I woke up because mom was nudging my shoulder with her sandy toe, “Carolyn, you need to roll over, get up, go for a swim, and then reapply your sunscreen. You’ve been asleep in the sun for 45 minutes, and I don’t want you to hurt yourself with a sunburn.”
I groaned and rolled over onto my belly. Propping my head with my folded arms, I could see the finished sand dragon beside me.
Then I squinted out at the bright water where dad and my siblings were having a water fight, squealing and laughing together. Beyond them, I suddenly noticed for the first time that there was an island off in the distance. Not too far away, but far enough that the haze in the air gave it a mysterious feel, and I could only make out shadows of shapes. It was covered in trees, and it had a large square structure at one end, with a smaller structure beside it. We camp here every year, yet I had never noticed that island before. I know now that it was probably due to the fact that this was the first year that I had my new glasses, giving me clear eyesight beyond what I could normally see, but back then, to my nine-year-old sensibilities, it seemed to me that that island had suddenly appeared.
“Hey mom…”
“Hmmm?”
I looked back at her, over my shoulder. She was sitting in lawn chair, her body attractively wrapped in a colourful bedsheet, wearing a big sunhat and dark sunglasses, looking over at me from reading the park information guide. My mom did not like to wear sunscreen, but she also didn’t want to expose her skin to the sun, so she always buried herself in protective gear.
“Do you see that island out there?” I gestured towards it with my forehead.
She looked over across the water, “Yeah, I see it. Pretty, isn’t it?”
“Has it always been there?”
“Well, I think so…it was here last time we were here.”
“Huh, I never noticed it before. Do you know what it is?”
“I dunno, just an island. Hang on a sec, maybe there’s something about it in here…” She turned her attention back to the pamphlet, and I rolled back over to watch it some more. After a while, mom looked over at me again, “It says here that it’s a bird sanctuary, so it’s kept wild, like a conservation area, only this one is restricted access, humans aren’t allowed to go to it.”
“Well, that can’t be right, mom, there are buildings on it!”
“But that’s what it says, I don’t know anything else about it. Anyway, you need to get your body out into the water.”
I stood up, grabbed the yacht, and dragged it towards the water.
“Take oars and safety vests with you, Carolyn, just in case!” I groaned. Not wanting to be bothered with all that, I turned around and dragged the yacht back to where it had been, grabbing a pool noodle instead. Mom laughed fondly.
Later, after our water-fight had ended, dad and Sam had returned to shore, Joey was snorkel-exploring the under-water sand, and Marianne and I were floating side by side on the pool noodle. I stared hard at the island, it was difficult to see it now, since mom had insisted on keeping my eyeglasses with her while I swam, but I could still see the island, and I remembered the foggy details and outlines I had identified earlier. Beside me, Marianne was getting bored with me, eventually abandoning me to my thoughts while she returned to shore to lay in the sun and read her Harry Potter book.
After she left, I floated alone, my feet dragging idly through the sand. I watched the island and tried to think of ways that I might learn more about it. Mom was no help, and Marianne didn’t seem interested in it at all. Mom had said that no humans were allowed there, but I really wanted to go there and see the island for myself. My chest burned with the adrenaline of this new and dangerous idea. I turned around and gazed back at my family. Joey was walking ashore carrying his snorkeling gear, and everyone else was warming themselves in the sun. It was then that I noticed a little boat, off to the left of them, partway hidden in tall grass. It was an old little rowboat and there was no one near it. Maybe it was a shipwreck? Maybe it was abandoned? Would anyone notice if I borrowed it? I spun around again to face the island, wondering how far away from me it was. Could I swim that distance? Could I row that distance? It didn’t look all that far away.
I heard my dad whistle. When I turned again to look at them, they were all waving at me, gesturing me to return to shore. Dad was about to start his much-anticipated campfire, so we all needed to return to camp. I stood up and began a slow walk back to shore. While they all scrambled to gather our things, I surreptitiously eyed the rowboat, considering things from a variety of sides. I didn’t want any of my family to see what I was looking at, so I kept my face pointed towards them while my eyes confirmed that the boat contained two oars and seemed to have no holes in it. There were no life jackets, but I knew that we had four life jackets, so that was fine. Smiling, I joined my family-they thought that I was just happy to see them! I mean, I am always happy to see them, they are my favourite people! But I was actually smiling about the boat and about my plans. I retrieved my glasses from mom and set them on my nose. I scooped up my sandy towel and wrapped it around my body, slid my feet into my crocs and carried my wet noodle along with me as together we made the short hike back to camp. Joey and Marianne had tossed all of their supplies and the oars and the life jackets into the yacht, and they each carried a side of it. Sam carried mom’s lawn chair, mom held Sam’s hand with one of her hands, and held her hat in place with the other. Dad carried mom’s tote bag, with her colourful sheet overflowing out of it.
Returning to camp, we hung up our towels and damp swimwear.
Over the rest of the afternoon, we sat around the campfire and read our books. Well, most of us did; I only looked like I was reading my book. Really, I was thinking about what I wanted to pack, how to pack it without anyone noticing, planning how to sneak away to that boat so I could row it to the island.
I decided the best idea would be to take my shower before supper and offer to clean up after supper, while everyone else took their showers. Then I could stash water bottles and granola bars and apples in the pockets of my jeans and my hoodie while putting away clean dishes and everything back in the minivan. My Dad would have his attention on tending the fire, no one would question why I was poking around in the minivan supplies. All I’d need to do was sneak over to the hammocks where I planned to stash my backpack to load it with all the food I carried in my pockets. After that, it would just be a normal evening at camp for us all.
While everyone still had their attention focused on the books they were reading, I decided to start my preparations. I went to the games tent to get my activities box, then I sat at the table and wrote a note that I would stash in my backpack until I was ready to go.
“Dear everyone, don’t worry I’m fine – no one has abducted me, ha ha ha! I just need to do something and will be back soon. If I am not back in time for supper tonight, then you can worry. Love, Carolyn.”
I stuffed the note in my shorts pocket to lay out later for them to find after I left, but then I noticed the flashlight mom had thoughtfully packed for me. That should go in my backpack too. When I put my activity box back in the games tent, I grabbed my backpack and set it near the hammocks. I put both the note and the flashlight in there, and then I went back to my lawn chair around the fire with the others and tried to look like I was reading my book –but I was not reading, I was thinking. Let’s see, I’d need a life jacket, a sweater, the snacks, some water, my glasses, a cap…what else?
Dad looked up. “Is it time yet to start cooking supper? The fire is perfect right now.” We all looked towards Mom, suddenly feeling very hungry. Mom smiled and got up to get tonight’s supper. My stomach growled in appreciation as I watched her go.