“The last inch”
The story of D. Aldridge captured me very much, and I could not tear myself away from the book until I finished reading it. It seems to me that this story is not so much about the tragedy that occurred in Shark Bay, but about the formation of mutual understanding between two people – father and son.
Ben was an excellent pilot, but the fate has developed so that he had to make a living underwater shooting. It was quite a difficult and dangerous job.
After taking ten-year-old son Davy with him, Ben flies on his old plane to the shore of Shark Bay. Ben will have to shoot sharks.
During the work of his father, Davy performs his petty errands on the shore and misses himself alone. Between the father and the son there is no mutual understanding, Ben believes that Davy is a physically weak, inactive child. He is often irritated in response to questions and actions of his son, sometimes he does not notice him at all. But Ben is not an evil man, he cares about the boy,
Ben successfully dopnimal his film, and everything would be fine if he did not inadvertently dirty blood from the bait. The sharks attacked him, and only the case helped him to get ashore. It turned out that his hands were disfigured, his legs lost control. Davy looks with horror at his father’s wounds, but finds the strength to self-bandage him and sneak off the scuba.
Ben understands that no one can come to their aid, because the deaf and rarely visited Shark bay is cut off from the whole world. But the wounded pilot can not fly the plane himself, which means that he and his son are in danger of dying. In the most difficult moments, Ben, forgetting about himself, worries about his son. They need to get to Cairo by all means, there, even if Ben dies, Davy will be safe.
The pilot realizes that his son will drive the plane on his instructions. But he does not want to scare the boy and build communication with him so that Davy finds out about his mission of the pilot at the last moment. Before that, the son had fulfilled all the instructions
Safely they reached the airfield in Cairo. Ben, as he could, directed the actions of the boy, and Davy obeyed his orders obediently. No extra word was said – the son was absorbed in the task, and his father increasingly lost consciousness.
Only before landing Ben felt fear for himself and lost his composure. He knew perfectly well what efforts and precision it was worth to properly land the plane without having broken it along with the passengers. And Davy was quite inexperienced in this matter. However, the boy can successfully overcome the most terrible – the last – inch.
Doctors managed to save Ben’s life. And when the most important, the first savior of Ben came to the hospital – the ten-year-old son of Davy, the father realized that he had only recently managed to discern the boy’s face. Probably during their last flight.
Difficulties, jointly overcome tests, unite and unite people, even if there is a whole chasm between them. Davy and Ben, with their courage and fearlessness, sensitivity to the pain of another and trust in each other, have already built a strong bridge that has managed to bind them for life. It’s not scary that Davy does not understand this yet. Ben will certainly be able to find the strength and means, take one more step, overcoming the last inch that separates him from the boy’s heart.
Aldridge’s story is another vivid example of belief in the boundless possibilities of a person, in his ability to withstand any life’s difficulties, if there is a companion around whom you can rely.
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