10 FLASHBACK

 With her head looking forward and her hair flying in the wind, she looked like a wild angel. Her skin had begun to tan since they started this trip and it had taken on a darker color and she reminded him about the time when they first met. Helena had applied for a job the athletic team offered and they had approved her the next day. It was the day for qualifying into the next athletic event, and the team exercised with naked upper bodies because of the heat and there were a lot of young and good-looking men on the field. They stopped doing their routines to salivate and whistle as she walked past them.

Gábor, wearing a cotton t-shirt and shorts to stay cool, coaching them, watched her as she walked past them. She threw him a glance and smiled, and then entered the office building, to see the hiring administrator who was supposed to be sitting in the air-conditioned office, but she couldn't find him there. Ildiko, the administrator's secretary, said Mr. Olmos might be on the field, informing Dr. Fabien about his new co-worker starting to work with him the next day, and she could wait for him in the cool office; he wouldn't be long.

Being a woman that liked to take the initiative, she wanted to introduce herself to the doctor and get her own impression of him as he was about to be her new colleague. She didn't tell the secretary that, though, and went to the field to meet Dr. Fabien. Gábor saw her coming out of the building and coming toward him and looked her over as she approached.

Long, dark wavy hair, held by a barrette, a fine face with wide-set eyes and high cheekbones, great lips, and a sculptured chin gave her a strong-willed female, yet gentle look. This is one very classy and sexy woman he thought. She appeared to be friendly. Eurasian, Czech perhaps? The kind he had always felt attracted to. The white skirt low on her slender waist was not too short and revealed her very shapely tanned, long legs and some skin of her belly. The flat-soled moccasins seemed out of place with the skirt, until he noticed the skirt was made of very fine suede leather accentuated with a braided black leather belt. Did she like North American Native style outfits?

Her sleeveless red blouse buttoned down from her sternum allowed a quartz stone to be visible and a peek at her breasts through the thin material of her blouse. Wearing no bra, he could see a hint of erect nipples through the silk, and suddenly his mouth watered. She had a great body, fit and trim, a wonderful easy walk like a dancer, swinging gently and almost provocatively, and a smile on her lips, as she got closer. She seemed to be about twenty-five and he'd bet a lot of men took detours to look at her. He knew he would.

Classy and with a graceful move of her head, very ladylike, she looked into his eyes. "Would you know who Dr. Fabien is?" her voice, playful and melodious like a song, woke Gábor from his trance.

 "I've been trying to find that out for myself for the past forty-two years," he managed to reply with a calm voice. Other men started to gather around, some donning jerseys.

"Any progress?" her wide smile revealed deep dimples and stunned him.

"Still a process." He could easily fall in love with a woman like her. Was she married or available? She wore no rings, so perhaps she was single like he.

"Need any help with that or can you manage it on your own?" she added to that, "very few men can find themselves without the guidance of a woman, did you know?" she winked and some of the athletes oohed and grinned from ear to ear. One of them said out loud what the others hoped for. He wanted to be guided someplace private and was willing to learn, he said. Her smile gave him hope. Gábor ordered them to continue with their routines, then took her by the arm and turned towards the office building. "This lady is looking for Dr. Fabien, boys," he said over his shoulder.

 "Let's leave the colts so they can work on their routines and earn their oats," he said to her. A few whistles and guffaws followed them until they were out of earshot.

"Are you the prime stallion here?" she had asked with a wide smile. Was she making fun of him or coming on to him? Either way, she was funny. He cocked his head and his smile increased.

"That depends on the filly."

She smiled back and her dimples made her even more attractive. They suited her and he loved them. Lowering her head as if she talked to the floor she informed him of her assignment.

"I'm going to be working with you as a physiotherapist, but I also teach yoga in my spare time. Join my courses. It might be helpful finding yourself and enable you to guide the herd easier." she added, looked up at him and a playful smile decorated her beautiful full lips. Her dimples deepened. She wore just a hint of some lipstick, but no makeup on her face and her eyelashes were naturally long and dark. A medium maintenance girl, but very classy, it seemed.

"I'm practicing Zen. Would that be compatible?"

"Very. Maybe you could teach me that in exchange?"

 "It's not something one can teach. It's something to practice. Talking the path doesn't take one anywhere where one is not already, but we could walk the path together." Did he just now invite her? He was not only charming and witty but also handsome, and she found his smile and eyes very attractive and in the age group she preferred. At that moment, the man she had signed the contract with and hired her came onto the field and the bubble enclosing her and Gábor burst.

"Ah, you met Dr. Fabien, very well. Did you tell him you are going to work under him?"

Helena flashed Gábor with a smile before she turned to the balding man.

"I hope with time he'll enjoy working under me," she said with a straight face. Taking his eyes off Helena for a moment he explained to Gábor what he already heard from her. "Helena is the physiotherapist we asked for. She has a great résumé."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Dr. Fabien. My name is Helena Nagy. And I'm also a seeker."

"What do you seek?"

"Freedom, Authenticity, Understanding, Respect, Peace of mind and care with a capital ‘C’," she answered without a pause and she glanced at the man called Olmos. "But, at this moment I‘m checking the field I'm going to play in. Employment in a pleasant environment is important to me. It could be this."

"Lofty ideals, and I hope you will enjoy it here, Helena."

Olmos used his most effective voice, the one he used when he fished for delicious morsels on two legs.

"Oh, with mutual respect anything is possible," said Helena.

The woman's voice had a quality of confidence and gentleness that had a hypnotic effect on Gábor. He could listen to her forever. He broke abruptly from the spell and addressed the hiring department manager.

"Ferri, I must go to Szeged for a few days and she could take my place here. Welcome to the club… Mrs. Nagy?"

