A TRIP ON A BOAT

As Kojo walked along the sandy beach, the yellow orb sunk slowly down the pink sky,

with a sad contour on its lips, perhaps sad to leave Kojos village for a 12 hour journey

through half the world. As he trudged along, his heart was beating a tom tom in his chest,

in anticipation of the adventure he was about to undertake with his bosom friend Kweku.

To his left, battalions of sea waves rolled relentlessly on to the beach causing a tumult as

they came crashing down. Kojo could see a few boats already moving out to sea, and a

ship on the horizon. To his right tall coconut trees waved their heads to and fro,

whispering to themselves as the cool breeze blew on to the land riding on the waves of

the sea. He was clad in a tight pair of blue jeans with a blue T shirt covered with a light

blue plastic jacket which he had left open without zipping up. Over his shoulders, he had

proudly hang his British Airways bag, a legacy given to him by his dad when he came

back from UK some years back.

Kojo reminisced on his life as he strode along, oblivious to the tantrums being thrown by

the waves of the see and the gossips of the coconut trees. Perhaps if he listened carefully,

he would have heard them saying be careful be careful. His short lifespan of 17 years had

been quite a joyous one, being the first born of three siblings born to a carpenter father

and a trader mom. His two sisters Ama and Adjoa aged ten and seven were also in the

primary school and were turning out to be very intelligent kids. He had just completed

writing his basic examinations the previous week and was feeling quite relieved with the

burden of studies over him. If he did well, he would go on to a senior secondary school

about ten miles away in Cape Coast, the countrys capital town for education.
Ahead of him, just at the junction between the waves and the beach he spied what looked

like a turtle turned upside down. As he walked towards it he saw that two men in the

opposite direction had also seen it and were heading towards it. They had sharp knives in

their hands. Kojo started running towards it. He tried turning it before the two men

arrived, but it was too late.

This is a Godsend! one of the men declared as he reached the turtle. we have to split

this between ourselves.

No way! I found it first, so its mine and I can do what I want with it. Kojo retorted.

There followed a fierce exchange between Kojo and the two men, who appeared to be

fishermen. Very soon there was a small crowd among them. Kojo thanked his stars that

there were people around. With a quick move borne out of his many years of practicing

kung fu, he turned the turtle and shoved it towards the sea. He saw one of the men swing

at him. He dodged and gave them some hefty kicks, leaving them sprawling on the

ground. The people around succeeded in restraining Kojo from unleashing further

punishment on the men. He turned and started walking away, feeling so happy that he had

freed the turtle.

In no time, the sky had grown darker and darker and he begun to walk faster. The boat

yard was about a mile from his home and soon he caught glimpse of it a hundred meters

ahead. He could see from a distance that his boat was being pushed into the sea. He

started trotting so he could reach them on time. As he reached closer he could see the

outline of the name of the boat trust no man. Kojo chuckled to himself. These people

are very funny, using proverbs to name their boats.

Hey Kweku! he yelled at his friend as he run towards the canoe which was almost in

the water. Have you forgotten I am going with you?

Hey Kojo! Kweku looked up to see his friend running towards the boat. Oh,. You

see oh I almost forgot that you were joining us. Do you still want to go.

Of course, I do! Kojo answered, almost shouting.

Kojo and Kweku had been the best of friends in school until Kweku dropped out of

school two years ago. They had the same structure and dark complexion, tall and plump,

about five foot ten tall, though Kweku had now grown more muscular because of his

work as a fisherman. They had however kept the friendship, exchanging visits whenever

possible. Kojo often took back home with him tones of fish given to him by Kweku. Kojo

always felt so sorry for Kweku who had lost his parents in a car accident two years ago

which caused him to drop out of school. His Uncle, who was a fisherman, either did not
have the money or would not care less whether Kweku went to school or not. Kojo had

on the last visit suggested the trip in the boat, so he would have an adventure.

Hey! Every body on board! the boatswain yelled out as the canoe fully entered the sea.

Kojo threw his bag in to the boat and jumped onto it quite clumsily. Kweku yelled with

laughter as he also climbed on to the canoe. The fishermen paddled furiously to get the

canoe away from the shore further into the sea. Kweku came to join Kojo when the canoe

was fully upstream.

Kojo, I really thought you wouldnt come I was a bit worried you parents would not

allow you.

Yes. First they didnt want me to come but I managed to convince them.

We will be back, hopefully, in three hours time..today, we do not want to stay

overnight on the water..from the look of the sky, the weather could become rough in

about five hours time. Kweku spoke at length.

Slowly, like an arrow piercing through the air, the canoe sliced through the water deeper

and deeper into the sea, riding at intervals over the rolling waves of the sea. Kojo admired

in wonder at the way the canoe floated effortlessly over the sometimes tall waves.

