Chapter 2 The Jurnal

I woke at dawn to chattering monkeys and lively birds. The start of day two was so far a noisy one the sky painted with magnificent colors the reflected on anything the dew drops touched. I folded up the blanket and stored it away with the pillow. Peering outside saw a large fat bird pecking at the seeds in the fruit I left the night before. I searched through the containers and found a book that held the spices of the Bahamas. Flipping through, I could not find the bird I saw before me. Its ivory tipped wings and it lethal black and blissful blue feathered body gave more reason to fear it glistening talons and it sharp slightly curved beak. A small light brown monkey startles this magnificent creature away to get the fruit it is denied higher up by its larger companions. I giggle and it chatters at me before scrambling up the tree. After eating my fruit I place the remains under the tree again seeing the curious little monkey. Today I will search the beach again. 

When I arrive there is more drift wood than I remember scattered about. Stacking all this wood into three piles makes it easy to see how much fire wood I will have in the coming nights, as well as how much building wood. This takes until sun high, by now the back of my light brown t-shirt is soaked with sweat from my labor, my hands aching and blistered where there are no slivers, my neck, nose, forehead, and arms are burnt from constantly being exposed to the sun. finding a tree with sufficient shade and fallen leafs under it I lay down tenderly pulling out slivers and cutting out what I cannot get with my nails, this hurts but must be done to prevent any infections from starting. From hear one can see the heat of the day beating off the backed tan sand and practically pulsing off the lazy waves that roll in over the sand, a small hermit crab peaks out from under a rock. It seems to be looking at a rock only a foot away from its own. There must be something important there that it wants because it darts over the hot sand like a little dot. Once in the shade it stands perfectly still as if trying to cool off, after a few minutes another hermit crab appears. They circle each other a few times and whale locked in this dizzying dance they disappear under the rock. I begin to think about cooking the little hermit crabs, I would need some kind of meat soon or I would surly begin to perish from malnutrition. 

It is already day two of being on the island of the sea devil. No fishing boats ever came out this way, without the village people I would never have found the reef. I am only a biology teacher at a Tech Collage in Wisconsin Rapids, what could I possibly know. What is more puzzling than much else is this island is not marked on any maps, we were told about it by the villagers. I am nearly fifty miles east of the Bahamas, what had happened that this island apparently does not exist? What happened to these people? I must find this out before I am rescued, but first I must learn to survive all over again.

A seagull pecks at something on the edge of the tree line a few feet away, it was brown flat and unmoving. A fish perhaps?  Standing I startle it, trying to fly off with the item proved to be impossible. It squawked at me then took off leaving the item. Walking over I see it was small, bound in brown leather. Picking it up I opened it the pages loomed ever blank, I was thrilled to find this. I slipped it into one of my larger pockets and continued working until night fall. With my arms full of fire wood I headed back to my little hut. As I approached I was delighted to find and expectant monkey and a puffed up beautiful bird. Setting down the wood by the leaf pile I went inside retrieving two fruit, on I cut in half and tossed it over to them. Imedintly the little monkey snatched one half as the bird dug its talon into another as if daring anyone to try and take it. I went back inside and rummaged around for something to write with and came out with a box of pens, testing one I went back out and began a sketch of them. When they finished eating they disappeared, leaving me to my fruit. That night, after I built a small fire, I recorded in this once empty journal my first two days on this island in full detail. 

Dawn came again with fruit for breakfast and another sketching session. 

Journal Entry #2                                 March 28, 2002 

Day 3 of island life

They came closer to the hut this morning as I put away my blanket and pillow. A quick glance threw the window. The monkey, which I‘ve decide to name after its fur being a light caramel color is close to where I have my fires. The bird, a female which I have named after her ivory tipped wings, is a bit further than the fire. Pungi fruit seem to be a preference for Caramel and Ivory. They get along well enough, or rather until food comes into the picture. I’ve begun to collect seeds in a small wooden bowl. I will use these to grow more fruit so I do not deplete my resources. 

