Hello my lovelies. I know it's been forever since I've updated and I'm so sorry about that. I'll really try to keep this up. Thanks for sticking with me. Also, I haven't been writing much in the past while so sorry if this isn't good. Sorry again and Ily all. 3 Juniper Minoa
I woke up that morning in the small clearing where I'd fallen asleep. At first, there was silence, then the memories of last night came crashing down. All the pain, everything, was locked inside my system, screaming to get out. And so I let it. I screamed. I screamed so loud that I was sure the whole island could hear me. I screamed so loud I was sure they'd hear from England. After that, no tears came. I'd already cried myself dry. So I screamed again. I screamed until my throat had been ripped to tiny pieces. I screamed until even drinking water caused pain. For the next few days, I lived alone in silence. I didn't want to go back to the beach, filled with boys I hated. I hated everything. And everyone. They didn't care. Not about Josh, not about anyone. Or anything. I barely left my spot. Only to pick some fruit, or go to the bathroom.
It was the fourth day when I finally heard footsteps coming my way. At first, I was terrified. Then the kid who fainted, Simon, stepped tentatively out of the woods.
"Hey," he said. For a moment, he waited for me to reply. I could only stare lifelessly at him. "You've been gone a while. They're sayin' you died."
"Oh." My voice was still a little sore, and I was surprised to hear it for the first time. "Oh," I said again, just to test it out.
A concerned look crossed his face. "He was a good kid, ya know. He's happy now. I'm so sorry about what happened."
I nodded and suddenly I was crying again. I didn't know how. It had been days since I could last form a single tear. But suddenly it was like it had been the first night. A huge torrent spilled down my face and I made the loudest sobbing sounds. In fact, I probably sounded like a dying animal. But then, something happened that surprised me so much, I almost stopped crying. Simon put his arms around me. And held me. A boy has never hugged me before. And though I knew it was out of pity, sympathy, whatever, it still made me feel better, more hopeful.
After I stopped crying, Simon gave me a hand and helped me up. "Come on. Let's go back down to the beach."
When we got there, Ralph was the first to see us. "Hey! It's Alicia!"
Smiling, the younger boys ran up to hug me, and the older ones waved from where they were. Except for Jack. He came up to me with a smirk.
"So sleeping beauty awakens." Something about his voice showed me that he'd been rehearsing this in case I did come.
I didn't know how to respond. My mind, heart, and body were weak, so I just shrugged him off and went to drink some water. Unfortunately, he followed. "Where were you?"
"That's none of your business."
"You know you can tell me anything."
"I don't wanna talk about it."
"Please. Trust me."
"It's not a trust thing!" I hadn't wanted to scream at him. I had wanted to use some form of sarcasm, or passive aggressivism, but I couldn't. I was barely strong enough to walk, to breathe, to speak let alone to think of a great retort.
"Leave her alone," Simon surprised me.
"Sorry," he said, throwing his hands up into the air, not sounding sorry at all. Then he walked off, shaking his head.
"Thank you," I whispered. I sat down on my knees and began drinking the cool water. I felt someone's gaze tickling my shoulder. I turned around and saw Roger staring at me from a little ways down the beach. Though Jack had bothered me, I remembered how Roger had terrified me a few days before. He looked away, but that wasn't before I saw a curious look in his eyes. A strange, dark, watchfulness.
That night, as I lay in my meadow, I took a deep breath, and allowed myself to feel at home, allowed myself to let go of Josh, to let go, and forget.
Time became a blur on the island. I lived through every day. Days which melted into weeks which melted into months. We didn't keep track of the days, there was no need. Only the months. That is because each month, I had certain complications. So we watched the moon, and when the crescent began to wax every thirty days, they knew to leave me alone. Simon and Ralph even built me a little hut in the clearing for me to sleep in during those days.
There were a few occurances that marked times of celebration though. The biggest was when Jack killed his first pig. We had a feast that day. The youngest picked the ripest fruits, and I made a net to catch some fish. I had pork for the first time. It was surprisingly good. For the first time since we crashed onto the island, our bellies were full and I felt content. And when Jack asked me to cook the thing ("Because you're a girl and I think you ought to love cooking"), I punched him in the nose. So it was a good day.
In the meantime, Simon and I grew closer. My fears and worries dissipated, were carried away on the tide, were gone. I rarely thought of Josh, and soon, he seemed like a distant memory. Then came the best day of my life, followed quickly by the worst.
So there it is. I know it's short and I'm sorry about that. I'll try harder next time. Please, please, please review. 3 Juniper Minoa