The gushing sound of the water that keeps thrusting back onto the shore for kisses wakes me up to scorching sunlight. Heat promises not to back down, no matter what, it shall continue charring the pelt of every mortal of Eve. The sound of rustling leaves is ever so rejuvenating! This environment with pleasant chirping of birds is the apt moment to take a good nap but ironically, that is what woke me up. The earth felt grainy and drier than ever and the taste in my mouth didn’t ally with my tongue. I sat up and looked around like a child looks for their mother. My eyes scrolled the scene, scanning every bit. It was too bright at first but the light cleared off my eyes as the scrolling continued.
Blue, Golden, and that’s it. Those were the prominent colors of the beach. “What am I doing here?” I asked myself. One palm backwards to keep my balance and a backstory flashed. A piece of metal engraved my palm into a bloody trickle. I glanced from the corner of my eye to as far as I could see from that edge behind me and all I saw was pieces and other pieces. I was wondering of what?
It was a shipwreck. Yes it was bad. How that navigator lost his direct on the metal beast that thrust itself on that blue glade of freshness. I was looking out of my cabin window. I could see the ocean wither away under the might of that beast and how the sky unleashes its fury on one hard hit. “Thud!” goes the ship and with it I fall. The women and children scream in distress. How gravity was pulling us closer towards its love and we didn’t want to get close. A cruise ship so mighty, that one blow can take the life of millions. We create it and it deceives us? Cruel and cold hearts are not rare. I get on to a life boat when this man comes to save my life in his blue puffed jacket and thick metal head. How I was glad that my parents were not on board! I was on a trip with my friends actually. I got on to a safety boat and the man rows us away from the tragic site. I see many, many people screaming to us to save them but with remorse we row on for if we go back, we shall ne’er return. There was a hole in the boat that let us back to the water. We were swimming. I guess- I guess I was indeed the only one to get across. God bless that man. God bless all those departed souls!
The heat doesn’t back out. I somehow carry my weight up into an attention posture. My hands feel heavy and my eyes can’t decide when to coincide those two images that float in front of me. My legs are shaking and I feel weak like I haven’t eaten in a year. I collapse back onto the sand and snooze off into another slumber.
My eyes open to a starry sky, starrier than ever before. I sit up and look around. I feel better than before but I still feel slightly uneasy. I hear a growl and I momentarily freeze. I hear it again and again like it is getting closer and louder. All my ears can comprehend are those growling noises. It feels like it is coming from the inside of me. Yes, it’s my tummy. I am extremely hungry. I look around for food. The broken ship did send me favors. There was an entire crate of wonderful delicacies that I have never eaten before!!! There were carrots and cabbages and beetroots and seaweed and zucchinis and seaweed. I dive into the treasure chest and stuff as much of the food I can into my gob. It is also seasoned with golden sand.
It is dark and I can’t see much into the distance. It is vague but I can see movement. Far in the distance I can see a shadowy figure moving closer. It looks like a human but I can’t say. It looks like an animal but I can’t say. But it is surely moving and it is moving wild. I am scared but at the same time I am anxious to know what it is. I am not in the state of thinking, let alone running. If that thing can run, then it can also think, and that means it can help me get off this isle. But that is only if it is a human.
As the figure gets closer, my hopes start to dim. It looks like an animal or to be specific a kind of cat. It is on all fours and has a large mane. I turn around and pick up my pace before it gets any closer. It is better I get away rather than wait and let it engulf me into its bloody choir.
I am running and I can’t believe that I am not falling face front. But my legs are shaking and I am trying to hold still and keep my buoyancy. Fear drives one crazy regardless of ones skills. Back at home I am an athlete and here I am merely a coward who is trying to get away with her life. I am exhausted but like the sun I am not backing down. I soon confront tall trees. It is a forest. I am scared but I have to stay alive so I go into it. I run past shrubs and trees and bushes and probably tons of other animals that I may not have noticed but I run. I glance back to see if that figure was following me. I start slowing down when I realize it no longer was. What was that? It was best that I didn’t wait to find out. It gets darker as the forest canopy savors the entire moon light that touches it. I walk into fear. Every step increases my heart rate.
