NOVEL FROG Chapter 1: Where am I? But more importantly… Who am I?
In the midst of a tranquil, crystal-clear, light blue ocean, an isolated island could be seen. The island possessed an overwhelming beauty, almost like a priceless jewel hidden in the vastness of the sea, with its edges adorned by almost translucent white beaches, creating a beautiful contrast with the bluish waters of the ocean.
Following the beautiful white beaches was a lush forest and mountains filled with immense, leafy trees that shaded the ground with their large emerald green leaves.
The tranquility of the beautiful island, which seemed frozen in time, was disturbed by a small boy lying unconscious on the white grains of sand that formed the beach. The boy's jet-black hair seemed to shimmer with dark blue highlights when the sun touched it, standing out against his tanned skin, a result of long hours of work under the scorching sun.
Moreover, the boy's clothing was nothing more than a simple shirt and linen pants, which were wet and torn in several places, offering little protection for his small body. Through the holes, the true color of his skin could be seen, so pale it seemed to blend in with the color of the beach.
Time passed, with the waves of the sea crashing against the beautiful beach, but the boy's peaceful rest was suddenly interrupted when he opened his eyes abruptly and sat up in one swift motion.
Sitting on the sand, the boy started looking around, confused, and trying to understand his situation, only to end up even more bewildered by what he saw.
(Where am I? But more importantly... Who am I?)
The boy seemed to calm down a bit after noticing no danger around him, and without moving from his position, he closed his eyes while deeply reflecting and searching his memories in an attempt to understand his strange situation.
(Huh?!!!)
After several minutes, the boy opened his eyes in surprise, jumped up, and started walking in circles on the beach with his left arm on his abdomen, holding his right arm by the elbow, and his right hand on his chin.
(Have I gone crazy?)
The boy's existential crisis arose because he found something strange in his memories. He had two sets of memories. One belonged to a man with black hair and blue eyes who lived in a relatively peaceful and clean place, full of incredibly tall, square buildings and all kinds of very useful 'technological' devices.
Meanwhile, the second set of memories belonged to a boy with black hair and green eyes who lived in a very different place. This place was dirty and deadly, compared to that of the blue-eyed man.
In that place, death lurked around every corner, with diseases and bandits seeking to take advantage of others being the main threats. Additionally, the buildings were very different, consisting of small 'houses' made of wood, wattle and daub, or stone, and there was nothing remotely similar to those 'technological' devices, which were so common and practically a necessity in the blue-eyed man's world.
(Did I reincarnate? There were various religions and cultures that talked about reincarnation, so that's also a possibility, but that's not important for now...)
The boy approached the seawater, crouched down, and looked at his reflection, where he could see his sparkling green eyes that shone with the brilliance of the purest emerald, with the color deepening towards the center, flowing from a light green at the edge to an almost hypnotic forest green around the pupil.
(So I am the one with the green eyes. We were really attacked by a giant squid... Seriously, what was that thing? It was at least 50 meters long; it was a damn kraken... But that's not important. What's important is how to survive in this place...)
The boy looked behind him, where an imposing forest stood, and continued his thoughts.
(Going into that forest is a bad idea; I'm sure I wouldn't last a day if there are predators inside. I also don't have any weapons or equipment, so the only thing left is to put the old man's teachings into practice.)
With a plan in mind, the boy started walking along the beach until he found several bamboo stalks of different sizes. He crouched down and picked up one that was approximately 1 meter long and about 3 cm wide.
After taking the bamboo, the boy tried to break it with his hands and then hit it against the sand a couple of times, ensuring it was sturdy enough.
Using the bamboo as a sort of walking stick, the boy continued along the beach until he found a bed of rocks, far enough from both the sea and the forest. There, he planted his 'staff.'
After ensuring the bamboo was firmly in place, he returned for the other bamboo stalks, maintaining a steady pace to conserve his energy while keeping an eye on the forest, alert for any predators that might emerge.
...
Sometime later, the rock bed had several bamboo stalks and logs of different sizes, along with a few palm leaves and several coconuts he had gathered from small palm trees along the way.
Feeling a bit tired, the boy used the large stones around to open one of the coconuts, drinking the water and eating the coconut meat. Using one of the palm leaves, he made a makeshift parasol and lay down to rest, trying to regain his strength.
After a while, the boy got up and took one of the logs he had brought, about 20 centimeters thick and 60 centimeters long, using it as an improvised hammer to drive bamboo and logs into the ground, forming a small triangular hut.
With the skeletal base ready, the boy secured the logs and bamboo using fibers from the palm leaves and then tied long, thin rods to the sides of the triangular hut, covering them with palm leaves and tying them down with more fibers.
"Well, this should serve as a shelter. It's quite flimsy, but it should do the trick for tonight. Now comes the hard part, making a fire."
With his next task decided, the boy began collecting different stones, examining them before discarding them. Occasionally, he struck a pair of stones together a few times before discarding them and searching for others.
After some time of this repetitive activity, the boy suddenly smiled, focusing on one of the stones in his hand. He dropped the other and retrieved a stone he had tested earlier from the only functioning pocket of his torn pants.
With both stones in hand, the boy approached one of the large rocks near his shelter and started striking the stones against each other, shaping one of them. After a while, he ended up with a sharp stone about the size of his palm.
With the sharp stone in hand, the boy approached a dry log near the forest, remaining fully alert. He used the stone to strip a piece of bark from the log and quickly returned to his shelter, keeping an eye on the forest the entire time.
Among the coconuts the boy had collected were some dry, yellow ones. He used the stones to open these and shredded the dry husk with his hands.
Using the sharp stone, the boy made a hole in the bark and placed some of the shredded coconut husk in it. Then, he took a small stick, which he peeled with the sharp stone to remove any protrusions that might hurt him, and sharpened it to a point.
Placing the sharp end of the stick in the hole in the bark, the boy began to spin the stick rapidly using both hands. After a while, he stopped and looked at the sky, which was starting to darken.
"This isn't working, and it's getting dark. I need to try something else..."
After saying that, the boy approached the forest with the sharp stone in his hand. Without daring to venture too far, he found a vine on a tree and cut it with the stone, then ran back to his shelter with it. He stood still for a while, watching the forest intently.
Once he was sure nothing was coming out, he sighed in relief and proceeded to cut the vine into strips with the sharp stone. He twisted the strips together, creating a small, thin rope, which he used along with a small stick to make a bow, tying the ends of the stick with the twisted rope.
After that, the boy wrapped the rope around the stick he had sharpened earlier, positioning the bow horizontally and the sharpened stick vertically. He placed the pointed end in the hole in the bark, using a palm-sized shell he found nearby to support the other end.
With everything ready, the boy began moving the bow horizontally, making the vertical stick spin rapidly. After a while, smoke began to rise from the hole in the dry bark.
Seeing the smoke, the boy immediately stopped his actions and carefully blew on the smoldering coconut husk, using his hands as a cover. Small flames soon emerged from the hole, prompting him to quickly place several dry sticks and branches over the bark, ensuring air could get in.
"Finally, fire! Now I can finally say goodbye to these pesky mosquitoes."
By the time night fell, the only light preventing the boy from being in total darkness was the campfire he had managed to create. The fire also helped drive away the mosquitoes that had been bothering him, granting him some much-needed peace.
After stretching a bit, the boy sat in the sand in front of the fire and began weaving a makeshift mat from a couple of palm leaves. He then placed the mat in his small hut and lay down on it.
With a tired sigh, the boy closed his eyes, trying to fall asleep. He kept the sharp stone close by, knowing that, although it wouldn't be the most effective weapon if a predator attacked, it was better than nothing.