Adventures of “Little Women”

The Prologue

“Little Women” is a novel written by Louisa May Alcott in 1868 – 1869. The story happened during the Civil War in the middle of the 19th century in New England, USA. It is about the March Family with four daughters namely: Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy. Meg, the eldest, is very beautiful and grown up to be elegant. Jo, the second daughter, is independent and wants to be a writer. Beth, the third daughter, is tenderhearted and delicate. But she died in the middle of the story. Amy, the youngest of the four, is tomboyish and precocious. She envies Meg. So, she imitates her ways as an elegant lady.

This story of the four women inspires me to write the adventure we had. We, Amy, Mich, Moon, and I, were like the four characters in the story of “Little Women”. We played a specific role in the adventure we made in a foreign land – the small island called Guimaras. Though people already been to the island but our adventure was never the same to any of them.

The story that follows is a story of the four Japanese girls, far away from home, and we call ourselves “Japanese Little Women of Neo”.

The Plan

When Amy (one of my friends in Neo who lived in China for 6 years) invited me to go to Guimaras, in all honesty, I was reluctant to accept. But she emphasized that this is the last chance to travel with Mich (my Japanese best friend in Neo, a former social worker) and Moon (one of my friends in Neo too who look like a little girl) because they are leaving for Japan in a week. So, I changed my mind and accepted her invitation. We planned immediately our trip to Guimaras.

The Rain, the Sea, the River, and the Boat

In the morning, Amy had a hangover. She, Mich, and I drank the night before. Maybe Amy drank too much, but she really wanted to go to Guimaras. Moreover, that day, the rain fell heavily and the wind blew strongly. We pressed our trip, however.

We left the harbor in Iloilo though the sea was rough. When arrived at Guimaras harbor, one of the resort staff picked us up. She took us by car about an hour. Then we were dropped off at the entrance of a river. We were really surprised because the boat was so small like a canoe. Since the rain fell heavily the night before, the river was so dirty and deep that makes heart beat fast. If we drop in it, we will die, certainly. In addition, the weather was stormy, so the boat waved rickety. But Moon and I enjoyed feeling the drift. Moon is cheerful like Amy of “Little Women”. Behind me, Mich was almost crying. She shouted for help. Mich was so scared she resembles Beth’s (of “Little Women”) cowardice. Moon and I were composed to take photos. Like Meg (of “Little Women”), Amy was still elegant in a wobbly canoe we’re in.

The Island, the Firefly, and the Lantern

Somehow we go in the small island. The servants met us at the inn on the lake. As soon as we arrived at the cottage, we fell asleep. We were so tired. The servant woke us up for dinner. His name was Ted. We ate dinner outside the inn at the early dusk.

While we were talking in our room after dinner, Ted brought us a lantern and informed us about fireflies. We were excited to see them. We rushed outside and saw the flitting fireflies in the dark night. There I said to myself ‘I’ve never seen fireflies as big and as many as these before!’ it was a romantic scene!

After that, we prepared to sleep hastily because we couldn’t let the lights stay on anymore after five minutes. The electric power of the island is very limited, so we had to talk with the light of a lantern. Amazingly romantic was the night, indeed!

The Beach, the Cave and the Raft

When we woke up the next morning, we expected that we could not go back to Neo that day because the weather was as boisterous as the other day. The waves ran high, and the rain came down in buckets. Actually, we were awakened by the sound of the storm. But it stopped raining toward noon, so we had a chance to play on the beach. Moon and I found a little cave. We tried to go into it. The cave was black a pitch, but we couldn’t find anything. We took photos at the entrance of it.

Ted suggested having lunch on a raft. We got on it and waited for other servants. But all of us got seasick. And we went back to our room and took a little rest. Moon and I felt sick, but Amy and Mich enjoyed floating on water in the beach.

The Car, the Wind, and the Sore

When the time of leaving the island came, we had to get on the raft again. We went half of the way; we had to transfer from the raft to the boat on the sea. Brave Japanese ladies transferred by turns. Mich, at that time, was ready for death and tried. All of us returned to the shore at last.

We had to drive for one hour to the harbor in Guimaras. Amy and I got on the carrier of the car. Truthfully, I was a little scared at first because the road was steep and bumpy. I felt like thrown off in the carrier. But I became accustomed to do that and enjoyed feeling the wind and seeing the view. Amy also looked delighted. Fortunately, the sun came out of the morning thick clouds. The scene was perfect!

Unfortunately, my hip got sore after I got off from the carrier.

The Epilogue

I decided to compose our memoir, like Jo (of Little Women), after I came back. I tried to recall all the things that happened to us in that two-day and one-night trip. It was one wonderful experience we had. That was one of the most remarkable trips we had while we were still together as students of Neo Language School in the Philippines. Like the story of “Little Women”, we, the Japanese ladies looked at each other as sisters. We met here in Iloilo for the will to learn English but we did not know we learned more from our experiences.

The heavy rain and the dull weather did not stop us from pushing the plan through. The anger of the sea, river and waves did not threaten us for we know we have each other. The shaking boat and the unstable raft did not terrorize us for we know one would definitely save the others. We were like fireflies in the dark, gloomy cave enlightening each other in the midst of danger and fear.

We, the “The Japanese Little Women of Neo”, will never forget this adventure-an adventure for life.