My stomach was churning. Apart from the pleasure of having these little processions, I now began to realize the harsh reality of the situation; where was I? Why couldn’t I see anyone? Where should I go...perhaps I should walk a little further into the island…but How long will I walk for? What if the beach never ends…all sorts of questions rose in my mind which I had no answers for. Shading my eyes from the sun, I limped forward, hoping to find an end to the beach. I finally saw trees about a quarter of a mile ahead, it seemed a thick jungle…the idea gave me the creeps, I’d hoped to find houses and buildings but there seemed none…all sorts of horrible ideas popped into my mind and I kept walking dreading the worst. On reaching the edge of the jungle; I sat under one of the trees, in order to catch my breath. The chickens in my arms were growing restless and I, losing every pint of energy and patience, wanted to throw them aside. But instead I grabbed the chickens between my legs and cut a small piece of rope. I then tied the chickens to the tree I was leaning against. Placing the knife and the rest of the rope near me I rested my head on the trunk and closed my eyes. I didn’t know when night fell or when I fell asleep…but soon I was waken up by the noise of the insects which were probably surrounding me…it was night already and I couldn’t see a thing…the insect bites were itching painfully, I howled with pain and cried with hunger. Twigs under me cracked and bore into my skin like sharp nails, I spread my blanket on the floor and rolled myself in it…the cold gusts of wind brushed through my hands and face like sharp icy needles…I cuddled into a ball, imagining that I was back in my mothers' lap…safe, warm and happy…it seemed as if I had long forgotten the meaning of 'happiness'…I prayed to God to spare me…my troubles were too great to be borne alone…hoping for the sun to rise I continued dreaming…I was a child again .
2nd JUNE, 1960
When I woke up the next day, my arms were full of insect bites; large red sores covered my face, hands and feet. My churning stomach reminded me of how hungry I was, looking around, I got up, first with difficulty, as yesterday's exhaustion had weakened me immensely, but my spirit rose just by looking at the glorious sun; its radiating brightness soaked into my skin and the warming sensations it gave was immensely comfortable. My thirst and hunger restored the harsh reality to me and I looked around to find my little possessions which I'd rescued from the boat yesterday; the chickens were safely tied to the tree trunk, now getting more restless than ever, my knife and rope were also placed just near the tree and despite having nothing to wear except the blanket I decided to tie it around myself with a piece of rope. Holding the chickens in both arms and the knife and rope fastened to the rope around my waist; I walked further into the undergrowth…feeling fresher…yet more afraid.
How desperate I was to find another human being!…tell them about what I've gone through…to get help…I walked and walked hoping, in suspense, of finding a house which I expected to be in every other clearing I approached…but in vain were my efforts… useless was my struggle…I was close to collapsing when I heard a familiar sound…water! I could hear a waterfall somewhere…and it was near...my heart leapt at the thought…I was finally going to find humans…water…food…oh! How glad I was at the mere idea of such luxuries which once were so unimportant, so insignificant to me… the waterfall was located in a clearing which was about 50 meters across…I tasted water after what seemed like weeks. Filling my stomach with as much as it could hold, I stood up and on looking around found that the trees in this part of the island were very tall, thin but tall…sunlight reached the ground in split rays, it was warmer here than over the beach; the trees defended me from the frosty against winds. Now that I had more breath…after drinking water…I decided to search the surrounding area…but fist I had to put my chickens somewhere safe, I took out the same piece of rope I'd cut the previous night and tied their feet to a tree trunk nearby. My chickens had gone rather quiet…they too hadn't eaten anything since yesterday; but I could see a few earthworms wriggling around the base of the tree and was at ease to find my chickens pecking at them excitedly. I was sure to find people living around the waterfall…people always live around areas where there's water… I searched about one kilometer around the waterfall…but no matter which direction I walked I found not a single person…nor could a house or hut of any kind was in sight.
That night I came back to the waterfall…exhausted and starving I hadn't eaten for two whole days now and I felt as if my stomach was shrinking…the pain was unbearable…my chickens seemed better now…they were cuddled around one and other…sleeping…it was getting dark already, I had to do something…I couldn't let the worms wriggle on top of me the whole night or the insects suck all my blood like yesterday… then it came to me…there were two trees out of the group which were relatively short and had their coconut tree-like leaves spread quiet wide, so I climbed up one of the trees which was twice my height; grabbing the trunk with my legs I tied the rope in a loop, threw it over on of the leaves form the other tree and after many unsuccessful attempts I finally caught the leave in the loop and pulled it…when the leaf was in arm’s reach I took out a piece of rope which I’d cut and tied to my waist prior to climbing and tied leaves from both the trees…I kept ton top of the tree until I had tied all the leaves of the two trees together. It was an exhausting task, but this wasn’t the end… I had to get something to lie on for the night…as the worms and insects were sure to find me near water. I found a plant…it looked strange but proved helpful…it had a fragile stem but its leaves were broad and soft…like that of a banana tree, but there was no fruit on it. So I cut off the leaves with my knife and laid them on top of one another, under the shade of the hut which I'd just made from the tree leaves…my little hut was ready but my little stomach roared angrily… what was I to do…the day's exhaustion lead me to sleep quickly that night.
