The Island

  by Jaycee Wissner

There was once an island, far off in the water of the ocean, beyond any hope of doubt for those who fall upon it's shores with no boat nor vessel. One day, in the thin of the air, a lone girl appeared upon the island's face, a face quite small, quite scarce. The child looked upon the trees for signs of life or food. She learned to climb and survived on bare leaves for 8 years. As the years went on, her tugging and stripping killed the trees and they shriveled and fell. Why was she there? She could not understand. Why could she not deserve the dry land and warmth? 9 years beyond that time of famine fell before the girl's life, leaving her starved and broken. Finally, upon the distant horizon, a boat appeared. A boat so grand and spectacular, it could only be a beacon of hope. She took the shriveled barks and formed fire of it's wood. The light, being a source of distress, called the boat in her direction. She felt saved. Soon after, the fire died. The boat lost it's direction and headed in the wrong way. The girl struggled, but managed to once again light the wood as a beacon. The boat realized it's mistake and turned towards the island. In the night, however, a storm brewed. The waters of the storm smoldered her fire, and the boat tossed and turned to the mighty waves. From horizon to horizon, it appeared the whole world was under siege of a monstrous hurricane. Her world was falling apart. Unable to light the soaked bark anymore, she screamed and she shouted to no avail. Finally, she took one long deep breath and screamed a mighty shout that shook the world as she knew it. The dark clouds shivered at the sound and subsided. The waters calmed and the seas turned as if a lake. There was no current and the boat was trapped. The girl, seeing this, took of the mighty trunks that remained and lifted it up into the air. She took the tree like a large pole and stuck it into the waters depth. She twisted and turned the waters. Soon, the waters of her island began to reclaim it's currents. Rings of shifting water pushed from her island like the waves of a splash when one drops a pebble in a puddle. It reached the far corners of the earth, and with the currents back in motion, the winds began to stir. The boat was saved. It was now close enough that it could navigate to the island without the need of the fire to guide it. The boat stopped a few hundred yards away from the shores. The captain came to the bow of the boat and called in a mighty voice, "My dear! How long have you been trapped upon this forsaken isle?" The girl responded, "Seventeen years, sir!" The captain, as well as the commander, upon hearing this were amazed. "Are you hungry?" "I am starving and broken, sir. I stripped the isle of food but nine years ago." The captain heard this and his mind stirred. He did not believe that someone could survive for seventeen years this way. However, also having witnessed the powerful acts she had performed, he was tempted to see how true this was. "My dear, we have banquets of food on board. We have dry beds and clean clothes. We are a powerful ship and can take you to shore." The girl felt great enjoyment to know that her suffering was over, but she did not expect what the captain would say next. "However, you may not board this ship. Not yet. We will wait upon these shores for 4 years more. At the end of those 4 years, you may board and we will lavish you with food and warmth and take you to shore." The captain, in his head, was intrigued by this girl's power, and as such, he planned to use these four years to decide whether or not to hold to his word, or to take her prisoner and use her strength for his own purposes. "To show we will be true to our word, we will bring you but one meal to partake of now. Know that this is your future should you so wish to wait it through." The ship mates swam to shore and presented her with a three course meal. It was the most delicious thing she had ever partaken of, though considering she had not had real food for her entire life, this was not saying much. Days went by, as did months. Night fell one twilight evening and the girl decided she could not take it much longer. When she was sure the crew had fallen asleep, she swam out to the boat and began to climb aboard, While scaling the massive vessel, a rung broke beneath her leg, making a loud snap. The commander shot out of bed and leaned out the closest window to the noise to see the girl climbing aboard. He ran to deck and leaned over the ladder to berate the girl. He knew what would happen should the girl be found by the captain. She slid to the water and waited for the commander to fall asleep again. She climbed silently to the deck and navigated her way to the kitchen. The pantries opened and raided, she ate a quick meal and left the boat, leaving everything as she found it. Night broke and she was once again in her position on shore, the captain never the wiser. After a year passed, the captain realized he'd made a huge mistake. The boat was running out of food itself, and the ship's crew was growing weary of the scarce diet they were forced into. Unbeknown, the girl had twice boarded the ship for a taste of forbidden fruit since her last visit. Finally, with the captain watching from the bow, the girl stood and yelled to the captain "I will not stand this anymore. I have been here for eighteen years. I am going to board the ship now and you will take me to shore." The captain refused, "You will do no such thing. If you come near this boat we will not stay near shore." He was true to his word, and as the girl swam towards the boat, the captain sailed further. The girl swam back to shore, defeated. The captain would never truly leave the island, he resolved. At least not until the girl was proven powerful and he claimed her for his own. The girl realized she was beyond her time. The powers in her had faded, but she would not give away that secret. Suddenly, one day, she noticed something new on the island. From the ground, vines grew. Long, taut vines were making their way in neat lines where the girl could see, but the ship was blind to. In the night, the girl began to gather tree trunks and tie them tight. She dug a large hole where she could hide her project before day