For 26 hours, Nicholas Aru fought the sea. In his mind were four daughters waiting for their father to come home.

Far away from where Nicholas was struggling to survive, his family was doing the only thing they could do.

They waited.

They prayed.

And they refused to believe he was gone.

Nicholas had left his family on Friday morning, September 11, to board the MV Matui.

At around 7am, the vessel departed.

His family expected it to arrive in West Ambae.

But Friday passed.

There was no word from Nicholas.

There was no sign of the vessel.

His brother became worried and went to Devils Rock to look for any sign of the ship.

Nothing.

The family began to fear that the vessel had been carried somewhere else by the sea.

They did not yet know what had happened.

Then, at around 3pm on Saturday, they saw news that a survivor had reached shore.

Hope returned.

The family immediately prepared Nikolas’ clothes, water and hot food.

They went to the Northern Provincial Hospital and waited for him.

They waited through the afternoon.

Then evening.

Then into the night.

By around midnight, there was still no Nicholas.

The family talked among themselves, trying to understand what was happening.

But they did not give up.

They went home and returned again early Sunday morning.

By 6am, they were waiting.

Still praying.

Still hoping.

Still believing that Nikolas would come home.

What they did not know was that, at that very time, Nicholas had already been rescued at Tutuba Island.

He had survived.

But the hours before his rescue had been a fight for his life.

Nicholas says six people had remained together in the sea, trying to stay close to keep warm as they battled the ocean.

He said the waves were strong around the islands.

Then he realised he was injured.

He believed a sawfish had struck his right buttock.

His trousers were damaged and he discovered that he was bleeding.

His fear was not only for himself.

He worried that his blood could attract sharks and put the others at risk, so he decided to swim the other direction.

He told one of the men who followed him to keep away.

But the man refused.

Nicholas found a cloth and tried to reach the wound. He used a rope from his trousers to tie it and help stop the bleeding.

Then he kept swimming.

For hours.

Eventually, they saw Tutuba.

But the older men was becoming too weak.

He wanted a boat.

Nicholas told him to remain strong and focus on reaching the island.

When the man became too weak to continue swimming, Nikolas told him to hold on to his legs.

Nicholas himself was injured and in pain.

But he kept moving.

He carried the man’s weight while continuing towards the shore.

And somewhere in those endless hours in the sea, Nicholas says his thoughts were with the people waiting for him.

His four daughters.

His parents.

His family in Namarasama village, West Ambae.

The people he wanted to return to.

He said he prayed to the Lord for strength and protection, trusting that he would be guided back to land.

After about 26 hours in the sea, Nikolas finally reached shore.

He was found at Tutuba Island, where he was taken in by people on the island with rescue operations by Helper 1.

His family did not know he had survived.

They were still waiting.

Still praying.

Still preparing themselves for the possibility that he might walk through the hospital doors.

Today, Nicholas is recovering in the surgical ward at Northen District Hospital.

His aunt, Kathy Bani, is with him and spoke with VBTC NEWS about his recovery and the family’s long wait.

He is eating again, including pumpkin soup, as he regains his strength.

But physically recovering is only part of the journey.

Nicholas is still too emotional to meet his biological parents and siblings.

He wants to recover first.

Perhaps because after everything he has been through, seeing the faces of the people he thought about while fighting for his life may be more than he can bear right now.

His four daughters were waiting for their father.

His parents were waiting for their son.

And for two days, his family did not know whether they would ever see him again.

Now they know he is alive.

But the reunion they have been praying for has yet to come.

Nicholas survived the sea. His family survived the waiting.

And somewhere between those two struggles is a story of a father who kept swimming because he still had people waiting for him at home.

This feature is based on survivor testimony provided to VBTC NEWS by Nicholas Aru’s aunt, Kathy Bani, who is with him at the hospital. Details are presented according to those accounts.