Lymp Duhdashian's reality shock

Episode 5

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Episode Five

“So who are you anyway?” I queried, trying not to show how nervous the weird guy was making me. “Why are you here? and where is the nearest marina?”

“Oh! Forgive my manners!” he replied, again with that edge of sarcasm curling his lip. “I am Khan. This is my island and I don’t have a marina!” He smiled and the wind blew his long sun-bleached hair back from his blue eyes as he stood to shake my hand. “I do have a boat though!” He waved his arm towards an odd looking construction somewhere between a raft and a dinghy which was pulled up high on the beach.

“Impressive!” I offered without much conviction. “Surely you are not here alone?”

“Well, yes!” he confirmed. “I have been alone here for a few years, since my parents died. What is your name?” he asked.

“Olympia Duhdashian. Pleased to meet you, Khan!” I couldn’t help but notice the smile fade from his lips and the slight stiffening body language.

“Olympia?” he almost spat it out, “With a name like that I can guess your heritage!” he almost sneered as he resumed his crouched position and dug his knife a little too enthusiastically into his next mouthful of fish. I could not imagine why my name had resulted in such a marked recoil.

I enquired if he had an internet connection but he simply squatted and chewed in silence. “Perhaps a radio?” I suggested. “Mobile phone?” The silence persisted and I hardly knew what else to say. I sat down on the hot sand and, shielding my eyes from the blazing sun, I scanned the horizon one more time for the turquoise superyacht. The anxious knot in my stomach was now Gordian. “How far is the nearest town?” I asked and this time the nervous tension was audible in my voice.

“I will take you there tomorrow.” Khan stated flatly and took the remains of his meal to lay them out on the rocks nearby. Several large dark seabirds swooped in quickly.

“Frigatebirds” said Khan and he watched them appreciatively. Then he seemed to suddenly shake off his dark mood as he asked “Did you go to Oxford or Cambridge?”

“Oh goodness me, no!” I giggled. “I went to business school and interned for Daddy! Now I am a…..” my voice trailed away. I didn’t think Khan would know what a social media influencer was anyway.

“Are your parents Olympians?” came the next quick fire question.

Now it was my turn for a dark mood. I could not even hazard a guess what an Olympian was, but I did not wish to seem ignorant under the watchful gaze of this stranger. I was pretty certain that he was not inquiring whether my parents had ever competed in the Olympics. He laughed and said. “S’alright if you don’t know!” and I grimaced at his evident and accurate observation skills.

“Are you going to tell me?” I asked and he shrugged, with a smile. “Maybe later! Right now I want to inspect my traps. Do you want to tag along?”

We worked our way along the edge of the beach, looking for iguana in the trees, conch in the shallows. Khan picked some ripe sea grapes with leaves and a few breadfruit, slipping them into a large pocket attached to his rope belt. “That’s dinner sorted!” he announced “I’ll pick some ackee apples to go with the saltfish for breakfast. Do you see the Vervet monkeys watching us?” and I looked where he pointed. “They taste just like mutton!” he grinned when my eyes widened in horror. I seemed to be providing Khan with plenty of opportunity for amusement.

When the sun began to go down I was wondering if Tarky had noticed that I was missing yet. I kept hoping to see the superyacht returning but there was no sign of any ships at sea. No helicopter searching the islands, nothing.

Khan built a small fire, prepared and cooked his iguana and breadfruit stew which tasted remarkably like chicken and potato. He seeded and pounded the dark red sea grapes, adding them as a condiment which tasted acidic but slightly sweet. I had never eaten any of these foods before. It was all served on perfectly rounded sea grape leaves and I ate it all with relish. To drink Khan offered a wooden carved cupful of dark red wine which tasted very strange indeed. It was sea grape wine. The whole shore was a tangle of these trees, so the grapes were the most plentiful crop on the island.

I wanted to ask about the Olympians but I fell asleep by the fire, almost immediately after dinner. I woke up at dawn covered in a coarse woven blanket that was the same shade of blue as the sky. Khan was washing in a small stream and I watched him, curious about why he chose to live here alone.

I was determined to find out more about him.