Patience

A colorful parrot flies high above Jack.

“There it goes – the only color this island had,” he said. “This island is nothing but brown. Even the plants look faded.”

Jack turns to look at the coconut sitting next to him in the sand. “Charlie, don’t tell me to be patient.” He stares out at the green-ish blue ocean, “I’ve been nothing but patient.”

His impatience was understandable, after all Jack was meant to be in his home state visiting with his family, discussing his most recent success as a writer. Jack was going to release his first novel, a project he has spent over five years working on. However, five days ago, when his plane should’ve landed safely in Portland, it crashed on a lonely island in the middle of nowhere.

As fate would have it, he was the only survivor. He spent the past five days foraging for what food he could find edible and eventually found an unlikely friend – a coconut which he named Charlie.

“I’m going to die on this island, aren’t I?” Jack continues staring at the ocean, watching the gentle waves splash against the shore. His breathing relaxed and his mind contemplative.

He snaps his head to look at Charlie, “No, I’m not sad. I’m angry! I’m frustrated! Do you have any idea what I was going to tell my family?”

Jack looks down at his feet covered in sand. “I was going to tell my family who I really am. I wanted to tell them, face to face, that I’m gay, before they read my book.” Jack’s novel was fictional, yes, but it was based on real events that happened to him that kept him closeted nearly forty years of his life. Now, he was ready to open up to his family and friends – and then the world.

“I think I waited too long.” Jack plops his butt in the sand and rests his head against his knees. “I waited too long.”

Jack glares back at Charlie, “No, I don’t want to be optimistic right now. I’m over optimism. Just let me hate the world.”

Jack washes his hands through the sand, eventually grabbing a fist full. He watched the tiny granules slowly slip out of his hand, the wind pushing it back towards him. Jack’s face twisted and he threw the fistful of sand against the current of wind, some of it flying back into his eyes and mouth. He tried spitting and rubbing out the sand, stumbling backwards until he tripped over a stick and flopped onto his back.

“What’s the use in trying anyway.” He rolls his head to look at Charlie sitting in silence. Jack’s eyes grew heavy. He resisted closing them but eventually gave in.

“Ahoy! Sir, do you need help!” a voice boomed and jolted Jack up to his feet, wide-eyed and looking back and forth until his gaze focused on a faraway ship sailing toward the island and a young man holding a megaphone.

“Huh,” Jack let out. He turns to Charlie who looked at Jack with superiority. “Don’t even start with an ‘I told you so’.” Despite feeling slightly annoyed, Jack grinned at his hairy friend. He was happy to be wrong.

The thought that he could be saved filled Jack with enormous energy. He jumped and flailed his arms and legs, he screamed and cried, “Here! Over here! Thank god! Thank god!” Then – Jack fell to the ground.

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