The waves at the Gulf were rocking the boat back and forth. The sails were being torn by the raging wind of the North. The sailors began to panic and began throwing things overboard to make the ship lighter but with no avail. The Captain’s children were panicking more than anyone there because they have never experienced anything like this before. They were running across the starboard like wild monkeys until the ship hit a rock and the ship sank, bringing the crew down with it.
“What? Where am I? Where’s Ag?” thought Edite as she was looking around for her brother. “I’ve gotcha sis. Hold on.” as she heard the familiar voice of her brother ring in her mind. After emerging from the water, they managed to get hold of some wooden poles and held on. They stayed there for a moment to regain some energy. Then, the two siblings swam towards the shore of an unknown island. Not knowing what lay ahead of them.
“Good. We made it to the shore. We need someplace for some shelter. We certainly can’t survive the cold night with our wet clothes. Hurry, sis. Lets go” said Agostinho as his survival instincts take control of him. Edite followed him, hoping he knew what he was doing. They found a cave and decided that it had to do for now. They got some supplies washed up he shore from the ship and used it at its best. They dried the towels and used it for blankets. They used wooded boards to make a treehouse as they planned as they could climb trees pretty well and knew how to make tree-houses. They managed to find some fruit and ate them to prevent starvation. They were desperate. Desperate to survive.
As night fell, they made a fire outside the cave, talking about their plans to get home. Suddenly, they heard a voice. It was a human voice, calling out to them by name. As he walked closer to them, the two children recognized him instantly as Mr Charlie, the Captain’s right-hand man.
“Mr Charlie! You’re here! I’m so glad you made it! ” screamed Edite as she ran towards her friend while Agostinho continued roasting the fish they had caught. Waving to Mr Charlie inviting him to share the meal. “The children have been surviving with quite some skill even though it was their first time.” thought Mr Charlie as they had their meal and then went to sleep in their crude but usable shelter. Nevertheless, they slept through the night like never before.
Mr Charlie was up early, gathering fruits for breakfast. He had gathered some grapefruit and some other kind of fruit that Agostinho did not recognize. He and his sister both tried the fruit and both agreed that the fruit was delicious. It was brown-skinned and had a bright orange pulp that the insects and birds are somewhat attracted to. They named the fruit after their late father’s favourite ship, the Mamay, and so the fruit became known as the Mamay. They found many other kinds of fruits that they had never seen in Portugal their homeland.
Days passed, and they had their treehouse built. In the meantime, they had flames blazing in broad daylight, hoping to catch the attention of sailors willing to help them. However, no one found them and they began to lose hope. The siblings thought they were lost and destined to be stuck here for the rest of their life.
One day, Mr Charlie went out hunting and found a huge crocodile, bigger than a dinghy on The Mamay, which was over 3 meters long. Mr Charlie tried to fight the enraged reptile away with his spear but with no avail as the crocodile snapped the spear in half, leaving Mr Charlie defenseless. As two more crocodiles emerged from their holes, Mr Charlie accepted his fate and said his final words. “ Lord my god, today, I, the Marquis of Castile, Charles Ormonde Cuba, will die this death, only to receive eternal life in heaven and leaving the face of this wicked world, in to your arms, I rest my soul.” As he said his last words, the crocodiles lunged at him and finished him off like a man breaking a twig.
The siblings we’re collecting some granadas, a local fruit, they saw Mr Charlie’s body on the ground near a watering hole. As Ag, as her sister liked to call him, approached Mr Charlie, Edite spotted the crocodiles in the water and shouted “Ag! Crocodiles in the water! Get out now!”. Agostinho saw them as well and leapt away in the nick of time before a crocodile snapped its jaws. Blake let out a sigh. Edite started crying because of the loss of a good friend. After a discussion, they decided not to run away, but to create a new place for human colonization. They used Mr Charlie’s last name, Cuba, to be the new country’s name. The year was 1456. Agostinho and Edite were both 19 and 15 respectively.
Many years passed and they were celebrating Edite’s 32nd birthday near their new home, a proper house made of clay bricks and a proper roof, when they saw a ship arriving from a distance. They knew that more people were coming and after the celebration, they went out to the shore to scout and find out who the mariners were. “If I’m not mistaken, this is a Spanish fleet. The Spaniards are here.“said Agostinho to his sister. And decided to meet the Spanish.
“My name is Christopher Columbus. My mother was a Portuguese woman, just like your sister Edite here, and my father was an Italian. My mother changed her name from Susanno to Susanna when she moved to Italy with my father. You may call me Cristóvão Colombo.” explained Christopher. “ I am aware that I am not the first person here. You two are clearly the first people here. What is the name of this maravilhosa country?” continued Columbus. “I didn’t know you could speak Portuguese, Sir Colombo! The name of this wonderful country is Cuba. Named in honor of a dead friend and my mother’s hometown in Portugal.” The year was 1492.
After the establishment of a Spanish colony there, many more Spaniards immigrated to Cuba. It had a new name, given by Christopher Columbus. It was called the Republic of Cuba, and has stayed the same to this very day. This is the story of two siblings, a brother and a sister, who helped build a country that has stayed right to the twenty-first century.
This weird-storylined story(if there's such a term.) is my Commonwealth Essay that Ms. Brisa "asked" us to do. It was the best I could come up with at the moment. An if there are any errors, there's is no point doing so because I'vw uploaded it on the logy already.
And those who have to write/type at least 1200 words for the essay, hope you finish it in time.:)
Signing off.
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