Tiny Island

Captain John McDaniel and his crew of three were on their beloved boat, the U.S.S. Montenero, when they received word by radio that a storm that was rated as the worst in 35 years was on a collision course with them. Captain John and his crew were preparing the ship when suddenly conditions began to deteriorate.

John and his crew feverishly struggled to get the boat prepared for whatever conditions would arise when all of a sudden the wind increased rapidly, more rapidly than John or his crew had ever experienced. John ran into the cabin to shelter himself.

When he got inside he realized his crew was still outside; he went to call them into the cabin of the boat but, before he could open the cabin door, all three men were washed overboard by a wave that had to have been 50 feet high. John was left alone to ride out the storm.

Hours had passed and the storm had gotten increasingly worse. Winds were howling at over 170 miles an hour and the waves were fierce. John was about to get up from his chair when the boat lurched forward; a wave had caught it and was carrying it at a tremendous speed. John held on for his life.

The boat was tossed into a group of jagged rocks and damaged heavily. John's only hope was to swim to shore onto an island he saw in the distance. He went outside and jumped overboard and began to swim against the powerful current. About 3 hours later, John reached the island.

John was so exhausted he could barely stand so he sat down and rested himself. After an hour of resting John stood up and explored the island. He noticed that the vegetation was rather strange looking, but upon further examination he noticed that what he thought was vegetation was actually tiny trees. The trees didn't even reach his knees; some were much smaller. He plucked one out of the ground and examined it closely. It appeared to be a tiny palm tree. He tossed it to the ground and walked back to where he had been lying down. John could feel the pain from his injuries returning.

The next morning, John went to stand up to explore the island when he heard a tiny voice say, "Do not move, my giant friend-- you are injured and must rest."

John replied, "Who's there?", and as John looked to his right he saw a tiny man who couldn't have been any taller than about 1 centimeter.

John couldn't believe his eyes; he had never seen a being so small in his life. He asked the tiny man politely, "Where am I?"
The tiny man replied, "You are on the island of Topanya; my people and I welcome you."

John asked in amazement, "You aren't frightened of me?"

The tiny man answered, "Not at all my giant friend, we get your kind on the island often. We consider it good luck to have a giant on the island. You will serve as our protector during your stay."

John agreed and asked, "What is your name, little man?"
The tiny man replied, "I am King Matsu. I rule all you see before you."

John asked if he could explore the island but King Matsu replied, "First you must rest, then we will see to accomodating you so you may explore our beautiful island." John agreed with the tiny king and rested. Other tiny people were tending to John's cuts on his legs and arms so he was careful not to move.

The next day John was feeling much better and was waiting for the king to arrive. The king approached with servants carrying him on a flat platform he was seated upon. When they stopped the king got off and approached John. He asked, "How are you feeling today, my giant friend?"

John replied, "Much better, thank you. I believe I am ready to explore your island." The king, who was curious on just how "giant" John would be to him and his people asked, "Could you stand for me please, my giant friend?" John agreed and stood to his full height.

The king looked up at John; to him and his people John was over 1,000 feet tall! The king apologetically said to John, "I am sorry, my giant friend, but due to your size I cannot allow you to explore the island. I fear you will accidentally step on one of us and I cannot risk it."

John replied, "What if you were to ask your people to remain indoors so that wouldn't happen?" The king agreed and said, "I will tell my people at once." The king left to ask his people to remain indoors and minutes later John was free to explore the island.

John was amazed at how small the huts were; he could easily fit at least five in one hand! John went to another small clearing to adjust his sandals, which were coming undone. As he was bent down, he noticed an even tinier person coming toward him. It was one of the children from the village.

Curiosity had overcome the little boy and he approached John bravely. He looked up at John and said, "Hello." John looked down at the tiny boy who was only half a centimeter tall and said, "Hello there young man, how are you?"

The tiny boy replied, "I am lost and cannot find my home; my mother sent me to market and I must return quickly."

John replied, "Climb on to that rock over there; you can ride in my hand and I will take you home." The tiny boy climbed the rock and John set his amazingly huge hand down on the ground next to the rock and the tiny boy climed in. John couldn't believe how amazingly tiny the boy looked in his hand.

John stood up and said, "What does your hut look like?"
The tiny boy replied, "It has a sign with a bull on it hanging in the front; it's the only one with a sign on it in the entire village." John began to walk and in only four steps, he found the hut. He lowered his hand and the boy's father who had been waiting on him helped him out of John's hand.

The boy's father thanked John for bringing him home and John replied, "No problem my friend; now I need to go back to the beach before it gets dark so I don't accidentally step on any of the huts. I will see you in the morning." John left and went back to the beach before nightfall.

When he returned to the beach he was getting ready to go to sleep when the king approached and asked, "Is there anything I can get for you before your slumber my giant friend?"
"No thank you Your Majesty, I'll be fine."
The king replied, "I am sending watchmen to stay with you. If you need anything tell them, they will tell me and I will see that your needs are met."

John said, "I thank you, Your Majesty." The king's watchmen came and the king returned to his royal hut. John and the watchmen talked for a long while and one of them asked, "How did you get here?"
John replied, "A violent storm washed me ashore, I have no boat to return home on."

The watchman replied, "We will see to it that construction on your new boat begins soon. I am sure you miss your family and are anxious to return home." John replied, "Oh yes very much so, but I will stay and visit with your people a while longer and aid you in anything that needs to be done."

That afternoon, small tremors had occured on the island and King Matsu was concerned. He feared that the great volcano would errupt. It had been silent for many years but now it was showing signs of errupting again. He called on John to see if he knew what to do to stop it.

However, before any plans could be made, a loud explosion was heard. John looked up and the volcano was erupting, the lava heading straight for the village. King Matsu was terribly worried and said, "Our village is no more! We will surely perish!"

John said, "Maybe not, Your Majesty. I have an idea that just might work." He picked up what to the tiny people was a huge boulder, walked up to the volcano and put the boulder in the mouth of the volcano as easily as putting a cap on a soda bottle.

The danger was still far from over; lava was still flowing toward the village and had to be stopped. John took his finger and dug a trench that led away from the village and into a small pond. The village had been saved from disaster due to John's quick thinking.

Still sensing something was wrong, John went back to the village and his worst fears were confirmed. John looked ahead and saw the tiny boy he had met at his home surrounded by flames from the lava. John quickly went to the tiny boy who by now was on top of his house and said, "Hang on, I'll save you!"

John quickly went over to the hut that was starting to catch fire. He lowered his hand down just enough for the tiny boy to climb on, then he carried him over to safety with his parents who were standing by the king's hut; their hut, however was lost. John said, "I'm sorry nothing could be done to save your home, my friends."

The boy's father said, "Our home can always be rebuilt, but lives cannot be replaced; it is better that we are all still alive."
John said, "I couldn't agree more, my friend." The king saw to it that construction on a new hut was started as soon as possible.

That morning, it was time for John to bid farewell to his new tiny friends. He gathered what belongings he had saved from the wreckage of his old boat and loaded them into his new one. John walked up to the king and knelt down before him.

John said, "I thank you for your hospitality, Your Majesty. I only wish I could stay to further assist you and your people with getting your village repaired from the volcanic erruption."
King Matsu replied, "No, my giant friend, the time has come for you to go; we will make progress in due time."

John walked to his boat and pushed it to the edge of the shoreline. He climbed in and let the current take him out to sea; as he left the island he waved to his tiny friends and continued his journey home alone.............or was he?

THE END (sequel will follow soon)