Wilbur and Gulliver's First Meeting

-2-

It has been nearly two hours since Wilbur took Sailor in. He has taken the routine of glancing up from his book periodically, noticing their sleeping face. Whenever he'd heard a small noise, he would perk his head up, wondering if Sailor had woken up. However, they all seemed to be just noises from outside.

He begins to become bored, and a little anxious. To his relief, Sailor is still breathing fine. Alright buddy, just come around already. You can do it...I'm tired of waiting.

He lets out a sigh before returning to his book. It has actually gotten interesting: the main character has just found an interesting fish after hours of exploring the sea. From reading the description of its orange and white striped body, he figures it's a clownfish. Another few minutes pass, and he has already finished the chapter.

Eventually, he doesn't want to read anymore. He closes out of the books app and opens up NookChat. The most recent post he sees there is of Mia, standing outside with a watering can. 'Good morning everyone!', the caption reads. 'I'm off to water my flowers.' He smiles a little, glad that she's enjoying herself. He wonders what would have happened if he hadn't found Sailor...maybe she would have found them instead. He knows that she, being the protective person she is, would take very good care of them.

He continues to scroll through NookChat, glancing at the villagers' earlier posts, when he begins to hear a noise. It's not something from outside; instead, it seems to be coming from Sailor. He quickly turns his phone off and stands up from the chair, sticking the phone back into his pocket. Sailor finally begins to stir, groaning loudly.

"Hello there." Wilbur says. "Can you hear me?"

Sailor tries to respond, but they can't seem to get words out. He watches them slowly open their eyes, glancing at him for a second before closing them again.

"Oh, you poor thing..." he continues. "You're gonna be alright."

"Ohhh..." Sailor mumbles, their voice dry and cracked. "Is...someone there?"

"Yes, I'm here. Oh, thank goodness! I was so worried."

Sailor opens his mouth again and lets out a cough. A few grains of sand come out, dropping on the floor by the bed. They heave a few more times, clearing out even more sand.

"Alright, easy now," he assures them. "Take a deep breath, okay?"

To his relief, Sailor obeys. The sand seems to be gone now. They open their eyes again, this time focusing slightly on his face.

"Where am I...?" Sailor mumbles.

"You're in my room, in the, uh...Dodo airport." He finds it difficult to explain. "I found you on the beach, and I took you in." 

"Oh, really?" Sailor gazes at him tiredly. "Who the heck are you?"

"My name is Wilbur," he replies. "I'm the pilot at Dodo Airlines. Oh, you don't know what that is, do you?"

"No...I don't." Sailor mutters, putting a wing to their forehead.

"All right, I'll explain later. Well, buddy...you've been asleep for over two hours now, maybe even longer. Thank goodness I found you when I did."

"Oh my...it happened again. Dang it..."

"What do you mean, 'again'?" Wilbur asks, slightly confused. "This isn't the first time?"

"Not really..." Sailor lets out a yawn. "Can you...uh...lay off on the questions?"

"Okay, sure." Wilbur figures Sailor is too tired to explain. "So, I guess you can rest now. I have plenty of time, and we can talk when you feel up for it."