"Mommy…"
Ibrahim was pulled back from his thoughts by a small voice.
"Amaya, come here." He picked her up and patted her hair.
"I want Mommy Dada. Where is Mommy?" The little girl looked around and was confused when she saw they were not in the airplane.
"You see Amaya, the plane is gone. We fell from the plane and landed here. The plane sent Mommy to heaven because Mommy was a good girl." He croaked.
"Aya is a good girl too. I should be in heaven with Mommy." She wailed and flailed in his arms.
Ibrahim has no experience with children and did not know how to coax her. He put her back on the ground and let her be.
He surveyed his surroundings. The shoreline was more or less two kilometers long and to his right was the mountain range with dense vegetation. He packed the parachute and picked up Amaya who has calmed down. He went closer to the forest and found a good place to pitch a shelter.
"Stay here Amaya. Daddy will fix us a tent okay." The little girl nodded. Tired from crying she curled up and fell asleep.
Ibrahim did not dare to venture far. He has a small Swiss pocket knife with him and the knife that took the life of Danaya. He used that knife to cut branches to form the frame of the tent and used the fabric of the parachute for the tent.
He needed to find water sources and food. He was trained to survive in a harsh environment but Amaya was still a baby and very fragile. He silently made a resolve to protect her no matter what.
While Amaya was still asleep inside the tent, he continued to cut small branches and fashioned them into spears. He found a bamboo grove nearby and cut a few nodes. When he went back to the tent Amaya was already awake.
"Dada, Aya is hungry." She said in her cute voice. She seemed to forget about her Mom. Ibrahim took out a biscuit from his backpack. As a military doctor, he always carried with him emergency and survival supplies.
"Come Amaya. Let's look for water and food. There should be plenty in this forest."
Sure enough, they did not go far to find a wild banana with a bunch of ripened fruit. He went deeper and found a stream and he realized how thirsty he was. He greedily drank the water from the stream and fill 3 bamboo nodes up to the brim.
"Let's get back and catch some fish." He said gently to the little girl who was strapped on his body.
Back on the shore, he let Amaya play on the sand while he waded on the shallow part of the beach and looked out for fish. He speared two big fish.
He built a makeshift stove with three big rocks, dug out a few inches of sand, and placed dried leaves, twigs, and dried bark. He used his lighter to start a fire and cooked the fish. He fed Amaya with the fish and the banana as darkness began to descend on the island.
"Mommy, Aya is scared." The little girl whimpered as different sounds of insects and animals filled the surroundings.
Ibrahim took part of the parachute from the tent and laid it down on the sand. He laid down and let Amaya use his arm as the pillow.
"Look over there Amaya. Do you see that star up there? That's Mommy watching us from heaven, so don't be scared." Ibrahim pointed to the brightest star in the sky.
"Can you tell me a story, Dada? Mommy always reads Aya bedtime stories."
Ibrahim told her a story of a naughty little prince who always bullied a pretty little princess. Then one day another prince came and fought the evil prince and protected the little princess. The little prince and princess grew up and they fell in love with each other. But one day, the evil prince came and kidnapped the princess and brought her to a castle with many guards. The prince came, defeated all the guards, and saved the princess. The evil prince was put to prison and punished.
"Did they live happily ever after Dada?" She asked sleepily.
"Hmmm," He hummed.
'No. The prince was betrayed by his parents and his twin brother. The king favored the elder prince and the elder prince wanted the princess for himself.' He finished his story silently.
Ibrahim woke up at sunrise. He caught some more fish and cooked them for breakfast. He kept on watching the horizon for signs of rescue. He dared not leave the shore because he was afraid that he might miss the rescuers. But days passed and still no rescuers came.
Ibrahim concluded that they were marooned on an uninhabited island in the middle of nowhere. He looked at Amaya with growing concern. Will they be trapped on this island forever?
In the past few days while he did not leave the shore he kept busy building a sturdier dwelling. He found four big rocks that he used as the foundation of the house that he built. He moved the rocks by tying a strong vine around them and moving them into position. It took him two days to complete the grueling task but he was content with the result.
He built an axe from a stone. The beach was littered with different kinds of stones and he selected one that only needed a little polishing and sharpening. With the axe, cutting wood was faster.
Ibrahim was horrified one morning to discover a lot of insect bites on Amaya's body. He has a tube of ointment to cure her but soon the ointment will run out. That was the reason why he wanted to elevate their sleeping quarter.
He cut matured bamboo poles, dried them in the sun, and placed them in seawater for curing. He will use them later to make the flooring.
He worked on the roof of the cabin. He used the aluminum sheets that he gathered from the shore as the roofing material. Those were parts of the airplane blown apart and washed ashore during high tide.
The walls were made of three-meter-high wooden stakes. He simply buried them on the ground and did not take much time to build. The floor was made of mature bamboo poles sliced into strips and kept together by twines made from hemp. It was a very tedious process but was comfortable to lay down.
After three months of hard work, he completed his small house. They have an enclosed elevated bedroom with a small window and a door, a covered but open dining area with two chairs, and a table made from tree stumps.
Ibrahim sighed. He can now go deeper into the forest to hunt and Amaya would be safe even if left alone in the cabin.