Sofia and the Utopia Machine by Judith Huang

Author:Judith Huang
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-981-47-8581-5
Publisher: Epigram Books
Published: 2017-03-17T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18: The Island

“Karang guni,” said Ah Tan proudly, by way of explanation.

Apparently he had got his kayaks from a rag-and-bone man who had scavenged them from somewhere along the Sembawang coast, where the people used to rent them for the day and paddle around for fun a long, long time ago. Not exactly sturdy transportation, thought Sofia, as she prodded one of them with her toe. They had been yellow or orange once upon a time, and the fibreglass was cracked in places. But it was the best they could do on such short notice.

Sofia removed the tarp that partially covered the kayaks. She brushed some sand off them, watched the way the pine trees were reflected in their yellow bodies, slightly distorted by the various scratches on the surface. She stared down at her own reflection, a smudgy dark yellow blob on the surface of the boat.

“We’ll take these down to the beach, and then set off for Ubin from there,” said Father Lang. “It’s the most direct way.”

Sofia understood. With all the notices for her and Kirk’s biometrics, it would be suicide to remain on the mainland any longer. Better to risk it on the kayaks. The only trouble was that she had never been in one before.

Time to learn, she thought grimly. Ah Tan had disappeared into the shack, which she now saw was almost at the edge of the beach—the beach had been so strewn with rubbish it had looked exactly like the rest of the Voids, and so she had missed it. Now he emerged with four rubber lifejackets, faded to a very light red or orange. “Nah,” he said, tossing one to Sofia.

“Well, I guess we should get going,” said Uncle Kirk with a tinge of regret. He didn’t know the next time he was going to be on this island that had so ignominiously ejected him after a decade of his residence.

The sea was grey-green and pretty calm for the most part, and Sofia admired the rays of sunlight playing upon the waves. However, Father Lang noted that there were dark clouds on the horizon.

Sofia put the life jacket on. Ah Tan handed her a paddle. “You scoop water, like this,” he said, demonstrating. “Then the same, other side.”

Sofia practised a couple of times, as did Uncle Kirk. “Girl, Lang Mu Shi,” he said, indicating the front and back seats of the nearest kayak.

Obediently, Sofia scrambled into the front cockpit of the kayak. Father Lang got into the back one and pushed it across the rubbish and into the sea. Before she realised it, Ah Tan had pushed them off the sandbank and into the sea. The bottom of the kayak rasped as it scraped against the ground, which gave way almost as surprisingly to a smooth, clean glide. Sofia felt the salty seawater lapping at her legs inside the kayak. It was cool, even pleasurable.

Sofia dipped the paddle into the water experimentally. It rippled, forming little swirls like the tops of ionic columns in the water.

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