Coconut Island

By Jessica Kibblewhite

Every summer my family goes up to the Cape, Cape Cod. We have a house there. I always bring my beagle. Her names Emily but we call her Emma. She's a little older then a puppy. It turned out that we were going to spend my birthday there. We got there a week before my birthday. The first week was spent taking walks at the bay eating in sea food restaurants down by the harbor in Provincetown, and riding my bike.

It was the night before my birthday. I could hardly wait. I don't know how I fell asleep.

We have a routine that some little presents are placed at the bottom of my bed, and my big presents are given at breakfast.

When I woke up there were no presents at the end of my bed. I ran down stairs and on the table was a huge present wrapped in paper. I tore it open. It was a wooden row boat, about 8 feet long and 3 feet, across painted blue, with the name The Blue Dolphin painted in white.

After thanking my parents and eating breakfast, I packed my back pack with lunch, a towel, a life jacket, sun block, a few bones for Emily, a flash light for no purpose (so I thought), a book, and some AA batteries for my flashlight (just to be on the safe side), and a magnifying glass to watch the fish with.

I put Emily on a lead.

My dad helped me take the boat down to the bay and he pushed me off.

I rowed for about 45 minutes, and my arms were aching so I stopped and took out lunch and a bone for Emily and my book.

Emily fell asleep on the bottom of the boat. I made a bed out of my towel and my life Jacket and started to read my book. It was called The tales of fish folk and their floating islands. It was a really boring book!

It was so warm in the sun, I soon fell a sleep. I don't know how long I slept, but when I woke up the boat was not moving .

I sat up. My first summation was that I had floated back to the shore but I was moored at a little inlet. Well, more stuck on the sand.

There was a small beach and palm trees.

This island reminded me of the floating island in the book I was reading, called Coconut Island. I looked all around me. I could see shore far off in the distance. I could easily get back. But first I wanted to explore the island. I turned to page 125 in my book. There was a picture of a island. It seemed to be almost the same as this island. Through some palm trees I could see a small lake a little bigger then a large pond and connected to that was a stream.

I could not see any more because a big palm tree was in my way. I put my stuff in my bag, and took Emma's lead and slowly made my way though the Palm trees and brush until I reached a stream.

There were exotic plants such as I had never seen. There were calming plants with huge pink and red flowers.

The weather on the island was strangely humid and warm. The sounds of cicadas could be heard.

It was like a fairy tale. I looked in my book again. There was a lake and the stream. This was weird. This island was like the Floating Island in the book, but floating islands are just a myth.

It began to get dark. The sun set was beautiful. But I realized that I could not row home in the dark, so I would have to stay the night. Believe me I did not want to.

There was a rustle in the bushes. The hairs on my neck were standing straight up. Emma began to growl. It turned out to be a rather large blue bird who got stuck in a bushes.

Chapter 2

I had to find a place to sleep. I got out my flash light out of my bag and turned it on.

I must admit I was scared stiff! I walked around the small lake, and on a bit to find more palm trees, then an area of sand kind of like a beach with no water. The moon shone down on us to help brighten our path, but that was little help. There was another forest of Palm trees and more sand .

There were three dark shapes up ahead much too big to be a animal, but too small to be a mountains. I opened my book and shone my flash light at it. There were some small mountain, named the Lonely Mountains. and where there are mountains, there is normally a cave.

I walked around them. They stood about 70 feet high. There where three of them. I could tell form the light the moon.

I walked around them feeling the sides.

It took me about an hour but finally a felt an opening on the side of the rock. I shone my flash light in. It was empty. There was a small hole in the top of it. The floor was sandy. I made a bed and eventually fell asleep. But before I did I thought about my Mom and my Dad.

The next morning was sunny and clear with birds chirping. It was just like a little tropical Island. I packed my stuff up, washed my face in the stream, picked some wild fruit, gave Emma a bone, and went down to the little bay were I had left my boat. The boat was not there and I could not see shore anymore. It seemed like we had moved at night but that is not possible. Not unless this really was a floating island. I didn't now what to do. I would just have to wait until it came by shore and swim to it. Who knows when that would be.

I sat down and felt sorry for my self and my parents. They'd be worried sick about me. I took my book out of my bag and turned to 125 and I decided to explore the island.

