White Beaches

An uninhabited island with a strange lake and many mysteries.

White beaches
Green land appeared from under the horizon. The blues of the ocean and the skies mixed together at such a distance, but the green stood out like an emerald on blue silk. I couldn't believe my eyes at first. I rubbed them with my dry hands and blinked the ocean salt out of my eyes. It was there. I started rowing like a maniac. 

Finally, after weeks on this damned boat, I could set foot on solid ground. Ground that didn't shake with every step. Maybe the land was inhabited, maybe it was a shore of South America. I could be saved from this terrible ocean. I could maybe even eat some fresh fruits, catch some animals to eat. Anything would be better than the crackers and dried meats or fruits on this boat. 

The land drew closer and closer, and I started to see white beaches. I could see trees and plants lining the island, and a big rock stood in the sand just a bit to the left. The bottom of my boat scraped against something. I could see reefs and colourful coral just a few feet under the water's surface. I even saw the shine of some fish scales every once in a while. Finally, the nose of the boat buried itself in the sand. I didn't even feel how tired my arms were, I jumped out and threw myself in the warm sand. A tear came to my eye and wet the sand below me. After a long while, I finally stood up and washed the sand off my body. Walking to the edge of the trees, I smiled.

Day 1

A walk around the beaches answered one of my two most burning questions. It was an island, and a rather small one. It was not the mainland I had hoped it to be. There were also no signs of inhabitants, permanent or otherwise. I hoped to find people living in the forest, but that was too much to explore now. 

Besides, the sun is setting, which was a beautiful sight here. I walked back to my boat and started unloading my stuff. Food, water, a rope, a fire making kit, a knife. I was much better prepared than the people in those survival shows I loved to watch. I had confidence in my ability to survive until people came and saved me. I made a fire on the beach, eating dried fruits and drinking metallic-tasting water from a can. I looked to the forest and thought about all the delicious things that could be in there. Sounds came from the forest, rustling of leaves and squawks of birds. I silently hoped the island had no predators. My eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and I rolled myself into the tarpaulin I took from the boat. Before long, I was sound asleep.

Day 5

I can say with confidence now that there is no living soul on this island except for me. I think I might even be the first human on this island since it came into existence. Explorations of the forest revealed no signs of any humans ever living here. 

However, I found something amazing. In the middle of this island, there is a lake. A freshwater lake! I don't know where the water comes from or how it stays fresh, but it must be some kind of underground source. It's also the most beautiful lake I have ever seen. The water is extremely clear, as if nothing dares to enter it to make it dirty. And the beaches, oh the beaches are the whitest colour I have ever seen. There aren't even any specks of black or brown, just the purest white. The sand is also much finer than the sand on other beaches. I think it must have something to do with the same process that makes the water fresh. I have set up camp at the edge of this lake, building a small hut from wood and leaves. My boat is tied to a tree at the beach, if I ever decide to leave this island. Looking at this lake, I think I'd rather wait for people to come and save me.

Day 7

It has been a week now since I came here. I have placed a large piece of wood in the sand a few meters from the lake's water. I carved lines in it to keep track of the days. While carving, I noticed how terrible I smelled and looked. I stepped into the cool water of the lake, immediately turning the water around me turbid with the soot from my skin. It was almost a shame. My hair felt like a bird's nest, but came loose after I took a dive in the water. I dove again and looked at the sand underwater. It was strange, the level of the sand decreased almost perfectly. It was a perfect 45 degree slope from the edge of the water down, until it disappeared into the blue to my left. There were no plants, no rocks, no fish or anything else disturbing it. The only thing breaking the perfection were the few footprints I had set just a second ago. This lake became more and more mysterious.

Day 13

Today I gathered some large and dark-coloured rocks and placed them on the beach near my boat. If anyone happened to fly over this island, or take an image of it with a satellite, they would read SOS spelled on the beach. I also crafted a fish trap from some plastic bottles I found on the beach, and I took my boat out to the reefs, near some rocks, to set the traps. One of the rocks was standing at a strange angle that made it look like it had been broken and put together again. It was visible all the way from the beach of the island. After setting the trap, I took the boat back to the island. Only eating fresh fruits and crackers was getting a bit boring.

