It is turning... It is truly turning toward me! After all these lonely days, thank God!"
Kola replied, "Easy, brother. I saw your branch waving, and I came as fast as this boat could."
Kola said, "Eat slowly now. Small bites first. Your body has suffered long and needs gentle care today."
Kayode said, "You do not know my name, yet you feed me like your own lost brother returned."
Kola replied, "Names can wait until you are safe. Lean on my shoulder and take small steps slowly."
Kayode said, "My legs have forgotten good roads, but they remember kindness when a strong hand guides them."
Kola said, "Sit here in the middle. Hold the side firmly. The sea is calm and kind today."
Kayode admitted, "Island, you punished my pride and taught my heart. I leave you poorer, but wiser forever."
During the journey back, Kola let the wind and water fill the silences between them. It was only after Kayode had eaten a little and steadied his breath that he began to tell the truth. The story sounded improbable even to the man who had lived it: a celebration, a woman publicly humiliated, a sudden sleep, and a deserted island. Kola listened without interrupting, recognizing both the injustice Kayode had committed and the grave danger in which he had been left.
Kola said, "Now tell me slowly, brother: how did a man like you end alone on that island?"
Kayode replied, "I rented a great white cruise for my party, wearing fine clothes and feeling above everybody. Before my laughing guests, I poured champagne over a poor waitress and enjoyed her silent shame. That night, I slept like the dead, Kola. I remember nothing until the sun woke me on that sand. I survived on coconuts and green leaves, counted lonely days, and built a small branch shelter."
Kola replied, "That is a heavy story, brother. But pride carried you there, and humility brought you back."
Kayode murmured, "I will face them, Kola, and they will answer me for every night on that cold sand."
Kola's home was modest, standing near the small harbor where fishermen returned with their catch and repaired their nets. Its kitchen held none of the marble or gold Kayode associated with hospitality, yet the welcome he received there overwhelmed him. A simple meal tasted different when it had been offered without obligation. For the first time in a long while, he ate slowly and considered what another person had given up to feed him.
Kola said, "This harbor is my home, and today it welcomes you safely, too."
Kayode said, "Rice and fish from your small kitchen tastes greater than every feast I once wasted proudly."
Kola said, "Wash the island off your skin, then wear these clean clothes my brother left here behind."
Kayode said, "The mirror shows my face again, clean and bare, like a man starting life over today."
Kayode murmured, "Kola, you saved a stranger without asking his worth. I will remember this kindness all my life."