This morning I came upon a large piece of durable smoothed bark. Looping a rope threw the corners I could pull it like a sled over the roots and other things that made hauling wood difficult. I tried it out with a light load getting heavier with each trip. Finishing before high noon I took my collected seeds and headed for the garden. This time I noticed Caramel fallowing me in the trees. This could be a problem as he could easily come here and take all the fruit he wanted. The garden came into sight and Caramel took off. Stopping at the edge of the over turned soil he chattered at what looked like a plant from where I stood puzzled and confused. Moving closer however I noticed it was a rather large iguana. It was lying in the garden dead. Around its muzzle you could see the dried residue of nightmare berries. These brought death if eaten plane but made into a special paste it had the ability to help burn off poising. I dragged it out by its tail and placed it on the sled with the empty fruit basket and my bowl of seeds. After that little discovery by Caramel I gave him a whole fruit to himself, he ate half and disappeared into the bushes. 

The sky was turning all sorts of beautiful brilliant colors. Mixtures of yellows, blues, purples, pinks, reds, and oranges made the sky look like a masterpiece. Even the sprinkling of thin clouds looked as though they too were painted in. Clouds, this meant rain was on the way and I had no roof of any sort to keep my little hut dry and safe. Hurrying back I was meat by Caramel and Ivory who was finishing half a fruit. I smiled at Caramel who chattered at me wagging his tail like a person would to get someone to fallow. Confused I followed him into the trees stopping when I noticed the large leafs on the ground, I was so thrilled I could have hugged him. I quickly gathered as many as I could handle carrying and headed back to the hut. I started a fire before I began my work. Twisting and crossing the large leafs together was the easy part, pealing the individual fragments apart was another matter entirely. I had watched and helped the locals of the fishing village before but it was indeed very hard to do. They were delicate on their own but woven together they were as strong as the bark of a tree. It took me almost a half hour to get one line finished on my own, no sign of rain just yet although more clouds cluttered the sky darker with more of a threat. I tied this line down to a bamboo and secured that to the roof before weaving the original to the one I made. Just as it started to rain I got the last line on. Hurrying to get things covered outside brought in a couple logs of wood and some dried leaves. Caramel and Ivory were outside still, I looked outside and they were trying to share the shelter of a bush. Thunder cracked overhead and both jumped, pulling aside some of the blanket and bug net that covered the door frame they both rand inside after a moment of hesitation. Thankfully I had replaced all the stones that were needed for the fireplace with the stack that took the smoke up and out of the hut. Soon I had a small cozy fire going, and Caramel and Ivory were snuggled up close to it as I set out my bedding. I slowly cooked the iguana over the small fire and stored it up high having a little for myself I left the guts in a basket in the corner to dispose of in the morning. This was the end of day three, as I watch the fire dye out I remember home and those I have left behind. Goodnight to them all I hope they are well.

Journal Entry #3                                March 29, 2002

Day 4 of Island Life

I was woken this morning by a chattering little caramel colored monkey jumping on my legs as an ivory wing tipped bird is ripping at the iguana guts in the corner. I am both startled and astonished at this sight, now I know who to give my leftovers to when I cook meat. Sitting up Caramel actually jumped up onto my shoulder and Ivory looked over for a moment before going back to her ripping and tearing at the meat. I gave Caramel half a fruit and a quarter fruit to Ivory who ignored it for a bit before eating it. Moving aside the curtain I had cut from fabric I saw I would have a lot to clear out today. Many leaves and branches had fallen and a tree had barely missed our little hut. I would have to somehow move that out of the way. 

It only took an hour to get all the fallen leafs and branches out of the way as Caramel kept darting off towards the beach chattering in a high pitched way. I eventually fallowed him to the beach where seaweed had washed ashore, and parts from the boat had floated in as well as some more items I may be able to use. I managed to find a few shirts and pants as well as a couple pairs of shorts scattered about the beach. I found one of two pairs of hiking boots that were stored aboard the ship as well as an unopened bag of socks. My finds were indeed a shock to me since I had no idea they were still aboard the ship. Ivory took to pecking at a camera that had been drenched, I had no idea if it would work after the water but I am certain it won’t work after Ivory got her beak on it. Taking all these things back with me I began to think of making a clothes line. If I pealed the bark off certain trees I could brad them together to make a rope, all I needed was one rope to hang the wet clothes on after I find a way to wash the salt out of them. For now however I will leave them in a basket out of reach, I will find a way to wash them later on in the day. It’s now lunch time and the hut is quite cool at this time since it is well shaded and the cloth that hangs over the doorway and the windows holds in the cool air. Caramel and Ivory play with some bark strips off to one side of me as I twist and bind three other strips together to make a sturdy rope. 

