The Scarf/ Part Two

The Scarf

Part 2

By Barb Whitesides

April 2023

The island is all he has ever known.  While lush and beautiful, island life is simple and the opportunity to make anything more than a modest living is all but impossible.  God gave the islanders the love and comfort of each other and beautiful surroundings beyond imagination.  For most of his life that was more than enough until he saw her.  And once he saw her, she was all he could see.

He thought he already knew what beauty was- the soft whisper of palm fronds tickled by ocean breezes, lying in bed at night and drifting off to sleep with the sound of the magnificent surf in his ears, or the sweet voices of the alpacas living on their family farm.   A baby alpaca is called a cria.  Mothers bond with their crias through vocalizations called humming.  The loving mammals make a variety of sweet sounds that include not only hums, but endearing clicks and clucks as well.  

On this day, he is working in the alpaca pen when she makes her way from the village to his father’s hut looking for more alpaca fiber, highly prized by knitters and weavers.  His eyes lock on hers momentarily but she quickly looks away.  He imagines she is shy or reserved.   Or maybe she is married.  Her gait is graceful and refined.  He can hear the crunch of soft leather sandals on the gravel as she walks up to the barn.

Almost frozen in his tracks by her loveliness, he makes an attempt to call out a friendly greeting; his voice catches in his throat.  Never has he felt so spellbound.  His father’s voice stuns him back to the present.   

Hello miss.  Please- come in out of the hot sun!

And then he hears her voice for the first time.  It comes out so sweet and melodic that it sounds like a love song.  It ‘s infused with light, delicious laughter.

Oh- please don’t concern yourself.  I love the sun- I can’t seem to get enough of it!  I’m at my loom most of the day!

She disappears into the barn where his father has set-up a casual store where artisans may drop in to purchase alpaca fibers if they don’t make it to the market.  He must know her name and hear her voice again.   Looking back on his life later, he realizes that was the moment his life began.  There was everything that led up to that moment in time.   And then there was her.

They began to speak casually when she needed supplies.  Her father would not allow her marry.  When he heard about their growing friendship, he forbade her to talk to the alpaca farmer or have anything to do with him.   Her life for the foreseeable future consists of weaving one of a kind garments and scarves to keep from starving.  It is just herself and her father- and he’s not interested in work.  He continually warns her that anything that distracts her puts her family in jeopardy.   

The farmer knows nothing of her circumstances, but as his love grew, he did everything he could just to catch sight of her.  Sometimes he would steal a spot under the thick body of a breadfruit tree a short distance from her bedroom window.  As the sun dropped below the horizon, oil lamps come on one by one, providing respite from the dark night.  He is mesmerized watching her room take on a golden glow of the lamp as she unwinds her magnificent auburn hair and runs her brush through the length of it.   She knew he was there and as she brushed, she would sing him an enchanting lullaby like a siren’s song. 

And then it happened.   Her father noticed that the rock doorstop he used to keep a watchful eye on his daughter had been removed from her bedroom door.   Sitting at the kitchen table, all he could see was the closed entrance to her room and a glow from under the door.   His rage built as he felt the fear of her perceived betrayal.  (What is she hiding?  What if that alpaca farmer has found his way into MY house!?!) 

The next few minutes happened almost too fast for her to comprehend.   Her bedroom door flew open so fast it almost split in two- the hinges groaned as the wood cracked against the wall of her room.   

As her father crashed into the space, her beloved feared she was being attacked and lunged for the window.  He did not see the weighty doorstop come flying through the open window until it was too late.  He yelped with pain and fell to the ground with blood spurting through his fingers covering his face.  The weapon had struck his left eye with full force disfiguring that side of his face and severing the optic nerve.  

Feeling simultaneously bereft and outraged by her father’s violent outburst, she took what belongings she was able to gather up, left the home, and never looked back.   After finding him the medical attention he needed, she moved out to the alpaca farm to be closer to the man she now knew she loved more than life itself.  His father welcomed her in their home and made arrangements for the local pastor to marry them so they could begin a new life together.

Life with disfigurement and the loss of vision in his left eye would not be easy.  But even with only one eye, his wife was more beautiful than ever.  His main responsibility on the ranch has been to shear the alpacas when their fleece reached a certain length. It grows faster in the warm tropical sun, so there is always another alpaca needing attention.  Without this regular practice, their hair will continue to grow, causing the animal great distress in the sun.  His expert handling meant he could accomplish the job in under six minutes, making the experience less intrusive for the gentle creatures. 

Unfortunately, his loss of sight encumbered his efforts to do the job.  The process became more labored and less exacting.  It became apparent that another ranch hand would need to be hired to get the job done.  With a heavy heart, he realized he was becoming a drain on his father’s resources.  Then she told him she was having a child.  His heart filled with a joy he had never experienced.   His wife and new child meant more to him than life itself.  He knew sacrifices would be needed to make things right for his father and for his growing family. 

He took a job on a fishing boat until his daughter was born.  The child had her mother’s soft eyes but he sensed she was frightened by his disfigurement and deformed left eye.  (As she grows she will feel sorry for me.  I must find a way to make her proud instead of embarrassed).   His prayers were answered in the shipyard.   

“My love, I will be gone for awhile.  I have heard of an opportunity on a six-month fishing vessel that will pay me handsomely.  I can make enough money to give us a good start and re-pay my father for his kindness.  You and our daughter are everything to me.  Please believe in me now.”

He knew his family was in good hands on the island.  The vessel’s Captain decided to give this enthusiastic man a chance despite a handicap that concerned him somewhat.   (What if his limited vision compromises his ability to do the job?  I cannot afford to let anyone hold me back or I will lose money!  If this doesn’t work I will replace him when we get to the fishing port in Montauk, New York. There are plenty of seamen looking for work there!). 

Sailing away from the island was one of the hardest things he had ever done.  He watched as the figure of his beloved on the dock holding their child grew smaller and smaller. Though he could not see out of his left eye, he realized that it could still form tears for the love he was leaving behind.   

The physical labor required on the trawler was substantial.   He could pull in nets overflowing with fish with the best of them, but his sight issues would sometimes hamper him when it came to more delicate work such as welding, carpentry and repairs of the nets and motor.   Despite the fact he worked twice as hard as the other hands to make up for the limitations, the captain of the vessel was eager to find a replacement with no drawbacks.   So it came as no surprise when the captain handed him his pay with a final handshake:

I wish I could keep you on.  I really do.   There is no harder worker on this vessel, but some of these jobs are just too risky to put in the hands of someone without all their faculties.  If something happened to you because you didn’t see it coming, the liability is too great for me.  Good luck to you.  You’re a nice lad.  

That afternoon as he stood in Times Square, he was awe-struck.  He slowly turned in a circle.  Never had he seen such a crush of humanity.  Cars and buses and taxis and people.  Oh, there were people everywhere.  Unlike himself, they had places to go.  And they were in a hurry.  He was accidentally thumped from behind, knocking his hat to the ground.  He turned to hear, “oh, sorry about that”, and when he turned back he saw that someone had dropped a dollar in his hat.  He had never begged for anything before, but this was the dawning of new life he never could have imagined.