Faith

The sun is finally overhead now.

I am sitting in the middle of the SOS sign, with Joy's head in my lap. He had woken up for a brief time, and I helped him to come out here in the sun, hoping the sunlight will do him some good.

Now he's asleep again, or maybe unconscious, I don't really know for sure. His body is sweaty from the scorching heat, which has brought his temperature down a bit, but I am not sure if it will stay down for long.

Also by my side, is a long, vertical piece of wood, that I have dug in the sand like a flag pole. Mounted on top of it, is Joy's jersey, flapping against the wind like a true flag. It isn't too high, but I thought, well, why not?! This could be one more way to attract attention, yeah I know, desperate is a small word for what I am doing. But, I can't afford to fail.

If a plane comes today and they fail to spot us because I didn't try as hard as I could have, it would be a failure I am not ready to face. I will try every damn thing in my control, every damn thing I can think of, I will give it my all, and leave the rest in the hands of destiny.

Isn't that all we can do anyway? Give our all and let our destiny decide what is in store for us. If Joy and I are meant to be, destiny will align all the stars in our favor and get us out of here. Everything will fall into place. And once we are out of here, we will finally be able to get Joy the medical care he really needs.

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It's been over an hour since we are sitting here. My eyes haven't left the sky for even a miniscule moment. But, I haven't spotted anything flying out in this terrible heat yet, not even a bird.

Please God, send us help soon.

Please.

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Inside a Cockpit

Control Room: Boeing 747, there is a huge forest fire reported on your regular route again today. The smoke is terrible and there's zero visibility. Please turn 45 degrees to the right and take a detour. Over.

Pilot, sighing heavily: Not this again today! The flight is delayed by an hour already.

Co-Pilot: Affirmative, control room. We are taking a detour. Over.

- After a few minutes on the detour -

Pilot: Is that what I think it is?

Co-Pilot: Inform the control room immediately.

Pilot: Boeing 747 to Control Room, there is a signal fire and an SOS at the ground below our current location. They look like they need urgent help. Please dispatch a rescue team immediately.

Control Room: Can you elaborate the situation, Captain? We may need more information for the rescue team.

Pilot: I see two people beside the SOS sign, one seems to have passed out and other is waving a makeshift flag at us frantically. It's an island of sorts, so contact the naval rescue team at the earliest.

Control Room: Aye, Captain. We'll see to it immediately.

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Faith

After looking at the sky continuously for over an hour, I was on the verge of losing hope of seeing a plane ever again. Maybe Joy was right after all, it was a one time thing.

But, then I saw it, even before I could hear it.

Another plane.

My miracle. The messenger of my destiny. The ray of hope in our despair. The silver lining to our dark clouds. And, most importantly, the medicine to Joy's wounds.

I immediately sprung to my feet, leaving Joy near the rocks of the SOS sign. Ignoring the sting of pain in my ankle, I ran towards the pyre one by one and lit them up, the dried twigs and branches caught fire immediately and before the plane came overhead of us, I was back beside Joy, the makeshift flag pole in my hand, as I waved it left and right, again and again, in an attempt to get some attention.

Tears of pain, joy, exhaustion, hope and gratitude, kept flowing down my cheeks constantly, making my vision blurry. But, I didn't stop. I kept waving it continuously until the plane reached the opposite end of the horizon and disappeared in the vast nothingness.

When it went out of sight, I finally stopped and fell to my knees. My silent tears turned into ugly sobbing and loud crying, as I buried my face in my hands and let my emotions take over me.

Now, here I am, crying my eyes out since then, still not able to believe my good luck.

Is this really true? Did it really happen? It's totally unbelievable.

But, did anybody up there really notice us? Did they see the fire? The SOS? The flag? Anything? What if they didn't? What if this was my last and only chance and I ruined it?

"Faith....," I hear Joy's faint whisper beside me. I immediately bolt up and reach his side.

"Yes Joy, do you need anything? Fruits? or maybe..," I start asking him but he shakes his head and gives me a small smile.

"You did it baby, you were so right..  I am so proud of you," he pulls our intertwined hands to his lips and kisses my knuckles.

I smile back at him and kiss his forehead gently.

I am not sure, Joy. But I hope they do find us real soon.

"Yes Joy, we did it. Now, they'll find us real soon. Just hang in there okay? We'll get you to a hospital and get you out of this pain," I try to reassure him, while keeping my doubts to myself.

We stay there in silence for what seems like a very long time, but is actually only a few minutes.

That's when I see it far away in distance.

I immediately clear my blurry eyes to concentrate on what is approaching us with a really fast speed.

Am I hallucinating?

Is that really what I think it is?

A rescue boat?

Oh my God! We really did it!

I immediately jolt up from the ground with a jerk in excitement, with an intention to run towards the shore. But the quick action spins my world round and round, and makes me lose my balance completely.

I fall back down to the ground with a thud as I struggle to keep my eyes open. I try to wave out to the rescue team, but my hand refuses to move away from the ground. My eyes become heavier with every passing moment. I sigh in frustration.

Guess I should have actually eaten something this morning. Where the hell is energy when you really need it?

I muster all my strength, and start pulling my body upwards. I can't give up now. What if they don't see us and go back? I can't let that happen at any cost. I finally force myself up from the ground but before I can balance myself on my own two feet, two strong hands grab my shoulders and hold me up in place.

"Relax young lady, we are here to help you. We'll get you to a hospital quickly. What's wrong with that young fella over there?", the guy holding me says.

I scream with excitement and happiness internally. We'll finally get to a hospital. Thank you God. Thank you so much.

I try to open my mouth to tell him about Joy's condition but only muffled sounds escape my lips. Before a blanket of darkness finally takes over me, I manage to say out the two words that they must know to get Joy the proper first aid he needs.

"Crocodile bite"

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A/N: Hey there lovely readers! Hope you enjoyed the story till now. Please drop your comments here and let me know whom you love more, Faith or Joy?

Also, share your thoughts on how do you think their lives will change now that they reach back home. I'd love to hear your theories.

Don't forget to vote if you liked this chapter. Lots of love <3