Taryn+S

=Shipwrecked=

Sea, Salt and Sand
Bonquiqui carefully opened her eyes, taking in her newly found surroundings, while silently recalling the events that had happened just hours prior. She slowly began to sit upright, coughing up a heap of salty ocean water. Slowly, she turned her head viewing the foreign environment: there was what seemed like a never-ending pool of crystal blue water, with sandy beaches and palm trees blowing softly in the wind. Tropical birds chirped loudly from the forest behind her. “Hello!?” yelled three panicked voices coming from around the side of the island. Bonquiqui jumped to her feet. “Hello!” she cried, “I’m here!” Bonquiqui ran towards the strangers, and constricted all three of them into one giant hug. “Praise the lord! Girl, you don’t even know how happy I am to see one of my own kind,” gabbed Bonquiqui, “You know, I thought I was gonna be stuck on this island all by myself forever. I thought I was gonna die alone, just like my ma’...” “Oh, uh, that’s really too bad...” the stranger with big muscles awkwardly commented, “My name is Kaliah, and these two are Dexter and Phoebe,” he said as he motioned towards the two people behind him. “Nice to meet y’all, my name is Bonquiqui. Do y’all know if there are any other people still alive from the crash?” “No, we don’t think so. Do you remember anything that happened? All three of us happened to be asleep and so all we can recall is being woken up by a flight attendant shoving a lifejacket over our heads.” Bonquiqui started, “Well, last thing I remember was…”

• • • • • //Snap!// Bonquiqui jumped awake from her slumber aboard the quiet AirCanada 747 plane. “Attention, all passengers, there has been a mechanical malfunction with the plane. Flight number 3829 will not make it to its designated destination, Wellington, New Zealand. Please remain calm; we have several flight attendants aboard to distribute life jackets. Everything will be just fine,” the flight attendant blared throughout the cabin. Shrieks erupted throughout the plane from those who were awake; it did happen to be 4 AMin the morning. Parents of young children greedily snatched up the lifejackets for their kin, while others aboard the plane prayed profusely. Many slept right through the chaos, until the flight attendants shook them awake and helped them into their life jackets. “Mayday, mayday, we’re going down,” howled the captain. Luggage and garbage was flying everywhere; Bonquiqui felt the plane descending. //Boom!// The plane abruptly hit the water, sending people aloft. Water began to rush into the cabin, while flight attendants quickly grabbed emergency rafts and evacuated the flooding plane. “My mirror! My mirror!” whined Bonquiqui, as water quickly flooded the plane. Thankfully, she had left it in her right pocket, so she abandoned the aircraft once and for all. As she surfaced she noticed the sun was starting to rise, and there were many people floating in groups, or slowly drifting away in life rafts. The whole thing seemed surreal. With Bonquiqui’s good luck, she managed to find an unoccupied life raft which she climbed into, and began to float away. The rocky sea managed to sooth her fears and worries, and she fell into a deep sleep. • • • • • “… And I woke up lying with my head in the sand! It wasn’t fun pickin’ sand out of my teeth! Let me tell you that!” finished Bonquiqui. “That’s really all you remember?” huffed Phoebe. She could already tell Bonquiqui was dead weight… “Yeah girl! I told y’all! I fell asleep in some life raft and then I wake up on some dumb island! This place don’t even have a nail salon! How am I supposed to get my acrylics filled?” grumbled Bonquiqui, “Not to mention my weave, girl! This takes hours to do, every single day! Bonquiqui’s hair ain’t gonna be pretty if she don’t got no hair relaxer or deep conditioner!” “Yeah, okay...” started Dexter. “But praise the lord, I still got my grand momma’s mirror! Maybe I can keep my weave lookin’ fancy,” Bonquiqui interrupted, “I mean, a girl has always gotta look her best. My lipstick and my eye shadows be on that dang plane!” “Yeah, okay,” said Dexter, clearly annoyed, “Can we talk about something other then your appearance for a few minutes? Please?” “Fine, but only cause Bonquiqui want to see her baby dog again, she can’t be stuck on no island for the rest of her life...” babbled Bonquiqui. “Yeah, okay… We really need to explore the island and see if there are any other survivors. We need to figure out what resources we have, and what resources we need. For starters, we know we have a mirror which could be really [|advantageous] when we need to start a fire. Does anyone else have any other useful equipment on them?” Dexter explained with reason, taking the roll of leader of the group. “I got my hoop earrings!” Bonquiqui put forth. “I’ve got these guns of steal,” quipped Kaliah, kissing both of his upper arms. Phoebe rolled her eyes, “I’ve actually got a brain, unlike these two,” she remarked. “Hey!” both Kaliah and Bonquiqui yelped concurrently. “Alright, well, let’s split up and meet back in about an hour. Bonquiqui, you come with me, and Kaliah, you stick with Phoebe. Bring back anything you think may be useful, and be careful; we don’t know what could be around here,” Dexter cautioned. The two couples split up, and Dexter led Bonquiqui down the west shoreline. “Dexter, don’t you think it would be awesome to have a coconut bra? And maybe a grass skirt, too? Maybe I should make one!” mumbled Bonquiqui. “Dear God,” Dexter thought to himself, “Please let us be rescued soon…”



