Has it been thirteen years? He thought as he stared blankly out the horizon while soft rain tapped the windowpane.
Corben had just received word that he was being considered for a Nobel Prize -- for his research in Quantum Mechanics. It didn't matter to him.
For a man of science, his colleagues find it a bit odd that he carries around a bible most of the time; like now that he's in his library, albeit his enormous collection of books and journals screams SCIENCE, he's holding an NIV version. He carefully opened the book to the previously marked page -- Genesis 3:22-24. While contemplating the verses, memories of what happened on the same day he was just sixteen flashed back before him.
***
Corben and his dad decided to try out the new boat (that his dad had just built). The weather was fine that day when they left the bay, but when they went far, the sky suddenly turned dark with the menacing roar of thunders. A squall hit them and rocked their boat back and forth. The last thing he remembered was a whirlpool swallowing their boat, and by the time he woke up, they were already on a strange island.
The sands on the island were white as snow, with shiny things that looked like diamonds. The place was surrounded by rainbow-colored flowers that produced a heavenly scent, and trees bore unfamiliar fruits.
A group of not-less-than-twenty men clad in animal skin encircled them, so Corben's dad raised his arms as a sign of surrender, and Corben followed.
"Come with us," one of the men said.
Corben and his dad were brought to a village where houses were made of weaved dried palm tree leaves. An older man emerged from a dome-like structure made of dried clay, stared at them, and re-entered the dome without a word.
When night came, they were presented before a bonfire gathering, "Welcome, welcome. We were also drifters once just like the two of you, but it was a very long time ago --three thousand nine hundred full moons to be exact", the old man from earlier said. He also told them about their history and some of the rules on the island.
The next day, Corben decided to roam around and noticed the hills from afar, but as he was paying particular attention to one of the hills, he heard a girl's voice.
"You can go wherever you want, but not on the hills," the girl warned.
"Oh? Wasn't told about that", he said.
"My name is Lila, and I heard yours is Corben," with slight difficulty pronouncing his name, "I am 3,916 full moons, and how about you?" she asked.
"Just sixteen years, I mean, I don't know how to convert that in full moons, ah, not yet, but I hope to figure it out soon," he grins.
In the days that passed, Corben and Lila developed a strong affection for each other. One day, Corben revealed to Lila that he and his dad planned to escape. Lila was surprised and deeply concerned, more than sad, because she knew what grave danger awaited them; leaving the island meant death. Corben convinced her it was the right thing to do and persuaded her to come with them. Lila finally agreed and told Corben that she knew something that would be of immense value to the success of their plan.
"If we must succeed, we need help from those imprisoned at that hill," she said, pointing at the round chocolate-colored hill.
Lila warned Corben not to bring torches because night-tower watchers would notice them, so by nightfall, they used lucent stones (when you strike these stones with each other, it glows in the dark) instead of lighting their path. When they reached the hilltop, Corben saw seven cave-like holes, which according to Lila, was where the seven creatures were kept. Wooden bars locked the creatures inside, but Corben wondered how those woods kept the giant monsters from breaking out.
