Wilbur and Gulliver's First Meeting

-1-

NOVEMBER 2020

It is a clear morning, two days before Turkey Day. Wilbur sits in the main room of the Cozy Beach Airport, going over the day's schedule. Since he isn't bringing Franklin until late tomorrow night, and there are no other planned visitors this week, he realizes he has the whole day off. He breathes a sigh of relief, as he hadn't gotten much time to relax the week before. It comforts him knowing he can refresh himself.

His brother, Orville, is typing furiously at the computer. Wilbur almost walks over to say hi, but he decides against it. He knows that he should probably let Orville focus; after all, his brother has some important paperwork to do. As much as he loves flying, part of him wishes he could spend some of his time at the desk. There is only one thing standing in the way: Orville still doesn't have a pilot's license.

Wilbur turns his attention to the clock on the far wall. It is only eight a.m., which to his standards is bright and early. He wonders if he should go outside for a while; it appears to be a beautiful day, and Orville always bugs him about how he needs to spend more time outdoors. He knows that taking a nice little walk would satisfy both himself and his brother, so he considers it a win.

He is already wearing a warm jacket, since he was a little cold in his room earlier. He stands up from the chair and slowly walks toward the front door, briefly glancing back at Orville.

"Hey, Dodo Tower!" he exclaims. "I'm gonna take a walk."

"Okay, great." Orville replies, looking up from the computer. "Have fun, alright?"

"I will. See ya later."

The two smile at each other, before Orville turns back to his work. Wilbur turns around and opens the door, stepping out into the cool air. He lets the door close behind him as he glances at his surroundings. The sun is out, and there are only a few clouds in the sky. It is the perfect day to take a little stroll.

The first place he decides to go is the front beach. He loves the feeling of the soft sand, and the cool salt water lapping on his feet. When he and Orville were younger, they would spend hours on the beach, mostly building sand castles together. He smiles at the memory, wondering if he would still be good at that now. 

He begins to walk along the beach when something catches his eye. Right where the ocean meets the sand, someone is lying face-down, with their feet sticking into the water. It doesn't seem to be a villager; he has never seen this figure before. He picks up his pace until he is a few feet away from them.

The strange fellow appears to be part seagull, with white feathers and a dark, orangish beak. They are wearing a royal blue shirt and white scarf-like thing around their shoulders, both of which are soaking wet. Wilbur's heart skips a beat, realizing they haven't moved at all. Are you dead?, he thinks to himself. What am I supposed to do?

"Hello there, sir!" he exclaims.

"Sir?"

"Hey buddy, are you there?"

There is no answer. He quickly kneels in front of the unresponsive stranger, putting a wing on their back. Luckily, their breathing seems to be alright.

"Hey, can you hear me?"

The stranger still doesn't reply. Wilbur becomes panicked, unsure how to react. He has dealt with this situation before; Mia has passed out a few times after getting bitten by a tarantula. This, however, is very different. What if they don't wake up? He doesn't even know what happened to this poor fella.

His first instinct is to alert Orville, just like he's always done on a mystery island. He holds his microphone to his beak and turns on the two-way radio, practically shouting to his brother.