Somehow, now that he was deep in the sea, he suddenly became frightened. What if a

storm blew up and capsized the boat, he asked himself as he stared into the dark water.
Hey, Kojo, why are you so quiet? Hahahaha! You are scared eh? Kweku burst out

laughing.

This was followed by a roar of laughter from the crew. Kojo could see them turn to look

towards him.

After almost an hour of cruising in sea, Kojo heard the outboard motor jerking to a halt

with a phut phut phut sound.

Come on man, lets go and pray before we start fishing. Kweku nudged Kojo on the

shoulders.

They all proceeded to the middle of the boat for the prayers. The Boatswain started

praying in his language in a tone that sounded frightening to Kojo. It was more like

chanting. Kojo, with his eyes half open could see some of the fishermen whispering

amongst themselves. Suddenly he felt suspicious. Since he left the shore, this was the

first time that he felt that he had taken a great risk. He had actually lied to his parents that

he would visit his girlfriend Aku after buying some fish from the beach. His heart was

now beating a crescendo, like the sound of a corn mill. He then remembered that the

outboard motor operator had remained behind. As he turned to see whether the man was

still there, he saw too late a paddle aiming towards the back of his head. Wham! It

landed on his head, and suddenly he was blacked out.

When he came to he realized his hands and legs had been tied, like a chicken about to be

slaughtered. He could not see Kweku. He tried to talk, but realized that his lips had also

been gagged. In the mist, between waking and consciousness, he saw the fishermen pour

libation into the sea, and praying for a good catch. The next thing he knew, a strong arm

had lifted him up and thrown him into the sea, with the fishermen yelling in triumph.

Dimly, he could here his friends voice above the din. In deep shock he blacked out again.

It was ten o clock in the night and Kojos parents sat outside their house in the yard

chatting amongst themselves. Their kids, were already asleep and they found themselves

becoming impatient as the clock ticked relentlessly on. It was not very usual for Kojo to

return home late after nine o clock.

I wonder what is happening to this Kojo boy. Mr. Ade lamented. Or, does he think he

is grown up because he has finished his examinations.

No! I think something is amiss. Mrs. Ade said as she rose up and begun to pace

around. No! This is not good!

I think we must call Mr. Amponsah again and ask him whether Kojo has been there.

Mr. Ade suggested as he also rose up from his seat.

Almost at the same time, Ama came rushing out of the house crying.
Mummy, where is Kojo?.... I just dreamt of him.

Mr. and Mrs. Ade were quiet, knowing their daughter very well. She was a very intuitive

person, whose dreams often came true. Suddenly, there was a flash of lightening followed

by a clap of thunder, and a torrent of rain came pouring down. The winds were so fierce

that they needed no soothsayer to tell them that something was wrong.

When Kojo came too, he found himself floating on what appeared to be a hard shell. He

felt he had encountered it before, but because of his bad state, he could not recollect

where. In and out, he slipped from consciousness. When he finally came to, he was on the

beach, where he did not know, and it was morning, with the sun rising slowly from the

eastern horizon. As he lay down, he turned to see the turtle which had deposited him on

the shore wade slowly into the sea. It also turned back as though to wave him. He wanted

to get up to thank it, but he was too weak.

He saw some two girls and a man running towards him. The last thing he was conscious

of was them carrying him. He woke up again and he saw that he was in his girls house

with her parents looking over him.

Oh, Kojo.. Clarisa said, sobbing vigourously. your parents have been calling the

whole night. We called them this morning but nobody is at home. I think they went to the

police station.
Kojo rolled from the bed and sat at the edge of it. Slowly he related to them what

happened.

We must report this to the police station! Mr. Amponsah said angrily.

When they reached the police station, they saw that the whole place was in a tumult. The

boat crew were there. Apparently they had gone to report that they had experienced a

storm and Kojo had drowned. Mrs. Ade was jumping all over the place shouting at them.

You have killed my son!! She kept shouting. Give me back my son! Give me back my

son!

Thoughtfully, Mr. Amponsah, stepped out of the car quickly and strode towards Mrs.

Ade. He managed to cool her down and whisper something into her ears. She suddenly

became quiet and looked towards where the car was packed. He walked quickly into the

police station straight to the station masters office. Within seconds, the station master

came running out yelling at his men.

Arrest those men! Put them behind counter back. He backed at his Sergeant.

The five men including Kweku were hustled to the back of the station and placed behind

bars.
As Mr. and Mrs. Ade and the two girls walked towards the car, Kojo also stepped out of

the car with Claris and run towards his mom, embracing her, with tears streaming from

his eyes.