Replenishments
Phoebe and Kaliah carefully maneuvered through the rocky shoreline, searching for possible survivors or useful equipment. “So, what do you think of Bonquiqui?” Phoebe asked cautiously’, she didn’t want to offend anyone. “Oh I don’t know, she seems like dead weight. I think that she’ll be more of a burden then a help. We’re going to be stuck babysitting her constantly,” said Dexter honestly. Phoebe thought about what he said for a moment, “Yeah, I agree. I bet she won’t even help us build a shelter because she’ll be afraid to wreck her nails.” Dexter laughed at Phoebe’s assumption, and the two continued their venture down the beach in silence.

• • • • • “Careful!” called Dexter, grabbing Bonquiqui by the arm in the nick of time. “Oh my lord, thank you Jesus, you saved my life!” cried Bonquiqui. Dexter looked at her awkwardly, “Oh yeah… No problem… Just be more careful next time,” he said as Bonquiqui steadied herself on the jagged rocks. “So Dexter, what do you do for a living?” Bonquiqui asked as they continued their journey down the coastline. “Uh, I’m actually an ambassador and a pro poker player,” said Dexter as he scratched the back of his head anxiously. “Oh my lord! Girl! How old are you?” questioned Bonquiqui. “I’m actually 22…” “And you be an ambassador?! Oh my lord! Does you got a wife? Any baby mamas?” “No, I’m divorced. Thankfully we ended things before we got around to kids. She turned out to be a cheating gold digger; I thought she was different from all the other girls I had dated…” Dexter stopped for a moment and stared deeply into the turquoise water beside him. “Oh no baby, I am so sorry to hear that. Would you like to hear about me?” Bonquiqui asked. “Sure… I guess so,” Dexter complied. “Well, you see, I was born n’ raised in Brooklynin a sleazy neighborhood with all them hobos and crack addicts. My mama worked hard to earn us some dough’, she be workin’ 3 jobs at one point in time! God bless her soul. Anyways…” Bonquiqui had began when Dexter interrupted her, “Um, I’m sorry, but can I listen to your life story some other time? How about you just tell me the basics?” he suggested politely. “Oh yeah I’m sorry baby, I don’t want to bore you,” said Bonquiqui with a hint of attitude in her voice, “As I was sayin’ before I was rudely interrupted, I be from Brooklyn, I am 25 years old, I don’t got no husbands. I got my boyfriends, all three of them, and I work as an exotic dancer six nights a week.” “An exotic dancer…?” Dexter cried, “Isn’t that just a polite name for a stripper?” “Excuse me!” Bonquiqui roared, “Is you insultin’ me up in here?” “I’m so sorry if I offended…” “IF you offended me? Honey boo-boo child, I think we both know you DID offend me,” Bonquiqui blasted. As she began to rant to Dexter about all the benefits of being an exotic dancer, she lost her focus for just a few seconds and stepped onto a wobbly rock. //SMASH!// Bonquiqui hit the ground quickly. “Ow! Oh my lord! My ankle! My ankle!” she cried, rolling around on the ground reaching for her injured ankle. “Bonquiqui! Are you alright?” wailed Dexter, ripping a piece of fabric off his collared shirt and graciously wrapping it around her already swelling ankle. He pulled Bonquiqui up to her feet and they began to hobble back to the groups designated meeting spot: That was enough adventure for the two of them for one day. • • • • • “Look! Look!” shouted Kaliah, pulling a piece of rope out of the sandy beach. Phoebe rushed over, helping him pull it up to the surface. “Why is this so heavy!?” she said to no one in particular. They pulled for what seemed like an hour but eventually managed to pull the rope up which happened to be tied on to a large blue tarp. “Wow! This is great! We just got two pieces of equipment in one go!” celebrated Kaliah. “Yeah, it’s a good thing you saw the end of the rope poking out of the sand because I sure didn’t. I wonder how long it’s been here; it was buried pretty far down.” “No kidding. Maybe we should start to head back, we’ve been gone for quite awhile,” said Kaliah as he folded up the tarp. “I guess so. I wonder how Bonquiqui and Dexter made out,” pondered Phoebe. The two began to walk down the beach again, retracing their steps back to the meeting spot. When they arrived, they saw Bonquiqui sitting dramatically on a piece of wood while Dexter scrambled around the forest in behind the beach searching for what looked like wood to start a fire. “Hey guys!” Bonquiqui screeched from across the sand. Dexter and Phoebe both noticed the pink piece of fabric wrapped around her ankle. They glanced back over at Dexter and noticed a piece torn from the bottom of his top. “Well, what the heck happened to you!?” questioned Kaliah. “Oh girl, don’t even worry about it. Bonquiqui had a little fall but she all good now, she all good,” announced Bonquiqui. “You guys!” called Phoebe from the shoreline, clearly uncaring towards Bonquiqui’s little sob story. Kaliah and Dexter ran over while Bonquiqui slowly hobbled towards the group. “Look what’s washed up on shore!” she motioned to the objects slowly creeping their way up on to the beach. Kaliah looked down and saw a first aid kit floating slowly towards them. “Bonquiqui! You’ve been sitting there doing absolutely nothing for at least twenty minutes now. How the heck did you not notice that?” Dexter yelled, while Phoebe and Kaliah just looked at each other, rolling their eyes. “Sorry baby, I was a tad bit busy. Not my fault I got sand all up in my weave and all under my nails!” Bonquiqui defended herself. Phoebe had to hide her face so no one saw her laughing; this girl was ridiculous! Dexter reached down and picked up the kit, setting it down on the log that Bonquiqui had earlier been sitting upon. He carefully opened it up noticing all the usual first aid materials, but in the specific kit, he noticed a shiny knife. “Holy crap!” he yelled, “This is great! We have a knife guys! This will make our stay here so much easier.” The group cheered. All four of them began to relax as the sun went down, each of them falling into a deep slumber on the soft sandy beach…