This took me threw sun high, it is still hot outside but it is time to explore for running water. There must be a stream or something nearby. Animals can’t get all of their water from plants. Soon I came upon a small stone path behind my little hut, I fallowed this for near ten minutes before I could hear the trickling of a stream just up ahead. Ivory darted a crossed my path with a loud squawk causing me to stumble and fall to the ground. This was unusual behavior for her so I sat up slowly as she was right in front of me. Her wings were raised in the same defensive posture that she had when protecting her fruit rations from the ever hungry Caramel. I slowly looked around and finally noticed a pair of yellow green eyes peering out of the bushes at us. Caramel was already up the nearest tree and Ivory was posed to fight, I had my hunting knife hanging on my hip. It was a good thing to be prepared. I got on one knee swiftly slipping the knife free of its confinement. When I looked back the eyes were gone and Ivory returned to a relaxed stance. I stood putting the knife back and looking around for any sign of the creature that had startled my companions but saw nothing. 

“I wonder what that could have been. You would tell me if you could wouldn’t you Ivory.” I said with a joking chuckle. Walking on I came a crossed the stream with large smooth rocks and a few rocks that tilted one end in the water the other end out. Smooth bumps ran horizontal to the water level both in and out of the water like a wash board. Ivory again acted on edge and I looked around taking out my knife expecting the eyes to appear somewhere again. To my amazement I came face to face with another human being. Although I could not pick out wither or not this person was native to a fishing village off the island or just a figment of my imagination. He was tall with dark tan skin, his muscles were well toned, and his hair cut very short in a raged sort of way. His face was slightly longer looking than that of the fishing village people, his nose long and thin, his lips were full and he had deep sad brown eyes. In his hand he carried a long spear with feathers like Ivory’s hanging on it, for clothing he wore a cloth that seemed to be draped over his shoulder and tied behind him after one end was wrapped around his waist and tied off. The cloth was brightly colored with the sun brilliantly displayed over his chest, light blue waves were on the very edge of the part of the cloth that was around his waist, and other little shapes and symbols decorated the rest of the cloth. He studied me as I studied him, his eyes stopping on the knife in my hand. Slowly I slipped it back into its sheath and he lowered his spear. Ivory had disappeared into the bushes and Caramel was nowhere to be seen. 

After a while he crouched down and filled what looked like an animal’s organ with water from the stream. Not daring to turn around in case he should change his mind on not harming me I began to slowly back away. His only reaction was to look up and diaper into the trees behind him, after that I raced back to the little hut I clamed for myself and started a sketch of what this man looked like. Later once I had finished I decided it was time to wash the clothes I had found, I was a little disappointed that he was not there. Although perched on top of one of the smooth stones a crossed the stream was a small basket with a handmade scrubber, a sweet smelling bar, and full water skin much like the one he had been carrying. I ignored it for a while although finding it hard to scrub the clothes fully clean I looked up and no one came to clamed the basket. Slowly I wadded a crossed to it examining the contents again I saw that each had the sum emblem on them. I looked around once more before taking the basket with me to the other side. The scrub brush proved to be a great deal of help and I even managed to wash myself off some. 

Hurrying back to the hut I took a handful of iguana meat and a few fruit with some herbs placing them in a basket I took them back to the stream and placed them on a rock in clear view hoping that someone besides an animal would take them. 

Night time is rolling around now and already my gift left behind had disappeared from sight. I built a small fire for the night Ivory and Caramel settled down by the warmth of it as I recorded all that’s happened in this journal. After the fire dies out I will go to bed in my little hut.

Its dark outside and I can hear something circling the hut. Ivory and Caramel are huddled in a corner. Ivory’s wings are up in defense, and I have lit some leafs on fire so I may have a little light to find my knife and see what is going on. After a few times going around the noise ceases. Ivory and Caramel are on either side of me fast asleep again, and after a couple hours I fall asleep propped against the wall a crossed from door frame knife covered and in my lap. 

Author's Note

Ignore spelling and grammar, productive criticism accepted.