Is that light? It looked like a torch or a fireplace. Curiosity and hope each held one hand of mine and hauled me towards the light. As I got closer, I could hear something musical or rather more rhythmic. Like an entire civilization settled here. I was not wrong actually. It looked like a tribe. I peeped over the sly bushes and to my amazements, I saw civilians. I was so exultant! My joy knew no bounds. I was pleased to see organisms of the same species as me. I move into the raucous and everybody stops their celebrations. All eyes are on me. They all have civil clothes on. Some have leaf patches on their arms. The women look overdressed. Their hair filled with accessories. The staring continues.
A little kid runs over to me and holds my hand. She looks me in the eye. I can feel her tiny fingers intertwining with mine. A man comes towards me. “Where are you from?” and to my utmost surprise, they speak English!
They make me feel home and invite me to supper. They told me that they all got here on wrecks. They came in batches. I was the first survivor who came alone. They asked me how I survived. It felt nice to be among people of your own kind. I soon fell asleep.
Grrrrrr. My eyes patted open half way. I saw a shadowy figure prowling in the sight. The leaky saliva drenches my face into a slobbery mess. I am really tired so I close my half opened eyes. And that was followed by a gory roar that sent a shiver down my spine and I opened my eyes wide ad it pounds onto my body with all fours and……
I wake up. Thank the holy heavens that it was merely a dream. I was up just at daybreak. My tummy growls. I eat my fill at breakfast.
I still wonder what the shadowy figure was. Well its best I never know. The men of the tribe arm themselves with resources and weapons. I ask them where they are headed to. They say that they are going to find a way out of the island. I offered my intelligence but they refused. They said I was too young. The men move on. I take the other part out of civilization and go out to explore. I keep walking until I am faced with a big black rock. Or was it a rock? It was the hull of a ship. I was surprised that the civilians hadn’t bothered to explore this. I go back to civilization and tell them about what I found.
“Child! How did you get back?”
“What do you mean?”
“What did you see? Did you see the big black-“
“Ship?”
“No my dear. The beast.”
“What beast?”
“The beast. The one animal that has kept us watch all night. That devil that savored so many of our family members. The beast guards the ship. How did you get past it?”
“There was no beast.”
Three men run outside the forest towards the clearing. “It has come true!”
“What has come true?” I asked.
“The prophecy. When the moon and sun betroth in the sky, the beast shall find its Achilles’ heel, the beast shall go in drunken slumber and shall set its prisoners free.”
“I- I don’t quite understand”
“Look at the sky my dear! Look at the sun and look at the moon. The sun and moon have come out today, together. They have been to their betrothal. The beast has gone into hibernation due to the might of the sunlight and moonlight uniting! We will have to escape now. We have to leave before twilight falls. This is our chance. Hurry now all civilians. Take all that is dear to you. Let us go back to civilization. The heavens are smiling upon us.”
And with those mighty words, every man, woman and child, grab their belongings and run toward the ship. The ship surprisingly, is in really good condition with slight mending here and there. The entire mass of civilians thrust their efforts onto hauling the-three-quarter-submerged-ship back into complete submersion into the sea. It took us a while but we made it. We all boarded the ship and sailed away.
3 months later, we see land. Everybody jumps and screams with joy! We drop anchor as we pull close. Police forces send us speed boats and take us back to land. We smell like rotten food and dead animals. I was so glad that we got back. I was soon returned to my parents as I learnt that they sent an entire team of search forces to find my location. I was surrounded by news reporters and they asked me a lot of questions. My eyes started watering to the memory of my friends’ deaths. There was a funeral conducted and I was invited. We moaned the loss of many innocent lives. “Amen!” says the whole crowd.
I was just glad that I survived with little or no resources. It took me a while to regain my immunity but I was well soon. I resumed my activities with full energy. All was well.
***********************************************************
This is a story that I wrote as an article for my school newspaper. Please leave a comment/ suggestion if you like it!
***********************************************************
