Free Loku and the Shark Attack by Deborah Carlyon Page A

in the company of his Lapun Papa, father, uncles, brother and boy cousins, Loku did not feel like eating. He left his barely eaten fish head on the banana leaf plate. Quietly, he washed his hands and slowly climbed the steps to the small hut that he shared with his grandfather and brother.
    Clean bamboo mats made by his mother and aunts lay on the wooden floor. He looked out the window-opening, across the moon-shining sea. He was almost night-dreaming when he felt Nul’s hands grab and jolt him from behind.
    Recognising his brother in the dark, Loku swallowed with relief, but he clenched his jaw. Nul was excited and wanted to share a secret with him – a secret of adventure. Nul spoke as softly as he could, but he could barely keep his voice to a whisper as he told Loku what he had done.
    Nul had spent the day secretly following Jikup, the famous shark hunter from another tribe. Nul had paddled out in one of his father’s canoes. He had struggled against the outgoing tide while trying to hug the shoreline. Finally, he reached the grassy inlet to ‘the place of black snakes’. This place was for men only. Boys were forbidden to go there.
    By following Jikup, Nul had arrived at the clearing, and he saw lots of canoes huddled together. From the animal totems carved into the sides of the canoes he could tell that there were many canoes from other tribes.
    With excitement building in his voice, Nul told how he had stepped out of his father’s canoe and pulled it onto the sand. He hid the canoe, with its carved turtle totem, in the tall grass, then followed Jikup’s footprints to where the men were gathered in the special area. Hiding behind a huge rock, he watched them.
    An older man, one Nul had seen once before, lay his spear down and welcomed the men. He did this in four languages including the language Nul and Loku spoke. ‘Our father and uncles were there too,’ Nul whispered.
    Loku held his breath. Nul’s eyes sparkled in the dark as he finished his story.

    The older man had told how the sharks were travelling up the river in order to wash off their barnacles in the fresh water. He also spoke about the dry season and reminded the men how important it was for them to use green leaves when they made smoke signals to let other tribes know they were going on to their territory.
    â€˜It was all men’s business!’ said Nul smugly. Listening wide-eyed in the dark, Loku felt a pang of jealousy pull at his tongue. ‘I’m going to have an adventure, too!’ he said.
    Nul laughed and replied, ‘No you’re not. You always do the right thing. You’re a Responsible Boy. You’re like Lapun Papa but young.’ Nul sensed Loku’s hurt feelings in the silence that followed and he tried to explain. ‘You wouldn’t have an adventure because you’re a good boy!’
    Loku was surprised and hurt by these strong words, and he realised they stung more because they were true. He didn’t speak again that night. He lay awake on his mat, resolving to have his own adventure the next day.

Chapter two

    Loku woke when it was still dark. He collected sticks for his mother’s fire and dragged one of his father’s canoes to the edge of the ocean. He walked back up to the hut and told Lapun Papa he was going for a walk along the beach to collect crabs. ‘Okay,’ replied his grandfather. Lapun Papa noticed that Loku had left his delicious fish head uneaten the night before. He was thinking about his grandson, but he chose not to interfere or follow.
    Loku walked along the beach, but he found no crabs, only a broken piece of glass. He reached the river mouth and turned and walked along the banks of the river. When he came to the painted stone and tall stick that marked the edge of his village territory, he did not stop. It wasn’t until he was inside the border of the neighbouring village that he walked into the bush to collect green leaves