Written piece
PAKALANI: The Voice at the Cliff
Penisoni Kaufusi
Tonga
About this piece
A boy abandoned on a remote Pacific island walks toward a cliff. A woman's voice stops him: 'If you die here, they will win.'
This excerpt is from my novel 'PAKALANI' which will get published this year.
I stood there. Closed my eyes. Started walking slowly toward the cliff.
It was the longest walk of my life. My tears poured down. My mind was in total darkness. I knew this was it.
But then something unexpected happened. Someone spoke to me. A woman.
She said: "If you die here, they will win."
I opened my eyes. I had only one more step before I would have fallen. Then I fell back to the ground and cried as though someone had died.
I still do not understand the meaning of the message – specifically when it mentioned "They." Was it meant for the teachers? Or my parents? Or my siblings, I do not know. I only know that I was not alone in that moment.
And I have never been alone since.
The woman's voice saved my life. But it did not save my soul.