"Um... I was just looking for something," Zilong said, scratching the back of his head. The entire situation felt awkward and cumbersome.
"Ava, who are you talking to?" a voice echoed from behind him. Zilong quickly put a finger to his lips, signaling Ava to be quiet. Ava seeing this grinned, her smile widened.
'Oh boy...' Zilong thought.
"Actually, it was nothing," Ava replied as Zilong quickly scurried away.
---
Early that morning, everyone had woken up, and the sun finally revealed itself, bathing the island in a warm, golden glow. Zilong gazed at the sun, a thought crossing his mind: *How would I get off this island?* It seemed like no one was talking about leaving, as if they had no intention of ever going back.
Zilong was resting in his hut when a familiar aroma caught his attention.
'No, not again…'
This time, the scent wasn't sweet; it was savory—a food smell. His stomach growled in response. "Maybe they're cooking something," Zilong thought. He leaped up from his bed, made of wooden straw, and followed the scent.
Someone was definitely cooking, and it smelled delicious. The aroma seemed to be coming from a small hut. Zilong peeked inside to see Emma cooking. Whatever it was, he was sure it was good, simply because of the smell.
Emma wore a simple white gown, her jet-black hair almost glistening under the sunlight. The gown fit her perfectly. She turned around and looked at Zilong with her silvery-white eyes.
"What are you making?" Zilong asked as he walked over.
There was something boiling in the pot, but Zilong couldn't quite tell what it was.
"Jollof rice," she answered, still focused on the food.
"Jollof rice?" Zilong repeated, raising his eyebrows. He had never heard of a dish called jollof rice before.
Emma just looked at him. "Well, you wouldn't know. It's not a very popular dish around here," she said.
Zilong gave up trying to understand and walked out of the room. Outside, he saw Ava sitting on a log, looking vacant. Her eyes lit up when she saw him.
"Zilong!" she said excitedly, running toward him.
*Gulp.* Zilong hoped she had forgotten about the incident that morning.
"Have you seen Jacob lately?" he asked, scratching the back of his head. He hadn't been able to find him.
"Well…" Ava hesitated. "Follow me," she said, leading him toward the forested area.
As they made their way through the forest, Zilong couldn't help but marvel at the sight. The trees pulsed with a blue glow, some tinged with a faint radiance. Zilong was mesmerized. Everything seemed so picturesque that he wasn't watching his step and tripped over a branch.
"Are you alright?" Ava asked.
"Yeah," Zilong replied.
They soon arrived at a large waterfall, where they saw two figures: the old man, Mr. Haruki, sitting atop a huge boulder, and Jacob, who appeared to be doing push-ups… wait, was that really a push-up?
Jacob was performing what might be called push-ups, except he had a huge stone on his back—a stone at least the size of a small table. Jacob seemed to be in tears, motionless in the stance.
"Please, sir, I give up," Jacob whimpered.
"You haven't even done one," Mr. Haruki retorted angrily.
"Damn, is he going to get crushed?" Zilong asked, worried.
Mr. Haruki looked in their direction. "Oh, Zilong, good morning. How was your night?" he asked, smiling.
"Well... it was pleasant, to say the least," Zilong replied, sitting down cross-legged next to the boulder.
He looked at Jacob, confused. "What is he doing?" Zilong asked, still puzzled.
The old man glanced at him. "Well, he said he wanted to master the power of his runes," Mr. Haruki said, pointing toward Jacob.
"I can't take this anymore!" Jacob cried out before collapsing, lifeless, onto the ground, the boulder still on his back.
"Zilong, help me…" he whimpered in despair.
Mr. Haruki sighed, got up, and effortlessly removed the boulder. "Wimp," he muttered under his breath.
Zilong watched in bewilderment. He would have collapsed immediately if that heavy rock had been placed on him.
"Zilong," Mr. Haruki called out.
"Yes?" Zilong looked at him.
"Why don't you give it a try?"
"Ehh…"
---
The next thing he knew, he was in the push-up position.
Zilong wasn't particularly fit, he doesn't exercise regularly. The hard streets had taught him to be ready for anything, a fight, a shootout—but this was different.
Then the huge rock was placed on his back. Zilong felt the crushing weight as if a mountain had settled on him.
"Argh…" he grunted. He felt his back muscles flare, his shoulders straining under the immense pressure. It felt like the gravity of the earth had doubled. He inhaled sharply before exhaling through gritted teeth.
"Now go down," Mr. Haruki commanded.
Zilong obeyed, slowly lowering himself. The ground beneath his hands began to shift. His muscles strained under the pressure, throbbing with effort. His veins bulged out of his lean body as he continued to go down until his chest was inches away from the earth. Then, with a mighty effort, he pushed himself back up.
"Ahh…"
He exhaled. His muscles flared with pain, every fiber of his being straining.
With tremendous effort, Zilong finally completed the push-up, his arms locking at the top. It was only one push-up, but his body screamed in agony.
He looked to the side and saw Jacob lying on the ground, looking at him with pity in his eyes. The rock was finally lifted off Zilong, and a wave of lightness washed over him, making his whole body feel numb.
"Well, at least that was one," he heard a voice say.
Emma's loud voice called out, "Food is ready!"
Immediately, Zilong and Jacob jolted up from their positions, the same thought on both their minds: 'Food.'