3rd JUNE, 1960
Today I went to the beach again, to fish! Can anyone believe it?...me…fishing in the sea… the idea popped into my head so abruptly while I was looking around the trees today morning…trying in vain to look for some fruit which to my disappointment were nowhere to be found…at first I was quite shocked at the exceptional idea of FISHING, but then my empty stomach was driving me crazy, its occasional churning had turned into frequent loud rumbling noises which would hurt so badly that I at times, was almost crying…but I had to be strong…maybe there WERE people near this area but just a bit further away. I was sure there was hope…after all, there is NO such place which is uninhabited…I was sure of that…maybe not THAT sure!
I knew I would wet my blanket if I was to go fish in the sea…so I broke seven or eight leaves from the same strange plant I’d found yesterday and tied them around myself with pieces of rope. I'd broken a stem from one of the plants which I found near the waterfall, it was quite strong so I thought it would help me fish…shearing one end of the stick with my knife I made a long spear… and fortunately…at the end of the day I had one little fish …which I had to eat RAW!...what else could have I done? There was no FIRE to cook it…I was disgusted and it was the most awful thing I'd ever done in my life…but I had no choice…I couldn't starve to death, could I? It was better than NOTHING!
9th JUNE, 1960
Wretched!...miserably WRETCHED is my life!... I will die before anyone will ever know of my existence! I have gone through more hardships in the past week than I had in the eighteen years of my entire life...was it a revenge from God …perhaps a punishment…in answer to all my sins?...was I being taught a lesson? If this was the case then I asked the Almighty to forgive all my sins…to spare me from such troubles…These thoughts have haunted me for a whole week now…there is NOONE on this island…and yes it IS an island…I found a small hill the day before yesterday and in hope of getting a better view of the surrounding, I climbed it and found out that the whole island was not more than four kilometers square...no houses were to be seen, not a single animal or bird was in sight…it was as if the place was cursed…nature had cruelly vacated this island from all its blessings.
Apparently, I have become quite an expert at fishing... I eat two fish in the afternoon and two for dinner…my chickens have started laying eggs which I am only saving at the moment …for I don’t know HOW to boil or heat them…sometimes I wonder; what is it that I am living for? WHY survive…when I know that nobody can possibly rescue me… can anyone?...should or shouldn’t I lose hope? I didn’t know…all I knew was that this couldn’t be the end…it just couldn’t…if I was to die I should have died the day my ship sank…I’ve always believed that everything that takes place has a divine reason behind it and my mere existence at this island should have a reason too…because… because…I COULD have been killed but I am DIDN’T…does it now show that God will help me …is this reason not enough to urge me to survive…to TRY and survive?
17th JULY, 1960
Its been more than a month since my arrival on the island…I feel better than I did a few weeks ago…I’ve realized now that I have what I call a ‘natural aptitude’ to survive …its more like my home now…the whole jungle is lie a labyrinth where I find new passages and explore new paths everyday…I change my bed sheets…more like ‘leaves sheets’ every other day. The weather is growing warmer…last week, I didn’t have to wear my blanket most of the daytime, and instead I had my ‘leaves’ dress on most of the time. The biggest improvement I have made during this time is to be able to boil the eggs my chickens laid! The task was tricky but I was very proud of myself when I was finally able to boil the first egg...the taste was more than delicious…its was the smell made me drool and I grew quite wild with excitement when I had the egg ready
1stJULY, 1960
I have been spending most of my time on the hilltop…hoping…sometime praying for a ship to come and rescue me. I would tightly shut my eyes…praying for as long as I could…and open them again…hoping…firmly believing that my prayers will be answered and that when I open my eyes I will find a ship, sailing towards me…to rescue me but to my disappointment every time I opened them and gazed upon the horizon, it looked quite undisturbed.
