John+K


 * I. Inception **

As I took a brief glimpse out the window of my seat, I observed the frosty night sky, which was concealed by an army of ominous storm clouds. Rain was pouring down overwhelmingly, and the pallid, opaque mist swathed the turbulent skies like a blanket on a newborn infant. Speaking of blankets, I could use one right now, since the only layer of clothes I was sporting was nothing more than a tattered, but casual, long-sleeved shirt, which was accompanied by a baggy pair of dark, grey jeans that showed conspicuous wears. Wrapped around my feet was merely a pair of standard runners that looked as if they had not been washed in ages. My monotonous attire not only had adolescence written all over it, but also screamed my name, “John”.

The lenses on my black-rimmed spectacles began to fog up. I breathed out an unstable breath, which transformed into a misty, pale haze. Nonetheless, I did my very best to fight the chilliness to stay warm by utilizing a mixture of different and unique tactics, such as blowing into my hands, and rubbing them against each other as well as the denim texture of my jeans. Approximately eight hours of an 18-hour flight had gone by after departing Vancouver Airport, and the sensation of the excruciating impatience had already gotten the best of me. Sweden seemed like forever, and simply pondering about it made me even further excited than I already was.

Out of the blue, I felt an abrupt, violent shake. My feet were shuddering; I was not sure if it was caused by the quake, or if I was just frightened.

Within a matter of seconds, I heard the pilot’s frantic voice echoing through the plane: “Attention everyone, we are currently undergoing some major problems with the aircraft. So at this time, I would like everyone to remain calm and seated and follow the emergency procedures as instructed. We will also be providing you with oxygen masks shortly.”

Subsequently, while the oxygen masks went flying out of the compartments, the plane suddenly erupted into a massive pandemonium, as the sound of the screaming and alarmed passengers began screaming and panicking in absolute terror. Amidst the commotion, I merely sat down in tranquility. I was on the edge of my seat. It’s just a minor setback; everything will be back to normal, and I will get to Sweden even if it kills me.

However, the plane did not stop trembling, and we were headed downwards instead. My entire body was plunging and tried to grasp for dear life. It was like a rollercoaster ride, except there was no getting off safely. The vociferous sound of the anxious passengers increased as the altitude was swiftly declining when I noticed a girl, roughly my age, was slowly approaching me.

Without hesitation, she offered me an extra life jacket. “Take it,” she commanded. “You want to live, don’t you?”

I looked up and the very first thing I realized was her breathtaking, sparkling, green eyes that could light up a room. Tentatively, I reached for the life jacket and put it on.

Before I could even thank the girl or introduce myself, I heard a raucous noise and next thing I knew, we were in the ocean, and the engine had caught on fire, bursting into flames. Anomalous clamors reverberated in my ears which slowly turned into distorted mumbles. The atmosphere grew increasingly insufferable. My heart was racing in my chest. Because the water was swiftly penetrating the airplane, my initial instinct was to locate the nearest emergency exit door. Exhausted, and still traumatized, I managed to swim through water that had almost reached up to my nose. As soon as I freed myself from the burning plane, a feeling of sudden guilt had struck me, as I witnessed helpless people left dying. I started to wonder if there were any other survivors. But, I was too drained out to be worried. Thousands of unanswered questions were floating inside my head. Who am I? Where am I? Why is this happening? In seconds, I was out like a light.


 * II. New World **

Have you ever had that experience in which your body would simply give up hope and immediately shut down? That was me. Where was I? Who was I? What was happening? The sounds of the proximate ocean waves were indistinctly heard. Surprisingly, I felt a slight tingling sensation in my hand. Although my head was in rigorous pain, I could hear the pulse of my brain thumping like a continuous drum kick, a sound I thought I would never hear again. I’m alive. Still feeling groggy, obscure, and completely unaware of what was going on at the moment, I had struggled to resist the temptation of falling back asleep again. Gradually, my eyelids, which were as heavy as a stack of bricks, began to open.

