Time: 12:15 AM.
Francis didn't prepare just one trap today; he prepared two. Each of them remained hidden in the presence of the trees. One of the traps was prepared by Daniel. He had already learned all the techniques required to prepare a trap from Francis.
At first, the one that fell into the trap from the dense forest was a wild rabbit. But by its size and weight, it hardly seemed like an ordinary rabbit. It was massive. Slowly, using its snout, it approached the edge of the trap. The wire mesh of the trap struck its mouth and pierced deep inside. Its blood began to flow down along the wires.
After ensuring that the rabbit was dead, Francis went over and detached it from the wire mesh.
He went toward the cover of the trees along with it. They waited for some time for the next animal.
From within the forest, a heavy sound reached everyone's ears. As it became visible to their eyes, they all stood in awe, mouths agape.
Before them appeared a wild boar twice the size of the ones they had hunted so far.
A thought arose in Francis's mind:
"Two wire meshes won't be enough to kill it."
Meanwhile, the massive boar began stepping down toward the trap. The trap was already set there.
One sharp wire mesh had pierced through its chest, and another had pierced its mouth.
But now, only one mesh remained embedded.
Realizing that at any moment the boar could shake off the mesh from its body, Francis urgently asked Daniel to kill it.
The wound on Daniel's hand was already beginning to dry.
That's why Francis had no strength left to kill the boar himself.
That's why he asked Daniel to kill it.
Without wasting a single moment, Daniel rushed toward the boar with the knife that was in Robert's hand.
Even when he came close to the boar, there was no fear in Daniel's eyes.
He swung his arm forward.
In the next instant, he pushed the air aside and drove the knife deep into the boar's brain.
It let out a howl of pain.
The knife, which was embedded in the skull, was pulled out and again, Daniel repeatedly stabbed the same wound without stopping.
Juliet could not bear to watch this scene and quickly turned her face away.
But unlike last time, she did not vomit.
Daniel didn't stop.
He picked up the sharp wire mesh that had not pierced through, and thrust it into the boar's belly.
Until its final breath, Daniel stood right beside it.
The boar convulsed and exhaled its last breath.
Gradually, its eyes closed.
Daniel's entire body was now covered in blood.
He looked like a true murderer.
No one there had ever seen that side of Daniel before, because no one could even imagine that he would perform such an act.
He was a person who never even liked to harm an animal.
Everyone ran toward Daniel, coming closer.
From a distance, the boar had seemed large, but seeing it up close, it was even bigger.
Robert pulled out the knife that was still stuck in the boar's skull.
"Anyway, we can't carry this on our shoulders. It's too heavy," Robert said to the others.
"Anyway, we don't have time to cut it into pieces here and carry it away.
We also need to collect water, because as soon as we start cleaning this, darkness will fall in the forest.
Otherwise, the sun will set before we reach the shore.
That would cause us many dangers," Juliet said, without even glancing at the boar's face.
"I have a way to do it," Francis said.
"Four wires tied together. It needs to be strong and must never come apart.
Then, the boar's front and back legs must be bound together.
After that, two people can easily lift it on their shoulders and carry it."
Francis explained his plan, and they all agreed to carry it out.
Since they had meat enough for two or three days, once they collected water, they wouldn't need to return to the forest for a while.
So they set their sights on the marshland and began walking toward it.
Because they knew the path, it didn't take them long to reach their destination.
Since the wild boar was heavy, they took turns carrying it in pairs.
After collecting water, they rested at various spots.
Seeing Francis moving away, Daniel walked toward him.
"Francis, if I ask you one thing, will you tell me the truth?
Why did you make me kill that boar?
I know that in your condition, you have done even greater things than this.
You could have killed it yourself."
At that moment, Francis was busily shifting the dry leaves in front of him using his fingertips.
Suddenly, Francis stopped and looked straight at Daniel's face.
Everything you said is true.
I asked you to perform that act so that the fear within you would disappear.
It is you who must save those here, not me.
I too was just a passenger on that destroyed ship.
What you did was not the duty of a passenger.
I am a bad person.
I am incapable of saving or helping anyone.
It is you who must do it.
That is your destiny. What I have is a fate even worse than yours."
Saying this, Francis took a coin from his pocket and began to roll it between his fingers.
Daniel's eyes were fixed on the coin in Francis's hand.
"Francis, where did you get this coin from?
I have never seen a coin like this in your hand before."
"Is it this coin you're asking about?
It belongs to me.
Until now, this coin was never in my possession.
There's a locked section in my chest.
It was from there that I found this coin.
I still don't know how it ended up there.
Normally, I always keep coins in my pocket,
so I thought I must have lost it from my hand.
But yesterday, when I checked the chest, that's when I found it."
Francis explained the details about the coin to Daniel.
For a few moments, both of them remained silent.
It was Daniel who broke the silence.
"Francis, I believe we can be good friends."
Upon hearing this, a smile appeared on Francis's face.
"Why are you smiling? I didn't say it as a joke."
Hearing that, Francis immediately stopped smiling.
"I cannot be your friend, Daniel.
As I said before, I am not the kind of person you think I am.
You don't know anything about me.
Everyone assumes one thing about me.
That the more time we spend together each day, the closer we'll become.
But that is wrong.
With every day we spend together, we are only drifting further apart.
Human minds can never truly connect.
We can only remain acquaintances, and that is the best we can be.
What I'm saying may seem insane to you."
Francis sighed deeply.
"The one thing hardest to understand here is you, Francis.
I have never thought you were insane.
Come, it's time for us to head back to the shore."
After taking a deep breath, Daniel stood up.
With the collected water and the boar, they all began walking back toward the shore.
The thought that they wouldn't need to go into the forest for the next two or three days filled them with relief and joy.
.....
On the island.
Charlie, Barry, and Arthur were walking together through the forest to collect branches.
They didn't venture far into the forest; they were walking close to the shore.
Charlie climbed up a small tree and broke off weak branches, letting them fall to the ground.
Arthur and Barry prepared the fallen branches so they could be easily carried.
They broke them down into smaller pieces.
In this way, they continued their work for about an hour.
After collecting the branches they needed, they began returning toward the shore.
When they reached the shore, they saw Daniel and Robert carrying a large boar.
Seeing its size, they were amazed.
Robert and the others were already busy cutting it into pieces, preparing it properly for transportation.
After all that work was finished, a foggy night settled in.
They gathered the branches and lit a campfire.
They told stories, sat together, and ate their food.
The time was 9:30 PM.
Daniel was writing in his diary:
*"Because of Francis, today I was able to kill a boar.
When the others looked on, it didn't seem like a big deal.
But for me, the action I carried out today was the most important.
Francis made me understand the responsibility of being a leader.
His words today amazed me.
In my life, I've met many people, and I've never needed extra days to understand them.
But the truth is, I've still not been able to understand Francis.
Even today, as I spoke with him, I tried to understand his mind,
But all I did was drift further away.
I am glad the workload is lighter these three days.
What still amazes me is that the rescuers haven't been able to find us yet.
Today was a long day.
I should sleep well tonight.
I should dream."*
Daniel stopped writing, closed the diary, and lay down.
Even as he fell asleep, the weight of responsibility remained in his mind.
To be continued...