Once upon a time, off the coast of Vesterålen, floated a Little Island. On the top of this island stood a lighthouse. A long time ago, people used to live on the island and here they built a village. But in time the People of the Island left their houses and fled to the continent. Ruins of their settlement became the only clue of their presence. Yet, one person remained on the Little Island. People of the Continent called him the Lighthouse Keeper, for he was the one keeping the light on for wayward boats that sailed on the tumultuous waters of northern Norway. Along with the Lighthouse Keeper lived his family and his assistant. All of them were sharing a cosy house on the hill below the light tower, when they were not in the tower itself. Eventually, the services of the Lighthouse Keeper were no longer needed and technology took his place, and so he left. The Little Island was abandoned and feeling all alone. The poor island got used to humans, then remembered the good times spent with them and became sad. However, one day, a lady landed with a crazy project: she wanted to live on the Little Island. Needless to say the Little Island was very excited when she learned of the new arrival!
With the lady came two cats. Sirius was the name of the first cat. Sirius loved humans, like the Little Island did, and was always close to them. Sarah was the name of the second one, but she was a bit afraid of them, despite her round and curious eyes. A short time after the lady settled, she hired an army of humans to help her with her dream. They all wanted to discover the Little Island. This was probably the most peaceful army the Little Island had seen as this army helped to make the island a better place. Needless to say that Sirius and the Little Island were very happy – although Sarah probably a bit less… The Little Island loved these humans for they loved the island. Months after months, years after years, new volunteers came and old volunteers left. A cycle of life took place on the Little Island as the lady came and left with them on her tiny boat, confidently facing winds and waves on the angry ocean.
Humans would then experience sun baths, berry picking and barbecues on the Little Island. However, it was mostly happening in summertime as the ocean was in a good mood during this short period. But once winter came, humans would experience quite another adventure. Storms, rain and snow were the daily routine but the Humans of the Island were not afraid because the Little Island protected them. If it was only for the weather, humans would have quite an easy life on the Little Island; but with the winter came darkness, and with darkness, trolls. And trolls enjoyed playing tricks on humans. Then they started playing with the water pumps, breaking them one by one so that the Humans of the Island would need the help of the Humans of the Sea – Coast Guard – and their big boat to fill the water reserve which had been emptied. When the problem of water had been solved, the trolls got bored and decided to play another trick on the Humans of the Island. Trolls knew very well that humans nowadays need electricity and although they might not be geniuses, trolls knew how to break the generator, and that’s what they did. So the poor Humans of the Island had to stay for a week without electricity, until another Human of the Continent came on the Lady of the Island’s boat to fix what the trolls broke… Do you still follow me? Ok, so let’s continue… 😊
Hopefully the Humans of the Island were prepared for such events and could survive this affront. During this week they decided to set their electronic devices aside and read books instead for there is a huge library on the island. The Humans of the Island were happy, even without electricity, for the books were good for their mind, opening their vision and resting their soul. But the trolls were frustrated and a new conspiracy was in the air. What would happen next to the Humans of the Island?
In Short…
I hope you enjoyed this little tale about the life on a remote island. If you are in a hurry – as you are supposed to in this crazy world – here is a summary in less than 140 characters (poetry included): “Surviving on an island. Water and electricity fucked up. Coast guards filled tanks. No Facebook. Had to read PAPER books… WTF?!”.
PS: As I finished writing this Tale of the Little Island, trolls were preparing their last misdeed. They understood that the Humans of the Island often used this strange floating device they called ‘boat’, to bring everything they needed onto the Little Island. Therefore, they sabotaged what they called “da floatin’ thing” during the night, breaking its motor. On the morning, when the Humans of the Island discovered what the trolls did, they did not panic for they knew that it was what the trolls wanted. The Humans of the Island were wise, so they asked again the Humans of the Sea for help. Unfortunately, none of them was available that day for a storm was raging further south. The Humans of the Island then had to wait until the next day to be rescued by a brave and dedicated “Human-of-what-swims-inside-the-sea” — a fisherman.
