Where in the world am I? I thought as I found myself laying in the sand. I see a bottle next to me; it’s clear, cork top, a piece of paper inside. 

“Hello Teagan, lookout.” A note. A letter. A sign. 

The island, or wherever I am, is completely deserted. So I have no choice but to snap into survival mode. Where am I? Why am I here? Where is food or water? 

I try to commence my searches with discretion, but my mind is running at 100 miles an hour. I walk for about thirty minutes and find a solid flat spot. Everywhere I look there are trees, rocks, sand, and even some crabs. They’re not palm trees, but something similar with long leaves. I smell the ocean, the salty, fresh ocean. The air is warm, the breeze cools me down a touch. It’s a happy place, if I wasn’t alone and terrified. 

I find a make-shift shelter under a boulder and insulate it with leaves and brush. I make a fire with the sun setting, and I feel a bit more comfortable. I don’t know where I am, but I know what to do; thanks to watching survival shows. 

I go back to thinking about the note. How would someone know I’m here? I suddenly become unsettled, and my gut feeling isn’t calming me down. I rest my back against the rocks and try to sleep away my anxiety. I wake up the next morning, starving and parched. 

Suddenly, as I’m walking to find water, I hear a snap of branches behind me. 

Oh. My. God. 

I’m going to die. This is it. I run through my memories. Family. Friends. Future. 

Another snap of branches. 

Another snap of branches. 

One more snap. 

It’s getting quicker. 

“TEAGAN!”

Goodbye.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”

What?

I turn around and see twenty of my closest family and friends running up to greet me on the beach. They tell me to turn around and look towards the water. A catamaran. 

I think quickly and realize that it’s not only my birthday, it’s my 21st birthday, and it’s time to party. 

“I’m going to chastise all of you,” I say to everyone.

I’ve never been more scared in my life. My heart rate was running at 160 bpm and I was breaking out into a cold sweat. I love my family, don’t get me wrong, but I never want to see them again after this scare. 

I mean, who in the world drops someone off at a deserted island, makes them stay there for a night, just to surprise them in the morning? That has to be some sick joke.  

I ignore the last night I just had and party it out with my family and friends. After all, we’re on an island.

I just had one more question, though. “Where did that note come from?” I ask.

“What note?”

Another snap of branches.