Writing: Afloat

The idea for this story was inspired by a spider mite infestation in my rubber tree. Upon removing the near microscopic mites (with neem spray and a brush), the plant grew more in 1 week than it had in the preceding 6 months. I was shocked by how much these tiny pests could impact the growth of such a larger organism, and this brought my attention to the numerous other examples in nature including biting flies bothering large mammals (and humans) or various parasitic crustaceans leeching off of whales....

Saltwater assailed Jun’s nose and eyes as he struggled to orient himself. He flailed for a grip onto something, anything, solid to steady himself. As his chest began to grow tight, he felt a grip around his waist, yanking him forward. Jun broke the surface and breathed in the sweet ocean air. He finally looked around and noticed Alcar holding him and swimming towards the edge of Che’el. Strength slowly returned to Jun’s limbs, but he was far from ready to swim by the time Alcar pushed him onto the island and immediately swam back into the ocean....

Jun stuffed his things into a knapsack, clothes and food for two full days. Coming back to Che’el, he had hoped to see his family, but he finally came home during a time when they were out. Lira, however, trailed behind him, peppering him with questions. “What’s going on? Where are you headed in such a rush?” “It’s all real, Lira,” Jun responded. “The Erosion is real, and we have to find a way to stop it!...

As he read and wrote endless records of island arrivals and departures, Jun kept track of the patterns he noticed. While islands tended to spend a majority of their time away from the Archipelago, both their visits and the times between tended to increase in duration as the islands grew older. Hundreds of years ago, historians discovered that the oldest islands in the Archipelago showed their age through fogged eyes and brittle shells which flaked off keratin constantly....

The Archipelago had existed since long before the humans upon it began keeping written records. It was centered around a chain of underwater mountains, or seamounts, formed from the fiery eruptions of a pool of magma which seemed to drift along the ocean’s floor over the millenia. Only the tallest seamounts breached the ocean’s surface, but every mount, short or tall, shaped the currents to create a fertile bed of life....

When Jun was six years old, he asked his mother Elys where Che’el came from. She wrapped her arms around him and began her tale. “Long ago, before Che’el or any of the islands existed, God came down to visit Earth. The first animals he saw were some tiny baby sea turtles, and so he decided to take on the form of a baby sea turtle so he could join them....

It was 247 years ago when humans first came to the island Che’el. Their ancestors came from various islands of the Archipelago, and their descendants spread to many more, but as Che’el drifted, apart from the Archipelago, the humans upon it survived in ecological balance with their island and with the ocean. As the first light rose over the water, Jun rubbed the sleep from his eyes and started gathering his tools....