Jonny pulled the drowning girl to the surface, as another wave tumbled over top of them. He swam as hard as he could. Fantesti was only a little less than a mile away. He protectively kept Malari’s head up out of the water as he swam. The swim was hard and long. Jonny grew very tired halfway and had to stop, letting Malari and him float for a bit before swimming the rest of the way. After he caught his breath, he swam wildly to the shore. He dragged Malari on the beach, threw off his heavy wet coat and pouch, and lay down beside her. Malari coughed out some water and then quickly drifted off to sleep. Relieved that his friend was alright, he fell asleep too.

---

The morning sun danced through the trees and glistened the ever-crashing waves. A few seagulls flew around, darting in and out of the water catching fish. Malari and Jonny lay on the damp beach. A few gentle breezes flew threw her tangled wet mess of hair, waking her. She slowly opened her eyes, unaware of where she was. She stood up and sauntered into the waters edge. The foamy waves fluttered over her feet, warming her cold body. She sat down in the clear water, relaxing after all that had just happened. One seagull zoomed over her head and she remembered her prayer. She had called upon God. Her eyes widened slightly. She remembered thinking that God was just a myth—just like Fantesti. But here she was in Fantesti. It wasn’t just a myth after all—but an actual place! And I was spared from the cruel sea. Maybe…maybe God does exist…

Jonny sat up, yawning and stretching. He looked over to his left expecting his friend to be there, but she wasn’t. He turned his head to look around. He spotted her sitting out in a shallow tidal pool. He ran to her. “Malari,” he called as he ran, alarming the girl. “You’re alright!” He crashed down behind her and threw his arms around her. Malari laughed. “Oh Jonny, we’ve made it! Isn’t it wonderful?” It was Jonny’s turn to laugh. “Yes, but we have yet to explore it!” He buried his face in the back of her neck, still holding her tightly.

“Jonny?” Malari called.

“Yes?” came his reply, muffled from her hair.

“You’re squishing me.”

Jonny immediately released her, surprised at his own strength. “My apologizes.”

Malari nodded, her eyes fixed upon the golden morning ocean. “Jonny?” she asked.

Jonny got up from behind and moved beside her. “Yes?”

“Is God, um…real?”

“Why do you ask?”

She held her hands together. “I just want to know. I have a feeling that he…he might be.”

“I have a feeling he might be too.” He winked at her. He took her hand and helped her up. “Look around you,” he gestured, “all this beauty. It was handcrafted by God,” he spoke with peaceful assurance.

“Maybe…” She felt her stomach squirm. It was a scary thought to imagine a God who could make anything—do anything. Like everything was under his complete control and mercy.

“We’ll give it some more time.” Jonny gave her shoulder a squeeze. “Come on. Let’s go start exploring.”

They walked to shore and stopped for Jonny to get his coat and pouch. He flung his pouch strap over his left shoulder, letting the pouch rest at his right-hand side, and then threw his heavy coat on. He checked his pockets for weapons and found his trusty dagger in its sheath. “Are you almost ready to go now?” Malari teased him. Besides the clothes on her back, she only carried a blue ribbon which was almost always kept in her pocket.

He chuckled, “Yes, I’m ready.” They made their way into the forest of palm trees surrounding them. Jonny found a stream that connected with the ocean and they followed against its current, deeper into the forest. The further they went in, the less palm trees they found and more varieties of tress replaced them. They kept following the stream until it became a river, still traveling onward.

After an hour of walking upriver, they decided to make a quick stop and rest. They both were hungry but had not the slightest clue as to where to find any food. There seemed to be no civilization anywhere, just lots of forest. Malari started to have her doubts. Maybe this isn’t Fantesti, she thought, maybe we have thrown everything away for nothing—just to end up on this stranded island. She sighed.

Jonny reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. “Don’t give up hope. We’ll find food soon enough,” he tried to reassure her. Her friend flashed her a small smile. She frowned. It seemed that for once Jonny didn’t understand her. It made her feel empty inside.

“God will provide for us,” he said. A few minutes later, they smelled the smoke of a cooking fire. There was a home of some sort nearby.

---

Saeto galloped through the prairies on his way to Fort Medesh. The wind blew through his shoulder width black hair. He needed to speak with the general. Medesh, the closest town from fox civilization, was a day’s ride away. He was falling behind schedule. He needed to pick up the pace if he was going to get to the fort by nightfall. He rode far and long, forcing his horse to go as fast as it possibly could. He had his horse go way too fast over one of the large hills and was thrown from his saddle. He hit the ground fast and hard, landing on his right side. He tired to move but it hurt too much. He realized that his right arm and right leg were broken. Why me, he thought.