September 4, 2007

Yesterday, the chirping of my radar woke me up.  I spotted a ship.

I tried to call them on my radio.  There was no response.  I waved and they waved back.  Why weren’t they talking over the radio?  The boat was from Limassol, a big city on the island of Cyprus.  Cyprus is near Turkey, where I am from.

“In case you can hear this, I was born in Cyprus,” I said.  “Have a safe trip.”

The ship turned and came to a stop a mile away.  I called on the radio again. “Do you need help?” they said.  I tried to answer, but my radio battery was low.  I had to row over to them.

When I came up to the ship, three crew members stood there, looking down at me.  “I am sorry.  My radio is not working,” I said.  “Do you need supplies?” they said.  “Thank you.  I am okay.  I just wanted to say hello.” I said.  “I was born in Cyprus.  I am Turkish.”

Before long, we were both on our way.  I would have told him more about my journey but I couldn’t.