Alisi came out of the house with a pitcher of red punch, which just added to the extraordinary evening. Another woman brought glasses and set them on a table in the middle of the concrete patio. Several other women came bringing bowls, which they handed to the men. The bowls were filled with the pulled meat, and the glasses were topped off with the red punch. Silently, seven women and eight men sat down and began eating. Atamai nodded to Jared and Stephani as if giving the go-ahead.
Jared smiled and bowed his head slightly before taking his bowl and, with all the self-control he could muster, slowly began to eat. He wanted to inhale the food and drain the glass like a frat boy during Rush, but didn’t want to offend their hosts. Jared found that when a man was finished, he would leave and relieve another man who stood post. This was done wordlessly, and before long, all the guards were either fed or finishing up their meals.
After Jared finished the meat, he smiled at Stephani, who was just finishing as well. He grabbed the glass of punch and took a long swig. The red liquid actually tasted like it was Kool-Aid. Jared held the glass up, studying it for a second before finishing it.
“Thank you,” Jared said, breaking the silence.
Most of the group glanced up as if they just realized they had company. Alisi smiled for the first time and sat back. “Deer come down to the city now that all the people are gone.”
Jared leaned forward when the woman mentioned all the people being gone. “Where did everyone go?”
“Mexicans go back home. Your people, they went to the ships. Tonga is too far, we have no way to go home, so we stayed.” Alisi rocked back and forth as she spoke, moving to the rhythm of a song no one could hear, but Jared was sure she had playing in her head.
“Ships?” Jared questioned, a look of confusion on his face. Had he missed the ship, so to speak?
“They said your Navy would come, they would feed people, so people walked to the ocean. No one came back, and most everyone who stayed behind died.” Alisi pointed from house to house as she spoke. “Those people walked back to Mexico; that family, they went to the ships; and those people”—she pointed to the house directly to the rear of her home—“they died. No more medicine and they died. We took them to a park where the dogs come and eat.” Alisi shook her head, not in despair, but more in a disapproving manner.
“Are there any people around here?” Jared asked, his face a mask of seriousness.
“There are people,” Alisi answered, shaking her head. “There are only bad people left. Men who come at night to take from others.” Again, she wagged her head disapprovingly.
Alisi cocked her head and studied Jared. “You are a good man. I see kindness in your eyes. You do not take from the weak. This woman is with you by choice. This tells me you, Jared, can be trusted.”
Jared shifted uncomfortably.
“There are other men like him.” Stephani spoke up, causing everyone to stare at the woman who until now had been mostly mute. “He and the men he is with are good people,” she repeated before falling silent again.
Jared nodded his head. “There’s enough bad in the world. I don’t feel a need to add to that,” he explained softly. “I had a friend who recently died, who showed compassion even to those who didn’t always deserve it, and I am just honoring his approach to a broken society.”
Both Alisi and Atamai slowly pumped their chins in silent approval. They had seen a great many hardships before and after the event, so this little white man with his boyish honesty was quite refreshing. Atamai and Alisi came to the States to seek a better life, which they found for the most part. After the solar flare, they gathered their family and mostly reverted back to their old Tongan way of life. It was simple, revolving around only the basic necessities of life, food and family.
Chapter 32
The Tongan family members were forced by the condition of the world to add a third necessity, security. It interfered with everything else, but had become absolutely essential to their survival. Alisi grew up in a culture that adapted over generations to live off the land, leaving only the smallest of footprint on the land. The house she’d grown up in was built by her grandfather, using materials gathered from the land their family owned. After the event, Alisi was terrified at first, but quickly realized she only needed to let go of the life she’d started in America and return to the life she’d grown up in.
No one spoke for a solid ten minutes after Alisi told her story. Stephani looked worriedly at Jared after five minutes of silence; he remained placid. Bart had taught him long periods lacking conversation were not a bad thing. Many people actually enjoyed others’ company without all the chatter. Jared smiled inwardly at the thought of Bart looking down from the heavens on him sitting wordlessly with these people. He hoped the old man’s spirit was proud of him now.
Jared took a peek at his watch and saw it was 2212 hours. They must get going if he wanted to reach Essie’s house, get the box, stuffed animal, and get back to Solar Green before morning. He wondered what John would do when they weren’t back by midnight. Fear swelled in his chest at the thought of not making it back till later the following day and finding the building empty.
Jared knew John would not jeopardize the entire group waiting for Jared, with no way of knowing whether Jared and Stephani were dead or not. Jared
