Splotches of sunlight seeped between the leaves of the sycamore maple in the front yard of a small cabin, causing small slivers of light to appear on the ground below the tree.  A faint breeze ruffled the leaves, which in turn, caused the little streaks of light to flicker. It was quite an intriguing dance they performed, one that required no effort yet was still beautiful.  Light battled the looming shadows cast by the tree. Rays twisted and spiraled and the shadows shrunk as each sliver of glistening gold appeared at random. With teeth and claws, the shadows ferociously defended themselves and wouldn’t allow the light to grow any larger than the silver they were.

   Ralph sat idly on a step leading up to his front door, spectating the ongoing fight.  His eyes bared no emotion and he was biting his chapped lip. His nose twitched at the scent of a nearby barbeque that the breeze carried with it.  Ralph closed his eyes and inhaled. When he reopened them, the world around him had changed.

   The tree’s shadow had vanished, leaving nothing but a few still splotches of light.  The wind had completely gone and the day felt slightly hotter. Ralph felt blood trickle down from his lip to his chin until the droplet fell onto the back of his hand, which was now covered in a mix of dried blood and dirt.  Then there was the faint sound of buzzing. He wasn’t sure what it was, but Ralph tended to hear it often. It almost sounded like a noise some sort of insect would make, perhaps a bee or a fly.

   The buzzing wasn’t the only noise Ralph heard.  The ululation of the tribe of savage boys echoed in his ears and the day seemed to grow warmer with each second that passed.  He tried to stand up but fell into the grass while doing so. He landed on his hands and knees and clutched the green blades in his filth-covered hands.  A mix of blood and tears dripped down his face as he rolled onto his side, only to see a shattered pair of specs lying in the grass. Just passed the glasses, was the decapitated head of a pig on a stick.  Flies swarmed around it and formed what looked like a crown above the thing. The buzzing got louder. The head grinned at Ralph as it spoke:

   “Wake up, Ralph!  Wake up!”

*****

   Ralph opened his eyes and immediately sat up in bed.  He backed up against his bed frame and rubbed his eyes to clear them.

   “Ralph, are you okay?” A smaller boy with short dirty blonde hair and a freckled face asked from the edge of Ralph’s bed.  His name was Oliver and was Ralph’s 9-year-old cousin. After they were rescued from the island, the boys were returned to their families or if they couldn’t find their families, they were put into orphanages.  Ralph’s father was in the navy and his mother had fallen ill while he was away, so Ralph was living with his aunt and cousin for the time being.

   “I’m fine,” Ralph muttered and wiped the tears from his face with his sleeve.

   “You were screaming n’ crying, I thought you got hurt or somethin’,” Oliver said with a hint of concern to his voice.

   “I’m fine,” Ralph repeated.

   “Did you have a bad dream?” Oliver persisted.  “Was it about the island?” Ralph gave in to the boy and solemnly nodded.

   “But what exactly was so bad about it?  Wasn’t it fun with no grown-ups tellin’ you what to do?”

   “No, no it wasn’t.  It was quite the opposite actually.  Sure things started off alright, but…” Ralph couldn’t continue.

   “But what?”

   “Stop pestering me,” Ralph hissed and got out of bed.  “What’s for breakfast?”

   “Eggs n’ bacon.”

   “I’ll pass on the bacon.”  Ever since he was rescued, Ralph had not eaten pig and vowed to never eat it again, for various reasons of course.

   “Okay well eggs are ready, they may be cold though because you got up pretty late.”

   “What time is it?”

   “Just past noon.”

   “Oh, maybe I’ll skip breakfast then.”

   “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.”

   “I’ll have lunch soon.”

   “Okay, whatever,” Oliver started to leave the room Ralph was staying in but hesitated when he reached the door.  “I s’pose you aren’t goin’ to tell me about the island.” Ralph didn’t want to tell his cousin about the events that occurred on that island, yet at the same time talking to someone might make him feel better.  He needed to get everything off his chest.

   “You really want to know?”

   “Well, sort of, yes.  Yes, I do.”

   “Alright, well you better make yourself comfy.”