Island of Graves (18 page)

A
s the weeks passed, Aaron went from being a whining, beastly little turd to a thoughtful, useful young man. He still had his obnoxious moments and his bad feelings, but he learned to keep those inside and deal with them in private. Sometimes he punched a pillow in his bedroom when he thought the scientists were being unreasonable. Other times he ran outside for a quick dousing in the rainwater to cool off after feeling like he wasn't being treated the way a high priest should be treated. Whenever he did that, he could barely stay on his feet, and he realized just how quickly he could
be swept away by the storm. That usually sobered him up a bit.

He learned how to be a better chef by doing it more often, just like Ishibashi said he would. And then he learned how to fish using the nets that Ito and Sato had set up on the leeward side of the island near some pretty fluorescent blue seaweed. But he was afraid to go into the water. He knew by now that he'd barely survived drowning. He wasn't eager to enter the sea ever again, especially one so rough as this.

The more Aaron worked, the more he forgot about his pain, and the stronger he became. His muscles filled out in a way they never had before, but he didn't seem to notice because he'd “turned his lenses around.” The scars on his face grew less noticeable, but they didn't disappear, though his shaggy head of hair covered them much of the time.

One day, as Aaron ventured out farther than usual, chasing after a useful-looking scrub bush that had been uprooted by the wind, he found himself face-to-face with a strangely familiar thing.

The tumbleweed forgotten, Aaron stared at the glass tube before him, sheltered slightly by slabs of rock. “A tube,” he
breathed, and as he realized the depth of its meaning, his hand rose to his mouth. He stepped inside it, out of the wind. Catching his breath, he looked at the control panel. It was broken, but most of the pieces were there. The panel was identical to the one in the tube in Haluki's house and the one in the jungle, both of which he knew quite well. “So that's how he knew Mr. Today,” Aaron muttered.

Aaron scrambled to figure out what was missing and what needed fixing. There had to be a way to make it work! After all, Aaron was actually pretty good at mechanical stuff like this.

He dropped to the floor of the tube and stared up underneath the controls to see what things looked like from there. It seemed the main button that he guessed would take him straight to the mansion had no support base, which was why when he pressed it, it just fell through the panel to the floor. But could Aaron fix it?

Ishibashi had tools. Aaron had seen them in a little room that the scientists called their laboratory, where they'd been bringing various things from their ship to try to restore. Maybe Ishibashi had some tools he could use.

He looked all over the tube, making note of everything that
seemed wrong with it, so that he could try to repair it over the upcoming days—if Ishibashi let him, that is.

Just then another scrubby bush rolled by. Aaron chased it down and struggled to get back to the shelter with it before the storm was back up to full volume again.

Inside, Aaron had a small collection of tumbleweeds. He'd started collecting them for firewood but set a few aside in his room, thinking they'd be good to try his magic on once he got around to it. He tossed this one with the others and went in search of Ishibashi to ask him about the tube. He found him in the laboratory with yet another instrument from the ship that Aaron had helped the men carry inside.

Aaron made a noise at the door to let Ishibashi know he was standing there.

“Come in,” Ishibashi said.

Aaron entered and looked at the new instrument, knowing now that it was more polite to ask questions than to blurt out his own needs. “What is it, Ishibashi-san?”

Ishibashi frowned, trying to think of the word for it in Aaron's language. “It is a seismometer,” he said. “It measures the ground's movements, like with earthquakes and volcanoes.
When it works, that is.” He tinkered with a few levers and knobs.

Aaron looked at the machine. “What are earthquakes and volcanoes?”

Ishibashi looked up, surprised. “The island where the pirates live is a volcano. I haven't seen it, of course, but Alex-san said as much. It blows fire and lava from the top of it now and then.” He paused. “All the other islands here might be dormant volcanoes except for the crab island. Like this one, for instance, and possibly your island. I do not know. But perhaps I'll be able to tell more if I can get this instrument to work.”

Aaron scowled, reverting back to his old ways for a moment. “Why do you call him Alex-san, but you don't call me Aaron-san?”

“Because you have not earned it yet,” Ishibashi said. He fiddled with his glasses and went back to the seismometer. “Did you need something from me?”

Aaron pressed his lips together, not happy with Ishibashi's answer. “I was wondering about the tube,” he said.

Ishibashi's hands froze. “Yes?” he asked. “What about it?”

“Why didn't you tell me it was there?”

“There wasn't any sense in telling you,” said Ishibashi. “It's broken beyond repair.”

Aaron, feeling sullen and defensive though he didn't quite know why, asked if he could have access to the tools and the supply room, which held a strange variety of salvaged items collected by the scientists and other visitors over hundreds of years.

“You may,” Ishibashi said in measured voice.

“Thank you,” Aaron said automatically. He turned to go. At the door he stopped and looked back over his shoulder. “Ishibashi-san?” he said.

Ishibashi looked up. “Yes, Aaron?”

Aaron fought to put into words the struggle he'd been feeling lately . . . though it was something that he thought had been inside him for a long time. It was hard to define. He shook his head. “Never mind.”

Ishibashi studied the boy and watched him leave on slow-moving feet. “Aaron,” he called out.

Aaron stopped and turned. “Yes?”

