Shipwrecked (A short story.)

Shipwrecked Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Night Under The Stars

After my hand had stopped bleeding enough for me to actually regain the feeling in it, I went to work making a shelter. It was about two or three hours after the boat had . . . Gone down . . . And I was doubtful that anyone would find me before the next day. I came up with this theory as I was washing my hand in the salt water for like the fifth time. See, I thought that rescue teams would search around the boat to pick up all the survivors. They probably wouldn't come to the nearest island, thinking that anyone might have swum, until the next day, because obviously people in the water were more in risk of dying that anyone who had made it onto an island. So I made my shelter. First, I collected some long, thin sticks from around the forest area. There was a lot of forest! At least for as long as I was there, I would never have run out of wood. Then, I climbed the bendy tree that had occupied the coconut, and pulled away some long leaves that would cover me up and keep me warm. They would also go under me so that my skin wouldn't be irritated from the sand. Next, I peeled some of this wiry stuff from around some of the twigs, plaited it, and then tied some of the leaves to the wood. I then stuck the ends of the wood into the sand, and layered more leaves on top. Finally, I placed the remaining leaves underneath the shelter for added protection. By that time, I guessed that it was around four 'o clock in the afternoon. Wow, time flies when you are stuck on a deserted island. The sun rays were still heavily poring down on me, so I cooled down in the shallow sea water, and then lied down in my makeshift bed. I was thirsty, but I really was too exhausted to get up. I closed my eyes and thought about what had happened. Were my parents okay? Did they make it? And what about James? Oh, it pained me just thinking about it. Why us? Why our family, who were so blissfully happy? Why all of those poor people on the boat? What had happened to them? I shuddered, remembering screams of terror that were running through the boat only hours earlier. I really didn't deserve this. I fell into an uncomfortable slumber as the sun was peeled away from the dark sky, only to reveal a million and one stars dancing around in the bluish-black of the night. I had never slept under the stars, so that was a first. Mind you, I had never been shipwrecked either, so that was a first too.