Workshop 2

Thailand

Liam felt his heart drop and his head feel dizzy. The thought of home made him

feel melancholy. He was a 22 year old guy filled with passion and adventure. The

adrenaline he felt on going to new adventures fueled him. He had never been to Asia

before and was very curious as to what it had to offer so he decided to go to Thailand.

Arriving at Thailand he felt the pure joy of a cultural shock that he had never

experienced before. Impulsively, he made the decision to go to Bangkok and stay there

for at least two months. He had no plans of where to stay, what to do, or what to eat.

Everything was to be decided in the moment. His annoyance towards planning made

him avoid an itinerary. Liam’s spontaneity was a trait many of his friends admired;

however, it oftentimes resulted in getting into some trouble.

He decided to settle for the nearest hostel in downtown Bangkok. It was rugged,

cheap and it smelled of sweat and dirty water. Surprisingly, that was the least of his

concerns. He would look for a different place to stay the following day. The first night

wasn’t so bad. The jet lag did not faze him; he fell asleep within three minutes of getting

into bed. By the next morning he was rejuvenated and ready to explore his new,

temporary home. The sun illuminated the room through the sheer, lilac curtains. His

daily coffee intake led to an adventure on the first morning. He came across a coffee

stand and immediately ordered the usual - black coffee. He took a sip and it was as

though he can feel it disperse through his muscular body and awaken him. He decided

to explore the vicinity and get to know his new surroundings. Upon exploring the

neighborhood nearest to the hostel he came across a street vendor. The street vendor

approached Liam in hopes of selling a bracelet in the basket full of the ones he had

made the night prior, under his canopy. A teal, marble-like bracelet caught Liam’s eye. It

resembled jade, but he wasn’t sure. It was the only bracelet with color in it. The rest of

the bracelets were brown or black - colors Liam did not like.

“How much is that one?” Liam asked pointing to the teal bracelet that caught his

eye.

“63 bahts young man.” Said the street vendor.

“I’ll take it.”

The street vendor smiled. He bought the bracelet for about $2. The street vendor

was friendly and wished him well and then they parted ways. He left rapidly, and

although Liam did not find anything strange about this man, he delivered a distinct

energy that Liam picked up on as soon as he got close to him. He continued to roam the

streets with his new bracelet. He passed by locals and tourists each passing minute, but

they never made eye-contact with him. It was as if he didn’t exist. Two, six, ten, twelve

people passed by him after a woman finally made eye-contact with him. He noticed she

wasn’t looking directly into his eyes, she was looking at his shirt’s left pocket. He looked

down at his pocket and noticed a sandy-like paper that he did not remember placing

there. He grabbed it, opened it and saw a map with a destination to a beach. The paper

did not specify which beach it was and he had no idea how it got in his pocket in the first

place. He found it bizarre. He wasn’t sure if the map was accurate or not but the idea of

hidden places amazed him and he was instantly willing to see for himself if it was real or

not. He went back to his hostel and observed the map, closely. It was far but not

impossible. For lack of anything better to do, he decided to take on the adventure, as

the idea of finding a secret beach on his own fascinated him. That night he planned his

way of getting there. He is going to take a bus to a nearby village where he is then

going to pay a man to take him to a private beach, by boat. Liam was certain that

anyone would take American dollars in exchange for a ride. After that, it was on him to

decide how he will go from point A to point B, in this case from the beach to the hidden

island, considering the large distance of water he would have to swim. He took a light

bag filled with 6,354 bahts, nuts, and water.

The man dropped him off at the beach and Liam gave him 1,906 bahts.

“Thank you, sir. Be safe.”

“No, thank ​you.”

“Why are you here alone…. anyway?”

“Just needed some peace and quiet. Just gonna stay here for a day or two until a

friend picks me up.”

He was left alone to the sound of the small breeze. Listening to the waves made

him feel serene; however, he quickly snapped out of it and realized there was about a

mile and a half of swimming to do. He had never swam that long of a distance before

and so he felt a rush of panic creeping up on him. He was having trouble looking for that

adventurous and spontaneous side of his. Pacing back and forth, he tried convincing

himself that it was a good idea. ​What am I going to do when I’m there? Is there a

purpose to me making this trip? ​So many questions were running through his head and

he was having difficulty pushing himself too. He kept wondering what was on that island

and he did not want to live with the “what if” so he decided to just go for it. The

adrenaline began kicking in and he began swimming.