The old man didn't speak right away. And then he got up and said, “Come with me, please.”

Ishibashi left the laboratory and walked to the greenhouse. He plucked two ears of sweet applecorn from different sections of the garden. “You see these?”

Aaron nodded.

“They are practically identical. The oblong pods, the red leafy tassel, the edible husk.” He tossed one of them to Aaron and began to peel open the other one. “Open yours, too, please,” he said. His sweet applecorn contained red apple pieces next to yellow and white kernels of corn.

Aaron complied. He peeled off the red skin, revealing light green apple pieces next to blue and red kernels of corn.

“What do you see?” Ishibashi asked.

“Deliciousness,” Aaron said.

Ishibashi's eyes twinkled. “Both look delicious. Do they taste the same?”

“No,” Aaron said, for he'd tasted and cooked with both many times by now. “The one you're holding has a lot of sweetness and goes best with something tangy like lime juice in a dessert. The one I'm holding is hearty and naturally tangy, and works better as a main dish with tomatoes and peppers.”

Ishibashi looked at Aaron, pleased with what the boy had
learned in the time he'd been there. “That is correct,” he said warmly. And then he tapped the boy's chest. “You are applecorn.”

“I—what?” asked Aaron. He was pretty sure Ishibashi was doing his weird metaphor thing again.

The old man held his ear of applecorn next to Aaron's. “You and Alex are identical on the outside and very different inside,” he said. “But that does not mean you have to be bad because he is good.” He shook the vegi-fruit. “Alex is strong in ways you are not.” He grabbed Aaron's applecorn and shook it. “You are strong in ways Alex is not. This sweet applecorn has no bearing on how that sweet applecorn tastes. Both are delicious in their own ways. Do you understand what I am saying, Aaron? What matters is you.” He hesitated, then softened his voice. “When you stop comparing yourself to him, you will find your true self. Be your own strong, Aaron.”

Aaron looked at Ishibashi, feeling like the man had some intense ability to see inside his soul better than Aaron could see himself. And while part of it made sense, he was still confused.

“Which applecorn am I?” Aaron said, studying the two ears.

Ishibashi slammed both vegi-fruits on the counter. “It doesn't matter,” he exclaimed. “Aaron Stowe, you must be the
applecorn that is inside of you. Peel back your husk, my boy, and be proud of your deliciousness.”

Aaron stared at the two ears and began backing away slowly. “I think this just got a little too weird for me, Ishibashi-san. But thanks for the lesson. I'll . . . I'll see you later.”

D
uring the hour of calm, whenever Ishibashi didn't need him, Aaron went to the tube and tried time after time to get it to work. He found an old book and pencil that Ishibashi said he could have and used the margins to keep track of measurements, so that when he was stuck inside, he could work on building the missing pieces. But the job was painstaking since he had only a short time each day to test his progress, and he still wasn't very good at writing letters and numbers quickly—though he was improving with that on the Island of Shipwrecks as well.

After several days of watching Aaron work on the tube,
Ishibashi called Sato and Ito together to discuss it while Aaron was outside.

“The boy is very mechanically minded,” Ishibashi said. “I am afraid he will succeed in fixing the tube. Which would be a wonderful thing in any other instance except the one we face with Aaron. I do not think he is ready to go back to Artimé. We must keep him here a little longer, at least, and do the best we can with him before we let him out into the world. One day he will discover the secret of his extended life, and if he has returned to his selfish, evil ways, it will mean a certain end to Alex and our friends.”

“We may have to sabotage his efforts,” Sato said, but he sounded reluctant to do so.

“Perhaps we can simply find other things for him to do during the hour of calm,” Ito suggested.

“If he is mechanically inclined,” said Sato, “I suppose we could have him take apart the rest of the large instruments in the ship and carry them inside piece by piece.”

The three men looked at each other. Ishibashi nodded. “That is what we will do.”

Ishibashi hurried out to redirect Aaron, and as soon as
Aaron was busily working in the ship, Ishibashi went back to the tube and studied Aaron's work. The young man had made great strides in repairing it. He'd gone much deeper in his attempt than Alex had. Aaron really did have a gift for understanding the way things worked.

“Maybe he can fix our telescope,” Ishibashi muttered. He reached for a tiny spring, unhooked it from the tube controls, and slid it into his pocket, cringing all the while, but knowing he had to do it to stop Aaron from jeopardizing Artimé. He would keep it safe. And hopefully feel comfortable returning it someday.

After the hour of calm, Ishibashi went in search of Aaron. He found him at the entrance of the shelter, staring at the maze of rock slabs.

“Is something amiss, Aaron?” asked Ishibashi.

Aaron roused from his study. “No. I was just noticing how perfectly designed this entrance is. Every slab of rock is exactly where it needs to be to minimize the wind and rain that gets in through the doorway.”

“Yes,” Ishibashi said. “Whoever built it was very clever.”

Aaron nodded. “I like it,” he said. He shoved his hands
in his pockets and looked at Ishibashi. “Did you need me to sweep the floors today since Sato is chef?”

Ishibashi gave Aaron a rare toothless smile, for he had earned it. “Yes, please. When you are finished, would you like to try your hand at putting together the telescope? We have still not found the problem, and Sato is frustrated. It would please him very much if you could solve this.”