Sunday, November 10, 2019
The Island of Damar
I looked down at the tiny island in the distance. The island that was about to turn my life completely upside down. It's name, Damar. It is a small island in Indonesia. It has a population of 23 people, everyone of these people archaeological diggers. My dad, Jay, was flying out to join them. There was some kind of dig on the go and my dad was called for. Me, being Rhia, had to go with him. Most kids of my age would stay at home with a relative. Unfortunately, I have none. My mum died about four years ago in a tragic car accident. She drove her car into a ditch and no one found her until the next morning. I don't know of any other relatives that i have. The only other family member I have is my twerp of a brother. He is 9 years old and is extremely annoying. His hair is like barbed wire, it is impossible to brush using any comb. My dad must have bought about 20 different sized combs to try and brush it and about 50 different shampoos. It is blondish-brown in colour and is kind of centre parted. He doesn't care in the slightest about his appearance and most of the time he just wears a pair of tracky bottoms and a pole shirt. His name is Pete. Any way, less of that twerp, back to me. I am 19 years old and currently do not have a boyfriend. I have blondish-brown permed hair just past my shoulders in length and have big, blue, dazzling eyes. Unlike my brother I care ALOT about my appearance. Everything has to be colour co-ordinated. My dad is always fussing at me, he says I have loads of clothes and hardly any of them are worn. It had been a long, tiring journey and a boring one at that. If I had been able to bring my friend Chazza, it would've been a right laugh. I was suffering from toothache because the cheesecake that we had for lunch hadn't been properly defrosted and I really hurt my tooth. Damar was getting bigger and bigger so I knew we were soon to land. From what I could see from above, it just looked like a floating rain forest. There were huge trees but I could not spot any houses or apartments for us to stay in. It was hammering it down with rain. I knew this because I could hear the rain drops bouncing of the roof of the plane. Touchdown. We had landed. We floated along the surface for some time before we came to a complete stop. I looked out of the cabin window and stared amazingly at a huge cliff that towered above the left hand side of the sea plane, I could not see the top of it. There was nothing else to be seen. My dad rose from his seat and turned round o face us, ââ¬Å"Well then, we're here,â⬠he said as if we were to be really excited. Me and my brother both looked at him as if to say ââ¬Ëwoopey-doo! ââ¬Ë My dad turned back round and headed towards the door and begun to open it. Once this was done he grabbed his binoculars which he had been looking through most of the journey whilst making notes, he looked into the distance. It was sometime before he shouted, ââ¬Å"I can see them, they're coming straight for us! â⬠Meanwhile Pete was taking all the cases from the overhead lockers and was placing them in a pile at the front of the plane. I looked out of the plane window once more nd spotted a small, yellow, rubber boat fighting against the treacherous waves to make its way to the plane. In it was a man dressed in a orange kagool. After some fighting, the boat reached the entrance to the plane. ââ¬Å"You must be Doctor Shaw? â⬠asked my dad loudly, competing against the noise of the waves. ââ¬Å"Yes, that's right. Climb aboard,â⬠shouted the strange looking man. My dad jumped aboard and almost lost his balance as a huge monstrous wave came from behind the boat. Pete tossed all our luggage to my dad who was piling them up in one corner. Once this had been done, Pete himself jumped aboard. I walked esitantly towards the door and stood for a moment watching the rain hammering into the sea. I turned round and faced Sam, the pilot, who I had become quite friendly with. ââ¬Å"Good bye thenâ⬠, he said, trying not to laugh, ââ¬Å"and good luck! â⬠I smiled at him, turned round and daintily made my way on board the boat. That was it, there was no way of turning back now. I turned and looked at the plane, taxiing into the dull fog which had fallen. ââ¬Å"What? â⬠I bawled at the top of my v oice. ââ¬Å"This is your home for the next 10 weeks. â⬠I looked down at a pile of raw materials: wood, palm leaves and a huge sheet of tarpaulin. You and your dad will have to build a shelter. â⬠That was it, I'd had enough. Not only did I discover that there was no TV, computer or telephone on Damar, but now I have to build my own shelter. My dad had lied. He told me the complete opposite. I decided enough was enough i needed to get away from my dad before all hell broke out. I walked over to the shore and looked out at the waves smashing against the rocks. I was dripping wet and freezing cold. I made a huge X out of pebbles in the sand and walked to the left of me. As long as I kept to the shore line, I could turn round at any time and walk back o the X and then I'd know I was back at camp. It felt as if I'd been walking for miles. The shore line was rocky and in some places sandy. After some time I came to a stop and sat down on what looked to be a makeshift bench at the top of the cliff that I first saw when I had landed. I was there for a long while. The rain had got worse and it had begun to hail, they were not huge hail stones but big enough. ââ¬Å"Hi there, I'm