I longed human company…sought friendship…there were a thousand things a million thoughts I wanted to share with someone…anyone…but there was no one to share my misery…night times were the worst… there would be the whirring and whining of insects, and a hollow tapping of what seemed like a frantic woodpecker somewhere in the trees…and the chirping and churning of what I thought were squirrels… a mysterious orchestra of the jungle would tune up at night…almost deafening me… I sometimes thought I heard footsteps coming towards the clearing in the jungle, but on getting up and looking around, would find nothing but horrifying darkness…so I would quickly restore into my ‘leaf bed’, wrapping myself tight in the blanket…which was now thinning, having been used so frequently. I would swallow my fear as best as I could, I even tried to talk to my little chickens who had now increased in number…but on getting no replies I would quiet down. At times I would pronounce my name aloud; in case I hadn’t forgotten it, I scarcely spoke or whenever I did…to the chickens…it was as if it was some one else’s voice…I was drawing within myself day by day and feared that I will go mad…so to prevent such thoughts I started thinking of how I will attract attention from the ship which I thought would come and rescue me…I couldn’t light a fire…it was too cold…and besides I had no magnifying glass or matchstick to light a fire…but a huge flag would do…I had made many little tools since my arrival here…. the ropes were very handy for this…I had to do was look for stones with sharp edges, these, I then tied with one of the strong plant stems I found in the deep jungle one day while I was exploring it…they were excellent tools…so now I could cut one of the thin tall trees surrounding the waterfall.. i wasn’t an easy job, and took me a whole day but when it was done, I had strong tree trunk…it was too heavy for me to pick up so I chopped it four quarters- lengthwise… so now I had four long sticks, I no w needed something that would immediately attract a ship’s attention sailing towards the island…the leaves…the ones I used to shelter my bed with were the best solution…they wouldn’t die life the leaves I used for making my bed with…so I had to climb one of the tress to cut ten to twelve big leaves for the flags. Over these two months I have learned many techniques, one of them has enabled me to climb trees quickly and safely; I would tie a piece of rope around my waist and the tree trunk and grab the trunk with my legs, by letting my weight fall on the rope I was then able to cut the tree leaves using my hands…after I had the stock ready, I took everything to the hilltop in turns; there I sat and tied three leaves to each of the four sticks. After the flags were ready, I dug little holes in the ground and planted the flags in them. The job took three whole days but when it was done, I sat back and watched the flags for several minutes…wondering…praying…for someone to come and rescue me.
29th JULY, 1960
I have given up all hope…there’s no use of waiting…its almost three months…
31st JULY, 1960
yesterday night when I was sleeping, I thought I heard a faint sound…similar to a ship when its about to sail on board…it was dusk…the sunrays sneaked through my hut…I was lost in my dreams…floating…I was a child again…I saw myself my playroom…gluing shells to a small rectangular mirror…how happy I looked, I’ve long forgotten to smile now…the ship was anchoring somewhere…I could hear its dim sound…somewhere far away…I have to go see…but my mirror…just let me glue that last shell on…NO, the ship will sail away…you MUST go I was telling myself. Still half asleep…I asked myself…do you WANT to leave?...THIS is your home too…yes, off coarse I wanted to go, I have a family…voices within me argued…NO, you shouldn’t…you have done so much to this place, besides its all yours!, everything you see from the hilltop, every tree, every leaf, every drop of water that flows in this water stream is yours…and you want to leave all these precious possession?...surely you must be mad!... my brain was whirling with all these thoughts… memories crossed my brain as slide shows…me, playing with my mother…a child again, the faces of my parents, brothers and sister passed my eyes, all looking miserable…as if missing me…the ship had anchored… the sounds were becoming louder…I was finally leaving this deserted place…this cursed land…I will forget all these jarring moments at last and go back home!… The excitement… the gratification was too massive to be contained in…I wanted to jump, to celebrate! Excitement ran although my body, like electric currents… I HAD to open my eyes…I HAD to go…I'll rush to the shore to find it there …waiting for me…I was sure…
Unwillingly, I gave up and on opening my eyes, immediately above me…was a gigantic face...I panicked and screamed with fear… at he end I was only embarrassed to find that it was my brother… leaning over my face, holding a red torch and pointing it towards my eyes… my little sister had both my arms stiffly clung to the bed and I was back in my room…in my bed…realizing the truth, I rose and instead of placing a heavy smack on my brother and sister’s faces, I gave them a big hug…their shock at such an attitude would have ensured them of my vanity but…after all we should all have a little suspense in life…should we not?
Total Words: 3624
it was my perhaps which had enabled me to live thus far
Resilience
Reticence
Perfidy
Juxtaposition
Credulity
Jarring
Wrought
Ambulatory
Eclectic
Terrestrial
Homogenous
Sanguine ... corroborate
Serene ... revoke
Alibi.
Sought friendship
Synergy
Antipathy ... distaste for
Consensus.
Aversion ... reverence for
Aptitude
Construe
Reminiscent
Contemplation
Disoriented
disposition
Nostalgic value
Aesthetic charm
