Strange stories

The island - part 1

The sound of the ocean passes through me as the waves and sand pass over rocks below me. As if waking from a peaceful nap i open my eyes, stretch my whole body and sit upright. Where I find myself, I do not know. How I came to be here is also very undefined in my labyrinthine halls of my memory. What I can see currently is that I am on a rocky hillside on a beach of the cleanest, whitest sand and the deepest blue waves I have ever come to know. The beach side quiet, save for the shushing of the waves and the rustling of the palm trees and grass as the wind blows through them. Nary a crab is seen on the beautiful crescent where land meets water. It is overcast yet the sun sends his beams gently through holes in the broken clouds above. Nary a flying creature or insect is seen or heard. I rub my eyes in hopes that will lift the fog of sleep. Standing up I notice I am thankfully still fully clothed, albeit in tatters, a bit damp and save for my missing shoes. I would have to forgo the completely tattered and wet socks. I discern that I could not have washed ashore because i am a good ways up the hillside and on a rock at least 5 meters up. An odd detail but i choose to ignore it. Not as odd as the knapsack I find laying next to my person.

A damp and worn jute sack with back straps and a lid to cover the top and its squirming. Without second thought I spring to open the lid of the sack. My coarse fingers find the lip of the lid and slowly peel it open, ready to spring into action if a threat is causing the mysterious sack to shake so. The wiggling stops as I lift the lid fully open and look inside. Two large green eyes with pupils like plates narrow down to slits to meet my gaze. There is a cat inside the sack.

Strange.

Never being one to question when something slightly odd occurs I remove the cat from the sack. The cat accepts my hands without fear and allows me to lift it out of the bag, it must be domesticated then. As the cat passes out of the bag it begins to purr at the warmth a stray beam of sun is providing and i murmur to it "My, what beautiful white fur you have." The cat is of small stature and is still quite dank from being inside the bag for an indeterminate amount of time. Its stark white fur is complimented by patches of black across its face and back and legs. It purrs even louder when I stroll my hand across its head. I then notice the unnatural angle at which one of the poor creatures hind legs is bent. It must be a birth defect because it does not seem to be in pain.

The cat and I bask in the glorious beam of warmth, but it is short lived as a cloud proceeds to cover the hole. It seems as though that would not be the only ray to leave as every indication of a sun behind the clouds has been smothered. Ominous dark clouds now loom overhead. I decide it is time I found shelter and seeing as the feline I am holding will have difficulty navigating the rocky terrain I decide to take it along. One should always have a travelling companion I always say. The cat has no problem staying perched across my shoulders as I bend down to pick up the sack and sling it over my shoulder. I set off across the unfair terrain to my left in hopes of finding at least an alcove to shelter in for the brewing storm.

The further we progress along the side of the slope the more signs of human life become apparent. Across the slope are scattered small empty pouches with writing on the side. After picking one up and observing it I conclude there was some kind of water inside as the text on the side indicates "Thirst quenching relief water - distributed to poor communities." A deep hope fills me, these packages being littered like this obviously means that a community of some kind is present on this island! Oh joyous day! My pace along the sandy and rocky hillside doubles after I tie a couple of large leaves i had found to my feet. Thankfully not long after I had picked up the small pouch of relief water I had found a full one. I was beginning to become quite parched as travelling thus far has proven to be slow going, although the terrain was starting to even out little by little. I wipe my arm across my brow and raise the pouch to my lips.