Gabe, Nabasa, and Bianca

Gabe walked along the shore of the water, looking for shells. He ate a grape whilst doing so. Suddenly, a girl ran up to him, panting.

"*Pant* Ebo! *Pant pant* Ua name Nabasa. Comen sio name???"

Gabe was confused.

"Sorry?" He said. "I don't understand."

"Ai Nabasa," she said, pointing at herself. "Gu???" She pointed at Gabe. "Comen sio name?"

"Ohhhh!" Gabe said. "I'm Gabe! And you said you're...Nabasa??? Unique name. Never heard it."

*Silence*

"Oh!" Gabe remembered. "I don't think she speaks English."

Slowly, the water moved closer as a wave arrived. Nabasa stepped away from it. "Ai ginusa aguan..." She stated fearfully.

Gabe could see her fear.

Nabasa remembered what she had come over there for.

"Ai nabba...muc!" She begged.

"???" Gabe did not understand.

"Ai ba nab!!!!! Nabba! Nab, muc! Ai ba cesun go cesun ginu nab! Ba naba, muc!" She fell on her knees and begged him.

Gabe was very confused. He had no idea what she was trying to tell him.

Suddenly, Nabasa noticed the grapes in Gabe's hand.

"Gabe! Gabes! Gabe Gabe Gabe Gabe Gabe!!!!" She yelled, pointing at them. "Ai ba! Ai ba gabea! Muc! Gabeaba! Consa gabeas...ai sug go nab! MUC!!!!!"

Gabe did not understand why she kept yelling his name, yet pronouncing it wrong. She was saying "ɡɑbɛ" instead of "ɡeɪb."

*To be continued*

Gabe wanted to help Nabasa, but he had no idea what she was trying to say, other than it had something to do with grapes.

Wait...grapes?! That's it! Maybe she wants his grapes!

"Do you speak English?" He asked her. She gestured for "a bit."

"Do...you...want...the...grapes?" He asked, slowly.

She panicked! "GABES!!!! GABES!!!! Gr-grrrr-grape!" It was clear she had trouble forming the word "grape." But she understood what grape meant, apparently.

"Perhaps she just really loves grapes???" Gabe thought to himself.

"Do you like grapes?" He asked her.

"Ginu gabe! L-l-li-like gr-gr-grape! W-want–need grape!"

Gabe understood now. He handed her the grapes. She gobbled them up.

To be continued

BUT BEFORE WE GET TO THE FINAL PART, LET'S DO THE ORIGIN STORY!

Her name is Nabasa. It has a meaning. It means "Not the Food" (or "Food the Not" if you do it grammatically). She is also called Natasha. Here's her story...

Nabasa's childhood was very fun and beautiful. She lived in a beach house with her parents. She'd visit the beach everyday and collect shells. One day, the beach got closed to the public due to unknown reasons. They were forced to move out. Nabasa was heartbroken.

Once they moved out, they went to go live in an apartment. But it was very far away: about 4000 miles. It was the closest affordable residence though, so they had no choice.

It was in a community where English was the primary spoken language. Nabasa's parents worked from home now, so they never had any reason to interact with their neighbors. They also homeschooled Nabasa. But they recognized that she needed to interact with other kids. So she'd go over and play with the neighbor kids when her schooling was done for the day.

The kids couldn't understand her and she couldn't understand them, but they still found ways to play games together. Often, they played games that didn't require much communication. Even though she was past the stage of life where she could naturally learn language without being taught, she did manage to pick up a few words via exposure, from hearing her friends talk to each other and their parents.

None of Nabasa's friends knew her name. She couldn't tell them because she didn't know what they were asking when they asked who she was. So they just called her "the friend." She did not know their names either.

One day, her friend Bianca was talking to her parents. Nabasa was staying over at Bianca's apartment, and Bianca heard Nabasa's stomach growl. She knew she was hungry. So she went and said to her parents: "The friend is hungry. I heard her stomach growl. Do we have any food for her??? I'm not sure what she likes, and we obviously can't ask her..."

Her parents suggested that perhaps they just offer her food and see what she takes. This is where Nabasa learned some of the vocab she knows.

