Big Mistake 1

We saw the tanker and the tanker saw us. Its majesty loomed before us and created an excitement that inflated like a helium balloon: all giddy, soaring and about to explode. My father had heard about the military ships from the West, plucking refugees from the seas and giving them humanitarian aid and asylum. For this reason, he made sure to study the national flags that could possibly fly from these enormous freighters. The men agreed that it looked like the German flag in the distance. My father chased the ship and, for a long while, it seemed that the ship simply waited for us to catch up. He was happy for so many reasons. They had built a good boat — its engine still in fine condition. They had planned well — his companions still determined and strong. His crew had all maintained high spirits, with his own hope never ceasing. Everyone joined in, jumping up and down, waving their arms, screaming with joy. The banner they had prepared beseeched the words in English, ‘Have mercy on us.’ It flapped reassuringly in the wind. My father picked up speed because, for a moment there, he thought that the ship had started to move away from us. The strangeness of it all, he thought, must be on account of the commotion and excitement of his crew — the more he picked up speed, the more the ship drew farther away. It soon dawned on him that his mind was not playing tricks on him at all. He realized this before the others but continued to chase the ship anyway, risking becoming further lost at sea. It was either that or just give up. Our energy eventually evaporated as disbelief fell upon us. In silence we watched the ship fade to a tiny black dot in the distance.