charles
05-27-2011, 03:14 PM
When uninhabited, it must have been an unforgiving place. Everything was subject and slave to the bending powers of the winds and the harshness of a daytime sky. This place was sheltered from the strong winds and power of fierce hurricanes, however once in every so many years, one of these monsters would rip free from the aged path from Africa to the Americas and hit this small place. When this happened, it was not a disaster but a cleansing for this was a garden with no one to tend to it. As such, the undergrowth was ripped apart and washed away and the land was given another opportunity to breath once again. When these storms came, the sounds and colors as well as all of the odd beauty on this small place were marred by the rotting small fish on the shores. This created a stench that was beyond human tolerance and didn’t matter for humans were not there. The scavenger animals loved it and humans weren’t a factor nor would they be for centuries to come. Shore lines were covered with fiddler crabs that scurried back and forth with the surf. The island was in need of humanity to breathe life into its dry lungs. All the while, the very nature of this small place pushed away settlers because of her many unfriendly faces. Clear leeward beaches easily turned to slashing rock cliffs accompanied by the incessant sound of pounding water against stone. The large Iguanas lolled on black rock taking in the heat and bobbing their heads at the female of the species. Foliage, including Cactus, grew to the shorelines in various places and mangroves were tangled into a nightmare of life. Large spiders hung in those mangroves and worked their webs for unsuspecting insects. Bigger animals from cats to horses did not exist. The stillness at night was haunting and the wind in the day was forever. All the while the sun came down and bleached the straggling pieces of wood or shells along the shores and created warm shadows under trees – nothing resided in these shadows but the wind, the incessant wind. Where birds nested, they did so in masse and lived in a madness understood only to them. On cliff walls, sea-birds lay their eggs and nested there to protect them. The air was colored with a thin dust that moved constantly at the same speed of the wind. Across the inland this dust was red in hue from the deteriorating and powdering stones and cliffs. Along the leeward shorelines the fine powdery sand moved and cut at anything in its path. In the shallow leeward waters the bottoms were mostly rocks, sea urchins and other similar life. There, in these shallows, lived the large needle fish. Large beyond imagination and that way because of being left to live and not hunted to be used as bait. The Northern coastal waters were in a constant fury. Deep and dark – only meters off shore. In these waters lived larger animals. Friendly it wasn’t. Yet something about this small island waved at the passerby’s and whispered what only soil can say to man. It said – “Come to me and I will feed you and give you a home. Tread on me - I give myself to you without question”. This small rock in the ocean beckoned tirelessly and man would listen someday.
The high flying white Terns knew that the coasts were radically different. Along the Southern side the waters were softer and not as restless. The shores were protected in some areas by Mangrove covered reefs that created a barrier against the pounding waves. These reefs were made up of the many thousands of years of growing and dying coral. Coral with edges like razors lined these reefs and made this a natural habitat for the many colored fish that called the ocean their home. There were many small coves and inlets – all filled with an abundance of fish. In some places the land would rise above the water, thereby assuring future archeologists that this small island was made of sea coral structure that came up from the depth of the seas. To one side there was a long white sandy beach with coconut trees that grew to the water’s edge. This area was blessed with crystal clear waters that teamed with all sorts of animal life living in a silent and agreed upon harmony. All throughout this island the skies had the shrilling sound of parakeets and parrots. Some species were from the Southern continent and were nothing more than temporary visitors while the smaller parakeets resided here. Practically everywhere, the rocks and soil were covered by multi colored lizards – the two most prominent were Blue or Green and amongst them moved the larger reptile – the Iguana – all of them did so silently. When man would finally come, it would be from the South and most probably through the reefs and into the Delta of a small river or lagoon. Until that time, all remained as it had been for more years that one has time to imagine. It remained reckless and at war with itself. It remained a solitary gem of an island still crude and just waiting for the right situation to come along.
The high flying white Terns knew that the coasts were radically different. Along the Southern side the waters were softer and not as restless. The shores were protected in some areas by Mangrove covered reefs that created a barrier against the pounding waves. These reefs were made up of the many thousands of years of growing and dying coral. Coral with edges like razors lined these reefs and made this a natural habitat for the many colored fish that called the ocean their home. There were many small coves and inlets – all filled with an abundance of fish. In some places the land would rise above the water, thereby assuring future archeologists that this small island was made of sea coral structure that came up from the depth of the seas. To one side there was a long white sandy beach with coconut trees that grew to the water’s edge. This area was blessed with crystal clear waters that teamed with all sorts of animal life living in a silent and agreed upon harmony. All throughout this island the skies had the shrilling sound of parakeets and parrots. Some species were from the Southern continent and were nothing more than temporary visitors while the smaller parakeets resided here. Practically everywhere, the rocks and soil were covered by multi colored lizards – the two most prominent were Blue or Green and amongst them moved the larger reptile – the Iguana – all of them did so silently. When man would finally come, it would be from the South and most probably through the reefs and into the Delta of a small river or lagoon. Until that time, all remained as it had been for more years that one has time to imagine. It remained reckless and at war with itself. It remained a solitary gem of an island still crude and just waiting for the right situation to come along.