"Miss. But you may call me Helena. As of yet, no man had asked my parents for my hand in unholy matrimony. Can't understand why."

With a gentle toss of her head, she cleared her hair from her face and flashed a radiant smile at him. Those dimples...

"Neither can I, but you could call me Gábor. Shall we go to my office?"

"Is it a private office, Gábor? I'd like to discuss some conditional matters with you before we start working together."

There was a palatable charge in the air and all felt it. Helena fell in beside him as he made his way towards the building. It seemed so natural that these two virtual strangers turned into a couple in just minutes that Olmos forgot to follow them to the office and stood transfixed on the field, lost like a misplaced statue. He looked after them, then flapped his arms once, did a three-sixty around his own axis before following them towards the complex. Just a day before he had thought she was somewhat interested, but now he felt like an invisible man. He was confused as to what just happened. Nobody believed in love at first sight anymore, but if she were willing he'd sleep with her, married or not. That option had evaporated as rapidly as a dewdrop on a hot stove when Helena encountered Gábor. Ferri never had a chance, but would have loved to have it.

The next morning, Gábor left to Szeged to substitute for a colleague for three days who attended a wedding and as it turned out was his own, and they hoped Gábor would take the place of the now married man. But he wanted to return to Budapest. The faculty didn't want Gábor to go and offered him double the salary, but they had to get a replacement for him because there was someone in Budapest Gábor wanted to see. The money didn't draw him; Helena did.

Gábor's days in Szeged were an agony. His mind was not on the work he needed to do, and Helena's being, her face, and voice haunted him. He had a hard time meditating and wanted to return to Budapest as soon as possible. Three days took an eternity to pass, and then he saw Helena again. Her bright eyes and big smile told him she was happy to see him too, and he asked her if she would like to join him after work for tea up on the Fishing Bastille in Buda.

"Are you married?" she asked.

"Not yet, but can we wait? Perhaps after tea?"

"That I could consider among other things if you can. Do you speak English?"

"Yes. Why?" Her eyes sparkled and she lectured him.

"T" comes before "U" in the German and English alphabet, so tea first," she laughed. "I don't know you well enough yet to get to "U".

"What would be the point if you already knew me? Not knowing me is a good thing. It gives us the opportunity to have a lot of tea together and to get to know each other. And yes, I speak a little English and German with un petit peut French and it's true, "U" comes after "T".

 “Are you a Linguist?" Helena asked.

"Only on appropriate occasions. Are you?"

"Oh yes, but I'm out of practice."

"Perfect. So am I."

"We could work on those skills together and I'd love to have "T" with "U". With her fingers, she marked the letters in the air.

"You do? Why?" He was genuinely surprised. He'd expected a turndown.

"Because you're crazy," said Helena and laughed at his funny face.

"I heard that rumour too, but I wasn't aware it spread all the way to ‘U’. Is that going to be a problem?"

"I love that in a man. And I missed your smile," she added. He loved her straightforward attitude and direct approach and playing word-games with her was fun plus she loved his craziness and she was playful. He could imagine having a good time together with her at work and play.

The following days they worked and talked about all kinds of topics and found they had similar views on life and their dreams as to what they wanted from life. She had never laughed so much in a year as she did in one day. Gábor was original, authentic, and funny in a different way. He mentioned he had dreamed about Canada since he was a child and wanted to move there someday, and Helena showed him her collection of Lakota jewellery and artefacts. They had very much the same taste; the subjects were different, yet complementary.

That weekend they went to a swimming pool and Gábor had the first look at her body in a two-piece swimsuit and thought it was the body of a model. Long legs, a nicely shaped round butt, a flat belly that had just the right curves, a figure one could not look enough at, and breasts that were high and in the classic proportions, not the large ones that make so many men ogle, just a good hand-full and pert. Overall, she was a beautiful woman but seemed not to know it, and it showed in her attitude. She looked like a fully developed teenager in her bikini and the scar from an appendix surgery didn't detract much from her perfection. Light-footed, she moved with the grace of a gazelle or a cat, almost dancing, and her walk was very feminine. That was the weekend that ended with the wildest and most pleasurable event in both of their lives.

A few days later she'd asked him to join her in her Aikido practice she attended three times a week. He didn't mention to her about his own practice at that point, and when her sensei greeted him with a big bow and called him sensei, she had the biggest surprised look on her face. Her sensei had the sixth Dan and he treated Gábor as his superior. Who was Gábor? Helena wondered and was hell-bent to find out.

Now this woman was his wife, but he never let her feel that. After all these years, they had romance in their lives and were friends, intimate friends. They did not limit each other or depend on each other for happiness. They enjoyed each other, not because they had to, but because they wanted to. Neither dependent nor independent, they were rather interdependent and had their own lives side by side. They were a team who didn't own each other and had their complete freedom without abusing it. Nevertheless, both knew they'd go crazy if either would ever leave the other. He could not imagine living without her or vice versa. The dark clouds that Leo's condition caused and almost destroyed them had moved.

Interrupted in her reminiscing by his voice, she turned her head and looked at him. Her hair whipped in the wind and as the boat skipped over the waves, she flexed her knees and wondered why Gábor did not sit down on the bench and asked him that.

"The wind is not hitting my face when I sit and I kind of like it. Does the wind bother you?”

"I like the wind, but it messes with my hair and I will have a hard time getting the knots all untangled. Maybe I'll tie it up in a ponytail or I'll braid it the next time."

"Why not now?"

"I forgot a bungee."

"Well, you look sexier this way."

"Are you fishing? You may catch a shark, you know."

"You may eat me anytime, Honey."

"Is that an offer or wishful thinking?"

