After vacationing in Cuba for the summer the time had finally arrived for Eric to return home to get ready for the upcoming school year. It would mark his first year out of the house and somewhat on his own. He would have to live off top ramen, mac and cheese, and poorly filtered water. Already grown accustomed to living on the cheap this did not daunt him. His whole vacation was planned for fewer than two-thousand dollars anyway including transportation. Using every available resource to decrease costs he had devised a convoluted path that only a fool would make. It was planned to go from Cuba to Florida like any normal transportation, then all the way on extra business class to Maine, then Las Vegas, followed by a bus to California. Like Wal Mart all chances to cut cost were made even though the quality would diminish significantly. First was to Miami, a sunny place for shady people, the route there was scenic to say the least. Being a practical stow away hiding in a small boat to dock on some sketchy private harbor with nothing but clothes, toilet trees, some cash, and a burner phone. The next way was even less efficient a night long boat ride up to Maine that would depart around 8 PM. This transportation was done by paying a man who looked like a washed up Blackbeard to go on a medium sized cargo ship. Knocking out on the poop deck almost immediately after boarding all seemed assured that this journey was almost halfway complete.
Along the coast of New Jersey around 3 in the morning things began to change. There was sudden movement on the boat people seemed to have boarded. Unfortunately for the few others on the boat it was the Mafia coming to loot whatever was beneath the deck. It turns out there were stores of cocaine and other drugs; explains why the ship was going for so cheap, unregulated, and illegal. Being closer to the life raft Eric snuck off hoping the criminals wouldn't notice. Apparently they didn't or if they had no one cared enough to pursue the raft. Those who did not escape were being held until the Coast Guard arrived as the rafts had floated away. The government must have noticed an unmarked and unauthorized vessel when it sailed by the capital and assumed the worst.
After being marooned and passed out from exhaustion Eric awoke on the shore of God knows where. It would seem his plans of traveling inexpensively were shattered into a million pieces. He was just happy to avoid death and the growingly tyrannical government agents at sea. Now the trek up to Maine or civilization would need to be undertaken hopefully yielding something of value. Wandering he finally found the highway with a sign reading, “Atlantic City 20 miles East and New York City 40 miles North.” Fate would have to guide him to the Big Apple where he had another shady contact reside. Finding this denizen would generally provide a challenge yet nothing else could go worse at least. Carpooling not hitch hiking, since that would be politically incorrect, the way to NYC was easy once he found a trucker who looked less suspicious than everyone else on this adventure. Coming to the big city early that day it seemed opportune for locating a family friend who dwelled in Chinatown who could hopefully help him find a way back home. Unable to find this Mr. Kelly all hope seemed lost as it would cost hundreds for a plane or hotel in New York. Fortune would be in his favor for one final time as out of all the Puerto Rican in the city he found his good friend Ephraim who had been visiting campuses across the country. All of Eric’s months off the grid made him impossible to contact so he was unaware of the campaign his friend was making but joined him on his way eventually home…hopefully.
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