Jak! â⬠called a voice from behind. I jumped up, scared stiff. I didn't know whether to turn around or not. Before I could, the person named Jak appeared at the side of me. He held his hand out as if aiting for me to shake it. I pulled my hand out of my jeans pocket and held his hand. I couldn't move it, it was as if they were frozen solid. ââ¬Å"They're freezing,â⬠he shrieked, ââ¬Å"here, take my gloves. â⬠I took the gloves from his held out hand and struggled to put them on. ââ¬Å"I'm Doctor Shaw's son. You? â⬠asked Jak. ââ¬Å"I'm Rhia. Rhia Langton,â⬠replied Rhia politely. ââ¬Å"Oh, your new here aren't you? â⬠ââ¬Å"Yep, I just arrived today. â⬠The conversation seized while we looked each other up and down. He was gorgeous. He had short black hair and had huge, dark brown eyes with long eyelashes. He looked about early 20's and had a well tanned body. I've been here 6 months now,â⬠he said. ââ¬Å"Really. â⬠ââ¬Å"Yeah. How long are you planning to stay? â⬠ââ¬Å"I think my dad said about 10 weeks. â⬠ââ¬Å"Cool, I'll have to get to know you more then. â⬠ââ¬Å"Likewise. â⬠ââ¬Å"I think I'll start by telling you about me then,â⬠said Jak, ââ¬Å"I'm 22 and i'm a dentist. Well at least I will be, when I get back to England. I've been offered a job. â⬠ââ¬Å"Oh really, lucky you,â⬠said Rhia, shocked, â⬠Well I'm 19 and currently have a job at McDonald's. Slightly different to you eh? â⬠Jak trying not to laugh replied, ââ¬Å"yeah! well it's better than nothing? â⬠ââ¬Å"I suppose so, it's only until I find another job. â⬠We spoke for some time and we had got to know each other extremely well before Rhia decided to make her way back to camp whilst holding Jak's hand. When i arrived back at camp, my dad and brother had built their hut and were both sitting round a red hot fire at the foot of the hut. Jak however had already made his way back to his hut after a kiss at the edge of the shore. ââ¬Å"You're back then? Finally over your little tiff? â⬠asked Jay. I walked slowly towards the logs that surrounded the fire which had been used for benches and sat down. ââ¬Å"So, do you want the guided tour? â⬠asked Pete. ââ¬Å"Sure! â⬠replied Rhia. I couldn't sleep that night. Not only was it because of the rain gushing down on the tarpaulin but my tooth was still hurting from the frozen cheese cake on the plane. I had never felt so much pain in my life. After a long wait, I finally drifted into a restless slumber. Two weeks have gone now. The weather is at its hottest and my tan is coming along great. The island wasn't as bad as I though it was when I first arrived. In fact, I love it. I'm getting on really well with Jak now and we're going out. The only problem is he has spoken about taking our relationship a little further. I don't know if I'm ready for it just yet. I haven't as yet been down to the dig, my dad oesn't want anyone going down until he's given it the all clear (safety wise. ) Well, today's the day. I can finally go down and see what all the fuss about Damar is all about, I'm going down to the dig. ââ¬Å"Come on then! â⬠shouted my dad. I knelt down and picked up my bag and some of my dads digging equipment and followed him into the dark wilderness. My tooth was at its worst today. I wasn't really in the mood to go into a cramped, humid cave full of archaeological diggers and have to dig all day. My dad and Pete were some amount of metres ahead of me but didn't know how far I was walking behind. I stopped, and ropped my bags on the floor. Jak wasn't going down to the dig today so I wasn't really that bothered about going. He was spending the day on Karachi beach. I've decided that I am ready to take our relationship a little further but it has to be at the right time in the right place. I decided to make my way to the beach to see if I could see him. ââ¬Å"Hi, how are you? â⬠asked Jak ââ¬Å"I'm fine now I'm here with you. My dad wanted to take me down to the dig today but I'm not really that bothered. I'd rather be sun- bathing on a beach with the one I love! â⬠replied Rhia. I looked out at the sparkling blue water. I could see the fish swimming around legantly below the surface. It was perfect. ââ¬Å"How's your t ooth? â⬠ââ¬Å"It's even worse today! it's really beginning to bug me! â⬠ââ¬Å"Give it time, it'll drop out soon, trust me, I'm a dentist! â⬠He sat looking at me for some time as if he thinking before he said, ââ¬Å"Wait here, I'll be back in a bit. â⬠I knew what was about to happen, after all we were in the perfect place for it. I tried to calm myself but it wasn't working. Some time later he returned with a smug look on his face. He sat next to me and wrapped his arms around my body. ââ¬Å"Lay back and close your eyesâ⬠he whispered softly into my ear. I did as he said and waited for him to say omething. He did the obvious. Before I let him go any further I asked him, ââ¬Å"will it hurt? â⬠ââ¬Å"Of course not,â⬠he replied, ââ¬Å"it's just a simple processâ⬠ââ¬Å"I'm rather frightened, I've never done this before. â⬠He urged to continue, ââ¬Å"It won't hurt much more, just relax. â⬠I was in a great deal of pain but dared not show it. I felt tears come to my eyes. It's hurting something awful. ââ¬Å"Calm yourself Rhia, open a little wider so I can fit more in! â⬠Suddenly with a jerk I gave a screeching shout. ââ¬Å"Now that's it, all over with,â⬠he slowly pulled it out. ââ¬Å"Well what a relief, I think I'll enjoy my holiday even more now that rotten tooth's out! ââ¬Å"
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