"What would you like it to be?" He turned and looked at Leo and Ivan's sleeping bodies. Whatever was on her mind, she dropped it. Too risky.

Clearing her throat, she said, “I was almost a vegetarian until I met you."

"Fooled me. You seem to enjoy meat."

"Now I do, but not exclusively. I love being your shark and you my food."

"Your diet is probably the reason for your perfect figure," he complimented her, catching her playful and coquettish chat. "I've noticed you did get a load of snacks. Is that for emergencies?"

They laughed at that but the sparkle in their eyes was evident. Gábor sat down beside her and they moved closer together to enjoy their closeness in silence, hoping to find some privacy soon. Holding hands, for now, was enough and both were content. They had found Leo alive and like her husband, she too went into reminiscing about the past.

9   RESCUE

The sea was calm, a gentle swell was all they had, and they hoped it would hold. This was a good sign and they took course east toward the Tuamotu. Luck was on their side concerning the weather. There was no wind to speak of. It would have been uncomfortable to run against the wind for a whole day. The boat had a windshield and its catamaran designed hard bottom was heavy enough to handle moderate seas, but it would have been bumpy. They keyed in the position they had, South 015 degrees 11.7', and West 146 degrees 07.0'. With the GPS set, they goosed the two outboard engines to the max. The boat was up on a plane in seconds and skimmed on the water like a flat stone tossed on a lake. Ivan was at the helm and ordered Gábor and Helena to rest.

"I need you two rested when we get into the area. I slept a few hours and the fresh air will be good for me. I'll wake you when I get tired."

They crawled into their sleeping bags and were out like a light. The bouncing of the boat and the running of the engines did not register with them, but when Ivan reduced the RPM's, and the motors turned silent, they woke up, opened their eyes, and for a few seconds wondered where they were, and then memory kicked in. They looked at Ivan who turned to them and announced: "Stop your snoring, unfasten your pants, and go for a swim. We’ve arrived."

"What do you mean? We're there already?"

"This is a great boat and could go faster, but I didn't want to ruin the engines and you needed a rest." Helena could hardly believe they slept that long, but she felt a lot better. In her dreams, she had seen and felt Leo. Gábor looked around. They'd slept for ten hours. It was seven in the morning and the sun was a hand span above the horizon.

"Looks familiar," he said with dry humour. All around them was only water without sight of land. Ivan and Helena knew, when Gábor faced a problem, he resorted to sarcasm.

"Let's see the charts and plan the search. We know the currents and the speed. Look around. Did you see the French patrol boats?"

"I was just going to call them on VHF, but I don't see them. It's a big pond," replied Ivan and handed the helm to Gábor.

 "A thought came up," Gábor said. "I don't think I should be here. I'm the suspect in this accident and the police would not want me to run around doing my own thing. I think we'd better carry on discreetly without stirring the waters." Helena looked concerned. "That will make things difficult. Will they not see us?"

"If they are using radar they possibly could, but I will tell them we are fishing and hope they won't recognize us. That may keep them happy," Gábor replied. "So let's do the fishing for our cat-fish then. Where do we begin?"

"This place is as good as any, get the binoculars. Helena, you take the port, Gábor, you starboard. I'll use the plotter to set the grid."

"Niau is only ten miles to the west of here and the current is weak. If the kid is floating, he could be on the island by now if he is alive. I don't know if he has enough stamina to swim for that long and I have no idea if he knows about the island at all. Even if he would know about it, you can't see these atolls five miles away from a boat, never mind from sea level. The only orientation he could get is from the sun and I doubt whether he knows how to apply that fact. But the current is setting on it and that could help."

Gábor didn't realize that he was thinking aloud, but then Ivan said: "You've got a good point and if he is alive, I know he can make it. He has a lot of strength and I think he could make the distance if the sharks didn't get him."

"He is alive. I can feel it." Helena said with confidence in her voice.

"I hope you are right," nodded Gábor, but he was not so sure if Helena's intuition was genuine or just the hope of a mother who would not accept the loss of her child. He really hoped she was right. An idea came to him and he turned to Ivan. "Let's go to the island and work our way back to here."

"Now that's a good idea," agreed Ivan and Helena's eyes lit up like a thousand watt light bulb.

"Let's go." Gábor took the helm and the boat sped away. Their conclusion was as faulty as a bucket used for target practice and had as many holes, but they thought it a good idea and with that, they entered into an incredible story.

They got within sight of the reef surrounding Niau and saw palms on the island about hundred-fifty meters away at 0730h. As they edged their way from the southern shores into a northern direction, a large pod of dolphins came into sight. They came close to the boat and circled it, crossed the bow and bumped the hull, then took off to the South for maybe a hundred meters, returned and bumped the hull again, and again swam about a hundred meters south, only to return and bump the boat once more. Helena watched the action of the dolphins with excitement and a bit of apprehension as they bumped the hull; it was the first time she had seen them this close, but then she paid more attention to what they did and she turned to Gábor. "Do you think they want something from us?" Gábor and Ivan had also watched the dolphins' unusual activity, did not know what it was about, and looked perplexed.

"I have no idea what is going on," admitted Ivan and looked to Gábor for a better answer, but Gábor seemed just as baffled.

"Why not follow them and see what they want?" Helena asked.

She had a funny feeling the dolphins' action was intentional and she wanted to see what this intentionality held. Accelerating the boat, they followed the pod, which now swam ahead of them, crossing the bow a few times, but they didn't bump the boat anymore. For about a kilometer, they followed them and approached the landmass when the dolphins crossed the bow several times, jumped clear out of the water and swam away from the boat toward the shore, but remained close. The reef was to starboard fifty meters away.

"Now, what is this all about?" asked Ivan and looked bewildered at the circling dolphins and then at the waters. Helena scanned the beach with her binoculars, panning slowly over the reef.

