72 days… I have been stranded in an unknown forest for 2 months and 11 days. I don’t remember how I got here. Before, I was on a yacht for a party, leaning over the boat's edge, thinking I saw something out there. An unknown stranger bumped into me, leading me to fall over the edge, feeling the air rush past me as I fell closer and closer to the water. I hit the water with force, and the light started to fade as I sank under the surface. I fight towards the top, but the ocean sweeps me under again. Fighting, fighting, fighting, but it was useless. Then everything goes black.
***
I washed up on a sandy beach soaked and wrinkled, from being in the water for a long period. I don’t know where or how far I am from civilization. I arrived on the island and inspected the forest closest to the lakeshore. I got up and walked in a circle, looking. Looking for a sign that I did end up somewhere near civilization, but I found nothing but berry bushes and miles and miles of trees beyond my big island. After a while, my stomach started growling. I remembered the berry bushes I had discovered previously. I found sticks good enough to make weapons out of, and I found shelter underneath a couple of fallen trees that I put sticks and limbs over to make a cozy hut. There is a big river half a mile in length. I figured that was my best way to find civilization.
As I survived in this forest, I had a lot of time to think about how my life was before this all happened. I used to go to a private school with Privileged kids. I was a privileged kid. I was pretentious… but do I deserve this? Living out in the wild is brutal, leaving my nails short and my blonde hair matted and stained with dirt from sleeping on the ground. My petite body has become skinny. My face is, but its clear skin has pimples all over it. At the party, I was wearing jean shorts and a tank top, with a jacket wrapped around my waist. Summer is starting to end, so it is getting colder at night. I had to start getting ready for my trip down the river.
I started to gather berries. I also killed a couple of squirrels and rabbits with my makeshift spear. I decided walking down the river would be better than floating. I gather the few things I have from my hut. I wrap my jacket around my stored-up food, then tie it to the end of my spear. I grab my stick, which I sharpened with a rock to make a knife. After I get all of my stuff gathered, I walk down the river stream and stumble over rocks and sticks. As I walk, I think of my mom and how we fought before I left for Sam’s party.
“Why can’t you just buy me that dress I like?” I had whined to my mom.
She replied to me in an irritated voice, “Chris, you have plenty of clothes to wear to the party. Why do you need just one other dress you will never wear again?”
I just rolled my eyes and screamed running upstairs. She never got me. She always thought of me more as a peer than her actual daughter or friend. I don’t think she likes me very much, let alone loves me.
I do remember her always smiling and having fun with me before Dad died. He died two years ago. Before he died, Mom and I always used to do fun things together, like shopping and going to the movies. When he fell ill, Mom was always dealing with something that had to do with Dad's corporation. She was never around anymore. It was just Dad and I. I was there when he would have his seizures, I was there when he would cry, and I was there when he died. She was never there. I was just a thirteen-year-old all alone, having to deal with her dying father.
As I was walking downstream, I saw long rope-looking things in the water. I saw a head pop up… water moccasins. Good thing I didn’t decide to float down the river, but I still had to watch where I was walking. The river is full of these snakes. I walk for a couple of hours watching the snakes and looking at my surroundings. Some of the way down the riverside is rocky. I had to be very careful not to trip. I stopped to eat some food, drink some water, and take a breath. As I started to walk further downstream it began to drizzle. A couple of hours later it began to rain. I was walking on some big rocks with algae on them; from being underwater, and the river going down from the lack of rain.
I stepped on a bigger rock and slipped. I fell hard on the rocks. Then my body slid by the river. I tried gripping on the side of the rock, my fingernails scratching at the side of the rock. At the last minute, I remembered the snakes in the river, but it was too late to do anything because I felt something break the skin of my ankle on my right leg. The pain comes to me in a rush. I screamed, then started to moan as the pain slowly went up my leg. Then I felt another set of teeth attach to my thigh on my left leg. That leads to so much more pain. Everything was spinning. My body was halfway submerged in the water; close to my chest. I started to climb as much as possible up onto the rocks. I finally found a rock that had a good hold. I pull myself up onto the rocks with as much strength as I can muster. I finally make it up on the rocks. So much pain…
I stared at my ankle to see red dots. My ankle and thigh were swelling at a crazy pace. My head felt light, and I felt like I couldn’t breathe correctly. I went to touch my thigh and felt the heat radiating through my skin. The pain was so unbearable; that I started sobbing uncontrollably. I could imagine the poison seeping through my veins. The world was blurry from the poison and the tears. As I took my last breaths, I thought of the happy memories with my mom. I thought of my memories with my friends. Most of all, I thought of all my privileges and the good things my mom and dad provided for me.
I suddenly realized how much I missed my mom, and now I would never see her again. I regretted all the times I was an ungrateful brat to my mom. I figured it out then; I had more than most kids in the world. I had a great life that I did not care much about. I always wanted more. My last breath came to me. I was going to be gone. Gone… gone. I started to close my eyes. The pain didn’t seem so bad anymore. I wish I could tell all the ungrateful kids in the world to be grateful for what they have because someday it might be taken from them. I took a shuddering breath. That is when the world and life fade out.
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