o10. "Do your uncle's bonsai [trees] eat meat?"

Pi's perilous journey comes to an end as their lifeboat lands on a beach in Mexico. Immediately upon arrival, without warning or even so much as a glance at Pi, Richard Parker takes off, leaving Pi all by himself. Pi is broken hearted as he realizes he will never see this companion that he spent such a significant part of his life with ever again. Heroic locals find the perishing boy lying on a beach hours later, and immediately take him to get medical attention. Considering the extraordinary events he experienced, Pi's tale seems tall to two Japanese men who work for the Ministry of Transportation. The men question him about the sinking of the cargo ship, and his journey but they are sceptical about Pi's story and are not able to decipher a reason for the ship's sinking. In order to satisfy these doubting men, Pi provides a more realistic story, which they believe right away. Out of Pi's miraculous survival comes a realization about God that brings tears to Pi's eyes. Piscine Molitor Patel has been saved.