CHAPTER 10 – CALENDAR

When the tents are finished, I start to make a cave at the bottom of the hill. I want to use the cave for food. I bring stones and earth from the cave to the fence. I make a terrace on the inside of the fence.

I still work on the cave when a storm comes one day. I see lightning during the storm. I think that the lightning can hit my boxes with gunpowder. The explosion can destroy everything. The explosion can also kill me. I am scared. I need to make a change.

After the storm, I open the boxes with the gunpowder. I put the gunpowder in smaller boxes and bags. I hide the boxes and bags in the rocks. I have a lot of gunpowder, so this takes three days.

I also hunt every day. It is a break from the hard work. And I also need some meat.

When I hunt, I also start to know the island more. I discover some goats. I hunt them. Now, I have enough meat.

I am sad sometimes. I think about my wife. I miss her very much. I think about my friends in Brazil. I think about my parents.

I know that travelling by sea can change your life completely. Travelling can be great. But travelling can be horrible too. I know that my friends from the ship are dead. I know that I am the only person alive. I am lucky. I am also lucky because I have all the things like food, guns and clothes. I can’t survive without these things.

I decide to make a big cross. I put the cross on the beach.

I write on the cross the date of my first day on the island. I want to keep information about time. The cross is my calendar. I make a small cut in the cross every day. Every Sunday, the cut is longer. This cut shows the end of the week. The last day of every month is also a long cut.

One day, I think about my situation. I have negative thoughts. This is not good. I want to change my negative thoughts. I decide to write all good and bad things. First, I write what is bad.

I am alone on this island. I have nobody for a conversation. I have only a small chance that I can see England again.

But I am alive. I am safe. I have my freedom. I have enough food. This is all positive.

I don’t have good clothes, but I don’t need a lot of clothes on this island. I have my dog. He understands some words. He understands when I say, “Sit down. Come here. Bring it. Don’t jump. Don’t do it.”

I see that my situation is not perfect. But I have also some good things in my life.

I need to concentrate on positive things only. I continue to make my place better and better. I make the cave bigger. I have space for many things in the cave. I am happy because my life is now well organized.

WORDS FROM CHAPTER 10