The old men of the islands could not remember such a tempest

The destructive wind had blown for days

Many ships had been lost and many unknown lives ended

But some sailors survived and these has been rescued by the good people of the islands.

One of these was an Italian sailor who was washed up on the small beach where the fishing nets were repaired. He had been mistaken for a corpse at first but his shallow breath had been noticed as they covered him and he was taken to the house of one of the elders.

The sailor was a man of about thirty was not expected to survive as his whole body seemed saturated with seawater. It was clear that had come from the ship that had hit the reef near to the island. This ship unlike the others lost in the straights had not immediately sunk but was positioned precariously on the edge of the reef just above the trench of blackness.

It was on the day after the sailors rescue that Ki the eldest son of the house noticed that the sailors hand was still clenched as if in death. He carefully opened the sailors fist and discovered a black pearl of great value.

The find troubled Ki as he knew that if he sold the pearl on the mainland that he would become a man of great wealth. But Ki was an honest man. The pearl belonged not to him or his family but to the sailor they had rescued. He would speak with his father.

As the days passed and to everyone’s surprise the sailor grew stronger. His began drinking the various teas given to him and eating small amounts of bread. But he could not speak. It was almost if the ordeal had robbed him of his voice.

Ki’s father advised him to keep the pearl in a safe place and to return it to the sailor when he became better. No matter the poverty of the island to steal another man’s goods was to bring bad fortune on the island. The island had suffered in the tempest and further punishments had to be avoided.

Ki tried to explain to the sailor that he had taken the pearl and had placed it in safe place and would return it when the sailor was strong again. But their languages were different and the message was lost. Strangely the sailor did not seem to notice or care that the pearl was no longer within his grasp.

A week or so after his rescue the sailor who was now sitting gestured that he required the materials to enable him to communicate as he had no voice. Ki soon found a small slate and some chalk and handed this to the sailor who with some difficulty wrote

La richezza di perle corrompe il mare

Ki had no idea what the sailor had written, nor did his father or any of the other elders. But some thought it to be a warning of some description.

It was during these discussions that Teg who was Ki’s younger brother overheard what had happened. The child was sworn to secrecy but lacking maturity soon broke his oath. In time the entire island had become aware of the sailor and his black pearl.

It was whilst the news was settling in that two unrelated events happened, one which was so tragic that it changed the island forever

Rumours had began to spread rapidly that the sailors black pearl was not the only one in existence. Perhaps the ship that was stuck on the reef was full of them. If so there would be enough for each family on the island. Generations of poverty and the worries about the declining fish stocks would be at an end.

Great excitement was generated on the island and soon it was decided to raise a party of the fittest young men  Their task would be to visit the wrecked ship and find the pearls..

The elders were against such a plan calling it foolhardy. They knew well that the reef was unpredictable and had taken fisherman’s lives before. But they were outvoted at a meeting of the council.

What had not been noticed by the island, with the exception of Ki and his father was that the health of the sailor had begun to decline once more. He had become feverish and was becoming comatose. It was thought he would die.

From his house Ki watched the young men of the island get ready for their trip to the wrecked ship on the edge of the reef. He was desperately worried for his friends but had chosen not to accompany them as he was lame and would have been a hindrance

The calmest day of the year was chosen and during the morning two boats left the island and sailed towards the wreck.

Within two hours they had reached the wreck. It was a large vessel  which was now rusting. They all boarded the ship from the port side as this was the easiest access. Although difficult the young men were able to move around the ship with relative ease.

During the first search of the ship nothing was found except for the personal effects of the missing crew. It was decided that the young men should split into smaller groups so that their search could be more concentrated.

Another three hours passed and the pearls had not been found. There was a level of frustration and the searching had become more frantic.

It was not long after this that tragedy struck. Without warning the ship that has been perched on the reef rolled and slipped into the trench of blackness.

The young men did not stand a chance and only one survived who happened to be on the deck when the ship sank.

It was the cruellest thing that could have happened to the island. Without warning most of its young men had perished. The island was surely doomed

In despair Ki visited the sailor again and told him of the catastrophe. The sailor did not respond as his fever was at the highest but still the eldest son nursed him and slowly the sailors fever receded.

When he was able to sit up again Ki again told the story of the tragedy to the sailor. But instead of using language he drew pictures on the slate.

The sailor understood Ki and wept bitterly

When he had composed himself the sailor drew a rough picture of a priest on the slate. Ki understood the Italian sailor for the first time and knew that on the neighbouring island of Koaa there were priests who had been teaching the islands children. He knew these men were from Europe but not from what country.

After gaining permission from his father and the blessing of the sailor he began his day long voyage

In his strange language the sailor had written several messages to the priests. Ki carried these in a waterproof pouch with his provisions.

He arrived on Koaa just before the darkness came and was immediately made welcome by the islanders. He told of the tragic loss of his island and about the sailor from overseas and how he had made the voyage to see the priests.

Next day Ki met a priest named Monterelli who had been on the islands for many years and spoke the local languages well. The priest instantly recognised the messages from the shipwrecked sailor and agreed to accompany Ki to his island to meet the him.

The priest and Ki sailed back to the island and during the voyage Ki told him the story of the black pearl and the disaster experienced.

They landed safely next day and after speaking to the elders of the island the priest met the sailor.

They were both from Italy although the sailor had originated from a small island just off of the southern coast of the country

Ki and his father left the countrymen alone to speak. They expected that the Italian sailor would leave the island with the priest and in time return to his home country.

After an hour the priest came out he asked both Ki and his father to kneel in prayer for a moment. This they did although the priests prayer was not in their language.

When the prayer was over he asked the two men to walk with him.

As they walked he explained that the sailor had found the pearl by chance when visiting a far off country. He had decided that his good fortune would be the good fortune of his home island. On his return he would sell the pearl and invest the proceeds into his island.

Like Ki’s island the sailors island was poor.

Even during the worst of the tempest he retained his dream that his island would prosper. That was why his grip was so firm.

The priest explained that as the sailor had nearly recovered his health that he would be leaving with him and that after stopping at Koaa they would take the next available ship to the mainland.

Ki and his father said that they had become very attached to the Italian sailor and would be sad to see him leave.

It was at this moment that the priest revealed why he had asked the pair to pray with him.

The sailor was leaving and he was going to take the black pearl with him but had decided that the proceeds of the sale would  be invested in the future of island on which they now walked.

The sailor had felt a guilt about the tragedy and although it was not his fault could not get the event to leave his mind.

He had warned them in his own language but this had not been enough. If he had not been shipwrecked then the young men of the island would still be alive

All he asked was that the benefit be used wisely and that the island would prosper once more.

The priest and the sailor left the island quietly that afternoon with only Ki and his father to see them off.

The sailor sold the pearl and through the priest made sure that Ki’s island benefited. In time new farming methods were introduced so that the islanders were not so reliant on the sea. A school was built as well as a church. Slowly young men came from the surrounding islands and married the local women. Within a few years the missing generation had begun to be replaced.

The methods that Ki’s island had begun to use spread to the neighbouring islands and a new prosperity was born. No longer were the young people leaving the islands and travelling to the mainland. They were staying.

Ki became a teacher and learnt Italian which had in pockets become the second language of the island.

One day ,long after he retired when Ki was watching the sea from the beach where the Italian sailor had been rescued many years before it occurred to him that he had never asked the sailor his name.