May 30th, 2006
The thought of never getting off this island kept rearing its ugly face in my head, even in my sleep. The night before I had a dream of seeing a rescue ship and instead of stopping, they kept going not even glancing over at my island, yes MY Island. Since no one else is here that I know of, it is officially mine. I had tried to think of a name that would suit such a situation.
Instead what I got was "Brian's Diner" for having a lot of animals that were eating my food and not even leaving a tip behind…well let's say that tip wasn't edible.
Knowing that yesterday I skipped out on all three meals my stomach was pretty much an empty desert right now. The only thing keeping it from spilling out was the fact that I had to use the restroom on a consistent rate. My medication seemed to be holding up well for having to use salt water each time. At this rate it would hold up for another two weeks or so if I was lucky. My condition hadn't gone haywire yet. This would be my real test to see how long I could make it without the medication. I knew it was too good to sound true, but if I could last the whole time without it then I would be set for life!
As I continued working on the hut I realized how much knowledge I was gaining by this. So in times to come I'll be ready to protect myself however is necessary. My spear was still leaning against the side of the palm tree and was in good shape. I immediately went over and put it by the pieces of wood. Later I would make another one in case "Excalibur" decided to take a day off. I started thinking about what my brother had done a year earlier when we decided to rake out the leaves in our lake. The picture of my brother running up to we like and raising the rake over his head like the creatures in star wars episode three rang out in my head. I couldn't help but burst out laughing. The thought of not having my brother around for even longer periods of time made me cry as well. It wasn't a sobbing type of crying, but it was a gentle flow of tears. I looked down at the wood and wiped away the tears knowing I had to get going and stop procrastinating.
With the stairs being done I know how to focus on the deck. Somehow I was going to have to get four pieces down and into the ground so it would hold up the actual hut. My best bet was finding a spot where the ground was wet yet smooth. If I knew how to make cement then the project would've been twice as easy to do. Unfortunately it'll require more time than this. I went to where one corner of the house would be and slammed down a piece of wood into the ground. I tried shaking it a couple of time, it didn't budge. I did that at the other three corners. I had to place them evenly apart so the house wouldn't be leaning over. Next was the "fun" part, knowing how much space I would need inside the hut. I didn't choose math as a major, but some of the material I've covered dealt with space and matter. I figured the edge of the hut shouldn't go over within five feet once over the pieces of wood. I quickly grabbed a notebook and pen out of my backpack (hey a writer needs to have something to inspire him) and made up some drawings. When I had the one I wanted picked out I ripped it out of the notebook and help it up to where the actual hut was going. This is where my draw and design class came in. Making correct proportions was very important when building. I didn't want to make it too small. I started off by laying pieces of wood on each of the four corners. The remaining pieces I put across the ground beneath the hut. I stood back a second and help my thumb out to make sure it would fit my drawings…I couldn't quite determine if I would have enough room for a bedroom, otherwise there would be a narrow hallway and enough room for a small bathroom and bed.
Now the real work started, I had to move quickly. My phone read 8:35pm though the sun looked like it was in no rush to set. It was as if…there was a giant underneath holding it up with all its strength.
"Atlas, wherever you are, you have my praise!" I yelled out.
A bird who happened to hear me repeated "Atlas, I'm praising you I'm praising you!" My face turned to it and gawked at it. It flapped its wings in retaliation but didn't move. I didn't bother going to it since I knew I was blessed with having more daylight left. My goal was get it done even if the moon came up before I laid the last board down.
The sun seemed to be up forever, as my body got dirtier and sweatier I made more progress. I could feel my body breathing heavily in which indicated that I would be done soon. I would have to sleep without sheets for a few days until I could find some. My pillow that I threw into my backpack would come in handy. Finally at 3:42am the last board was laid down. The roof has now covered my whole hut. Incidentally I took out my tape measure from my bag and made a measurement of its dimensions. My calculations read 14 x 20 ft. (Yea I know you're thinking how he could have built something that big in about six hours? Well to be honest it's a story, I can make it go however I want it to!) The second I put the board onto the roof I felt a raindrop against my cheek, but when I looked up there was a clear sky. Now I've heard of this kind of thing happening before, but what kind of circumstance must there be for it to occur? If you're wondering when the sun went down, well Atlas put up quite a fight to give me more time, but at about midnight he finally let his arms down in failure, I still salute him.
Right then I realized I needed something to sleep on as well as in. Sleeping on the floor was better then in the sand. I grabbed my pillow and slammed myself against the ground, the hut not moving at all. I gave out a breath of relief and closed my eyes waiting for the morning sky just around the corner…