“We ourselves feel that we are just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.”

Mother Teresa

Feeling stupid is something everyone feels once in a while, some more than most, but I was having a burst of revelations and realisations that were making me feel smaller than I actually was. My first mistake was that the word I thought was lake in Bulosa was actually in hindsight either lagoon or crater lake. I couldn’t see where the sea joined our inland lagoon but it was suddenly clear that it had to join it somewhere or it had in the past and that would explain the salt in it.

Next up from my new vantage point it was clear that lake town should really be called caldera town as we lived in a caldera of what I hoped was a dormant volcano, not a valley. Furthermore, Ash island was actually the volcanic cinder cone of all that was left of a volcano. It even had what looked like its own volcanic crater at the top of it. I had never noticed that before when living on the island not having actually climbed up to the top. It was amazing how a shift in perspective changed so much.

Our home, our island was made up of a ring of land surrounding an inner lagoon or lake and the smaller island within it. A little like a cross between Wizard’s Island in Crater Lake National Park Oregon, Yankicha of the Kuril Islands, Santorini in the Aegean Sea and the Koʻolau Range of O’ahu.

The cliffs rose majestically out of the ocean that surrounded us and encircled our town before sloping down to the inner crater lagoon that Ash Island sat in the middle of. By some geographical miracle, there were a few waterfalls that ran down the inside of the caldera and could be seen through the forest that filled the basin.

That was just what I could see inside the walls of the caldera.

Outside, outside was the ocean.

It stretched on towards the horizon in all directions with nothing else in sight.

Still small, suddenly I felt it. What else was out there? How far would I have to go to see it?

“Well, Kai, what do you think of the view?” Grandpa Smit asked.

“It’s so big!” I said as I looked over the cliffs to the ocean below. I did not need to act to show my surprise and shock at finding out where we were and at the same time as I turned to look back to the town below, “We’re so small.” I whispered.

“That we are, that we are.” He repeated to himself as much as to me. “But we are growing bigger and can build something special here, won’t we.”

I was not sure exactly what validation a grown man expected to get from a toddler but many a man has lived out their dreams through their children and their children’s children. Who was I to know or say that this was any different?

While the scenery did look absolutely amazing it did reinforce the fact that not only were we living in a pre-industrial society we were also isolated from the rest of civilisation as well. I was confused as to why he had carried me all the way up here. As well as pondering how and where the few merchants that had visited had come from. There did not appear to be a path down to the ocean from the top of the cliffs. When I looked over the edge neither could I see a port, dock or harbour at the base of them.

“Right shall we go and meet my friend,” Grandpa asked.

“Where?” I asked.

“This way Kai.” He said as he took us along the cliff to a hidden ravine which revealed a winding path working its way back and forth along the crack to down out of sight into the depths of the earth but you could hear the sound of the sea crashing below coming up the chimney.

“Who?” was my next question as he carried me down the traversing steps.

“Someone who has facilitated our families progress with building something better here, Mercurio the merchant captain.”

“The merchants arrived this morning?” We had missed that bypassing the market square on our walk up towards Grandpa’s house. I wondered if Aleena was selling our salt and finding a few things to buy or barter for in the process.

“Yes, so we are going to visit Mercurio as he stays with his ship. Our trade is the real reason he sails this way so often, the other merchants he brings are just small-time sailors

When we reached the bottom of the steps I found myself in a fold of the cliff that had become a cavern and nestled in the hidden Cove was a merchant ship.

The galleon shook up a good quarter of the cove bobbing up and down on the waves rocking to and fro to the swell.

“And here’s the Swift.“ Grandpa gestured at the ship lying at anchor. “All the other merchants have taken their wares up the stairs and down into town.” He continued as we walked down the final stairs.

“Our business is just with the captain. Come on Kai.” He said as he set forth once more onto the stone harbour to the floating ship. “Ahoy there. Smit coming on board.”

The captain appeared as if by magic.

“Welcome, welcome. Welcome aboard. What do you have for me this time?” He was excited to see us. Excited to see grandpa before as he rushed across the deck. Ushering us forward before leading us into his cabin.

“Let’s get down to business then.” He said as soon as he entered his room expectantly hurrying around the table he unfurled a map of the island across the top.

“What parts do you plan on purchasing next?” he asked keen to get to the meat of the matter.

Looking down from my grandfather‘s arms, I could see a detailed map of our island. It was shaded in several different colours. Pale red almost pink predominated the map covering nearly all of the town and more than half the island.

“I thought Kaya here could make the purchase this time around.” Grandpa asked smiling.

Confused I listened while still studying the map laid out before me.

“Kai?” Confused he looked at the baby in front of him.

“Hi?” He waved at me, I waved back.

“Hi Kai? Haha! A new grandson? Congratulations!” All smiles and enthusiasm on the surface. Although his eyes looked questioningly at the two of us. Ignorant of exactly what was going on I continued to look at the map easily distracted by the wealth of information in front of me.

“Congratulations. Looks like a fine young baby, I’m sure he will be a strong young man one day.” He continued to praise before arriving at the problem he had with my Grandfather’s request.

“But . . er . . I was looking forward to making some experience off of this trade.” He hesitated.

“I know I’m only the middleman. But it is still worth a fair chunk of experience towards my skills and levels. Do you think it will it count if I take the payment off a grandson so young he is unaware of what he is doing?” he questioned.

“I don’t see why not. It worked whenever my other grandchildren bought their parcels of land.” Grandpa shrugged.

“Yes, yes. That’s true but they were . . . a little older? They knew a little more about life in general

. . . understood that they were trading one thing for another. Sweets wasn’t it? That you had them buy.”

