Lonny Chapter Two
CHAPTER TWO
The sun was already high in the sky when Lonny awoke the next day. Lifting up his head Lonny looked all around him. The little beach he was on was small and rocky. Looking from side to side, he saw only patches of long grass between large and small rocks. Turning around, he saw that the little beach was part of a larger island. There were trees and bushes and plants, but in order to get to them he would have to be able to climb a steep drop off where large pieces of rocks had broken off from the island and formed the small beach he was on. Looking up Lonny knew he would never be able to climb up the smooth, slippery, rocky slope that connected his small patch of beach to the island. The only sound he could hear were the waves rolling back and forth on the little beach. He was used to Turtle Island, where there were always others around, talking and laughing. He was used to hearing the singing of birds every morning. He felt totally alone in the world.
“Ah, my friend, you are a long way from home, no?”
Startled by the sound of a voice that seemed to come from nowhere, Lonny looked around quickly. Then he saw a large parrot who was almost hidden behind the weeds and tall grass on the beach. The parrot looked intently at Lonny with eyes that were calm and kind.
“My friend, you are a long way from home, no?” the parrot asked again, in a clipped island accent.
For a minute Lonny said nothing. He looked back at the water and didn’t see another island anywhere. No matter what direction he looked in, all he could see was miles of water. Slowly, he began to realize just how far away from Turtle Island he really was.
“I’m from Turtle Island,” Lonny told the parrot. “Can you show me which direction I should swim in to get back there?”
“Maybe,” the parrot replied. “But first you must tell me how you got here.”
Lonny looked back again at the water. It was light out now and the waves were gentle. He had spent hours swimming in total darkness last night, and the waves had been rough and high. His only concern had been finding a place to rest. He had no idea how he had gotten to this little island.
“I don’t know,” he finally said.
“Well, what sent you swimming so far and so fast,” the parrot asked.
Lonny looked down at the ground, then up at the parrot. The parrot was quietly waiting for an answer to his question.
“I got chased by a big octopus,” Lonny answered. “Now I need to get home, but I don’t know how far away that really is.”
“Maybe another day,” the parrot answered. “For now you are welcome here. By the way, my name is Mr. Blue.”
Lonny looked at Mr. Blue, then at the wall of slippery rocks behind him. “I’m Lonny,” he said, “it’s nice of you to say I can stay here, but I can’t even get up onto the real island. The rocks are too deep and slippery.”
“You can from the other side of the island,” Mr. Blue replied. “I will fly and you follow me in the water, and we will go to a place where you can get onto the island, okay?”
Before waiting for an answer, Mr. Blue flew away from Lonny. Lonny hurried to follow after him, racing into the water, and going in the same direction. Mr. Blue looked back to make sure Lonny could see him, and led the way around until he came to a place where Lonny could easily climb up onto the island.
“Ah, this is much better,” Mr. Blue told Lonny as he watched him make his way up the beach to the main ground of the island. “Make yourself at home. I will go and tell my friends that you are here. They will be glad to meet you. And I have a special friend who is a long distance flyer, and I will send her to Turtle Island so your friends will know you are here with us.”
With that, Mr. Blue waved to Lonny and flew away. Lonny was alone again on this strange island, but he didn’t feel alone, and the island no longer seemed so strange. He looked around and decided that it was really a pretty nice island and he was glad that he had somehow managed to swim to it. He decided that it would be alright to stay here for a few days. Just to pass the time, he decided that he would build a small nest for himself. He gathered up some tall grass and found a nice spot where two big rocks came together and formed a natural hiding place between them. He found some wild berries growing on bushes all around the island, and ate until he was full. After his meal, he went to his nest and waited for Mr. Blue to come back.
Lonny smiled when he heard the sound of wings flapping. He knew Mr. Blue was on his way back, and from the sound of it, he was bringing some of his friends with him.
“Ah, there you are, my friend,” Mr. Blue greeted Lonny as he glided to a stop on the bigger of the two rocks that were on either side of Lonny’s new nest. “I have brought a few friends with me to welcome you to Wing Island.”
“WELCOME, LONNY!”
Lonny looked up at the sound of many voices shouting their welcome greeting to him. Mr. Blue’s friends were birds of every size and color. He saw large parrots that were many shades of orange, yellow, green, or blue. He saw other birds who had dark feathers and spots of white or red on their necks or faces. He saw very large, pink birds that had long beaks, and even longer legs. They were all there to welcome him. Many of them brought small gifts to him and they flew down one at a time to present a large berry, or a colorful wild flower, or a bright shiny stone they had found and saved for a special occasion. Lonny was enjoying himself so much that he forgot that he was not on Turtle Island. After the gift giving was over, the birds sang and danced alone or with each other until it got late in the day. One it started to get dark, the birds began leaving to go back to their own places on the island. Soon, only Mr. Blue and Lonny were left.
“Ah, they like you, they do,” Mr. Blue told Lonny. “They also like a good party, and you’re a good enough reason to have a party.”
Lonny smiled. “I like a good party, too. We used to have good parties on Turtle Island.”
“What kind of parties,” Mr. Blue asked.
“Well, they were worship parties,” Lonny answered. “We had parties to worship the Turtle God.”
“How nice,” Mr. Blue replied. “Tell me more. I would like to know more. Did you like to worship the Turtle God? What was he like? Did you bring him gifts? We have a Bird God here on Wing Island, and we bring gifts to show our respect.”
Lonny looked away from Mr. Blue. He could feel tears welling up in his eyes. He had no desire to talk about the worship parties or the Turtle God. He knew now why he had been driven away from Turtle Island. He knew he had to get back there and beg the Turtle God to forgive him. He looked at his new friend through his tear filled eyes.
“Please, Mr. Blue, tell me how I can get back. Why won’t you tell me how to get back to Turtle Island?”
Mr. Blue knew the time had come to tell Lonny the truth. “Lonny, you are very, very far away from Turtle Island. I don’t know how a little turtle like you could make it that far. There is a large sea of water with no land anywhere for miles between here and Turtle Island. And, Lonny, the octopus is still out there.”
Lonny knew that Mr. Blue was right. Even if he could make the grueling swim back to Turtle Island, he may not be lucky enough to get away from the octopus again. His dreams of returning home were gone.
“Maybe the Turtle God will help you,” Mr. Blue suggested. “Maybe if you pray to him then he will tell you what to do.”
“The Turtle God is on Turtle Island,” Lonny answered. “Anyway, he won’t listen to me. Even if he could hear me here, he wouldn’t help me. I’m tired now, Mr. Blue. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay.”
“Okay, my friend. I will let you rest. I will see you in the morning.” Mr. Blue flew away to his own home. All the way there he wondered why Lonny thought the Turtle God would not help him. He would try to find out tomorrow.