Master of the Insects

Face Decorations and Growing Locks

     The island was beautiful. The calming rhythm of the waves and the dazzling sunlight. The stretch of bright blue sky that fell upon them and the beauty of the changing colours of dusk and dawn. Strange images would appear to be floating. Piggy would call them a 'mirage', and since no boy dared to explore the stretch of sea in fear of what lies below, simply ignore the happenings.
     Civil traditions stuck to the boys much like the sweat on their bodies. The boys seemingly  not able to adjust to their new environment completely. Percival, the smallest of the boys had the hardest time adjusting. He climbed into a shelter and stayed there crying for days until the others boys found him batty. The smaller boys have long since been known as the 'littluns' leaving and bigger ones to be called 'biguns'.
     The two group had separate lives, the littluns consisting of only eating and playing. Their diet consisted of nuts and fruit, a lucky fish or crab once in a while. They never bothered to check for the ripeness of fruit and thus often suffered stomach aches. The biguns lives were simple and no littlun bothered with the their passionately emotional and cooperative life.
     The sand castles were decorated with small shells and flowers. In front they had many ridges made with their fingers. Henry, mostly known as the leader of the littluns as he was the biggest, was playing with Johnny and Percival. The little leader was a distant relative of the mulberry boy, too young to understand, didn't question the boys disappearance.
     Roger and Maurice came out from the forest, relieved of fire duty. Immediately Roger marched straight through the sand castles. He minded not the children. Maurice soon followed laughing and giggling at the destruction. When the littlun Percival began to cry, Muarice quickly ran away. He felt the ways of the old life which told him what he did was wrong. He quickly formulated excuses in his mind, and in the back of it, felt a tinge of guilt.
     Henry wandered off to play elsewhere and Roger followed. Henry walked with no destination for some time before finding his way to the tide. Roger followed him, watching behind trees. Henry discovered tiny sea creatures exploring the sand. He found them interesting and played with them. By this point Henry was too wrapped up in his amusement to notice Roger, and thus he came out form the trees. He stared at the boy for a little while before noticing small stones that laid in the sand.
     He took a stone and and threw it at Henry - threw to miss. He continued to pick up stones but never dared to throw too close to the small boy. Here lied the ways of the old life, the taboo. Children protected by rules, authority, parents. Roger was condition to these ways, the ways of a civilation that was no longer here.
     Henry noticed the noise of the stones landing near him. He looked up to see the friend that was playing with him and giggled. Roger quickly hid behind a tree and was breathing quickly, the knowledge of what he was doing and what could happen he still knew even on the Island. His heart was beating fast.
      " Roger."
     When Roger open his eyes that fell shut without him noticing, he saw Jack, about ten feet away behind a tree. Roger was covered in sweat because of the event that just transpired but Jack has something else on his mind, thus didn't notice. He was beckoning Roger to followed, he did.
     The clearing reached had the likes of Sam and Eric and Bill, all called here by Jack.
Jack crouched down near a pile he had covered in leaves. He uncovered it to reveal white and red clay.
      " The problem is they see me, something pink."
     Jack went quiet for a second, then tried to explain.
     " It's paint, you know, like in war, for cover. "
     Roger gave a nod of understanding and thus Jack took a stick he had brought down from the fire to use the charcoal for black.
He began to paint his face while the twins protested timidly. He pushed them aside and looked at his face.
     He looked at his reflection and disliked it. He grew frustrated as he was sure the paint would help. He grabbed water and threw it on his face, scrubbing it off. He tried again.
He planned his new face, and when he looked at his reflection, his breathing troubled the water.
     After he told Samneric to grab him a coconut filled with water, he froze. He was no longer himself but an awesome stranger. All at once he felt liberated, the mask binding his flaws. As himself he was only a boy, now he was much more. He felt like he could do anything, and not suffer the consequences. It was spectacular for him. The mask was a thing of it's own, behind which Jack laid, liberated from shame and self - concieousness. The mask compelled all of Jacks negative traits, he felt less as though he needed to impress everyone and more as though he deserved their respect.
     He laughed loudly and started dancing around. He ran to the twins and demanded they made a line. The twins fought against quietly but lost in the end. The mask compelled them.