Alone

It was a hot, sunny day. The waves were shallow. There was a slight breeze. It was a quiet, peaceful day. But he was alone. His name was Lok.

Lok slowly walked to the palm tree in the middle of it all. And scratched a tally. That would make it 15 days. There was a rustle in the sand below him. Then something popped out. Lok exclaims,”Hey bud, how did you sleep?” Lok was speaking to a crab he met two days ago. He named it Crabby. He just scurried away. Lok sighed. He looked out towards the horizon. Searching for something, anything. But there was nothing.

His stomach growled. His eyes are drowsy. His body ached. Lok couldn’t even remember how he got stuck there in the first place. The tiny, scarce island offered little things to eat and there were barely any resources to make a comfortable bed. The day passed by quickly even though there was nothing to do. The sunset was beautiful. Just like that the sky was dark and it was time to sleep. 

Lok laid on a bed of leaves under a tree. 

Just as Lok was closing his eyes, a flash of light could be seen in the reflection of the water. Lok jumped up and searched for the light frantically. His eyes the widest open they've been in the last two weeks. It was easy to find the light in the empty darkness. He had to think quickly. How on this tiny island with no resources could he catch the attention of a ship in complete darkness? He couldn’t think of anything. He began to panic. He started moving back and forth looking for anything to help him. But no matter where he looked it was just piles of sand and dirt and nothing else. He screamed,”Help, HELP. I’m right HERE…” Nothing. No response. The light was moving further and further away. It was just a speck in the distance that would soon disappear. 

Lok was crying. Tears flowed down his face. He became silent. It was as if the entire world was silent. That was the closest thing he’s been to another human being in the over two weeks. And his chance to go back home. It was gone. His dream to leave this disgusting, awful place stayed a dream. Never to become a reality. He thought to himself I’m gonna die here. And no one will know.

His sad realization gave him motivation. The light would soon disappear, but he didn’t give up. He broke off bark from the palm tree and tried to think of how to make a fire. He knew it was going to be difficult. The air was moist, he had nothing to light the bark with, and the light was getting smaller and smaller. He took his ring and took a rock. He tried to bang them together, but nothing sparked. He took the rock and smashed his ring, over and over. Until the ring broke in half. He took one of the halves and started to scratch it onto the rock. Still no sparks, but he felt something. It was warmth. It was working. The surface of the rock at felt warm for a second, although it was only a little. He continued to scratch with all his energy. One spark flew past his face. But it was more than that. It was hope. His eyes widened and he froze for a second. He began to scratch even harder and harder. Sparks flying onto the bark. Then suddenly the bark began to warm up. 

Fire. The small bark had lit fire. He made sure to keep the fire alive. He took more bark from the tree and added it to the small fire. He blocked the wind and controlled his breath to gently blow on it. It grew. The fire may not have been big but it shone bright in the darkness. He looked into the light in the distance. It stopped. And it started getting bigger and bigger ever so slightly. Lok thought he was dreaming, he thought there was no way this was real. He continued to tend the fire. His frantic panic had disappeared. His tears of despair turned into tears of joy. 

It took about an hour for the light to soon turn into a boat, but it felt like only a few minutes to Lok. He was so excited and ready to leave. He was packing his things, soon to realize there was nothing to pack. He imagined being back at home. Being with his family and friends. Eating food. Having a nice, cozy place to sleep. He closed his eyes and there he was, in the middle of his home. The irresistible smell of breakfast was passing by. The sound of the television on in the background. The comfort he felt from laying on his bed. The warmth from his blanket. It was all coming back to him. 

The boat was right on the shore ready to stop. Lok looked onto the ship, but there was no one. Not a single person can be seen. Not even a voice heard. He noticed a ladder up to the deck of the boat. So he went to it and climbed up expecting to see people. But it was empty. The lights were on and everything, and the boat was clearly being steered by something. It made no sense, although he was saved, Lok was confused. He went up to the bridge of the ship to see who was steering the boat. Again, no one. It seemed like no one was even there. Then outside the window, Lok saw a light. It came from the back of the boat. So he went towards it. Maybe it was someone. He continued to walk, until he ended up on the edge of the ship. The light disappeared. No, it moved. Lok looked down into the water, and deep down there was a light, but he couldn’t tell what it was. Lok moved closer and closer, still not able to identify what the light was. He crouched down and was on the very edge until…

SPLASH. Lok fell into the water. But he wasn’t in the water. He felt the sun hit his face. He wasn’t wet at all. He uncovered his face to see where he was. It was morning, and he was still there on the island. No fire. No boat. No one. Nothing at all. Just like that, Lok stood up and added the 16th tally onto the palm tree.