"Could you get a bit closer to the beach? There is something I want to check out."

She looked at a lump of weed and thought she saw something other than that. It was not like the other lumps and she used the binoculars to observe it thoroughly. Ivan moved the boat among some dangerous coral heads closer to the beach and Gábor, standing on the bow, guided the boat by indicating where it seemed deep enough to go. Suddenly Helena shouted.

"I see something. Go that way," and she pointed toward the port bow of the boat. As the boat got closer, the resemblance of a prone figure became visible on a brown patch of seaweed, no more than hundred meters away, but they couldn’t get any closer. Ivan had the engines half out of the water to be able to get some drive and touched the coral twice; he did not want to risk running aground in a coral bed or puncture the hypalon tubes. Waves, about a half-meter in height, ran toward the shore and broke on the reef. "It's a person," she cried. “Can you get closer?”

"That's the farthest I can go," Ivan said, but Helena was in the water already, Gábor close behind, with two life vests in his hands.

The water was about to their chest and there were sharp corals all around with colourful fish darting among them, but they had no eyes for them. As they got closer, the lump resembled more and more a creature's body. The figure did not move and small waves washed over it, lifted it a bit, but did not wash the body from the patch. Partially covered with seaweed and together with the fabric, it was difficult to make out what it was. But as they got within a few meters, they recognized the clothing. It was Leo, face down and the water covered his mouth with every wave coming in. Strange sounds escaped Helena's mouth and then a cry. "Leo."

Rushing forward, disregarding the sharp corals, she threw herself on Leo, lifting his head out of the water and that got some life into the limp figure. Leo opened his eyes and coughed. Gábor caught up with her, dropping the life jackets, put his arm under Leo, lifting him off the coral, then dove under him, heaving him out of the water onto his shoulder. Helena grabbed the life vests, held on to Leo, and followed Gábor as he made his way back to the boat with Leo's limp body across his back, around corals and patches of brown vegetation. They got to the boat and Ivan assisted them to lift Leo into it. Helena got aboard and then Gábor. Ivan put the boat in reverse, out of the coral garden into open water and put the boat on a course that would take them farther away from the dangerous coral reef. Picking vegetation from Leo's face and body and pressing his back, his mother tried to get some life into her son.

"Come on Leo. It's over. Come on, wake up." Gábor laid Leo onto the floor and began to check Leo‘s vital signs. Leo seemed to have become aware while he carried him but lost consciousness again.

"Weak pulse and almost no breathing," Gábor murmured.

Then Helena helped him to turn Leo onto his stomach, tilted his head and Gábor began pushing on Leo's back. After only a few presses, Leo coughed again and a bit of water escaped from his mouth. Then he coughed again, this time more like retching, and again some water came from his mouth and then he vomited. When he finished, he took a deeper breath, opened his eyes, and cleared his throat with rasping and growling noises, but clearly recovering. Gábor removed the plants and clothing from Leo's body to check him for injuries. Ivan helped him to sit up and Helena cried, kissing Leo's wet face, and she put her arms around him. None were aware of their tears. Leo closed his eyes once more. Gábor opened the bag they'd brought and took out clothing for Leo. He turned around, caught sight of blood on the floor, and realized it came from some cuts on his own hands and legs. He turned to Helena and looked her over. She was bleeding too and had cuts on her also. He grabbed the First Aid Kit, opened it, and got out the Band-Aid, some gauze, iodine, bicarbonate, and Polysporine. Ivan finished his visual inspection and then Leo opened his eyes.

"What took you so long?" he rumbled. The tension broke in a roaring laughter from all. They expected anything else, but not this, and Helena's tears and sobs were a mix of relief, laughter, and elation. Gábor's face was impossible to describe. Besides tremendous joy and let-up from the pain he had been feeling since the loss some thirty plus hours ago, he felt real happiness to have found Leo. Ivan wiped his eyes, pretending to have something in them.

"Going fishing without me, eh?" turning back to Gábor, he advised.

"I think it would be wise to get going before the French find out we've found Leo alive. We are still in the search area of the French Search and Rescue vessels. You can doctor him and you up on the way back. Leo now is a lost at sea case for real." Both adults looked at him and the reality of that sentence registered with them in all its implications. They didn't have to make up a story; they only had to be quiet about Leo's rescue by them.  Leo, the child is dead. Long live Leo, the real, new person, shot through Ivan's mind.

Gábor took the helm and Helena got busy with Leo. He had cuts on his body, mainly on his legs and arms and some were deep enough to worry her about infections. They were coral cuts and would fester for a while. The deep gash on his forehead was more of a concern, but it seemed to have stopped bleeding and now only the saltwater puckered the skin up a bit. Helena thought it would need stitches. She consulted with Ivan and he offered to do it. He'd seen it done before, but did not do it himself and Helena had no idea how she could do it, so they agreed to split the work; she would hold Leo's head and he would do the stitching.

"I'll scrream," volunteered Leo with a weak grumbling sound and closed his eyes. They all laughed and figured, if he had a sense of humour like this, he could not be in bad shape, and they went to work. The First Aid kit was very well stocked and they used the alcohol to disinfect the needle and thread, and for good measure used iodine on the thread. Leo winced when the first stitch went into his skin and then relaxed as Helena held his head and talked to him in a soothing voice. She wanted to know if he knew what happened to him and he answered positively which indicated to her that his mental capacity was ok. When his mother asked if he had seen any sharks, he answered he didn't know what he saw, but remarked about big fish swimming along with him, keeping him on the surface. At that, Ivan stopped his work and looked at Helena and then back to Leo. A knowing smile came to Helena's face.

