GROFF MEDIA 2024© TRUTH ENDURES IMDBPRO
Presented by benandsteve.com By: Benjamin Groff II©
3–4 minutes
Three men sat at the edge of a dock. Each was worn down by the ceaseless hum of modern life. Their gazes were fixed on a small, uninhabited island that shimmered in the midday sun. A mile off the coast, the island was lush with palm trees, surrounded by crystal-clear water, and untouched by civilization. It was perfect, a blank canvas for a life free from the chaos they had come to despise.
The trio’s leader, Warren, a former corporate executive, was the mastermind behind the escape. To buy the island, he’d sold everything—his penthouse, yacht, and stock portfolio.
“Gentlemen,”
he said, gesturing at the island,
“we’re about to start over. No emails, no alarms, no societal nonsense. Just us and the land.”
Tom, a rugged carpenter with calloused hands, nodded.
“I’ll build us the finest cabins you’ve ever seen. Give me trees and tools, and we’ll have a paradise.”
The third man, Elliott, a quiet botanist, adjusted his glasses and smiled faintly.
“And I’ll make sure we know which plants are safe to eat. Nature will supply for us if we respect it.”
They packed their small boat with essentials: tools, seeds, books, and fishing gear. They agreed to leave their phones behind, cutting ties with the rest of the world. “Once we’re there,” Warren declared, “there’s no turning back.”
Arrival
The island greeted them with pristine beaches and a dense jungle that hummed with life. They worked tirelessly in the first weeks. Tom constructed three sturdy cabins near the shoreline. Warren rigged up a rudimentary system for collecting rainwater. Elliott explored the interior, cataloging edible plants and marking trails.
At night, they sat by a fire, listening to the waves and reveling in the simplicity of their new existence.
“This is freedom,”
Warren said one evening.
“We’ve escaped the madness.”
But as the weeks turned to months, cracks began to form in their idyllic retreat.
Isolation
Elliott was the first to show signs of unease.
“The flora here is fascinating,”
he said one night, staring at the fire,
“but I miss my research. Sharing discoveries with others… it gave my work purpose.”
Tom, who had poured his energy into the building, grew restless after the cabins were completed.
“There’s only so much wood to chop, so many things to fix. I feel… stagnant.”
Warren dismissed their concerns.
“We didn’t come here for purpose or projects. We came to live. You’ve forgotten why we left.”
But Warren, too, struggled. He’d envisioned a utopia, a life stripped of complications, but the endless quiet gnawed at him. Without the structure of his old life, he felt adrift.
The Turning Point
One stormy night, a ship appeared on the horizon. Its lights pierced the darkness, a beacon of their forsaken world.
“Do we signal it?”
Tom asked, his voice wavering.
Warren’s face hardened.
“No. We agreed: no contact.”
Elliott hesitated.
“What if they’re in trouble? Or what if… what if we are?”
The men argued for hours as the storm raged. Ultimately, they let the ship pass without making contact. But the moment lingered, a reminder of the life they’d left behind—and the choice they’d made to stay.
Conclusion
In time, the men adapted. They found a rhythm in the island’s isolation, but each carried a quiet longing for the world they’d abandoned. They didn’t regret their choice, but they understood it now for what it was: a trade, not an escape.
Years later, the island was still theirs, but they were no longer the same men who had arrived. They had built a new life, not without struggles or sacrifices, but one that was undeniably theirs.
They never saw another ship. They often looked out at the horizon. They wondered what have been if they’d signaled that one stormy night.
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