Lying on the shore with the gritty sand tickling my feet, I glanced upwards to observe the surroundings. Straight ahead of me was a graceful, serene ocean at sleep. However, the majority of the island had been occupied by tropical trees, including a sheer, rocky mountain in the heart of the isle. This doesn’t look like Sweden at all… At this time of year, I was expecting less tropical weather, and more snowfall. I witnessed the glorious and rich morning sunlight, only to be blocked by a remotely shadowy figure that appeared to be sluggishly approaching me. The closer it moved toward me, the bigger the shadow grew. Suddenly, the aroma of the fresh, breezy air transformed into a luscious and euphoric fragrance consisting of a mixture of vivacious fruits with a sweet touch of extravagance. I had recognized that smell.

“Oh my gosh, you’re alive!” she yelled in ecstasy.

It was her, the girl with the striking red hair on the plane that had offered me the life jacket. Considering the fact that I was extremely horrendous when it came to swimming, the life jacket had, in fact, saved me from drowning in the deep waters of the ocean following the crash. Had I not received it, my chances of survival would have been slim.

My mouth opened, but the words could not come out. So, I simply froze and said nothing. She turned around and yelled towards a group of people by the tent.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 105%;">“Hey, guys! I’ve found another survivor!” she screamed enthusiastically. “You come with me.”

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 105%;">Struggling to get up on my feet, I somehow managed to make my way to the tent. Beside it was a bonfire, with fruits, mostly bananas, being roasted. As I counted the number of people on this island, I could only distinguish thirteen live human beings out of 250 total passengers on the airplane. According to my mathematics, that was less than six percent. The girl took me by the hand and led me to two other girls who were setting up the tent.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 105%;">“By the way, I’m Taylor,” she introduced herself. “What’s your name?”

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 105%;">I stood there for a moment, trying to remember what my name was. Instead, I simply waved and shook her hand.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 105%;">After a moment of awkward silence, she responded, “You don’t say much, do you?”

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 105%;">“N-No,” I quietly answered, shaking my head.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 105%;">“Whatever,” she scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Anyway, I’d like you to meet my friends, Priya and Mariah. They’re survivors too, just like you.”

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 105%;">“Well, are you actually going to introduce yourself or not?” Mariah asked impatiently.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 105%;">Trying to keep my mouth shut, I shrugged.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 105%;">Priya jumped into the conversation. “Why don’t we all introduce ourselves, shall we? Well, my name is Priya, as you all know, and I’m just thankful we made it out alive. Lucky for us, we got on to the safety raft as quickly as possible.”

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 105%;">“Where were you headed?” Taylor asked. “The three of us won a trip to the Swedish Hockey Hall of Fame in Sweden to meet the legendary Henrik Sedin.”

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 105%;">“Sweden,” I blurted out. “I’m on vacation.”

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 105%;">* * * *

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 105%;">Several hours had gone by, and the tent was completely assembled. By now, the sun was starting to set, and nightfall was just around the corner. As for myself, I took a seat on one of the enormous rocks and sat there for a lengthy period of time while staring at the beacon, trying to reflect on and understand the events of last night. Everything was like a man’s worst nightmare come true; it was too realistic to be true.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 105%;">Sundown was soon replaced by the tranquil, evening skies. Only the waves of the ocean were able to be heard. Before calling it a day, I noticed the fire was still lit.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 105%;">I heard someone say, “We’ll leave the fire on, for now.” It was Mariah, who was sitting on the log by herself. Diffidently, I sat down beside her for a few minutes, since I was not in the mood for sleeping. “We can use it not only to keep us warm, but also as a rescue signal. You just make sure you stay out of trouble. Remember – we stick together, no matter what happens; we’re a team. We will get off this island, one way or another. Hopefully, someone will come and save us tomorrow. Someone…will…come….tomorrow………someone…..”


