Sands

Now among the palm trees, Oliver wanders slowly, his head on a swivel. He has to admit that the climb up the rocks had been easier than he’d imagined. Especially when he discovered a natural set of steps that aided his climb. He’d still taken it steady, using his hands to grip at the steps ahead to help maintain his balance. It had been a simple precaution that had helped him avoid any unnecessary risk, while still in such a drained and hungry state. God, he really feels hungry, he thinks to himself.

He has to admit, that the palms seem even taller now that he is walking among them, then they had from the beach. The palms thick brown ribbed trunks stretching high above his head, while the wide thick leaves that make up the canopies overlap, cutting out much of the light. As a result the air here is cool and pleasant. Oliver comes to a halt as he takes in the clean unfettered air. As he does he realises that he no longer has a burning sensation in his chest. The revelation makes him smile as he notes that this is a new, positive development.

Oliver also has to admit that he isn’t used to such clean and pure air. It’s nothing like where he comes from; he says to himself before realising he can say nothing more than that. He doesn’t remember where he’s from. It’s like his mind has hit a dead-end and that worries him as the unease creeps up his spine. The sensation is cold, chilling and somehow damp as he tries to think back. But he can’t. There is nothing there, and that fills him with panic. He doesn’t know how he got here, where he comes from or, it dawns on him now, where he was going. That makes no sense, he screams to himself. He has to know something more than he was on a ship, at some point, and that his name is Oliver, but he doesn’t. In fact, he can’t even recall his surname. His mind is blank on that too. No, his mind isn’t blank he realises, its worse than that, it’s like he’s just suddenly come into being. But that’s not possible he tells himself. No one just simply comes into being. You can’t arrive in life as a fully grown adult, wearing clothes and with a name. You have to have a background, a history. Life doesn’t work any other way. There has to be an answer, he tells himself, but the more he focuses on it the less he realises he can grasp until suddenly he feels himself go dizzy, moments before the world around him goes black.