Kaitlyn thought she’d have the time of her life on the houseboat. She had dreamt of going east for a summer vacation, and being on Lake Michigan was perfect for her. Since she grew up in a city with constant commotion, being around nature and sounds of the lake seemed so calming. She didn’t always live in the city. The few memories she had of playing water sports was the most fun she’s ever had.
It was the family’s third day being on the water and the activity of the day was exploring one of the many little islands on the lake. The houseboat was anchored at a beautiful cove, they were sad to leave it. They were renting the boat with some family friends and the daughters were very rude to Kaitlyn. She explained her problem to the friend she brought, Emma, and she thought she was being completely unreasonable. Any other day, she would’ve loved this trip but by the third day, she couldn’t stand the way she was being treated. Being alone seemed like the real vacation at that point.
When she woke up on the day of the island adventure, she told herself she would be in a good mood. The comfort and solitude of the lake is not something she gets to experience often so she didn’t want to waste it. It took about an hour for breakfast to prepare. Eggs, bacon, sausage, and bagels were laid across the island in the kitchen. She sliced her finger while cutting a bagel and then spilled the whole bottle of orange juice because the boat started rocking. Everything started to accumulate in her head, even though the issues were really no big deal. The rude girls, Angelica, Stacy, and Brittany, weren’t bothering her this morning and she was thankful for every minute of that. Kaitlyn and her friend Emma went back to their room and got dressed. She wore her favorite running shorts, a sweatshirt, and tennis shoes with an all-black bathing suit underneath. She felt at peace with these clothes knowing she was going to be having such a great time while wearing them. She was all ready for the slow ride to the island and something catches her eye. Stacy was trying to navigate the boat.
“What’s going on here?” Katie asked loudly, almost screaming. Before she could even think, her mother came walking up the steps to the deck. All her mother had to do was give her a certain look for Kaitlyn to know she was upset
“Great, more time alone in my bunk.” she said with a roll in her eyes.
After a long cruise of only seeing the world through her tiny little window, they latched the boat to a thick tree on the island. What felt like captivity in there made her even more excited to go out onto the island and explore.
As she walked on the island with Emma, her foot slipped into a spider hole. Emma continued walking, not even acknowledging what had happened. Kaitlyn was scared to silence. She pulled her leg out of the as quick as she could and frantically hit and wiped her legs trying to get all the disgusting bugs off of her. In her head, running seemed like a great idea; the wind against her could help make the bugs fly off and get her away from that hidden hole. What she forgot to take in account was the fact that she was on an unknown island. She didn’t realize that she had no clue where she was running. Kaitlyn paused, looked around and finally realized it all. She was so far away from everyone on a huge island and could see nothing but trees, sand, and water. She was lost.
“What have I done?” Kaitlyn said aloud, feeling the need to blame herself. This island had about an eight mile radius with trees and plants all around the center like a forest.
All she could think to do was walk and call for someone. At first, it didn’t seem like she’d be gone for long, but the sun quickly began to set and things were getting worse. How had she still not found her group yet?
“Mom! Dad! Emma!” she yelled as loud as she could as she scouted for her family, along with her backpack she left behind. The air grew thicker as the sky got darker. She began panting and sweating and within minutes, rain started to fall. Running for a place to hide, Kaitlyn found a pit in the sand with trees all around it. She crept inside the hole and wasn’t getting wet anymore. She watched as the little arrow on her watch went around in circles three times until it was one in the morning and still no one to be found.
What felt like a single blink of the eye was actually a nine hour sleep, and now it was morning. An agonizing pain filled her stomach and she realized she hadn’t eaten in twenty-four hours.
“I’ve got to keep searching,” she murmured to herself. So she decided to take another lap around the huge island, and with no sight of the houseboat, she lost all hope. Another nap was overdue, so she rested her eyes and slept under a tree.
She woke up to the sun screaming at her. A stinging sensation filled her body and she began to cry.
“Get over yourself Kaitlyn, you need a plan,” she told herself. “First step, make a shelter.” She gathered seaweed, twigs, and bundles of leaves. It took time, but she made a nice, stable “room” between some small trees that she didn’t mind staying under for a while. The island no longer threatened Kaitlyn, instead it welcomed her. Though her face was still sunburned and she had completely lost connection with her family that abandoned her, she accepted it. All of it.