"I heard about dolphins protecting humans from sharks and even rescuing them, but I thought they were stories only. Here I have a first-hand account of such a thing. One never stops learning. Do you realize you were in the water 32 hours? The dolphins must have taken care of you almost to the time we arrived here. That's incredible."

"Are you saying the dolphins saved him?" Ivan asked incredulously.

"Dey wrring ne, Ivan." Helena was pleased with how well he spoke. Ivan finished sewing and looked over his shoulder to Gábor. "What’s the course?"

"One-eight-zero, true." Scanning the area around them, they were satisfied that nobody was around.

"Let's clear the search area. An hour or two should do and then we head for Mehetia. Mark our position before you change course and then head for it. Stay clear of any traffic if you can, and watch those speed bumps. I'll catch some z's."

"Aye, aye Skipper," laughed Gábor. Ivan was the more experienced man and because of his eventful past, Gábor had no problems taking orders from him, and it was good to have him along in this adventure. Gábor could not ask for a better man at his side and regretted the times they missed socializing with him when they were in Canada. His mood was much better and he felt nothing in this world was impossible. They found Leo in a miraculously short time, alive, and they hadn't run into the rescue flotilla or foul weather during their search that could have killed them all.

What happened to the other man still troubled Gábor. Despite his initial anger, he wished no ill on the man. He hoped the dolphins took care of him too. The appearance of the dolphins and their intelligent behaviour reinforced his dawning recognition that intelligence was all around them; one just needed to let go of old beliefs and so-called certainties about what form intelligence could take. Often, humans display absolute stupidity in many ways, but nobody ever questions their human-ness and even the most unintelligent is treated as a human. Today they all had witnessed intelligence in other mammals that humans find astonishing. Why, he asked, why would it be so astonishing when other life forms show intelligence? Many animals show a variety of coping mechanisms that is miraculous in many instances and border of intelligence, as a human would classify it. Old belief systems, for millennia, have proclaimed humans as the crown of creation, thus making their world serve them. Humans changed their environment to suit them instead of changing themselves to adapt to it. Changes to their surroundings may sometimes be good, but men forgot when to stop and created an environment that became hazardous, toxic, and dead.

Even in relationships with each other, the same has happened. Man ruled woman and from there on downwards, the hierarchical ladder or totem pole mentality has set in. Each forces the other to comply; to suit someone else's needs, instead of accepting the other for who they are. He knew, he himself was not free of it, but now he had begun to open his mind and corrected his thinking and doings. These dolphins had opened his eyes more, to see a universal intelligence rather than a limited view. He had changed his view about Leo. These incidences were accelerating his growth in that regard, and if he could change, others could too.

He looked at Helena and marvelled at her beauty and her strength. How did she know Leo was alive? Was it only wishful thinking or some other kind of connection she had with him? Intuitively she was far ahead of him, but it had to be more than that. When they practiced martial arts, he often wondered about her reactions when he attacked, almost as if she could read his mind. She seemed to sense his move and often stepped out of the line of attack or fended off a strike with relative ease.  He had practiced with her since they knew each other in Hungary. She worked on her third degree in Aikido and that level did not include the mental training to sense an opponent's moves before they started them. Gábor thought because they knew each other, she anticipated his moves, but now he saw things a bit differently. He moved a little closer to her, bent down, and kissed the top of her head.

"I love you, Lena. I love our child, and I'm happy that we found him alive." She smiled up at him and with a smile reached for his hand, and gave it a squeeze without a word. He understood. He accepted Leo consciously for the first time as their child. A few tears rolled down her cheeks.

For an hour, the boat ran fast, steered with the autopilot on the southern course. The engines produced a speed of thirty knots at the three-quarters throttle and skipped over the waves smoothly and without much jarring. Gábor remained at the helm and the big cat, their son, slept with his head in Helena's lap. She stroked it gently and carefully so as not to touch the stitches. Ivan stretched out on the supplies and covered himself with a light blanket to protect against the sun. Ninety minutes later Gábor plotted their position, changed the course to two-four-zero, and noted it on the chart.

"Distance to Mehetia about hundred-sixty nautical miles. Time: Oh nine thirty" he informed Helena and she nodded.

"We could be there in about five hours, around 14:30h, but I think we'd better fuel up." As an answer to his point, the engines started to sputter.

Gábor throttled the engines and put the engine in neutral then shut them down. Ivan woke up, and without missing a beat, got up, and assisted Gábor to fill the tanks from the drum they had purchased in Papeete. Inserting one end of the plastic hose into the barrel, the other into the fuel tank, he covered the lid on the barrels with a plastic bag around the hose to create a seal, but left a little space to allow blowing air into the barrel. He took a deep breath and blew air into the drum to increase the air pressure inside. It was enough. The clear plastic showed the fuel starting to flow into the lower tanks of the inflatable.

Each of the two tanks held a hundred liters, and when they were full, one of the two barrels was empty. They would return the empty fuel drum to Papeete the first opportunity they had. Starting the engines again took a little cranking, but once they caught, they ran smoothly again. Both men returned to their stations, Gábor on the helm and Ivan to watch movies on the inside of his eyelids. Helena got up and placed a lifejacket under Leo's head and joined Gábor at the helm. She put her arms around his waist hugging him from behind for a moment then leaned her head on his shoulder and said softly:

"Thank you, Honey." Gábor knew exactly what she meant and turned, looked into her gentle deer-brown eyes and replied jokingly:

"I did it for Queen and Fatherhood. You're my queen and I'll take credit for the Fatherhood," then he turned serious.

"It will be hard to manoeuvre around all the legal rock-heads in Papeete and Canada. We were extremely lucky to find Leo alive and so quickly, but the other man may be lost. They will try to stick it on me that I have killed the man, even if it was an accident. I think it's called involuntary manslaughter." Helena looked frightened and let go of his waist to have a better look at him.

