Pak Salim: so you want to release them?
Moi: Yes
PS: but the weather ain’t good. Wait til 4
M: but we are leaving at 1
PS: Okay, go on, quick, select 3. one for each of you.
Moi: Yes
PS: but the weather ain’t good. Wait til 4
M: but we are leaving at 1
PS: Okay, go on, quick, select 3. one for each of you.
Cika and I were quite puzzled to select which ones. I was confused. I felt like I had a great responsibility. I felt like a god, that I can choose my best picks. I also felt like stupid, because even if I had set my eyes on the chosen ones, I didn’t know them! At all.
So I chose two which responded to my finger’s call. They flocked everytime they see something moving on the water.
PS: sign this, quick!
M: OK (a bit intimidated: what for?)
PS: here, here. They prefer calm water, quick.
M: OK (a bit intimidated: what for?)
PS: here, here. They prefer calm water, quick.
I think quick is his favorite word.
We could not get more excited to feel the living cute creatures on our palms. I divided my attaentions to Fi and to these tukik (fledglings).
Young man: You must name them.
M: Okay… Sasha and … Donita! (after Pivovarova and Rose, sooo obvious!)
Cika: Chris!
M: Okay… Sasha and … Donita! (after Pivovarova and Rose, sooo obvious!)
Cika: Chris!
M: Ah, well....
YM: they will return to this place 20 yrs from now.
We clapped our hands to boost their morale as they marched into the sea—a place they had known long before they hatched, I guess. They marched like they responded to a call. Soo amazing!
Sasha—the biggest in size—was the fastest. She (or he?) reached the water first and swam right away. Chris—the smallest—followed and roamed a while. While Donita stayed.
YM: perhaps she gets a little bit depressed. You handed her too long.
M: My apologies, Donita!
I thought Donita needed some encouragement, so I took her to the water and she remained a bit calm before set sail eventually.
Bye bye friends! Bon voyage!
(I think of them often. They must find their own meal for the first time. Godspeed!)
* Sasha, Donita, & Chris are hawksbill turtles. They are 3 month old. Hawksbill are native to the islands. Eggs hatch after 55 days. Each has 13 scales on their back. They are migratory and have keen navigation and they usually mate when they reach the age of 30.
