Journey through Memories

Eventually, the boys had managed to calm themselves down. Numbly, Ralph followed the officer to the rowboat that would take them to the ship. Out of the corner, of his eye, Ralph saw Jack come up beside him. "Here," muttered Jack, shoving Piggy's specs into Ralph's hand. Ralph stared at the only bit of Piggy he still had. He nodded in thanks, not trusting himself to speak. In silence, both boys continued walking. Upon reaching the rowboat, Ralph turned around to stare at the burning island once more before boarding. As they sailed away from the island, he watched it shrink in the distance. And in that moment, he swore to himself that he would someday return. Twenty years later A man with fair hair slowly stepped onto the shore of the island he hadn't seen in twenty years. On his shoulder was a duffel bag.

Time had changed him. He was no longer the twelve-year old boy that had landed on the island after the plane crash. He was taller and more muscular than he had once been. His eyes were wiser with age. "Hi! Wait a minute!" Walking on the beach, he remembered his first day here, when he had first met Piggy. "They used to call me 'Piggy.'" "He's not Fatty, he's real name's Piggy!" He remembered laughing at him. And at the assembly, how he told when Piggy had asked him not too. He wished he could take back all the mean things he ever did to him. "We can use this to call the others. Have a meeting. They'll come when they hear us." He remembered finding the conch and calling that first assembly. All those boys had come to him, hoping for some figure of authority. He was that figure, albeit not a very good one. Nevertheless, for some time, they had seen him as leader. "Where's the man with the trumpet?" He recalled how Jack had come out of the forest. He had though him and his choir to be some sort of creature. They were in some way. "I'm not going to play any longer. Not with you." He recalled that meeting when Jack had left.

The boys had stuck with him at first but the promise of meat and the freedom of savagery had lured them away. "I thought perhaps, we ought to have a feast, kind of." The man thought of how happy Piggy had been and how he gathered fruit so they could have their own feast. "That's right. We was on the outside. We never done nothing, we never seen nothing." He remembered talking with Piggy after Simon's death and their denial of their involvement. They had been involved. They were just afraid of admitting that they were capable of doing something so terrible to something so innocent and pure. "Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!" As he passed the flat rock where Jack's tribe had gathered for the feast, he winced at the memory of the savagery of that night. He stopped and placed a flower from his bag on the spot where Simon had lay after they had beaten him and said a quick prayer. "We saw your smoke. What have you been doing? Having a war or something?" He looked toward the forest. The forest of the island was smaller and not as thick. It was still recovering from the fire.

He remembered the hunt for him in that forest, the hunt that had led to the fire and then to their rescue. "That little 'un- him with the mark on his face, I don't see him. Where is he now? Him that talked about the snakes. He was down there-" The man entered the forest. He slowly trekked through the remains of the great forest until he came upon the mountain. He approached the spot where the first fire had killed that little boy with the birthmark. Once more, he put down a flower before continuing onward. "This head is for the beast. It's a gift." He passed the spot where he had discovered the pig head. He remembered the feeling he got upon seeing it. That wave of sick fear rage that had swept through. And he remembered punching it until the stick was on the ground with the skull broken in two. Another memory came flooding back. "I got the conch. I'm going to that Jack Merridew an' tell him, I am." "Which is better, law and rescue, or hunting and breaking things up?" "See? See? That's what you'll get! I meant that!" He walked on until he reached Castle Rock.

He blinked back tears as he saw the boulder that had killed Piggy. The man slowly walked to the spot where the rock had struck Piggy and knelt down, wishing that day had never happened. Out of his bag, he removed another flower and placed it on the ground. "There isn't a tribe for you anymore! The conch is gone. I'm chief!" He noticed something lying on the ground. It was a piece of the conch that had broken. He picked it up and put it in his pocket. "Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!" The man turned back towards the forest and headed back to the beach. He remembered running from Castle Rock. He remembered the chase that had led back to the beach. The very beach he was approaching. "We need an assembly. Not for fun. Not for laughing and falling off the log." "We have lots of assemblies. Everybody enjoys speaking and being together. We decide things. But they don't get done." Nearby, the man could see the remains of the platform. The platform where many assemblies had been called with the conch. He fiddled with the piece of conch in his pocket. The man moved to the middle of it and knelt down. "Nobody killed, I hope? Any dead bodies?" "Only two. And they've gone." "Give me my glasses, I'm going to say- you got to!"

From his bag, he removed a stone. It read, "In memory of Charles "Piggy" Pryce, Simon Blackwell, James Travers, and all the others who were lost. May their souls rest in peace." Upon it, he placed a broken pair of specs. He wished for something more to honor his dear friend. "No. They're not as bad as that. It was an accident." "My dad's dead and my mum." "Hey Piggy," the man said. "It's been awhile. I wish I could give you a proper burial, but-" he paused "your body was lost. I guess I should catch you up on what's happened since you have been gone. We got rescued. It was the day after-" he paused again. It was still hard for him to say what happened. "After you died, they hunted me, Jack and the others. They set the island on fire. A ship spotted us and took us home. I found out your real name. I'm sorry I told everyone it when you asked me not too. I hope you're happy where you are. And with your parents. I remember you telling me they died." The man straightened the glasses on the rock and said, "Goodbye Piggy.

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