Darkness, endless darkness. I saw a glimmer of light. In my terror, I caught sight of a ray of hope and raced toward it, running and running. I was terrified of the darkness. I wanted the light. I kept running, and at last, the light drew nearer. Slowly, it grew bigger and brighter. Brighter and brighter...
A round object radiating scorching light appeared before my eyes. I remembered: it was the sun. As I looked at it, waves of pain began to course through my body... With my extraordinary willpower, I struggled to sit up and surveyed the unfamiliar surroundings. Waves washed onto the beach, the seawater touching my feet now and then, but my numb body could no longer feel it... I looked at my tattered clothes, then at the stretch of beach ahead and the coconut grove beyond it. Gritting my teeth, I forced my exhausted body to move slowly toward the trees...
Seeing the green coconuts hanging from the trees, my parched lips began to twitch. I struggled toward one of the coconut trees.
