Aquaphobia

Epilogue

[SCOTT VOORHEES]

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THREE YEARS LATER

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The past three years of my life have been the greatest three I've ever lived. Insula Island is my home, and nothing can change that.

Things have definitely changed drastically over the past few years, but I still remain the same.

After graduating high school at Insula Academy, we all spent the summer together. Every day was a beach trip for the five of us. Walker, Alice, Ian, Matthew and I. We called ourselves MIWAS, for the first letter of our names. We rode bikes, took pictures, went swimming, everything! I learned how to surf and quickly outdid Ian. I even set a few Insula records! It truly was an amazing time!

After summer however, things changed.

Ian was the first to go. He left Insula and went to accomplish his childhood dream of reaching America. He made it safely, and is currently studying history at Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey. He always did have a knack for history, specifically historic forensics. I knew more about America than anybody else on Insula, so I was able to give him the ups and downs about the country. We're still in touch nearly every day, so I always hear my daily words of wisdom.

Walker was the second to leave. He let me know a week ahead of time that he was leaving Insula to go to another nearby island. It's called Nanalawaii Island, and it's supposedly a rural community. From my research, I learned that it's one of the tiniest islands in the world. It only houses one small village known as Nanalawaii Village, and it runs under one woman's supervision. I read that she was 27 years old and that her name was Mia Justice. I didn't research too much about her individually, but I know that she was adopted from the previous mayor when she was young. Apparently, Walker left to Nanalawaii to teach the community how to fish. According to Walker himself, the only one on the island who knew how to fish was a boy named Austin Nolan, but he left the island in pursuit of America, too. It's an odd goal for Walker to want to go to such a place for the rest of his life, but I guess he has his reasons. After all, when you underachieve through all of school, you don't really make it anywhere fancy. Fishing is Walker's one true love, so that type of job is perfect for him.

I always find myself thinking deeply about Walker and Ian. When I had first moved to Insula, I often heard people say that they were the "dynamic duo" who caused a ruckus everywhere they went. I took less than a month to find out that they weren't the "dynamic duo" because they messed things up; it was because they spent their free time helping others. If Walker had never spoken to me on that first day on Insula, none of this would have ever happened.

Matthew Cayuk never left Insula, and he and I are actually next-door neighbors now. I sold my fiberglass rod in order to get some money to give him to start him off on the right foot. $5,000 isn't much when you're starting a new life, but it was definitely helpful to him. He was able to move far away from his father, and he hasn't spoken to him since. Currently, Matthew works as a guidance counselor for the school system in the area. He spends every day teaching kids about why they don't need to be scared of whatever's bothering them. That sort of thing is perfect for him. He was able to help me so well.

Alice Angler on the other hand, well she left us all in the dust. She took a path none of us ever saw her taking. She left to America about half a year after Ian, and man did she hit it big! She studied public speaking and theatre over there for just two years and emerged as an internet actor. She got really famous very quickly, and became what we call an "overnight success." Currently, she's a professional actor, songwriter, and model, so she doesn't ever stop by Insula. I guess when you get famous, you kind of lose time to visit your home. Nevertheless, she's constantly in touch with the four of us.

Now of all these gracious revelations to take place, not all of them had a happy ending. Just as I thought she would, Grandmother passed away. The miracle was that she didn't pass two days after, but instead she lasted five. Every doctor at that hospital said it was an act of God. They'd never seen anybody with such high-evolved critical heart conditions. It wasn't until after she was gone they told me she had tumors on her heart. The passing of Grandmother's heart broke mine, but I kept my head up and my smile on. I couldn't forget what Insula had taught me.

As for me, I'm more than happy about how the past three years have been. Not long after Walker left Insula, Miss Murphy came to my house and made a huge announcement. She told me she was leaving Insula Island too, but she didn't tell me where she was going. Before I even had time to ask, she gave me something, and it was essentially why she came to visit me in the first place. She gave me the deed to the Bait-n'-Tackle property. She asked if she could give the shop to me, and if I could carry its legacy. Let me take a quick second to sum up how my response was:

To make a long story short, I'm currently the 20-year-old owner of Bait-n'-Tackle, which has more business than I ever saw back in school.

The store got so much more popular under my management, I had to hire a team of 50 employees! The building size has doubled twice since I was 18, and we're discussing further expansion as well as a second store. While managing Bait-n'-Tackle is my permanent job, I also spend some weekends off teaching kids how to fish. I also offer some swimming lessons at no charge at all. I just like to call it an island treat.

Whenever I have a free moment or so, I use the time to go over to the beach. With my toes in the sand, I think of being with my friends on the beach, swimming like we did on that day. I run into the water and swim as far as I can. Whenever I do, I don't feel so alone anymore. I imagine swimming into the horizon, chasing after a familiar light. Every time I get immersed in the water, I picture myself at 5 years old swimming with my parents, and I see my Grandmother not far off.

I'll be honest; I cry sometimes in my solitude. It doesn't take much to cheer me up though. I look back at my time on Insula s far, and all I can do is smile. I look back at the aquaphobic me, and then I jump into the water to swim like I never have before. Often times I think about my friends and how awesome they were to help me overcome that fear. Whenever I have free time at night, I lay on the sand of Insula's many beaches. I lay there and I smile, I lay there and I laugh. It's without a doubt the most cliché question anyone can ask, but isn't it just amazing what the power of friendship can do?