III. Isa

“Me cago en la madre que parió las ratas que se metieron por ahi,” Kike begins yelling. Que tipo de lenguaje es ese chico. “I could’ve sworn I laid down enough poison to keep them aw…”

As he turns the corner of his boat, Kike finds himself silenced and looking at a different and unexpected kind of intruder. In front of him stands an unknown adolescent girl.

The strange girl found herself caught as she tried to make her way into the shelter through an open awning window on the hillside part of the shelter. She had tried to drop in without making noise, but her arm caught a tool dangling from the wall and it went flying against Kike’s crowded workbench, causing multiple tools and materials to crash against each other.

“Ok, don’t freak out,” says the stranger.

“Who, who the hell are you?” Kike asks still stunned by the shock. “How did you even get in?” Kike asks as he tries to figure out how this girl could have made it in, knowing full well he makes sure to lock the main door of the shelter with three separate locks.

“Uh, the open window, genius,” the mysterious girl says as she points to the window. Ha!

Kike stands there for a few seconds, staring at the open window and realizing he had forgotten to close his window before leaving for La Noche Antes. He had opened it earlier when filleting his Mahi to avoid the smell of fish crowding the shelter. He turns his head back to the girl. “So, what are you, a little thief or something? Are you trying to take my food?” Kike begins yelling.

“Calm down. I’m not a thief,” the stranger says as she holds her arms up and waves her palms down to calm Kike down. “My name is Isabela Rivera. My granddad is Hernando Rivera. He told me to come and find you in La Parguera if I was ever in need of any help and he mentioned where your shelter was,” Isabela explains.

“You’re Hernando’s granddaughter?” Kike asks. He begins thinking of how Hernando would mention her from time to time but he hadn't mentioned he or she needed any help when they had spoken earlier in the week. They had only talked about the latest trajectory and data of Hurricane Marco that Kike had received. “Hernando could’ve at least told me you were coming when we spoke earlier this week. He couldn't have called ahead or something? So, what do you need?,” Kike asks as he invited Isabela to sit down.

Isabela sits there in silence, knowing full well she had to give him the news. She continues her silence until…

“Hey, are you ok? Do you need some water or something?” Kike says as he tries to ascertain what may be wrong with Isabela.

“Abuelo, he’s, he’s dead,” says Isabela, her eyes starting to water up.

Kike is stunned to hear the news while Isabela wipes her eyes. After a bit, Kike asks “How? I talked with him just a few days ago. He sounded fine.”

“It was a heart attack. Two days ago.” Isabela says as her voice broke. “I knew Marco was a few days away and I thought it’d be best if I came and found you.”

Kike continues sitting in his chair across from Isabela, wondering what he can do for her in this situation. Eventually, he takes a big breath of air and clears his mind.

“Isabela, I’m really sorry to hear about Hernando. He was a good man,” says Kike. “You can stay here for the time being while Marco passes. With the resources I have, we should be able to hold out the storm. So, how did you make it here? I don’t remember Hernando having a car.”

“I have an old crummy bike on the verge of breaking apart, but it got me here,” says Isabela. “Wasn’t too hard using the old highway but it took me all day to ride it here.”

“All the way from the old University of Puerto Rico campus in Ponce?! That’s like 40 miles. That’s one hell of a ride,” Kike says as he goes to fetch some water for Isabela. As he walks over to get water, he admires Isabela’s tenacity to push through all the way here. He thinks of how most people, child or adult, would freak out in a situation like the one Isabela had been thrown into. He thinks of his own young self. He thinks of how he would’ve never had to face a situation like this. He thinks of how his biggest worry when he was a teenager was a bad grade on a test. He thinks of how he would not have had the maturity to handle this situation as Isabela has. “It’s pretty smart of you to seek help,” Kike continues as he fills a glass of water. “It’s hard to try and live on your own on this island, especially on the south coast.”

As Kike keeps talking, his voice starts to fade from Isabela's ear. She begins contemplating how her life is changing so rapidly. She would no longer have abuelo to accompany her in this world. A reality she knows was inevitable but that she didn’t expect this soon. She begins thinking of what she would do after the hurricane. Would she be able to stay with Kike or would it be better to return to her home in Ponce? But then she realized what abuelo would tell her about surviving on this island.

“Abuelo always would tell me it’s a stupid thing to try and make it on your own,” says Isabela.

“Well, el que escucha consejo llega a viejo,” Kike says remembering what his mom always used to tell him when he wouldn’t follow her advice. “Look, it’s late, I’m tired, and I’m sure you’re exhausted,” Kike says as he brings Isabela some water. “Feel free to take the bed and I’ll move to the couch.”

“Thank you very much,” Isabela says gratefully.

Kike grabs an extra blanket and begins to settle into his couch for the night. “Well, I hope you get some rest Isabela,” says Kike.

“You can call me Isa,” says Isa.