Mistakes: Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The Island

Danny stepped off the boat and onto a dock, as it was his calling to face his destiny with integrity. He said thank you to the sailor, who smiled at him and said: “I wish you good luck on the Island, and hopefully you will learn a lot and be successful kid. Be safe for me, ok”.

Danny realized that even if the sailor was a lunatic, he was a mistake comrade that only wished the best for him. The sailor pointed to a woman with very dark skin who came to Danny with a bright smile as he walked back into the boat. She wore a non-nano t-shirt that had the writing “New Hope Alliance” on it and did not have the distinctive mistake tattoo on her forehead. She had short black hair that was shorter than what any woman on the mainland would have. She enthusiastically greeted Danny by exclaiming: “Welcome to the beautiful and sprawling city of New Hope. The Island is not like what the big wigs in the UAPA say it's like, huh! I'm Mrs. Gonsales”.

Danny thought about screaming at her for a second for calling the UAPA's leaders big wigs, but he now knew that people on the Island had negative views of the mainland, and he was going to let them express those views. He also realized that people on the Island would look different from the normal people back in Beverly. Danny soon looked around, and sure enough the city was beautiful, but in an old-fashioned way. The houses were made of wood instead of super strong nanomaterials and aircars were replaced with bicycles (Danny only recognized them from history books). The air of the city was refreshing, and people of varying skin tones and people with mistake tattoos walked down the streets that were full of shops and restaurants. He expressed after these thoughts: “It actually is pretty nice here, but it's very, very different”.

He tried to keep his voice calm, but both nervousness and anger were evident in his words. Mrs. Gonsales calmly and kindly said in her voice that seemed funny to Danny (all UAPA residents were required to have the standard Correct Accent): “I know it can be hard for people when they are in a big transition, and this is especially true when mistakes come to the Island. Oh how I hate using the term “mistake” for people! It's ok, you're safe with me. Let's walk to the institute, it's only a couple of blocks to the right.”

“Sure,” said Danny. He followed the woman because her tone was nice and the institute sounded like a place of learning where he could gain information about the Island, even though she looked and sounded very different.

After around a minute of silent walking Mrs.Gonsales stated: “We're going to enroll you in the institute. Don't worry, as it's just a one week program and you're free to go afterwords, although you may keep on living at the institute housing. Me and my assistants at the institute will teach you our perspective on the Island and the UAPA, and we will give you background information that will help you understyand your situation. It may be hard for you, as we will tell you many things that will contradict what you have heard on the mainland. The choice of what you choose to believe is always yours, of course. The institute is right ahead.”

Danny knew that the point of view that the sailor had told him would be better explained to him. It would be hard to swallow and he was very skeptical that his views would change. Even though the institute would not be tolerated in the UAPA, Danny knew that the Island would bring new and tough experiences to him. There was a small but growing part of him that was excited to step out of his comfort zone and try new things. The UAPA was not where he was now, and he was starting to have conflicting thoughts about the country.

After he exited his raging mind, Danny looked up and saw the building that had to be the institute, and it was much smaller than he expected. It was wooden and had to have only a few rooms (his parents house had 100 rooms, and most houses in the UAPA had at least 30). He entered the institute and a young, dark-skinned girl that looked like she was about his age sat on his desk. She looked strangely familiar to Danny and her facial expression started out looking positive but quickly metamorphasized into disgust. She stated grimmly as she turned away, “I swore to my dear mom that I would never lay eyes that evil woman and her son ever again. I've broken that oath”.