One Stupid Thing

3:1:78

I've lived on this island, Poguelandia as JJ would call it, for, well, I don't really know how long. I don't know what day it is, I use the sun to tell time, and the weather has grown less blistering since we arrived. Although, being particularly close to the equator keeps it warm in the daytime and comfortably cool in the night. Quite perfect conditions all things considered. It's a whole new way of life. No running water, no electricity, no light other than that of a fire.

Nothing is as it used to be.

None of us are the same people we used to be.

Everything has changed.

It's not all bad though. Living on a deserted island means that we can live in true Pogue fashion: doing whatever we want, whenever we want. It means having endless fun with your bestest friends from sun-up to sun-down and deep into the night. We have created our own customs and way of life out here and it works for us.

There are two main parts of the island that we have claimed: the beach cave and the cliff top, but we have explored more than just that.

On the beach below the rocky cliff side, we inhabit a small cave as our main camp. It's more like just a section of the beach shielded by a rocky overhang. It is here that we have our sleeping arrangements—"mattresses" woven from bamboo and palm leaves—and food storage. Thankfully, the island is home to an abundance of natural fruit and small animals that we have been able to survive off of.

Of course, we have created many ways to keep busy during our stay so far such as, chess (complete with a hand made chessboard and carved pieces) and a tic-tac-toe board among others. Sarah, who has grown skilled in the art of weaving, also crafted a hat that we use in many fireside meetings and games.

If you make the climb to the top of the rocky cliffs, you will find a tall stack of dry wood, arranged in a typical teepee-like shape. This wooden structure is one of the first things that Pope insisted we build in case any sign of human life happens to come into view. In that situation, Pope will hurry up and light it on fire in hopes that the smoke signal will attract their attention. We have practiced the drill for what seems like a thousand times to be absolutely sure that we don't miss the opportunity to return to civilization. That is the goal for about half of our troop, I, however, belong to the other half.

JJ, Kie, and I have grown to prefer life on Poguelandia. It's our own slice of paradise. Why would we want to give that up? We all have reasons to not want to return to OBX.

"There is no one there for me anymore, JJ," I told him. The two of us had went venturing into the jungle part of the island in search for food and any other supplies we could benefit from. We sat on the edge of a rocky bank where a trickle of water streamed down and made its own path through it. "I have everything and everyone I need right here on this island."

"I wish we could just stay here forever." He sighed and turned to look at me. His blue eyes stared into mine and he reached up to brush my hair behind my ear.

"Why can't we?" I muttered.

"El—"

"No, Jay. I don't understand. If you want to stay here on this island then why can't we?"

He sighed once more and broke eye contact, looking down at the stream. "I wish I had an easy answer for you."

In our time here, my wounds from the gator attack have healed well. As well as they could have under these circumstances. I have been left with some pretty badass scars too. They make me feel strong. Although they are the only physical scars I bear, there are many others hidden beneath the surface.

I had hoped that fighting for survival every day would make me forget everything, but of course, that isn't the case. There is so much that I feel like I don't know about myself. I mean, I'm not even 16 yet and I'm having an identity crisis. At least out here, in the middle of nowhere, I can pretend like everything is normal, At least out here I can avoid all of my problems. Is it necessarily healthy? No, probably not, but when you are living in paradise, that's the last thing you think about.