‘If only I could stop him’ — Grieving wife

Grief hangs heavy over a village in Tailevu, where a wife’s last memory of her husband is a moment she wishes she could take back.

The body of 67-year-old Viliame Devo Tukai of Vatoa Village, Tailevu, a former Navy officer, was found last Saturday in Anitioki, Daku, Tailevu.

He had been missing at sea since the early hours of Thursday last week.

Police said no official report was lodged about his disappearance.

For his wife, Mereseini Dinawa, 50, the pain is still fresh.

In the early hours of Thursday, around 1am, Tukai woke his wife. He was preparing to go out to sea to collect sea cucumbers, a routine activity for many coastal villagers.

“He woke me up and asked me to find his torch,” Ms Dinawa said.

“I took it and gave it to him. If only I could stop him from going… I regret it.”

As dawn broke, she waited for her husband to return home. He did not.

Worried, she went down to the shoreline. The tide was high. She searched for any sign of him — his container or equipment — but found nothing.

“I ran back to the village asking for help,” she said.

Villagers quickly gathered and began searching the waters. Boats went out as prayers were whispered under the rising sun. There was still no sign of Tukai.

A resident of Anitioki settlement, Virisine Yalodei, who witnessed the recovery, said the sight was heartbreaking.

“When the body was found, the diving torch was still on his head. The sea cucumbers and his other equipment were still in his container tied to him,” Ms Yalodei said.

Ms Dinawa said each day brought hope he would be found alive. Each night brought fear of what the sea might return.

On Saturday, February 7, the search ended when his body was discovered in Anitioki.

A post-mortem examination later confirmed Tukai died from pulmonary oedema.

But for Ms Dinawa, the questions remain.

“If only I could stop him,” she said.