CHAPTER 30 – SON

I needed some time to prepare for the journey. I had to think about what to take with me. In fact I didn’t need to take many things.

I decided to take my dog, my parrot, my book and some other small things. I also took the money, gold and silver which I found in the ships. They were finally useful to me.

I met with the prisoners one more time. I showed them my corn and my domestic animals and told them what I discovered and what I built on the island. Then I went on board the ship.

We left the island on the 19th of December, 1686. It was twenty-seven years, two months and nineteen days since I first stood on the island.

First we went to the island where Friday’s people lived. The Spanish and Portuguese sailors were very happy when they saw us. They were happy that we had a ship. Now we didn’t have to build a new ship. We could go to Europe.

My dog was very happy too. When he saw one of the Spanish sailors, he ran to him very quickly. He jumped on him. He was extremely happy.

The Spanish sailor was his owner. He was very happy too. He started crying when he saw his dog. It was a very emotional meeting.

The sailors started to prepare for our journey across the ocean. Friday had to make a decision. He could stay with his people. Or he could go to Europe with me. He needed some time to think about it. We stayed on the island one night.

In the morning I asked Friday if he made a decision. He told me that he wanted to go with me to Europe. He prepared everything for the journey. We were ready to go. We started our journey.

Two months later, after a safe journey across the ocean, I stepped on English soil again. Thirty-five years passed since I left my homeland.

It seemed to me the whole world changed in that time. London was a different city.

There were some new houses, streets, roads, shops, parks and big bridge across the river. But it wasn’t all. People also changed. They had different clothes. Women had different hair style. Men had different hats and new types of guns.

People used new tools which I didn’t see before. They had new names for these tools. It was all very interesting. The style of music in the pubs was also different. I heard new songs. I liked this new style. I wanted to sing these new songs.

From London I returned to my town, York. My parents were both dead. I found some relatives. My sister, my uncle and my aunt were still alive. They were happy to see me. But they thought I was long dead. So I had no rights to family’s money or land. But I could stay and live in their house.

England was a big shock to Friday. Everything was so new for him. He saw so many things for the first time in his life. It was all very interesting for him. He liked this new experience.

What he didn’t like was the cold weather in winter. It was February. Snow, ice, freezing weren’t good for him. It wasn’t logical to him why we lived in such conditions. I told him that in summer the weather is much better.

I sent a letter to Brazil. I still knew the address very well. I wanted to contact people in Brazil. I wanted to know if my wife was still alive. I wanted to know if my plantation still existed. But I didn’t know what to expect. The connection was broken many years ago.

In May, I got a letter and some packets from my wife. She wrote she waited 10 years for me. Then she stopped believing I was alive. She married again and she had a family. But her new husband died two years ago.

I also got a letter from my wife’s father. He took care of my plantation. In his letter he wrote detailed calculations of the expenses and profit from the plantation during all these years.

They both sent me many nice presents. They sent some nice skins and a little box full of gold. They also sent me some boxes of sugar to sell.

My wife had also a big surprise for me. She wrote that I had a son. It was great news. He was born eight months after I left Brazil. He was now a big man and he wanted to meet me.

So many things happened to me in such a short time. It was shocking. I wanted to cry. Then I wanted to laugh. All the emotions were too much for me. I wasn’t able to calm down. I stood up. I sat down. I stood up again. I walked around the room. I laughed. Then I cried again.

When I calmed down a little, I started to think about what to do.

WORDS FROM CHAPTER 30