Months had passed, and the four castaways had become accustomed to their way of life on the island. Every morning Dexter would wake up early to collect fruits to eat for the day ahead of them. “Thanks, boo,” Bonquiqui said hoarsely, as she had just awoken. “No problem,” said Dexter, handing out coconuts and mangos to the group that lounged in the shelter. The days passed very slowly, and as the group had explored every nook and cranny of the island, little was left to be done. Bonquiqui had started to become restless, “Is we ever gonna be saved from this stinkin’ island?” she cried, to no one but herself. The other three ignored her; they had begun to see Bonquiqui’s erratic behavior as the norm. In a fit of desperation, Bonquiqui fell to the ground dramatically, “Bonquiqui, get up, you’re being ridiculous,” said Phoebe flatly. Frankly, she had had enough of Bonquiqui’s annoying antics. “I dun’ wanna live no more,” Bonquiqui yelled. The others looked at each other, unsure of what to do about the grown woman’s temper tantrum. Kaliah knelt down beside her, “Bonquiqui, can you please get up?” he asked quietly, not wanting to upset her anymore then she already was. He had grown fond of the women, throughout the time they had spent together. Bonquiqui glanced up with a look Kaliah couldn’t recognize. A few deep breaths later, Bonquiqui was standing on her own two feet, standing near the waters’ edge, staring intently into the crashing waves. The others sat on a log, watching. “I think she’s gone nuts,” Dexter said quietly. Phoebe and Kaliah nodded in agreement. Bonquiqui began to head back to the group so they could begin to cook their dinner which generally consisted of fish, coconuts, and every once in awhile, a bird. As the sun began to set, one by one, the survivors began to migrate into the shelter. Eventually all that remained was Kaliah, with Bonquiqui on his mind. Soon enough, it began to get cold, as the fire had gone out, and so Kaliah headed to bed.

••••• The four of them were soundly asleep in their hut, when there was a rustle in the bushes. Bonquiqui carefully lifted one eye open and looked around. Seeing nothing, she closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep. Quietly, a tiny creature none of them happened to notice crept inside their cozy shelter. Kaliah felt a gentle nibble on his big toe, and began to giggle, “Hey! Stop that! It tickles,” he said in between laughs. All of the sudden, the mysterious animal went in for its attack, quickly killing all but one. As the small, rabid squirrel finished off its midnight snack, Bonquiqui began to wake up. She noticed the squirrel standing atop Dexter’s head, and so she shooed the squirrel away, and fell back to sleep once again, as the sun was only just beginning to rise. Hours later, Bonquiqui began to awake once and for all. As she stretched her arms above her, and yawned loudly, she finally began to notice the carnage around her. Phoebes face was mauled off, as was Kaliah's. Dexter had been chewed to pieces. Bonquiqui shrieked, and evacuated the shelter. What had happened!? She remembered the crinkling of the bushes late in the night, and she recalled pushing a squirrel off of Dexter’s head. There was no way that a squirrel could have done that much damage, she concurred. She had come to the conclusion that a mountain lion had disfigured her friends, and that because she was tucked away in the farthest corner of the tent, the blood-thirsty beast had missed her. She thanked Jesus briefly, and ran down the beach. Maybe this was all just a dream, and she was sleeping right this minute. She pinched herself, but her legs kept moving down the sandy island; this was real. Out of breath, she sat down underneath a palm tree, and noticed something to the right of her; someone had carved something into the tree next to her. She moved closer, narrowing her eyes, //Kaliah was here. Tell BQQ I love her.// Bonquiqui looked around in shock, and then felt rather uncomfortable. Trying to forget the traumatic events that had happened less than an hour earlier, she closed her eyes and began to clear her mind. All of the sudden, //CLONK!// Bonquiqui felt something hit her head. A coconut rolled beside her body as she slumped against the palm tree. //HONKKKK!// Birds flew from the trees as a cruise ship sailed by the island, only miles away from the shoreline where all four castaways had ceased to exist.