“Don’t merchants and nobles and start their children off young?”

“Yes,” agreed the merchant. “I just don’t want you or me to miss out on the experience we could gain. Especially if Kai isn’t aware enough to qualify for either the experience and without the skill to level from it.” He continued to try and persuade Grandpa.

“Look if it doesn’t take, we can try again.” Grandpa agreed.

“Fair enough.” He replied raising his hands. “Well, which area do you want to add to your growing estate?” He asked once more amenable to the transaction.

“We’ll let the boy choose.” He further flustered the merchant with his answer.

“Well Kai, if you could have any part of the island for yourself which bit would you choose?” He asked turning to me. “You can choose any of these colours.” He said pointing down at the grey area of the map still uncoloured.

The merchant raised his eyes once more as he watched me as my grandpa hold me out above the map and gestured for me to point. It was clear that somehow grandpa had bought the majority of the island from the two main colours on the map that included his house and our uncle's houses. I’m not sure who exactly he was buying it from but they clearly had a detailed map of the island. I could even make out the name of the island in the top left-hand corner of the map, Wester Ponente. Although like the view from the top of the cliff all the map showed was an island surrounded by sea.

Looking closer it looked like grandpa owned everything from the dock to the town before stretching out around either side of the lake lagoon working both northwards and southwards around the lagoon past the halfway point and he was getting close to owning all the island. There wasn’t a lot left to choose from. You could see that on the forested far side of the lake there were still spaces to choose places where a waterfall fell as well as a couple of other empty spaces with symbols that had been noted and although I could see the key to the map I didn’t understand exactly what they were marking.

Going over it carefully, I realised that they were both waiting for me to make a decision, the merchant with doubt and Grandpa with a level of excitement. I also suddenly realised that Ash Island in the centre hadn’t been chosen at all. Without thinking too hard about it at all I plumped my pudgy little finger down in the centre of the map. In the centre of Ash Island, in the centre of the lake, in the centre of the island.

“There you go,” Laughed grandpa, “He’s chosen.”

“Right, right. Okay if that’s how you want to choose it. I’d like to do the trade now. That will be 1000 deepwater pearls.”

“A thousand? Prices have gone up. Do you take me for a fool?”

“You’re asking me to risk my experience trading with an infant. I’m not going to haggle with one. He probably can’t pick out a plot from any other plot. Let alone comprehend what we’re trying to do here.”

“Still a thousand is a fairly hefty price increase. Especially as a mark up seeing as you’re only passing it along to the Western Prince along with notifying him of the change of ownership. Our forefathers only moved out to settle this area on the understanding that we would be buying the land rather than paying taxes on it. An area that size is only worth.” He paused here as he compared past plot sizes to past prices that had been noted down next to the areas along with their dates of sale. “700 pearls at most, unless the prices of deepwater pearls have seriously dropped in the last 6 months.”

“Yes, it is. But then you’re not in a position to haggle if you’re not making the trade.” The merchant middleman responded.

“Come now we’ve done this before.” Grandpa demurred.

“Yes, but never with one so young. These sales and the experience I make from them are the reason I sail out so far at all.” he shrugged unwilling to budge.

“What if I say he can haggle?” he gambled.

“Then I’d say your tale is longer than the fish I caught last week, on the way here, and it was this long.” He replied stretching out his arms.

“You wouldn’t dare fish these waters on your way here.” laughed Grandpa Smit

“Exactly,” he replied pursing his lips.

“Yes, but say if he could . . . would you haggle then?” he posed a what if.

“If Kai can meet me halfway. I will accept the trade and call it a story well bought. But if he can’t then I expect the full thousand.” He answered crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair behind the table.

Nodding his head in agreement, Grandpa gave me my orders. “Right then Kai. Time to buy your own freehold.” Grandpa had sat me down on the table almost exactly on top of the map and handed me the satchel. It was a bit of a gamble on both their parts, partly on grandpa’s because I did not think he’d ever heard me count higher than 10 and perhaps less of a gamble on the merchant’s part seeing as no baby he’d ever heard of could count at all. As well as the fact that I had not spoken in his presence at all.

“A thousand pearls for the island in the middle,” he said keeping it simple as he leaned forward over the table to face me.

“Go on Kai, how much are you willing to pay.” Grandpa gently asked opening the satchel for me to look inside. Inside I could see that it had been filled with pearls.

Hesitatingly, I took one and placed it on the table in front of me and said, “One.”

Mercurial raised his eyebrow laughing as grandpa smiled and said “I’ll go as low as 999.”

Slowly, I added another to the first and responded “Two.”

Chuckling Mercurial continued. “I could possibly do 998.”

Adding one more, “Three.”

. . .

When I reached 10 pearls on the table. Mercurial paused our competition to pick up a box to fill them with before turning to Grandpa.

“How high can he count?” He asked Grandpa intently before adding. “[Honest Word]”

“I don’t know,” Grandpa shrugged. “Never heard him count past 10 before in my life.” Answered before pausing. “No skills in this though he’s just a baby.”

. . .

We continued our back and forth up to 99 with words alone. Here I reached my first bump in what had been an enjoyable demonstration of my ability. I did not know the word for 100. Turning to grandpa as I placed the 100th pearl in the merchant’s box I asked “How many?”

“100 Kai.” Grandpa answered telling me the word for 100 and I repeated it to the merchant.

“Hang on. No coaching or helping him haggle.” Argued the merchant cross that he might actually be losing something on this deal. I doubted that he would think the story worth the cost if it was going to cost him 200 pearls on the original price and 500 less than what he had tried to charge me.

. . .