Day 18

I took the boat out again today to check on my fish trap. From the beach, the rock seemed much further away than before... I could still get to it, but it was much farther than the last time. I must be imagining it. I'm probably just tired and sick of rowing. The good news, however, is that the trap had fish in it! I'm gonna have a feast tonight.

Day 27

Another strange thing. The piece of wood I used to keep track of the days used to be several meters away from the water. Now, it was almost touching the water. Now that I noticed it, my fire pit was also closer to the water's edge, and other items I had left on the white beaches had also moved closer to it. Had the sands slowly shifted? This was something I had to test. I placed a large rock on the lake's beach far from my living area, so that my movement could have no effect on it. I removed all my items from the beach, just to be certain. Now we wait...

Day 36

I walked to the beach today, to check my fish trap once again. I was already pulling my boat from the sand when I looked to the ocean and saw... nothing. There were no rocks in view anywhere. I dropped the rope and walked to the water. Squinting and looking around, nothing, no rocks, only waves. This was troubling, am I losing my mind?

Day 43

The sand definitely moves. The rock I placed in the sand not long ago is now almost touching the water. The sand is moving things into the lake. Why? How? I wouldn't know... I also lost my knife. I think I might have lost it while swimming in the lake, I should have taken it off my belt. I did some diving, but it's nowhere to be found. I'll have to sharpen a rock, because I won't survive without something sharp.

Day 67

My life here is becoming boring. I gather food, make fire, swim in the water, wonder about the strange goings-on, et cetera, repeat. Sometimes I just sit in the sand for hours doing nothing. Enjoying the su... ow! A sharp pain spreads through my back. I stand up and look at the white sand, now coloured with red spots from my blood. Something shines under the crimson colour. I pick it up and wash it off in the lake. It is a shard from my knife! It's bent and deformed, but there is still some lettering on it: “ainless s”. I look to the lake as a drop of blood from my back falls into the clear water and temporarily colours it. I frown. What kind of process I going on down there that can break a steel knife to bits? How is the sand being brought back up again?

Day 75

A sound woke me up tonight, I think. It seemed to occur mostly in my dream, but it was so real. I could swear I still heard an echo as I was waking up. It was a loud roaring sound, lasting for about 2 seconds. I don't know what it was, because there are no predators on this island. Maybe it was a tree falling down in the forest? I shouldn't worry about it too much, it was probably just in my dream.

Day 78

It's not sand...
I was walking the lake's beaches when I noticed a yellowish object. It stood out in the pristine white like a sore thumb. I picked it up and brought it closer to inspect it. It was a tooth. A human tooth. I wasn't missing any teeth... I saw another shine in the small hole I had made when picking up the tooth. It was another one, smaller than the first one, but still definitely human. I started digging, finding more teeth. Finally, I found a shard of bone, definitely human too. It was a piece of the eye socket of a skull. It was battered and chipped, and a good part of it crumbled away when I touched it. The dust was a pristine white, and much finer than sand...

It hit me all very quickly. I was definitely not the first on this island. I threw up, messing up the dust around me even more. I didn't care. I walked back to my camp over the edge of the forest, never wanting to touch the bone dust again. I felt cold, even though the tropical sun was shining like never before.

-

A man is walking at the edge of a lake. A lake so clear that it looks like glass, surrounded by snow-white beaches. The man is shivering like he is cold. His hair is long and dirty, but he looks well-fed and surprisingly clean. The man turns his head to the forest and vomits. Slowly, he sets another step, careful not to touch the lake's sands. Finally, he arrives at a collection of items standing at the edge of a forest, near his hut. He sits down and shivers violently. He mumbles and cries, spitting through his words. It is silent for a long time, until he gets up and yells something incomprehensible. He kicks a piece of wood with many lines carved into it. His foot almost comes down in the white sand, but he twists it, trying to avoid touching the beautiful beach. His foot lands on the edge of the grassy dirt, but his ankle twists in a strange direction and he lets out a scream of pain. He falls quickly and lands with his head on the piece of wood, which has only just landed itself. All is silent.

Days pass, his body takes on a sickly colour as it slowly moves towards the water. Insects and birds gather what they can before the body enters the lifeless water. It rots no more as it slowly sinks with the sands to the centre of the lake.