The insects were quieter all of a sudden, and the inside of the forest wasn’t as dark. Her survival instincts kicked in. Comfort came to her as she stared at the island. Her island. She was done being afraid and vulnerable. The sight of blueberries caught her eye faster than a bullet. She now had food and shelter. She dived in and ate the berries without stopping until her stomach started aching. Weeks passed and the island felt like home. Kaitlyn couldn’t help but think about her family and how much she missed them all. Weeks turned into months and before she knew it, her mother had been missing Kaitlyn for three years. Kaitlyn didn’t know it had been exactly that long, because she lost count of the days, but she knew it was about that much. She developed a daily routine adjusted for being on the island alone.
She was making a lap around the island to look for anything that washed up on shore that she might want to keep. There was something unfamiliar in the sand. Footprints, but not from an animal. The light tan, deep markings in the sand were from a human being. After she followed the footsteps for nearly half an hour, the deep holes became shallower and then disappeared. She was now in the woods and everything felt off. She felt like how she did the first night she spent on the island. The air was muggy and leaves smelled tangy and acidic. She was unfamiliar with this smell. She strolled between the trees, dodging any big bugs. She suddenly collapsed, her ankle got caught underneath a fallen branch swarming with spiders. She screamed for a solid thirty seconds, then she heard a voice other than her own. A tall brown haired man with ripped blue jeans and a University of Minnesota long sleeve shirt was standing right in front of her.
“Ma’am, are you okay?” he asked. Kaitlyn couldn’t speak. She sat there in silence. “Ma’am?” the strange man asked again.
“I’m fine, but who are you? I thought I was alone,” Kaitlyn forced the words out of her mouth. She listened for minutes as the stranger went on to introduce himself. She learned he was a 20 year old man named Henry and had been abandoned on the island as well.
“How did you get here, though?” she asked.
“I was flying alone and, like a fool, didn’t check the engine before liftoff. The jet had a missing piece to the engine and I had to perform an emergency landing,” Henry informed her.
“When did this happen? I’ve been here for months, I know my way around this place. How could I have not seen something as big as a helicopter?” Kaitlyn stated. 
“Perhaps you were on the other side of the island, or asleep, it did happen early in the morning anyway,” he said.
Kaitlyn felt something she hadn’t experienced in years. Human interaction was something she didn’t realize she missed until it felt so sensational to talk to a real person who understood her. She wondered if they would have ever met if they hadn’t been stranded together. Her stomach felt bubbly thinking about Henry, it was really weird.
Years went on and the two strangers were “married”, if you can even call it that. It wasn’t official since they had no papers from the city hall. It was special to them that their situation was so unique. The time came and they decided to have a child. The kid was named Emma after Kaitlyn’s best friend, and the last person she was with before the tragedy. Emma grew to be a year old by the time their lives were turned back around.
One sunny morning, their peaceful breakfast was disrupted by a sound Henry quickly recognized. A helicopter came ripping through the trees and a woman wearing a black suit walked out.
“I’m here to rescue you, are there any other people on this island?” she asked. They had to answer an abundance of questions but eventually, the kind lady flew them to the dock where Kaitlyn’s house boat was docked six years ago. All she could think about was getting to see her family again, while all Henry thought about was his helicopter left on the island. Their first stop was Kaitlyn’s parent’s house.
Joy lit up her mother’s face as Kaitlyn walked through the doors. It took her a while to explain what she had gone through the past six years and who this ”stranger” was, but it took her mother even longer to tell her side of this six year long story. Her family got to know Henry and really liked him. They adored baby Emma the most, though they didn’t understand how she was so healthy and “normal” given the fact that she grew up on a stranded island. Later, Kaitlyn was introduced to Henry’s family. They all really enjoyed Kaitlyn. As time went on, their lives gradually returned quite similar to the way they were before. In the end, they didn’t once wish that they hadn’t gotten left alone on that island in Michigan. If none of this had ever happened, then they wouldn’t have met, become the strong individuals they are, and most importantly, they wouldn’t have their precious little daughter Emma.