The Village - a short story

There once was a man who lived his life for work, and the ability to succeed. The man gave up family, friends and relationships for this foolish cause, but what he got in return was a vast education and the ability to travel and see the world. One day the man found himself with the opportunity to travel and live on a very remote island in the South Pacific, this island was like no where else on earth. Thousands and thousands of people dream of going there, but do not have the opportunity. So the man jumps at the chance to go. The island is filled with hundreds of small villages, most speaking different languages and following different cultural backgrounds. The man spends years and years traveling around the island visiting different villages, seeing how each village interacts.

One village he stopped at is very modern and very busy, lots of hustle and bustle. All the people there are treated well, and even the youngest and newest member to the village is listened to as if he was an elder that had been running the village for years. The people at this village are people that work with each other and strive for a common goal to help the village grow and succeed. All though the village was very busy and stressful, it seemed to have just the right amount of people to complete all the required tasks. If you needed help or had questions there was always someone there for you. This village by far was the mans favorite village that he visited. The village was in a location that did not offer a lot of amenities or places to go and visit outside the village but the community members of the village always had things to do and were always filling the day with new and exciting activities. One day a change in season was approaching and strong weather system arrived at the village, this forced the man and most the village people away. Only a select few stayed at the village to hold out through the extreme storm. Most the villagers that were forced to flee left the island never to return, the man would never again see these great people who he so enjoyed living with and taking part in there community. That thought saddened the man, but he did what he knew and began to move on. The man wandered all over this island searching and searching for the next place he could call home.

When one day the man ran across a very small village right on the coast, this was a tropical location, wildlife flourishing all around. The man engaged the village leader asking if he could come and stay with them, he could provide them with skills that would come later to be very useful to the village. This village was great as well, since it was so small every person had to put in twice as much work as the prior village, but the villagers valued a slow paced quiet life, which was different from the last village. The man, all though very busy and overwhelmed with work was very happy to be at this village. He found himself sitting outside on the beach listening to the waves crashing on the shore as he watched the sunset behind the hills. "The beauty of the world" the man would say. The man could go hiking and sailing even chase the deer through the meadows. At this village the man worked hard but played harder, he did not want to leave this village. He could envision himself growing old there watching the seasons change and the years pass. But one day the winds came from the north and brought with it a boat, not just any boat a boat carrying a village elder that had lived at the village long before the man had arrived. This elder liked the man, but decided he must leave. The man's skills were no longer needed at the village and the village was to small for both of them, so the man packed his bags and waited for the wind to change direction and away he went, looking back at the island wishing how he could stay but at the same time the man was relieved to go home. Since he had left for this island many years had passed since he had seen his family. The man was excited to go home and see his loved ones, tell them about all the great places he had lived on this island, all the great people he had met and the wildlife he had seen.

As the man lay in his bed on the boat waiting to arrive at his homeland, the wind suddenly changed direction and a gale storm was upon them. The boat rocked side to side waves crashing over the bow. Lighting and thunder all around them, rain falling down like a wall of water. The Captain fought to keep the boat going north, but the winds kept pushing them south. The storm lasted for days, the Captain and the crew doing everything they could to keep the vessel upright in the wind and constant crashing of the waves. Finally the journey ended as the boat crashed onto the rocks, the sails ripping apart, the wood crumbling like wet sand. The man was thrown from his bed, on the floor he realizes water is coming on board and slowly beginning to engulf the boat. The man, rushes to the top deck and flees the boat with the rest of the crew. The Captain stayed aboard grasping the mast as it sank slowly into the ocean. The man and the crew quickly swam to the rocks that had sank there boat and waited out the storm. The next morning the clouds parted and the sun began to shine through the sky as if nothing had happened, it was a beautiful morning. The man got up and began to look around. He was back on the island, the same island he had just left. He spotted a village off in the distance, he knew this village he had stopped by there in his travels. Maybe they will take him and the crew in and help them.

The man arrives at the new village and finds the village Chief, he tells the Chief there story and begs for assistance. The Chief grants the men permission to stay, but they must be part of the community and work like everyone else. The man and the crew quickly agree and thank the Chief. The Chief informs the man that they are at war with a neighboring island and that they do not expect to see any more ships for many months and they must wait here at the village until a ship arrives. The man asked the Chief if he was allowed to leave and try and find the small village he just left. The Chief said "No" and said he must stay in the village at all times. The man thought this was unfair but was grateful that the Chief took him in so he agreed and quickly fell into routine of living at the village. This village all though similar to the last two villages was very different. The man began to notice that the villagers were not allowed to talk to one another or do any type of activities as a group.

The villagers were very mean and angry all the time with each other as well as with the Chief and his Council. The Chief and his Council did not allow the villagers to make choices or think for themselves. The village was dictated by the Chief and his Council and all choices and decisions had to go through them and be decided by them. The man realized that the reason the villagers were not allowed to communicate with each other was so that they couldn't work together and overthrow the Chief and his Council. If villagers were caught performing tasks that were not specifically assigned by the Council they were whipped, if they got caught again they were stoned. The village had a very sad feeling to it, the villagers who were once intelligent, hard working people now had there spirits beaten down and did nothing but pray for the next ship to arrive. The man went to work everyday and went home every night, he went days, weeks even months without human contact. One day the man's letters stopped coming, we received word that after months and months the neighboring enemy island snuck in a ship and saved most of the villagers from the torment and rule of the Chief.

Maybe the man is still there, maybe he didn't get out. Maybe the Chief is still watching him like he is a child that cant do anything right. Maybe the man couldn't take it anymore and ran away from the village, ran out in search of that small village he loved so much. Maybe the man was caught trying to flee and was sentenced to be stoned by the Chief and his Council. We may never know what happened to the man, all we know is his story and how much he loved the two villages he lived at where everyone was equal, everyone was part of a community united for a single goal. Maybe one day some one can bring that same mentality to the village where the man was last heard from. The man once said that if he could leave this village he would live less for work and live more for family and friends.