The Man, and the Island By: Will JosEph

In the depths of the Indian Ocean lies a small patch of land off the coast of the Senegalese Islands. Tree after tree cover the island with all their glory and victory. Legend has it that those trees have been at the island since the beginning of time. On the island there seems to be one ragged, dilapidated hut that looks like it could be blown down with a slight gust of wind. Although the hut looked like a haunted, torn down house, somehow someone lived in it.

In the hut lived an American man, with shiny blond hair, sky blue eyes, blinding pearly white teeth, and a beard as brown as soil. He was from the state of Michigan where he loved to fish in the great old lake that is Lake Michigan and he used to be a great fisherman. He was 28 years old, exhausted, and looked like the state of his house which was dilapidated and worn out. Days on the island were exhausting, and you could tell the days were exhausting just by looking at the state of the man. He had a daughter and a wife, but he can’t recall what happened to them.

Usually the temperature of the island was hot and humid, like a damp sauna. It rained almost everyday, just like a tropical area. The island lay right on top of the equator, so sun was the island’s best friend. Lately the climate was cold and dry, exactly the opposite of what the climate usually is. It is geographically impossible for the climate to be cold and dry. It wasn't just cold though, it was 0 degrees out. The ocean was like the Alaskan Tundra. The man had previous experiences of ice fishing in Michigan, so he decided to go out.

When the man went to go fishing, he dug a peep hole in the ice with the blunt end of his filleting knife. He took a seat on the on a hard, brown box, and waited. The man’s theory was that since the fish had no experience with cold climates, they would all want to come to the top. The man was correct, and he was out all day catching fish after fish.

After a vigorous day of fishing, the man decided to go home. Before he left, he spotted a large group of people that looked foreign to him. The man decided to approach them, and meet them. The man began to identify the group of people as a tribe. The tribe seemed disturbed by the man as they could spot him from 20 meters away. The tribe attacked, and the man ran!

Every couple of yards he ran, he looked back. The man had no idea who these people could be. He didn't know that the marks on their skin were an identification of their tribe. The largest problem was that the man had no idea that this tribe was extremely hostile and angry when “outsiders” appeared. He was completely oblivious to their hostility, because he wasn't informed about them. This specific tribe was very primitive, and they had no idea how to adapt to the different climate conditions because they hadn’t even discovered fire. The tribe was inevitably going to attack him because of their hostility, and unknowingness of the environment.

The man stopped in his tracks, and waited for them to catch up to him, because he thought they were friendly. The tribe approached the man, and they began screaming, “BAH BAH CHI CHI! BAH BAH CHI CHI!” This directly translates to, “GET HIM! GET HIM.” The chief approached the man. Proud, the Chief approached like he had overcome a beast of burden. The chief was going to take the man away, and they were going to do cruel things to him. Getting ready to take him away, the Chief could see something in the man’s eyes. He could see the despair.

The chief thought to himself, Why do this? What did this man do to us? Surely he didn't bring down the frightening weather upon us. We have to stop! I can see the despair in his eyes. This foreigner might even be able to help us. Instead of capturing the man, he shouted, “Hii Bai Chi Haow La Pii!” This directly translates to, “Let Him Go!”

The tribe let the man free, and they seemingly gestured the man to a small hut in their village. As a result of the Chief’s pity, he decided to give the man something that he would desire. He made some signals to some members, and they led him into a small room of the hut. There stood two people inside the hut.

The man, in shock, remembered them. A lady, and another girl who looked like her daughter sat there, wide eyed, in disbelief. The man knew exactly who these two people were. He hadn't seen them in years, but there sat his wife and his daughter. The man had no idea where they had been all this time.

The man just sat on the ground, shell shocked, wide eyed, happy, surprised, and in disbelief. He had a feeling of care, love, and protection like a Mama Black Bear protecting her cubs from the danger that lay ahead in the world.

“To this day kids, I can always remember that day,” the man proudly stated to his grand kids, “That was the most memorable experience of my entire life, and I learned that you should never lose hope, no matter the circumstance.”

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