 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">III. Nightmares **

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 105%;">The panic…the impact….the horror…the horrific memories were all coming back. It seemed to me that the harder I tried to not think of that fateful night, the more it overwhelmed me. I do not recall a single night that I had spent on the island without being haunted by the nightmare. Every time I rested my eyes, the dream played recursively like a track on an mp3 player. On some nights, I would cry myself awake and sit on the shore alone in the dark, staring at the open sea serenely and waiting to be saved.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 105%;">* * * * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 105%;">Days and months went by in a blur; nevertheless, my desire of returning to the civilization world was still as bright as the blazing bonfire being lit, which awoke me. I felt the placid breeze caressing my long hair, while I was tearing off and wrapping a piece of fabric from my shirt around the gruesome wound on my foot, due to the lack of first aid apparatus and appropriate footwear. How unfortunate. Limping around unbearably in bare feet, I took a gander at the open air only to notice that the intense, blinding rays of the sun were glaring down at me with ferocity. Nonetheless, the island had been undergoing a sudden wave of chills and occasional blizzards, to our dismay.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 105%;">Trudging heavily towards the group, I could only make out few other people remaining. My body had quickly become adjusted to the daily, petite diet primarily consisting of coconuts, bananas, and bread. As time progressed, the food supply was rapidly dwindling, since it had to be shared evenly with the several others. With the diminishing stack of food, the deceased were left starving to death in the cold. Even the crumbling tent-shelter showed signs of wear, entering its first stage of corrosion. Priya came approaching and offered me breakfast, which turned out to be a measly bread crust.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 105%;">“John, I’m afraid we’ve ran out of food stock,” she alerted, “All of the fresh coconuts from the trees have already been taken, and since there’s no fish in the ocean, I guess the only thing we’re left with are crumbs.”

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 105%;">I looked around; Priya was right. No more food? How could this be possible? We had consumed all of the fruits from the trees and leftover food from the plane. Desperately frantic for something to eat, I scurried to the forests, only to come back with nothing but despair and hopelessness written on my face. Gazing at each other with a dejected expressions on our faces, it became apparent that we were slowly, and devastatingly, dying on the inside.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 105%;">* * * * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 105%;">Nightfall replaced the gorgeous sunset view, as I set up my sleeping bag on an empty stomach. The word “rescue” was floating in my mind; something had to be done to save the lives of the other survivors on this island. I had to act fast in only a short amount of time.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 105%;">“Get up, we must go now,” I whispered, tapping her shoulder.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 105%;">“Go where?” she asked, confused.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 105%;">“See that mountain up there? That is where we’re headed. Hopefully, we will find someone up there. Pack your stuff, now.”

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 105%;">Without hesitation, Taylor, along with Mariah and Priya, made their way out of their sleeping bags and the commencement of the trek to the summit of the mountain was underway.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 105%;">* * * *

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 105%;">Battling through the dreadful snowstorm, my legs just felt like giving up halfway. Moreover, considering that I was using miniature cardboard boxes as my shoes, I struggled mightily to climb up the mountain with layers of ice and gravel.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 105%;">“There are only a few more hours to go!” Mariah hollered. “You can do it!”

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 105%;">I was not aware of the exact time and date, but it felt that every single day I had spent on the island seemed like perpetuity. If there’s one thing I learned from this entire experience, it would perhaps be to not take things for granted.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 105%;">* * * * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 105%;">Agonizing hours of withstanding the chilliness was coming to an ultimate finish, as the summit was only up ahead of us. I laid down in utter exhaustion. My heartbeat pounded like a drum within my ears.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 105%;">“We made it.” I expressed in triumph.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 105%;">After moments of silence, I glanced at the girls, only to find them lying down as their skins were pale as ice, virtually blending in with the snow. Tapping their shoulders vigorously, I cried out with all my might. But to no avail, they did not budge.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 105%;">Out of the blue, I heard the sounds of the helicopter propellers slicing the air. The storm had subsided, which paved the way for the sunlight that was blinding my eyes. The more intense the sunshine grew, the closer the helicopter approached.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 105%;">Shocked and in disbelief, I could sense the emotion steadily building up inside of me. Despite attempts to fight back the tears, the grief was so overwhelming that I simply let go. My pain washed away with tears that endlessly trickled down my cheeks like a waterfall.