Slim the Intrepid Explorer was enjoying a cool drink while bathing in the sunlight. He had just come back from trekking in the Amazon Rainforest. He reached over and looked at the photo album that contained all the pictures he took while on the Amazon trip.
"Hmm, this species of flower is interesting," he thought. He stretched and yawned. He should be checking his e-mail, which should be quite flooded from relatives and friends, asking what he had done and how he was, etc. He got up to his feet and walked back to the house.
After logging into his account, it was, as expected, flooded. He sorted through, deleting the junk mail and reading what his friends and relatives had to say. One particular e-mail caught his eye. It was from his old trekking buddy, "Bigfoot" Bill -- he'd actually been the one to give Bill the nickname, from the time they climbed Mt. Everest together. The email's subject said: "Urgent, please reply." That of course aroused Slim's curiousity. He clicked on it, and read what Bigfoot had to say.
The brief summary of the e-mail: His help was needed in finding a beach for Whyville and Whyvillians. They needed Slim to overcome the obstacles of the local jungle to get to the new beach. Would he be kind enough to help out Whyville? The City Management of Whyville offered to pay him by contributing money from the sale of Why-Passes so that they could get Slim newer and more advanced equipment to help him through this forest. He could request for more people to help if he wants. Last of all, could he reply back on his decision ASAP?
Slim pondered over it. He had just came back from Amazon and was tired. However, he was not one who turned down challenges when they were placed in front of him. He hit the "Reply" key, and began typing, saying that he agreed to do the job, and he need no people to help him, not even Bigfoot, if he was too busy.
The next day, the moment Slim got up he ran to his computer. He quickly logged in to check whether there was a reply. Sure enough, there was. He clicked on it, read it and started preparing for his mission.
City Hall had given him instructions about the project in the reply. Slim went to get his equipment, jumped on a plane to Whyville, and started working immediately.
He chopped and heaved and rested. For many days and many nights he did that. Slim could not shower, as there was no shower head and only enough water and food supplies to last him for a few months. He was tired, especially as he had just come back from exploring the Amazon. But, he told himself, "This is easy, compared to mushing a pack of hungry dogs in the Arctic!" That was definitely true, as the Whyville jungle is not bitterly cold and does not have very harsh conditions.
After a few weeks, Slim was already used to the environment. One day, he was taking a rest after chopping down a tree. He looked around at his surroundings and a patch of light blue color behind the trees caught his eye. "Wait a minute...." he thought.
Slowly, Slim got up and ventured towards the light blue patch. In a few second's time, he was standing on a stretch of fine sand, the sky the colour of azure blue and coconut trees blowing gently in the wind, with a small little island near it. He walked around in surprise. He had reached the much-awaited beach!
He quickly ran back to his camping place and picked up his special walkie-talkie. He switched it on and gasped into it, "I reached the beach! I reached the beach!" The person on the other end, City Worker Turnip, was also very excited, but she managed to calm Slim down and get the details. Soon, everyone from City Management came and the news was spread all over Whyville.
Slim smiled in satisfaction as he surveyed the beach. He sniffed at his clothes and yawned, thinking, "I could sure use a rest and a shower!" ...and walked to the car that was waiting to transport him back to human civilization....
...and the rest, as they say, is history.
Warning: This story is purely fictional! But thanks for reading it. ;-)
~SELLABLES
September 22nd, 2002