I walked around and looked at things. There where many coconut trees, just like in the book. The soil was not dirt but more a mixture of dirt and sand. Then there were parts that where all sand. There were beautiful flowers of pinks, blues, purples, and colors that have no name. As far as I could tell there was no other human life on the island.

I saw many different animals, snakes, lizards, monkeys, and all sorts of birds. I found another pond with a family of alligators.

Some dolphins swam by. I made my house in the cave I had slept in. I dried flowers and hung them on the wall with sap.

I ate the coconuts and fruit that the trees bore. We never passed land. In the night I would sleep and in the morning I would wake up to find we had moved. Once at the pond I found a hippo and her baby.

On the other side of the floating island there were steep cliffs with jagged edges. Emily enjoyed catching the small little animals.

My clothes began to get ragged and dirty, so I washed them in the creak I discovered by the mountains.

There were hundreds of kind of cactus. This seemed so like the floating island in the book. The island being small, I soon knew were and how to get to places.

It never really got cold, and if it did, I would cover myself with sand.

There were many different kinds of monkeys. I would spend my day eating fruits, swimming in the pond, hiking claimbing trees, playing on the beach. Life was perfect at day, but at night I miss my Parents terribly. Who knows where we are now?

My watch stopped yesterday. I did not bother the animals now. If you left them alone, they would leave you alone.

I read in my book that the island will always return to where you saw it. How long would that take I wondered? Would I have to float around on a little island the rest of my life?

I let Emma roam around on her own accord every night she would return to the cave with some kind of mouse or little animal. When I was tired of eating fruit I got my magnifying glass and lit a fire something my dad taught me to do and I would roast little animals disgusting I know and I would get wild herbs and have a little pot roast. The rest day was rainy and damp I spend most of the day drawing picture in the sandy floor of the cave I felt lonely and gloomy I looked out the mouth of the cave and watch the wild flowers sway in the breeze as little rain drop fell on them

pinks purples and blues they looked like they where dancing they where small little flowers a turned to look at Emma but she wasn't there she must of slipped out this made me feel more miserable suddenly I felt cold.

A chill came up my spine. I turned to page 125 in my book I was shore this was the same island it had to be the island in the book was mostly flat so was this one, that island floated so did this one that island had two ponds connected by a creek this was the one that made up my mind the flowers out side my cave were out side the cave in the book same color. I had checked it out of the library before I left for the cape.

I found it under old folk law. Just then Emma came bounding into the cave with a rat like creature in her mouth. "Ewww Emma that gross wasn't very hanging that night so I ate a coconut and drank its milk. If you don't feel like climbing a coconut tree to get the fruit you can

sometimes find them on the ground earlier that week I had found a sharp rock to drill into the coconut and ate its meet and milk.

Chapter 3

The next morning was sunny and warm the birds were shinning. I could tell for the sun I had slept. In Emma had all ready gone out for her breakfast. I sat up stretched

and stood up splashed some water on my face for the creak ate some fruit and went down to the beach there I built a rather pathetic sand castle I decided that day I would go down to the little lake to watch the animals and go in for a dip. I walked though the forest of coconut trees it was cool and shaded sine the coconut trees were grouped close together there branches over lapped to make sort of a green roof a green the levees make every thing have a greenish glow to it I came out of then I was on pure sand more trees then the lake the trees and plants around the little lake are marvelous the are huge blue flowers the rap its self around a trees and little pink flowers you have to be careful you didn't step on them and huge. Long plants there look like green parasols. There were many of them over on one side of the lake. There were these little red water type lilies with a purple almost black base and little red frogs jumped I won't get near them because the were probably poisons. I lay on my belly and watched the to many colored butterflies and the grass hoppers and the frogs hop around on the lilies I just lay there and out of the trees came a big cat like tiger but I was Whitish animal to drink I later found out it was a white tiger with her two little kittens I never knew there were so many animals on one little island.

I stood up and walked away to the cliffs the sun was setting the colors were beautiful there were gold's pinks greens yellows and purple it was beautiful I wondered were Emma had been all day I slowly made my way to my cave surprisingly Emma was there chewing on a stick. " Dumb old dog," I said giving her a pat.

I wasn't very hungry that night so I just went to bed. I woke up that night I don't know what time I stared at the hole in the ceiling and listened to Emmas rhythmic breathing I could here the sounds of the nocturnal animals scratching around I just lay there missing my parents. I eventually fell asleep I awoke up siting up quietly I had a plan why don't I build my self a boat why I think of that before but I don't have the right tools in fact I don't have any tools so I couldn't do that maybe start a small fire on the beach and hope a passing boat sees it. "Oh how will I get off this Island."