"We will hire a lawyer as soon as we get back to Papeete if we need one. I will fight to keep you out of jail. They must understand it was an accident and you did not shove him purposely into the water. He attacked Leo and hit him. You protected our child. They can't ignore that. And I don't care if they discover Leo's real identity."

"We'll see how things develop and take it from there. Let's not worry about things that may or may not come. Like you once said. To worry is to pay interest on a loan I didn't make, remember?" Since they had taken an awareness seminar, the two played a game to remind each other to be conscious and be in the present as much as possible. Smiling she asked.

"Do you remember everything I tell you? In that case, I better watch what I'm saying." Gábor let out a little laugh.

"I don't need to remember what you said because who you are speaks louder than any spoken words you could utter."

"And who am I to you?" she asked, looking at him inquisitively.

"The air that I breathe, the reason for my life and the first thought in my head when I wake up in the morning," he answered without hesitation.

 "What a coincidence. I would have said the same if you would have asked me first, but additionally, I think you are the most maddening creature on this planet. You drive me crazy with your impertinent behaviour to me, being the mother of our child and I still love you. Your lack of trusting me enough to come to me when you're troubled, at least let me hold you, is making me angry. It's okay when you don't have all the answers Gábor. We can find them together or cry together when we don't, but don't cut me out of your life when you have a problem or are confused. Your relentless pursuit of integrity, fairness, and liberty are what draws me to you. It makes you who you are and I love you for it. Please, understand; to all of the life's challenges love is the answer and I want to share my love, life, and freedom with you authentically. Trust me as I trust you. I will be there for you no matter what. I love you Gábor. Remember that whenever doubts obscure your vision. You are to me what I'm to you. You are my mirror image." She kissed him and put her arm around his waist again. Her statements and pledges sank deep into his heart and he understood what she asked of him and with all his resolve he vowed to heed her words.

“I will put more effort into it, I promise.”

8   TAHITI

The chopper arrived just as Gábor and Helena finished their account of what happened, and the captain excused himself to attend to the communication on the VHF radio and then the aircraft landed on the helipad, disgorging four people, then lifted off again to join in the search for the two lost people in the water. Pale fingers of light flooded the area, dancing on the water in patterns. The cruiser had maintained its position and the rafts continued the search without any luck; hope to find the unfortunate people sank. The four newcomers were coordinating the search from the cruiser with radios and maps showing currents. The French Gendarmerie arrived at 0500h in the early morning with the rescue vessel. They dispatched a group of them to the aft deck and started the investigation of the now so declared ‘scene of an accident'.

The meeting with Sven did not shed any more light on the incident, only the name of the man who went into the sea with Leo. It was the Quartermaster, and it was Higgins who affirmed the report about him. Someone found a heavy flashlight on the lower deck and turned it in. There was some hair and a piece of skin on the edge of the flashlight and the Gendarmes took it as evidence of a possible crime. They collected samples of the blood, some hair, checked for fingerprints on the guardrail, took pictures, interrogated passengers and crew, all the usual things, but it didn't shed any light on the situation. No passenger or crew saw anything until the "man overboard" call sounded, and then everybody rushed aft to see what happened. The Gendarmes, who collected the evidence on the scene, cursed in French, and an inspector by the name of Julian came to see Gábor.

If appearance would be important to judge a character, the inspector would end up being called a ferret. His big round eyes were close together, moved restlessly from face to face, and he looked with his moustache like a leftover character from the Pink Panther movies. His pale face and tired looking eyes were scrutinizing Helena for a moment then rested on Gábor.

"Bonjour monsieur Fabien. M'appelle Inspecteur Julian Lenoir. Est-ce que vous parlez Francaise. Anglais?"

"I don't speak French very well inspector and since this is important to understand each other, we’d better converse English or Hungarian or get a translator. I'm also very tired and I hope you don't mind if you speak clearly and slowly. It will help us both to..." Julian interrupted him.

"Ah. Oui. I speak Anglais and I will keep it short. I ave the captain's report and when you rested and the ship arrive in Papeete I would like to talk to you about what appened ere. I understand your son went into the water last night, oui, and I'm terribly sorry for you, Madam and you, Monsieur. I lost my son to the sea a few years ago and know the pain of loss. We will continue to watch out for your son and the other person and let you know if we find something. Please report in two days at the gendarmerie in Papeete, oui? Au revoir."

He turned rather abruptly to Helena, scanned her body, and tipped his head. He handed a card to Gábor, turned, and left. Helena had an uneasy feeling about the Inspector. Julian was cold and unfriendly. Perhaps he thought Gábor shoved the man on purpose overboard because he attacked Leo and Leo was only "collateral damage" as hardened military personal liked to call it.

Gábor and Helena were ‘interviewed' separately about the incident and both felt like suspects in a murder case until Helena in unmistakable terms told Inspector Lenoir that she rejected the insinuation that as a mother she would have, or would permit, her child being thrown overboard to the sharks. That stopped Lenoir.

She felt very angry but contained her anger. When they arrived in Papeete, she would contact the Canadian consulate or look for a lawyer and see what they could do about the case if there were any complications. She was certain the authorities would be notified about the accident if they weren't already. Lenoir was an official she wouldn't trust to watch TV, not to mention keeping a lookout for her son. Something about him made her shiver.

At 0630h the cruise ship left the area and continued toward Tahiti. The French patrol boat had three zodiacs in the water and continued the search. The captain had instruction not to allow Gábor or his wife near the ‘Crime Scene' and to leave the area of the accident as it was. They had put a tarp over the area, and a red tape around the perimeter to keep people away until the investigation was over. Detectives' left aboard asked the crew questions and collected notes in a briefcase that was not getting thicker. Nobody saw a thing. With the exception of Mr. Higgins, no important information came up.

