The Tree Is My Hat

January 30.  While swimming in the bay, Baden sees a stranger on the beach and a shark along the reef.  He returns to his bungalow and begins a diary intended to chronicle his far-flung assignments and failing health. Baden recalls purchasing the journal after his release from hospital on returning from Africa.

January 31.  Baden connects his computer to the internet while reflecting on his posting to the Pacific island of Takanga.  He ruminates on his surroundings and the nearby village, its culture and people.

February 1.  After taking a series of swims, Baden notes the prevalence of sharks in the water.

February 2.  Baden describes the stranger he noticed on the beach, a small and pale man.  He resolves to ask the local missionary, Reverand Robbins, for help.

February 3.  Following the shoreline to the village, Baden waits for Robbins’ Sunday service to conclude. The Reverand agrees to join Baden in his home for refreshments and conversation.  Baden asks Robbins for advice in reconnecting with his ex-wife, Mary, who lives in Chicago.  Robbins asks whether he left children at home, which wounds Baden.  Baden asks about the stranger, and Robbins offers a series of explanations for the man’s appearance on and disappearance from the beach.  The Reverand leaves, and Baden writes an email of affection and remorse to Mary. 

February 4.  Overnight, Baden sees the stranger outside his window and notices the man’s pointed teeth.  He asks Robbins about the history of cannibals on the island.  The Reverand agrees to gather information from the local ruler.  Baden writes another plaintive email to Mary. 

February 5.  Two locals carrying spears seize Baden and bring him to their king.  In a circle of stone, the ruler leads his people in a shamanistic ritual and hangs a carved bone talisman around Baden’s neck.  

After returning home, Baden experiences terrifying dreams and finds on the internet a spiritualist based in Los Angeles.  

 February 6.  Unable to sleep, Baden composes a lengthy email and takes a moonlit swim.  As day breaks, he reflects on the beauty of the island and its people.  Baden is elated to receive an email from his former father-in-law, Julius, that tells him Mary is returning from Africa, where she was searching for her ex-husband.

February 7.  Baden experiences terrible dreams.  The stranger visits in the night and promises not to hurt Baden.  At daybreak, Baden searches out the place of the king’s ritual.  In the jungle, he passes a pair of dilapidated buildings and a pile of charred human remains.  Arriving at the stone circle, Baden is accosted by the Reverand.  Robbins offers his thoughts on Baden’s charm, the whereabouts of a fallen temple, and the fate of Japanese soldiers left on the island after World War II.  

Later, Baden encounters the short stranger sitting beneath a tree along the beach.  The man introduces himself as Hanga and shows Baden how to make a hat from a palm frond.  Speaking in broken English, Hanga explains that the villagers send him offerings to keep him at bay.  Baden asks Hanga about the talisman and invites the man to visit him.  Hanga offers advice on Baden’s health and promises him safety.  As he starts home, Baden notices that Hanga has vanished.

Baden learns from Robbins that Hanga’s name means “shark” in the native language.  He receives a cautionary email from the California mystic.

February 9.  Baden reflects on the beauty of Hanga’s bay.  He visits with Robbins and learns that the king has summoned a shaman to treat him.  The Reverand tells Baden of ghosts and his encounter with a spirit along the road to the island’s North Point.  After leaving Robbins, Baden returns to the water and marvels at his swimming prowess.

February 11.  A bureau falls in Baden’s bungalow, revealing a book left by his predecessor.  Baden wonders about the fate of the last bureaucrat stationed on the island and why the villagers do not mention him. Overcome with illness, Baden collapses into bed.  Hanga appears to Baden, asking that his talisman be destroyed.  Baden undoes the cord running through the charm and witnesses Hanga transfigured.  Hanga cuts Baden’s arm with his teeth and trades a blood oath of friendship and security. 

Baden wakes in the amorous embrace of a witch doctoress, Langitokoua.  The pair discuss the presence of ghosts and the anticipated arrival of Mary.  Baden finds his amulet damaged despite believing his interaction with Hanga to have been a dream.  He receives by email a warning from the American psychic and a notice from Julius that Mary and her children on their way to Takanga.  Later in the day, Baden has sex with Langitokoua on the beach and sees a strange object circle overhead.  

Langitokoua swims with Baden in the bay and shows him a sunken temple.  A massive shark emerges from the ruins, sending Baden and Langitokoua to the shore.  Langitokoua places a bundle of flowers in the sea as an offering to the ancient gods.

February 14. In a state of shock, Baden writes that Mary has died but struggles to set down the details.

The prior evening, Baden and Langitokoua return to their bungalow after attending a feast in the village.  There they find Mary asleep with her twin boys, Mark and Adam.  In the morning, Langitokoua prepares breakfast and Baden reunites with his estranged family.  He considers his resemblance to his sons and admits to Mary the dire state of his health.  Mary describes renting a car at the airport and picking up a native hitchhiker that claimed to know Baden.  Adam and Mark appear uneasy, and the sound of surf grows loud.

Overwhelmed and in pain, Baden pauses his journal entry to nurse his injury and lay with Langitokoua.

February 17.  A plane arrives to bring Mark to hospital but is too small to take Baden, Langitokoua, and Adam.  A doctor examines Baden’s missing hand.  Baden resolves to steal the Reverand’s jeep while waiting for the next flight.

February 19.  Seated on a plane departing Takanga, Baden returns to his diary and revisits his final moments with Mary.  

Mary points out her native guide approaching the bungalow, although none of Baden or the others see him.  Baden learns later that the hitchhiker had been invisible to Adam and his brother.

The sea surges, Mary screams, and a shark flashes into view.  In a determined frenzy, the shark-god herds Baden’s family towards the waves.  Baden demands that Hanga spare his wives and sons, but his words go unheeded.  Slashing into the sea with a knife, Baden strikes a shark and loses his hand.  

In the aftermath, Baden and Langitokoua pull from the ocean an injured Mark and Adam and the shark-bitten corpse of Mary.  Baden reflects on Hanga and his motives.  Later, Baden drives the Reverand’s jeep to North Point, where he reconciles with Mary’s spirit. 

Aboard his flight away from the island, Baden learns that an engine has failed and spots Hanga swimming beside the plane.

(c) Matthew Chiarello 2025