I looked around the cave and through the hole in the roof I could see the tallest mountains peek maybe if I climbed that I could see land it was worth a try I got up splashed my face with water and set on my way even if the mountain was not very high it was steep there was little life there a few flowers some weeds green little root things but that was about it. It was bear around the top I got there about lunch time.

I could tell by were the sun was in the sky I sat at the top panting I looked around as far as the eye could see was water but it was a lovely view of the island I was very disappointed I was very hungry when I got the bottom a drank some water from a little brook and ate some wild fruit and coconut meet I spent the rest of the day I spent picking flowers and swimming in the cool waters of the pond.

Chapter 4

I was woken the next morning by the sound of heavy rain but that day I felt surprisingly cherry I spent the day playing with Emma with and avoiding the hole in the ceiling I dashed out into the rain and just stood there getting wetter and wetter my hair looked like a wet mop and my cloth were sopping but I didn't care I decided to go swimming that day since the water seems warmer when its raining And why not take Emma?

Emma wasn't happy about being dragged out of the cave. We were not there only thing that had come out there were many small animals and birds the little lake had lots of small little animals there were lot's more frogs and lots more snails. I slid in Emma had this look on her face so I climbed out " Emma if you even touch or harm one of these little animals I'll be very mad!" I let Emma hunt when she needed to but not when she didn't. She could hunt at one o'clock and five o'clock or at least when the suns a little bit passed the middle and when it about eight inches from setting. I had now been on the island for almost a week and a half, ten days.

It began to get rather boring on the island no one to talk to that replied the same things every day. I knew almost every part of the island maybe if there where some people on the island I could get off it. I was now climbing the little mountains often Emma would some times come of sometimes not is was not such hard work. I found a creek coming from the mountains because on the top was lots of snow.

Emma's day was spent sniffing around I know this because once I followed her for a day. Hunting even if I don't let her chasing small animals, chewing sticks playing with me and sleeping. One day I was walking along picking berries and nuts when I saw tree huge leafs they where about five feet long a two feet across it was too big to be a coconut tree I walked around looking for there tree they had came from I finally found it in a part I had never explored before.

This puzzled me. I thought I had explored this part. It was darker here much darker the was more growth and less flowers not very far in there was a tree with huge green leafs like the ones I had found I picked lots of them and turned around to go but I was lost and I was getting darker and darker I was if I was walking in circles, the moon was starting to rise and there forest was dark now I was lost and scared the sounds of the night animals filled the cool air I would have to sleep in the woods tonight I decided to make kind of a bed out of the leafs I curled up and piled the leafs and me I was very tired so I soon fell asleep In the morning I was awoken by the sounds of heavy feet in the brush I sat up far of in the distance I could hear the shouts of men but it was in a different language I rubbed my eyes and jumped up I started to run to wards where the sound were coming from then I stopped what if they would harm me oh well I ran on till I got to familiar grounds and then to the little bay there were two motor boats and about eight men one of them well dressed he had on a white shirt and creme colored pants with sort of a dull green hat on the rest of them where wore dirty under shirts and flannel pants with holes in them they had not noticed me yet so I spoke up" Do you speak English please say yes I've Been stuck on this island for days and I'm tired of fruit and coconuts " It was all I could think of at the time The men in under shirts looked at me blankly and with confused looks but the man in with the white shirt looked slightly surprised But smiled " So you have been on this floating island too. Well, Well. Walk with me and I will tell you" his English was not perfect and he had a accent he got of the boat and started to walk so I followed " You see I have heard of float islands and knew that there was one You see my father like me was a scientist and her and two other scientists built a machine for scanning the ocean bottom and any big rock it will get it had these great clippers in the front of it now this island was shaped kind of like a diamond under the water I mean It had a very skinny bottom so it cut rite through it and this rock was a special kind of rock that was very light and I used a radar system to track it down and that's why it floats" I was amazed " can you take me home?"

" Yes if you want where is home?" " Cape cod" " really, did you know that you are seven miles from it" " I am can you take me home please ?" I ran and called Emma and got my stuff and met them at the beach I said My good byes to the island as it grew smaller and smaller in the distance That night I slept in my own Bed.

THE END