break. The captain never the wiser. Finally, after a year and a half of the boat's arrival, the girl had successfully formed a raft. Tested and perfected, she knew it would carry her to shore, should she find the right direction. The girl once more stood in the sight of the captain and called to him, "You are an influential man, Captain. You have witnessed my strength and my resolve to arrive to shore. Surely, you can understand, as you too would feel suffering should you be in my position. Now I ask not a response, for I know you have never been where I stand, but I tell you now, you will wake up one morning and I shall be gone. Should you choose to follow me and ask forgiveness I will board your ship and share my power with you. I will protect your ship until we reach shore, where you may prove your new found sympathy and I will stand by your side. However, you may choose to forget me and bring your crew members to safety before you believe you can trust my power to protect your ship from starvation and disaster. I will not blame you and will forgive your distrust, but it is not in the interest of my well-being to be starved myself upon these sands." The captain was shocked at her words and believed them to be a bluff. Surely, she would not survive the trip to shore herself. She would drown or be ripped in two by the treacherous seas. Should she be honest though, he knew what he would do. Of course, what other choice was there. He would protect his crew and still make her his prisoner. After all, as a master of deception, he knew he had the power to. Night fell twice before in the sands words appeared. The girl scrambled to the message and read it many times over "It is time to leave. The time is right. I will protect you with all my might. And should the waters prove his lie, the waters too will make them die." After making sure she trusted the message, she boarded her raft and swam off in the direction which pulled her. She knew this was the way. She was saved. Day broke, and the raft was not yet far enough out that it could not be seen from the ship. The captain, enraged, sailed the ship in the direction of the raft at full speed. The currents moved and shifted in their path, but he fought their pull and made his path in a dark rampage. The waters beyond their boat exceeded the waters beneath, and the girl's raft moved at a vicious speed of which the boat could not follow. Soon, the waters stopped. and the boat made it's way to the raft and was halted. "My dear, I agree, I have been heartless. Let me extend my hand and start anew and we shall face the waters together." The wind blew in the girl's ear and whispered to her "Believe him not, his lie's sincere, but die he not as you have feared, The raft you ride shall prove you now, as you bring it to the bow." The girl stood upon the raft and called up to the ecstatic captain. "I will not board your ship. But I will hold to my word. Throw me a rope. I will tie my raft to your boat, and you need not sail nor steer, for I shall guide the boat to safety." The captain stood with an incredulous look upon his face. Surely, she must have lost her mind. But wanting her to trust him, he put down his sails and brought down their rope. The girl brought the raft to the front of the boat and tied it's back to the bow. Suddenly, the waters churned and the raft began to move, the boat towed behind it. The captain in resignation, stood upon the bow and watched the seas unfurl before him. He had seen the shores before, quite obviously, and he now truly believed he shall see them once more with the power of this young girl. Soon, the mainland was visible. At this point, the commander threw the girl fresh clothes, of which she changed into. Upon docking, the arrival of the strange girl proved shocking. The captain was welcomed back to shore, yet the girl had yet to prove herself. The captain, when asked, would deny the stories of the mysterious girl who brought his boat to safety and saved his life. Soon, in the pub, the girl sat across from the captain, who felt himself defeated. "Captain, I owe you my life." "Do you now? I was struggling and you survived. With your power, you would have survived many years more." "I think not. The powers which guided us were beyond me. I have been without power for many weeks now, but now I will prosper. I want you to look into the streets. This extravagant town has it's downtrodden as I myself had been. I do not live among the riches as you feel I'd be brought to, but I live among those downtrodden." "Then how will you prosper, my dear? You are only once again among the poor, weak, and helpless." "No. We look as such, but we are not. Just as much as you have humbled times, we have the beauties. Our struggles are deep, but love is still no less than any aristocrat, nor politician, nor artisan. There is an elderly gentlemen among us. He helps us survive and befriends our young and speaks our name. But he is not poor, nor weak. He is a rich man from the high end of town who feels the pain we sometimes experience." "How so? Hasn't he not been among you, nor of your position?" "Quite the opposite.  When he was young, he was with us. Just as poor, just as pained." "But that is just one-" "That I speak of," she finishes. "There are others before us and they have lived a happy and joyous life. These people have escaped their lonely isles, and that is what brings them as one. No matter they be in the streets or the mansions, they all shared a common struggle. That is what frees me. That instead of lying to myself and abandoning my past to join the aristocrat I never was, I'm living the life that is the truth to the people who've seen daybreak on a shoreline of hope. Community. Love." "At first, I believed you to be a powerful thing, and I wanted you to be happy as a rich person to be by my side, but I really wanted you to be happy cause I knew you were struggling." "And I'm alright because I'm myself, and just because I don't happened to be as rich or high class as you doesn't mean I can't stand by your side." The captain froze, and as he looked into her eyes, he saw the understanding of things beyond his knowledge. And though knew not the struggles which lie ahead, he knew he always had a place in this community. This love.

~End~