She watched this all happen, and noticed that they'd say certain words when giving her foods. They handed her a red apple, and said "let's give her an apple. Do you want the apple?" She did not want the apple. Then they offered a banana. "Here you go! It's a banana! Do you like the banana? Is the banana tasty?" She gagged at the banana. They then offered an orange. "Look, it's an orange! Do you like eating oranges?" She refused the orange. Finally, they offered some grapes. "Hey, do you like grapes? PLEASE take the grapes. It's the last thing we can offer. Please like the grapes. You need food. You need it. I'm sure you want food too. You probably not only want food, but also need it. PLEASE EAT!" She apparently loved grapes. This was how she learned the definition of "grape" and "banana" and "apple" and "orange" and "like" and "want" and "need." although she couldn't really pronounce it.

Nabasa was very grateful, but she did not know how to express her gratitude. So she just smiled and gave a thumbs up.

Here's how she came to be called Natasha:

Her mother called her into their apartment one time while playing with several of the neighbor kids, Bianca being one of them. "Nabasa," she called. "Sio ganab cesun unag bonseci, nuco sio babag go sa coge bonseci. Muc, ci ba, Nabasa! Her friends looked very confused as she waved bye and strolled into the apartment.

"Did her mom say 'Natasha'?" Bianca asked. "I had no idea that's her name!"

The kids misheard. Whenever they'd call her Natasha, she'd get confused. But she knew they were talking about her because it sounded very similar to her name. So she just started responding to Natasha. One day she tried to tell them "Ua name sa Na...t-t-ta...s-s-sha. Ai sa ginu comeni." The T and Sh sounds did not exist in her language, so she struggled to pronounce that name. She did not like the name Natasha. But of course, they didn't understand what she said.

Eventually, Nabasa and her parents found out why the beach they used to live on was closed...

Several of the families of Nabasa's friends were going to try to use the beach, despite it having been closed for almost 5 years. They figured they could sneak in. Nabasa did not know they were doing this. So when they all disappeared to go do this, she was confused. They were gone for several weeks. She thought they moved out. That made her sad. Her dad saw her crying one day. "Babag!" She sniffled. "Ai seb..." It made her dad confused to know this. "Comeso, ua gim-cibu?" He asked. "Comesoi...coge sa bonseci..." He understood how heartbreaking it must've been for her to not have her friends for many weeks. He decided to turn on the news. He couldn't understand it, but he always recorded it and had it translated later.

"This just in!" The news reporter said. "Good Water Beach, which has been closed for 5 years, recently had some visitors..." The camera panned to the side...and Nabasa's friends and their families were all standing there, in the TV station! Her jaw dropped! Why were they on the news?! She couldn't understand what the news reporter was saying, but she knew this wasn't a good thing!

The reporter continued. "It has been revealed to the public WHY the beach was closed in the first place. Apparently, 'Good Water Beach' does not actually have good water. 5 years ago, the water started releasing toxic fumes, so they had to make it inaccessible. These toxic fumes are not fatal, but they cause many issues with memory and cognitive ability. The owners of the beach have been searching for a way to remove the fumes since the beach closed, but have not had any luck. They say it will reopen if they ever figure it out. But, these here folks trespassed to come swim in the water. Unfortunately, the fumes affected them greatly. When they tried to come home, they could not remember how to get there. They lived on the beach for 3 weeks, before we found them. It appears their cognitive abilities have been damaged to the point where they can no longer survive on their own. They will be moved to assisted living facilities. In addition, if they get anywhere near ANY kind of water, they will become sick. This is permanent. That's all for now. Goodbye."

Nabasa's dad stopped the recording and ran it through the translation app. They listened back together along with Nabasa's mom. Once they realized what was going on, they panicked! Of course, they were worried about all of their neighbors, who now could never return, but also...they had lived on that beach. While they were forced out as soon as the owners noticed the fumes...had they (and all the other residents) been forced out quick enough?! They didn't want to risk it. So they removed all water from their household, and tried their best to never get near it ever again. Nabasa and her parents were terrified of water because of this. Nabasa wasn't only afraid, but she was also angry with the water for preventing her friends from hanging out with her anymore.

Many years later, when Nabasa was grown up, the beach reopened, because they finally were able to remove the fumes. Nabasa's parents were now living in a retirement home, and she was on her own. While on vacation one time, she got stranded. Her car broke down. It just so happened to break down near Good Water Beach. Even though she knew by now that she hadn't been affected by the fumes, she still did not like water because of what it caused, and she hadn't seen any type of water in many years. She could not go anywhere except the beach, since her car didn't work and there were no restaurants nearby. This meant that she no longer had access to food! She decided to face her fears, go stroll along the beach, and see if she could find anyone willing to share some food. She still didn't want to be by the shore, but she could at least stay on the sand.

