was an oar he was using to row the canoe. Just as Rayon thought that his life would end, Roco shot a harpoon into the belly of the shark. But instead of killing the beast, he just made it madder. Before Roco could pull the harpoon out of the shark’s body and strike again, the beast turned around and charged at Roco’s canoe.

The canoe didn’t stand a chance against the shark. The shark easily snapped the canoe in half, like a twig in a party of angry snapping turtles.

Rayon never saw Roco or the two other fishermen in the canoe again.

When Rayon arrived at the village, tears were dripping down his face, and he still didn’t know what to tell Naina.

Nine months later

Rayon was nervous, very nervous, extremely nervous. It was 2:37 a.m. It was raining outside. He was sitting in the living room of his hut thinking of the grandson that he would soon have.

At 2:39 a.m. Doctor Ruiz came into the room.

“Rayon, you are a grandfather.”

Rayon sprang up from his stool and sprinted past the doctor and into Naina’s room.  Naina was sitting in her bed, holding a baby. A baby that looked exactly like his father.

Both of them stared and smiled at the child for a while.  Then Naina said, “Mako, his name is Mako.”