Higgins disclosed to detective Francois that Mr. Fabien's son was a very strange kid and his parents very secretive. They did not mingle with others, had their meals in their cabin all the time, and only came out at night when all was dark. "Like bats," he added. Detective Francois made a note of that.

Higgins and Lundy had been friends and hung out together when they went on shore leave. Both drank on those occasions and got into trouble because Lundy liked to show off his strength when he had too much of the spirit in him, and Higgins thought it was fun watching "Johnny" tossing people around, so he instigated fights. When they were sober, they were not too bad, worked hard, and caused no problems. Higgins mourned the loss of his friend.

Ten hours later the ship arrived in Papeete, police cars were on the quay and a specialized team in CI matters boarded the cruiser and did their work. Ship agents and customs checked all documents and issued some papers that permitted the tourists to go ashore. Helena and Gábor hadn't slept a second since Leo disappeared. His eyes burned and dark rings under them betrayed his anguish. Pale and with hollow cheeks, eyes sank deep in their sockets he looked a wreck. Helena held him and they rocked like round-bottomed cups on a moving boat. Each was in their pain and neither knew what to say; there was nothing to say. They came to abandon their child, make him disappear from the records of authorities and fate had done exactly that, but it wasn't supposed to be like this. A knock on the door aroused them from their daze.

Helena looked into a mirror on the wall and rearranged her clothes.

"Come in," she said, and the First Officer opened the door.

"May I come in?" She was a pretty woman of perhaps Korean descent and a nametag identified her as Grace. Both had seen her when they made their report.

 "Sorry if I am disturbing you," she lilted, "but we have arrived in Papeete and you must clear in. The authorities requested it and the agent is waiting to clear you in," and as an afterthought, she added, "and a lot of Journalists. I'm so sorry. Would you like me to assist you to book a hotel or do you want to do your own reservations? We have a list of good and economical accommodations in Papeete."

"We are meeting a friend and he will assist us," Helena assured the woman, "thank you nevertheless."

"The French Authorities demand you remain in French Polynesia until your case has been cleared and of course we will reimburse you for the rest of the trip. I'm so sorry for your son. If there is anything I can do, let me know. We will be here for today and tomorrow." She left closing the door gently behind her.

"We're better to get going," Helena said softly and took Gábor's hand to help him up from the bed. Gábor looked forlornly at her.

"I have to go back. I will get a boat and go back. I must find him. He is not gone. I feel it." As if the decision had infused him with a new energy he suddenly got active.

"Let's go find Ivan, then find a boat and we go. You can get a hotel and wait for us. I must find Leo. He is alive, he has to be."

"I'll wait only if elephants fly. Who made you the mother of my child all so sudden?" she flared.

 "Leo. And I thought…"

"What did you think?" she cut him off hotly. "That I will wait for you until you come back and pick me up? I thought I lost both of you out there last night. You want me to go through that again? Try that again and I'll finish you off myself, and never mind the sharks."

She meant it. Her eyes flashed and her face looked more determined than he had ever seen before.

"Okay, okay. You're on," he said, backing down.

"I was never off, buddy.  Let's go and find Ivan."

"One minute. We need our bags and passports." Gábor said and sprinted to the bridge. Grace was there and promised to take care of that. All would be at the customs agent's office in ten minutes. She would do it herself.

Then both, husband and wife rushed down the ramp in a hurry; journalists lifted their cameras and took pictures of the backs of Helena and Gábor, which looked out of focus like racing cars. They ripped open the door to the agency and told the man at the desk to keep the journalists out of the office. Before the man could reply, Ivan burst through the door, shut, and put his back to it.

"The easiest way to find celebrities; one just has to beat the crowd. Never fails. What the hell did you kids do this time? Where is Leo?" and with his back he held the door closed against the barging paparazzi.

The Polynesian fellow behind the desk sat stunned with open mouth looking at the three in his office. Nobody had ever rushed into this office before. He cleared his throat and asked in good English with a French accent.

"Are you the Fabien's?" Ivan turned his head toward the dark-faced man.

"What's the matter with you Franchise? Don't you recognize the Fabien's? Don't you ever watch ‘The Up and Coming Celebrity Show?’  Da, this is them. Show your respect man." Then he took a closer look at his two friends. "Did you two swallow some Frenchies? You look sick."

"We'll tell you all later, let's get this done first," said Gábor.

The agent hurried up because this old man, who looked familiar, seemed crazy and would demand for him to pay homage to the Fabien's.

The woman... well, anytime, anyhow, but with the man at her side… wouldn't do good to have him on my back, he thought. The man looked formidable, even though he seemed not to have slept much. She must be a wild one unlike his. She enjoyed only soap operas. He sighed heavily. Some guys have all the luck.

Five minutes later with the papers done, they were free to go, but with all those cameras out there, it would be a gauntlet. Ivan looked at the agent.

"We have a tradition in my country to leave through the window when the wolves are at the front door. I'm sure you won't mind. Doswidaniya." And with that he jammed a chair under the doorknob then proceeded to the window, opened it, and nimbly climbed out first, followed by Helena, then Gábor. The agent's mouth remained open until the first journalist made it into the almost completely empty office a minute later, camera ready to shoot.

"Grand Central Station." The agent muttered and closed the window. This place was getting too popular, he thought.

While waiting for a taxi, Gábor informed Ivan of what happened last night. Ivan turned several shades of pale.

"The sharks worry me, but not the man. You saw Leo bleeding, Lena?" He slipped into the intimate short form name of Helena without anybody noticing.