She saw this man walking around, and he looked lonely but nice, so perhaps he'd share any food he had??? She ran to him at full speed...

And that is where the story with Gabe began.

And now for part 3 of the story...

Once Nabasa was done eating the grapes, she tried her best to communicate with Gabe.

"Why...are...you...so...in...need...of...food?" He asked slowly. She heard "why" "need" "food" and understood that he was asking the reason why she was so desperate.

"Naba sa bonseci. Ai me ba gabe."

"Why did she just repeat her name???" Gabe thought. "And why does she say Gabe as "ɡɑbɛ" when it's quite literally not that???

Nabasa was sweating. Gabe thought perhaps she was overheated, and thought he'd maybe splash some water on her to make her feel better.

He walked to the water, cupped some in his hand, and threw it at her, chuckling because he thought it was funny. Nabasa screamed and got a pure look of horror on her face. Like previously, she repeated, but louder this time: "Ai ginusa aguan! AMOBSA aguan!!!! AMOBSA!!!!!!!!" Gabe completely forgot that she acted afraid of the water before. He felt very bad.

"I'm so sorry!" He said in a panic. "I didn't realize!!!" Nabasa began to hyperventilate as she recovered. She didn't hold a grudge. She understood that he was just trying to help. It didn't mean she wasn't afraid still though.

Once she recovered, she gave a thumbs up to Gabe, and tried to mutter the word she often heard her friends use to express gratitude growing up. "T-t-t-th-th-anks." Having succeeded in her mission to find food, she started searching for a mechanic or a nearby auto store instead, to help fix her car. As she was doing that, she stopped dead in her tracks. Right in front of her eyes...was her beach house. They may have been driven out all those years ago...but all the houses still remained. She noticed that the door was unlocked, and had a sign hanging on it. She didn't know what it said, but she figured since the door was unlocked, she should go in.

Gabe saw her go inside. He walked over and observed the sign. It said "Tourist House #8: The home of the Bogscu Family: August, May, and their daughter Not The Food, more affectionately called Natasha." That was false, but of course Gabe didn't know that. How could he have possibly known she didn't like being called Natasha and that only her friends called her that??? "In their native language: Agus, Mai, and Nabasa. Come on in!" Apparently, all the houses of the former residents of Good Water Beach from all those years ago were made tourist attractions, so people could see what living on the beach was like before the whole "fume" incident.

Gabe stared at the sign for a few moments...

"No way...Did Nabasa live here growing up, before the fume incident??? Is her name actually...Not The Food??? No way. That's just crazy. Maybe her name actually means Natasha and everyone called her Not The Food as a joke??? Maybe that's why she is terrified of water..." He knew now why she entered. He, too, entered behind her.

When he arrived inside, he noticed Nabasa, absolutely frozen. She was in awe of her surroundings. She couldn't believe it. She was home!!! After all these years...she finally found her way back home! She began to walk around the house, touching and observing absolutely everything: Every piece of furniture, every bit of wood, every single thing she could find.

It was exactly the same as she had left it. They hadn't changed anything. She loved that.

Gabe watched her take in her childhood home. She didn't notice him.

Finally, she sighed, and, as if talking to her house, said "Ai amob, ua casan! Cuambo ai me cibuo...ai me amob Casan. Cesun ai sa cibuo. Ai mes-mes."

She turned and saw Gabe! She was shocked! He waved sheepishly.

He continued to speak slowly, and used the tiny bits of her language he had deciphered.

"Ebo, Nabasa Bogscu! Or...perhaps...you...are...also...Natasha??? Amobsa aguan??? Ai amobsa aguan. Ai ginu gabe!"

She smiled. "Casana cesun gabes ai amob..."

He didn't know what that meant, but he assumed she was talking about grapes again.

He concluded that "Gabe (ɡɑbɛ)" means Grape in whatever her language was. He thought that was quite fascinating. He and Nabasa became good friends, despite the language barrier. He was able to find her a hotel to stay in, and a mechanic to fix her car. He bought the apartment right next to hers, so they could be neighbors! Everyday he'd visit her. They'd eat grapes together. She'd try to communicate with him, and he'd attempt communication with her. It took a long time, and they still didn't understand each other a vast majority of the time. But if there was one thing both of them understood...it was the word "Gabe," pronounced ɡɑbɛ AND ɡeɪb: one was his name, and one was the word grape, but both pronunciations are special. One is identity, and the other... something that unites them. Just an innocent fruit...yet so much more.