Alone

A curled up, shapeless mass baked beneath a cruel unforgiving sun. Slowly the shape uncurls and becomes a boy: small eyes shoot open to behold a new world. His eyes blinded by the excruciating light in which he was bathed. The light burned him, engulfed him and, to a degree, frightened him. This was not home. His eyes wide with fear adjusted to the powerful light and began observe his new surroundings. The boy was small in comparison to the palm trees nearby: their leaves like hands outstretched towards the heavens. These great colossi, giants among their kind, surrounded the boy making a barrier on all sides. The boy held his breath as shadows danced over the trees.

Now as he was beginning to come to terms with his environment he noticed overlooked details: the sound of the sea behind him; lush fruit surrounding him; bushes rustled by the wind and, from seemingly out of nowhere, a pair of eyes watched him from the trees. The boy cared not whom the eyes belonged to as already his mind began to give way to fear and panic. Already dripping with sweat from the heat of this new climate he frantically clawed the ground around him trying, in vain, to move himself. Massive vines thick and plentiful entangled the boy. Like the fingers of some unseen hand threatening to pull him into the jungle and never let go. He fought against these tendrils but they had sharp thorns that cut deep into his flesh. Whilst struggling for freedom an idea dawned upon the child: these long, green, menacing and thorned vines were most likely what had saved him from injury in the crash. Slowly he squeezed out of the vines merciless grasp.

Broken and bloody he rose to his feet. The ground was damp underfoot from recent storms. He tripped and stumbled through the forest the vines still threatening to ensnare him once more with every step. He limped onwards but he was ever aware of the new environment. The air was damp, stuffy and suffocating him no matter how the boy tried to avoid it. With every breath it filled his lungs unwilling to let go. It clung to his oesophagus threatening to destroy him from within. There was also a taste on the air. It was a taste he’d encountered many times before but here it was so out of place so unforseen. The air tasted of salt there was an ocean nearby. The boy pulled himself up onto a nearby rock. He searched for the ocean that he could hear through the silence and taste on the air however nowhere the poor boy turned showed him anything except the trees that continued to loom above him. He could hear the sea nearby and a few birds chirping somewhere overhead. Then a sound cut through his breathing a deep penetrating bellow so sudden the boy almost fell from his perch. Somewhere a horn had sounded he needed no more encouragement he ran towards it grateful to be heading back towards safety.

Rationale

Straight from the first line I try to portray the boy as defenceless as describing him as a shapeless mass also the same first line I attempt to show the environment as being harsh by describing the sun as being “cruel” and “unforgiving”. I use the term “excruciating” to reinforce the intensity of the light. I also used the verb “bathed” to show vocabulary. Then that the light to a degree frightened him this was to show that the boy in this situation was afraid of the light around him but also he was afraid because it was new and unlike any light he saw when he was safe at home. Also immediately after I use a very short sentence “this was not home” I wanted to display it as a dramatic realisation to the boy he was no longer safe in his home. I describe the palm trees as having “Leaves like hands outstretched towards the heavens” because I wanted to show them as being tall enough to reach the heavens but also powerful as the reached to grab it.

I talk about the boy as he “noticed overlooked details” because I wanted to create a sense that when he first woke up he was scared and panicking so he overlooked specific details in his surroundings. When I describe a pair of eyes watching him I didn’t really go into detail this was to show that after he first saw it he couldn’t look at it again and hurried to get free. I use the word “vain” to show that despite his best efforts he is still proving useless. I describe the vines wrapping the boy as being “Like fingers of some unseen hand” because I wanted to show that the jungle had almost come alive and was a greater threat now that it had. I say that the jungle also saved the boy to show that although it is threatening to swallow him whole and he is afraid of it, it had also protected him.

I depict the character as being “Broken and bloody” to show that at least so some degree he had been hurt and injured in order to show the weakness of the character.

Then the character trips and stumbles through the environment this is to show that he is again weak and uncoordinated but also a little bit panicked and still rushing. The taste of salt on the air is described as being out of place because he had never really tasted it on the air before. He had never really come in contact with it in that way he only had known it from food so the environment seems even more alien to him. The sound of the conch almost knocks him off his perch again shows that he is clumsy and weak but also that out here he thought he was all alone hearing a noise made by another human being startled him but he is also relieved.