The swim passed in stages. In the beginning, Liam was full of confidence, talking

to himself and finding a rhythm. As the minutes continued to pass his legs began to

ache and the water no longer felt cold enough to cool him down. At a certain point, the

beach behind him seemed as far away as the island ahead. The calm attitude towards

sharks then became a fear. Liam started to doubt whether he had the strength to finish

the swim or not, but that just meant dying. After more minutes of swimming things

strangely became easier. Although his legs still ached tremendously, they developed a

kind of reflex kick, something like a heartbeat. Soon enough, Liam drifted beyond the

pain and started thinking positive thoughts. When he got there he pressed his cheek

against the wet sand. He felt his legs pound with each passing throb. He had never felt

that exhausted in his entire life, and that’s considering he was in D1 soccer. He had felt

so proud for making it, on his own, to the beach that he had no idea existed up until the

day before.

After resting a good amount he decided to look for “the beach.” At first he felt as

though he was just going in circles but then he started noticing slight differences. As he

walked he started noticing these tall plants only get taller and fuller. A familiar smell

tickled his nose. He then saw, what it seemed to be, over hundreds of plants of

marijuana. His heart dropped. Liam instantly knew it was dangerous territory. He was

about to crawl down when he saw a man with his back facing him. The man was holding

a rifle and Liam then felt something go through his entire body, only this time it was not

adrenaline, it was fear. He bent down, slowly, and started crawling. He started hearing

multiple men yell, aggressively, in a foreign language. The voices began surrounding

him and at some points he felt death approaching. He ended up rolling down the edge

of a hill and ended up hitting a rock. He felt light headed momentarily until reality hit him.

He had overcome death and he was still not there yet. He started to question whether

there was something there or not and whether it was worth it.

At a distance, he heard a waterfall. He gained hope again, got up, and started

walking towards the direction of the waterfall. He took a deep breath in and smelled the

pure air. He had never smelled anything like it. The air had a distinct smell that he knew

he’d miss as soon as he left. It smelled of a pine tree mixed with fresh, aqua blue water.

The 85 degree weather felt more like 95 with the lack of wind and the sun beaming at

you. He felt a few shades darker and his freckles make a comeback. As he started

approaching the waterfall he noticed he was coming to an end: the end of a cliff. He was

frustrated at this point. But the least he wanted to do was regret his decision of coming

so he continued to brush it off. He had no other choice but to jump this cliff. He thought

of turning back but he will be risking his life, again, and that was something he wasn’t

ready for. He had never jumped that high up. Liam couldn’t tell how far down it was but

if he had to guess it would be over twenty feet. His hesitation then turned to adrenaline.

Everything replayed before him. Checking in his bags at O’hare airport in Chicago,

going through security, enduring the long flight, arriving at the hostel, seeing the woman

that stared at his pocket that led to the map, and experiencing a near death experience

with the guards. He took three steps back, a deep breath, and ran towards the edge of

the cliff and jumped. His heart dropped down to his heels, and he felt the air push his

eyes and cheeks back. He didn’t expect to feel so amazing jumping down. He felt free

and serene. When he landed he shot back up and screamed as loud as he can. He felt

a wave of happiness hit him.

“I did it! I fucking did it!”

He looked at his surroundings and they had completely changed. He looked to

his left and saw a pathway. It was hidden by surrounding trees but it was still noticeable.

“This must be it.” He said.

Liam got out, sat on a rock and reflected on what had just happened, and

decided to go towards the path. Little did he know that he was about to open a

completely new chapter in his life; a chapter that will play an immense role in his life. He

had entered a new world. It was something he had never experienced before. He saw

huts and canopies and he saw people! He was greeted by a older woman. She was

pale, green-eyed, and had long black hair. She was so beautiful, he thought. Everyone

started clapping.

“Congratulations and welcome!” The green-eyed woman said.

“Thank you. I’m Liam-“

“It’s lovely to meet you. How did you find out about this place?”

“A map was in the pocket of my shirt. I don’t know how it got there but I couldn't

ignore it.”

“It was fate.” She smiled.

He had never felt so confused in his life but he had also never felt a rush of

genuine joy either. ​This is it​. They were welcoming him to ​their ​world and as of today,

he was beginning a new life. A new life on an island.