"Before Lunch" by V.I.S. de Veyra

ONCE upon an island, gathered around a person, . . . we were giving him all the circular figures. And when he ate one, he said he knew it would be sweet as jackfruit pulp. We had all the sea to ourselves then, and when they dipped this city man, he was ecstatic, was near to tears. There were all the rural food we had for his party.
Before the luncheon everybody was on the sand doing all sorts of things. We were in a part of the water where she asked me to play a game with her. But later I became bored with her and went to swim oceanward for fifty meters, and then back. Then I saw Albino with a boat he was dragging through foam, to have it floating for anyone who could grab a side. Twelve of us went for it, but the boat couldn't take it. The six backed off. They couldn't swim, anyway. Any way they tried. While I had a gymnastic flair for getting on the boat and there grabbed a paddle. Ana too was ecstatic, but she couldn't get on the boat because she was laughing, and the world was dying. I had to pull her on, but the boat couldn't float straight and was near capsizing, throwing the boat's small pail.
Soon we were on deep water and near the posts of what looked like some former long pier. What looked like some mussels clung to the wood and we touched the sides of the wood and felt a sharpness. There was a blue sky and there was a blue sea, but our part of the deep was a green deep, two hundred meters away from shore. We jumped from the boat and couldn't feel the bottom. It was a strange, quick sea. Here in the deep part, where no one would want to get the cramps, even in cold season it was a cold sea. Anyway, there are no sharks here, the only trouble being sometimes the jellyfish that would have the water itchy, except we didn't come across one, luckily.

WE all took turns getting on the boat, changing personnel at the oars and at the outriggers. Because it could only take four persons. And we were seven persons. Originally, we were six persons. Then one swam the 200 meters: made us unhappy about the capacity, but yes made us more noisy with the company of another human being.
    Now, there were some of the humans who moved too erratically that we capsized it, . . . and soon we all felt the depth when we all fell into the water, us seeing each other's fall from down under, . . . But, green humanity struggled into surface. All emerged laughing, breathing, on top of the water---laughing at the capsized boat, the nervousness, the excitement . . .
    We had to turn it back into position again and made a count, "one, two, three," . . . but it could barely float with water filling it. . . . One swam to fetch a floating paddle, one tried to pail out the water with a pail, . . . bail out the water, the cold "strange" water, . . . We decided to rock the boat so the water would spill out but, instead, the boat rocked too much that more water slipped in, . . . Then we decided to pail-bail it out slowly, the water, surely now, efficiently, while having our diversion of pushing the boat with our swimming, there counting "one, two, three push!" . . . but soon we all got tired from doing it, or just stopped to avoid muscle strain, . . . and decided to just swim ordinarily, drag the boat lazily.
    But, ohh, . . . some did not swim to push the boat, . . . Ana felt alive floating, to the sun was she smiling, her feet hanging onto the outriggers, but, oh well, it made it easier to push the boat in . . . oh, but was I bored with her. Well, . . . well, we just counted on the waves to push the boat and prayed for the promise of an emptied boat, this rigboat, emptied of water, . . .
    It was suddenly so lightweight from our bailing the water out. But that was when we could already feel the sand at the bottom. So there was no use pailing the remaining water off when we pushed the boat to shore, we just turned it upside down, capsized it in the air, to let out the little remaining water,
    The arrival on shore was, finally, a storm upon my dearly loved---. A strong, nervous wind, and also rain with positive charges shocking the flesh a little. These had us running to the beachhouse. Running not from the mystery of electricity, really, but from the threat of blown sand, primarily, lest we be blinded, . . .
    The storm passed. Four of us went back to the boat. It was swifter now that we had no humans for anchors rendering all rowing futile. Two rowed now. And we were zooming. And the world was cooling, . . . In the afternoon, around one o`clock, when we were still eating, they gave him all the circular figures.
    And when he ate one, he said he knew it would be good and declared all can have a slice now. There was only us on the beach! And when we dipped the man, we were like a city in noise! There were all the rural food we had for his party! Some even vomited from the foreign whiskey! And then some were kissing from moonrise! ]

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