THE ISLAND 

By Tessa Harvey


    

    Edward Starkey sat in the shade of a pebbly part of the sandy beach, totally exhausted. Grief swept over the middle-aged man, threatening to pull him under like a raging tidal surge. He missed Taffy, his Chief Engineer and mate for almost all of his long naval career. Several times Edward had faced precarious situations, financial concerns, adequately supporting his precious family.
    Taffy, formerly known as Emrys Jones had a heart as big as his pride in his Welsh heritage. But he also never lost his faith in a good God. "God didn't want robots," he had said once, "so he gave us free will."
    Some people are genuinely honest and hard-working, but if they have any faith in God, it turns on a dime. Taffy meant, if inconvenient, following the easier path of never taking responsibility. Two of his sayings were: "misers like company," or as his wife had once said "liars need an army of sycophants to surround them."
    Edward right now felt very lacking. Still the pause in his duties of helping survivors and searching for those unaccounted for had brought Edward to the shore, then he saw movement in the water, sluggish diving movement. Thankfully he had already shed his Captain's coat earlier. The man hastily shrugged off his shoes and waded out to a person he knew well.....

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