longboat adventures

The longboat stopped. Sunan lifted the thick black propeller in the air, spitting profusely in protest, its roar melting into the waves. The clank of an anchor hitting the deck and a sudden splash followed, as a heavy linked chain swam to the bottom. The air smelt of coconut oil, salt and human sweat.
I sat up.
Anna and Aleksandra were lazing across the stern, eyes closed, backs to the warm wood. The sun and the sun alone was all that mattered to them. It baked the deck seasoned with a sticky sweat and eagerly wrapped its arms encasing their bodies. Even the splinters folded to the heat.
Occasionally my friends would sit up and squint at the rocky islands as we passed, devouring every crevice. The rainbow scarves tied to the stern would slap their thighs and cheeks, water trickling down their bronzed skin. Annoyed, they would retire and let their bodies sink back down, becoming part of the wood itself.
Islands overshadowed our tiny boat as if to assert their authority. They had been here longer than us, weathered tsunamis, wars and humans. Yet they seemed delicate as if they would soon crumble; eerie jungles lurching forward spilling foreign creatures into the sea. But it was the creatures swimming below that I most feared.
“Shark bay” Sunan grinned, as he crouched and began feeling under the wooden seats for snorkels. We had found him sitting on an empty barrel outside our hotel and agreed on an exchange of 3000 baht for the promise of an adventure. He handed me blue goggles and a mismatched black mouthpiece, the rubber almost worn away. It felt smooth between my cracked fingers. It felt like fear.
Sunan turned around facing the open ocean and stripped off his oil stained shirt and loose brown pants. He looked thinner in just shorts; his legs, leathery and shriveled. Weathered yet strong like his boat. Then he jumped in.
I looked back and the girls were still there, part of the wood.
Nearby on a boat identical to ours, six locals sat in a circle on plastic carts throwing card . One was smoking a cigarette from the side of his mouth, his eyes looking into is opponent, saying what his mouth could not.
“You wanted an adventure, what are you waiting for” Sunan yelled in his broken English, bopping up and down in the waves.
I turned and touched the rusty ladder with my toe. The cool water brushed against it offering a sweet release from the warmth of the boat. The soft waves clapped, urging me on.
I took once last look at the islands and jumped in.