"I'm sure he bled. That guy hit him with a flashlight, Leo fell down, and when he stood up, there was blood on his forehead." She recalled the sight and her eyes filled with tears. Gábor put his arms around her shoulders.

"Here is the cab. I know where we look for a boat." The three of them got in and Ivan issued an order to the cabbie.

"Le port commercial, step on it." Wasn't that supposed to be; S'il vous plait?

"Oui, monsieur."

Just then, two crewmembers arrived with the family's luggage, flagged the taxi down, and put the luggage in the trunk of the taxi before it took off towards the commercial area. It was a short ride and they arrived at the Commercial Port. Plenty boats were up on the dry and men worked on them while other boats were on the water. Looking around Gábor spotted a shop called "Nautisport."

"We've got it. Here it is." They asked the taxi driver to wait for them. Then they walked into the air-conditioned store and asked for a zodiac type boat, about twenty feet, but they had nothing that big. They could possibly find one at Taina Marina. There was a dive store there and they had three, one for sale a week ago, perhaps it was still there. They took the cab to Tania Marina, found the dive shop, and arrived there just as the young man there wanted to close the store. Yes, they still had the inflatable and they were shopping for a bigger one; one was for sale. It was a beautiful catamaran type hull, designed, and built in South Africa, with two one hundred engines, 6.5m (22') long.

"How much?" Ivan asked before Gábor could say a word.

"Thirty-five-thousand US."

"That's too rich for our blood, Ivan. Let's look for a smaller boat," said Helena. Ivan looked at her over his shoulder.

"I'll get this one. If you want a toy, you're on your own."

He turned back to the young man who had his eyes on Helena.

"How much did you say? And think before you talk."

"Thirty-five. Thousand. US. Cash or credit card. No check. Thinking extra," emphasizing each word, the youth grinned. 

Cheeky bastard, Ivan though, but liked him.

"We want just one, not all of them."

"That is the price for one," mouthed the young man.

"Hey, I'm Russian, not stupid. Too much."

"How much you want to spend, Igor?" grinned the youth from ear to ear.

"Ivan", corrected Ivan patiently. "Max ten."

"That will get you a kayak, Igor," said the vendor. "Engine extra." The kid's grin widened and he scanned his eyes over Helena's feminine curves admiringly.

"It's Ivan, the Terrible," growled Ivan. "You may have heard of me. My granddad disembowelled greedy bastards alive. And in Canada, I could get one like the one you have for five thousand and they throw in a live mermaid, like the one you're ogling."

"This is Tahiti, comrade, and our mermaids are bigger. Paid by the pound. It's customary," stated the youth undaunted.

"That would explain the outrageous price. But you're right. Some are huge. How did that happen? Never expected it here."

 "Coca-Cola, hamburgers." The youngster shrugged his shoulders. "Here you are in Paradise. Where did you want to go?"

"Then Tuamotu it is. We're looking for hell and a kid in it to take out from there."

"Enough boys." interjected Helena, "We need to find Leo, and we need the boat. We pay it."

The young man looked at her and fell in love when she spoke. Just like that. This was a gorgeous, classy babe with great legs, great figure and a voice like angels and lips to dream of. He knitted his eyebrows.

"Wait. Leo… Leo. Leo Fabien? Yeah, right. I read this morning in the papers and heard on TV about a kid falling overboard from a cruiser with another guy during a fight near the Tuamotu last night. That Leo? Your kid?"

"Our child, yes. Your coconut drums are fast."

"Hey, it's News. I'll let the boat go for twenty-five with one condition. Give me the money, find him, and the boat is yours. If you don't find him, consider it as my condolences. When do you head out?"

She was a better negotiator than Ivan. For sure, her looks and her figure had something to do with it.

 "As soon as we get our gear together."

"Anything else I can help you with?"

"Life vests, diving lights, GPS, Fuel, lots of fuel."

"Anything else?"

"All else we have."

The young man looked at Ivan. "May I give her a hug? For condolences? By the way, I own this shop. Name is Derrick."

Ivan deflected the youngster's request to Gábor with a raised chin whom in turn looked at Helena and then addressed the young man.

"Ask the lady. It's up to her to say whether she agrees with it."

"Fabien, Helena Fabien. I own that man," she said pointing at Gábor, "but I think we can seal a deal with a hug," Then she nodded with a smile and hugged the tanned youth.

"He's a very lucky man," grinning at her, he turned back to Ivan.

 "Let's go into the office, comrade, get the stuff, and sign the papers."

Gábor got the luggage from the taxi and Ivan walked with the young man into the office, signed the papers and together they loaded the gear and the suitcases into the boat and left a young man to his dreams.

An hour later they were on their way back to Papeete's main harbour, fuelled up, loaded two drums of gasoline, each holding two hundred liters, and went shopping. This all went so fast that Helena was getting dizzy.

They split up, so each one was doing something different. Helena got the job of getting medical supplies, blankets, and some dry food. She made it before they closed the shops. Ivan organized some supplies from Nautisport and Gábor got the information where the MOB happened since he and Sven were kind of friends now. He also got some charts from the captain along with a warning not to run into the Search and Rescue vessels. They would not like to see him there. Sven implored Gábor to keep a lookout for Lundy as well while looking for his son and Gábor relented. If they found him, they would pick him up. It was the decent thing to do.

Two hours later, they had everything they needed. Medical first aid kit, binoculars, charts, lifejackets, some blankets, GPS, flashlights, the position of where the accidents happened and they were ready to go. They had to be back in two days to report to the Gendarmerie. They didn't waste any time and left Papeete in the dark at 2100h. Leo had now been in the water for twenty-four hours. Could he survive that long in the ocean?