A/N: Hi, everyone. I know this isn't the new chapter of A Trip to 1971 you all wanted, but this is something I felt I needed to do. Letting some time pass and reflecting on my story The Loompaland Log, I realized there were some aspects to it I wasn't proud of, so I wanted to sort of give a facelift to this story. I'll go over the main changes I made.
I noticed in my story that the only non-Oompa humans who actually survived were Willy and Carl, the only two white American characters. The other characters, who were all Indian, were killed off in the island. I didn't have any ill-intentions behind this whatsoever, it's just kind of an unfortunate thing I noticed when reflecting back on everything. So, I replaced one of the Indian characters with another white American guy who does get killed off in the island, just to show that I don't have any biases XD
Another change I made is when the Oompa-Loompas are telling Willy of the first non-Oompa humans who came to their island many years ago. The Oompa-Loompas described them as being the messengers of Kookoo-Makoray, one of their gods, but they are denoted in the original version of this story as being White men. After thinking about this for a while, I didn't want people to misconstrue that I was linking Whiteness with holiness or superiority, so I changed it in this version to where the Oompa-Loompas denote them as being "tall men".
One more major change that I'll mention here is that I changed a part of Willy's backstory that he describes in one of the later logs. After looking back at it, I wasn't satisfied with what I made a particular section of his backstory to be like, so I ended up changing it. I think it's better now, and more Roald Dahl-esque.
There are other changes I made, too, but I'll let those be yours to discover. I'll be keeping up the original version of the story, at least for now, so you can compare and contrast the two. After a while, though, I will be deleting the original version, because this is the version that I really want people to read from now on.
Log 1
I've decided to start writing a journal for now, since I am about to embark on a wonderful journey, and I want to make sure that I record all my travels.
It's been about two years since I closed my factory and stopped producing candy for all the world to enjoy, and I already miss it. After countless sleepless nights of contemplation, I've decided to open my factory once again, since I want to continue bringing joy and wonder to the world. It's my inspiration. It's what gives me life. It's my passion, and I can't simply quit doing it.
I haven't quite figured out how I would go about the whole reopening thing, though. Obviously, hiring workers to come work for me again is out of the question, since that's the reason I closed my factory in the first place. I guess I could run my entire factory with robots. Yes, they would take away from its charm with their soulless nature, but it's still better than the alternative.
I've also decided that if I were to reopen, I'd want to come up with some super groovy, new flavors to introduce to the world and re-dazzle them from the get-go. Because of this, I've decided to travel to a little known island in the Indian Ocean called Naboubaya. From what I've heard, it's home to the most exotic and delicious flavors on the planet—perfect for a new line of candy. Its coordinates are roughly 12°S 78°E, but I don't know what that means since I don't know anything about navigation. I'm just writing what I was told.
Luckily, after years of building trust with the president through my candy brand, I was able to make a deal with the government to keep this entire mission a secret to the public, so they won't know a thing about it. I'll be taking a flight in a private jet from Gumpshire, Massachusetts, where my lovely factory resides, to Kanyakumari, the southernmost city of India. I'll rendezvous with a man by the name of Carl Samson, who is the captain of the tramp steamer, the SS Albatross. He says it's a very old ship, but it still works well. He supposedly has a crew of eight with him. From then, we'll make our way to Naboubaya. Until then, Willy Wonka.
Log 2
Well, here we are. I'm currently on the SS Albatross on our way to Naboubaya, and boy, is it boring! There's seriously nothing to do on this ship! Not to mention, I'm feeling nauseous from the rough waves rocking the ship back and forth, and the stench of rotting fish isn't helping with that either. What am I doing on a crummy boat like this? I'm Willy Wonka! I shouldn't be in this situation. But sadly, this is all we could manage without garnering any unwanted attention to ourselves or making anyone suspicious.
Carl is a fine enough guy—a little rough around the edges, though. He's a bulky man in his 50s, a face full of coarse stubble, and never seen without a smoking pipe in his mouth. He's not really the friendly type; he prefers to just keep quiet to himself. Which is fine by me, since I'm not the biggest fan of social interaction myself. He said he did enjoy my candy, though, and he's really looking forward to me continuing my brand again. So that certainly improved my impressions of him.
Also on the ship is Jacob Ritter, Carl's first mate. He's younger than Carl by about a decade or two, and he's very enthusiastic about the trip. The other seven crew members are Kavi, Baladeva, Mahesha, Durai, Isha, Kumar, and Navin—all locals from India.
Kumar, Mahesha, and Baladeva have all been to Naboubaya before, so they're going to be our main guides once we get to the island. They told us all about how wonderful the island is. The island is utterly gorgeous, they say—a true paradise with lush jungles, beautiful flowers, and heavenly beaches with golden sand and crystal-clear water. There is a specie of giant, yellow flower there with a flavor that tastes like a combination of pineapple and mango. Then there's a wonderful fruit that grows there called the kokubum. It's a large, round, purple fruit that tastes very sweet at first, then turns amazingly sour, then goes back to being sweet again. They say that there are tons of other incredible flavors there that are absolutely ripe for becoming Willy Wonka candy flavors. I can't wait! We have very large crates stored onboard so we can bring back as many goods from Naboubaya as we could ever desire.
But as of now, nothing else of any significance is really happening; I've only been writing in this because there's nothing else to do. So, I guess I'll write again when something interesting actually happens. Until then, Willy Wonka.
Log 3
Well, I have some really bad news right now. You see, last night, there was an extremely harsh sea storm that we were caught in. Horrible sea storm. The waves towered above the ship before completely submerging it underwater for a few moments until it resurfaced again. The winds were so powerful, I'm sure they would've blown us off the ship had we not been below deck. The storm was so bad that it took us completely off course. Then, to make matters worse, our boat crashed into a shore of sharp, jagged rocks.
I don't remember what happened after that, but I do remember waking up inside the completely wrecked boat this morning. The rocks sure did a lot of damage. Carl said the damage done to the boat is irredeemable, so that certainly didn't make me feel any better.
Once we went outside the boat, we realized that we had crashed on the shore of an island. I thought at first that we had reached Naboubaya, but Carl found out using his navigation tools that we're miles and miles away from it. In fact, he said the island we landed on is completely uncharted. That means we could very well be the first people to set foot on this island. How do you like that?
Because the island is uncharted, we have no idea how large it is or what its geographical features are. There is, however, a very dense jungle just along the shore. We have no idea what lies in there, but the eight crew members and I are planning to enter the jungle in search of some flavors I can still use for my candy. Carl said he just wanted to stay with the boat in hope that another ship will come by to rescue us. We still have plenty of food with us, so that's not a problem yet. I only hope we'll get off this island before it does become a problem. Anyways, I'm going to start my jungle trek with the others now. I'm even wearing my safari outfit for the occasion—complete with pith helmet, machete, and all. I'll write back in a little while to catch you up on the events. Until then, Willy Wonka.