***** Vol.1 Chap.31 Hidden surreptitiously *****

With her supplies and essentials, Kristin headed for Warehouse #3 on a long and circuitous route, dodging anyone that might recognize her. As she turned the corner to the back door of the warehouse, George looked anxiously for her at the door. Quickly, he motioned her to come in and closed the door. George put his finger on his lips and silently waved to her to follow him. Other people at the warehouse were busy packing things into the crates to be taken onto the boat. Two security guards milled around at the front door, though presently not looking at the back door.

She tiptoed behind George, stooping to hide behind him as he moved around the various crates. After every few steps, she would glance backward to ensure no one was following. Then she would straighten up and peek at the two security guards to be aware of where their locations.

So far, so good.

George arrived at one of the larger crates and he motioned for her to get in. She glanced around at the security guards. One guard got bored and decided to walk around for a visual check. Quickly, she dodged behind the closest crate and peeked at the guard now and then. Like a cat and a mouse, she tried to anticipate where the guard would go next and hide accordingly. George stood beside his crate, checking the contents with his manifest of supplies.

After an unbearably long time, the guard, satisfied that no irregularities happened in the warehouse, returned to chat with the other guard at the front. A truck pulled in and both guards ran out to inspect the contents of the truck. Almost instinctively, she took the opportunity and climbed up one box and lowered herself into the crate. George followed and helped her hollow out a small hole in the middle, where she squatted with her backpack. He then took a few of the lighter boxes and put them on top of her. He waved his hand at her, tapped twice on the crate, and disappeared.

Staying perfectly still and quiet inside the crate, she checked the time, two more hours until departure. In a yoga position, she squatted and remained still and motionless in her cramped space with boxes all around her. Totally at a loss for the present predicament, she had no clue what she would do after she got on board and no idea how she would even escape out of the crate or what would happen next.

While contemplating her dire circumstance, noises resounded around her crate and she almost cried out loud for fear, but caught her squeal just in time so that it became a muffled sound. Lots of people around the crate pushed and bumped into her crate. Lots of activities as if people were trying to climb up to the crate. Of course, panic set in. Ready with both fists, she poised herself to punch at anything that would lift the boxes above her head and expose her presence. Then George’s muffled voice came through.

“Put the box of cabbage here on the edge.”

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Something heavy dropped next to her head on one side of the crate.

“Now put the box of carrots over there at that edge.”

More things got dropped on the crate. She thanked the Almighty for George’s presence and careful planning. If a box of cabbage or carrots got dropped on top of her, she would surely be bruised and squashed.

“Now put the box of chips in the center.” A slight thump on her head.

“Take the rest and spread them around the crate.” More movements all around.

“Now close it up.” George told the helpers.

Finally, a sigh of relief. At last, they would leave her alone and get her on board.

“Just a minute.” A guard yelled. “I need to inspect the crate.”

“This is the crate containing all the vegetables,” George said to the guard.

“My order is to inspect every crate.”

“Please go ahead.”

“You have the manifest?”

George handed the guard the manifest.

“Cabbage, carrots, chips…”

The guard climbed up the crate and visually inspected the boxes inside the crate. He half-heartedly moved a few boxes around; then climbed down.

“OK. Go ahead. Close it up.”

“Whew!” An anxious Kristin, a nervous wreck the entire time, let out a breath she held for the past five minutes.

The workers came and sealed the crates. The top of the crate came down with nails pounded into the crate. Before leaving, George tapped on the crate twice without a word and left.

Silence.

Finally, all alone, she as one of the cabbages waited to be loaded to the Mayflower.

Time approached four o’clock in the afternoon, another hour before sailing. While hiding in the crate, she occasionally sensed some passengers coming down to the hold to check on their crates filled with all kinds of unimaginable equipment. Full of trepidations and fear of being discovered, she stayed perfectly still to ensure no one nearby would discover her.

After about ten minutes, the crate was jolted and apparently moved by a forklift. It reminded her of the ride inside the submersible when loaded onto the Mayflower. This time, she had no cameras to observe the outside. Her imagination took over as she pretended what might be happening to her crate. After another twenty minutes of swinging and swaying, the racket stopped. She assumed she must be at the hold, along with all the other crates on the ship.

Relax.

To pass the time, in her imagination, she pretended she was in hiding on an odyssey to discover a global conspiracy. Now settled safely in the ship’s hold, she tried to move the boxes above her to make a larger hole for herself. But whenever any footsteps approached, she immediately retreated to her hole covered by boxes above her.

Five o’clock! She felt no motion or vibration.

The captain is late. She chided the captain in her mind.

Another five minutes passed. With a long whistle, vibrations underneath rattled her. Hurrah! the ship must be casting off. For her, the sooner they cast off from the port, the better; the farther they were at sea before her discovery, the better. Now, she must evade her discovery and wait for the ship to get to destination.

She imagined that Jonas and the guests must be having a feast in the mess hall to celebrate their departure. No doubt, Jonas would throw a super expensive Captain’s Table style buffet for all his guests. That picture of the buffet made her hungry. She fumbled around her backpack in the dark, found the nuts, and munched on them like delicacies.

To you, Captain Jonas. She made a mock salute with a cashew.

Since she had plenty of time, she took each nut and ate it slowly, savoring the roasted taste of each bite. She never realized that roasted nuts tasted so good because she had never paused long enough to enjoy the nuts. With all the time in the world, she relaxed and enjoyed the little pleasures of life.