The Water Walls

By iLana Markarov

One island, dangerous on the outside, surrounded by walls of Tsunami turbulating in place, The Water Walls. Dangerous on the inside, wildlife beyond anyone's imagination, especially after sunset, the villagers lock themselves up in their tree huts. Their motto for anyone remaining outside after sunset? "Forgive, Forget, and Move On." One girl, Isla, questions whether she was born inside of a prison, especially with the village's rulers, The Triple Force, always on her back about the wedding competition, a competition where both men and women fight to wed someone they don't love. Isla looks for a way off of the island every day, not realizing that she is always a step closer to learning the truth behind "Forgive, Forget, and Move On."
 

A great fantasy and romance read for fans of The Maze Runner, Divergent, and The Hunger Games of a dystopian world mixed with a new element: philosophy, packed with philosophical messages that will have you transform your thinking by the end.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iLana Markarov
• Release date: Aug 27, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201247911

Book preview

~ 1 ~

Slash, swipe! Slash, swipe! That was all I heard as I cut my way through the jungle with my curved blade, creating new paths, hopefully finding something new and interesting, something that I’ve never explored before. Unfortunately, once again, I was slapped in the face with bad news. This path, just like all others, led straight to the beach.

The beach stretched far and long with beautiful white sand, so pure that you could put it through a sieve and all the sand would go straight through with nothing left behind. Beyond the beach was a beautiful ocean, a dazzling blue near the shallows that slowly seeped into a really dark and mysterious cerulean. Everything sparkled underneath the evening sun. This ocean had a sort of dangerous beauty to it as, just along the horizon, there stood a huge mass of water touching the sky.

Water Walls.

The Water Walls were giant Tsunami waves that never reached the shores, just living, breathing, endless cycles of turbulating water surrounding the whole island. One was most likely to drown trying to get there, and would definitely drown as soon as they reached them.

This was the main reason why nobody tried to get off of this island for a couple of generations now. The villagers have lived here long enough to forget about the world and the people outside of these natural borders. At the beginning, many tried to leave. They built boats and ships, but all disappeared at the massive walls of water, never to return. A few days later, the beaches were littered with splinters of wood. This, of course, had given us enough information about what happened to those villagers.

After the first ten years, the villagers finally stopped trying and gave up. They started to settle down and all hope of leaving or someone rescuing them had vanished. During these dark years, some villagers had gone crazy. So they either threw themselves off of Ghost Cliff, tried to swim towards the Water Walls, or found other ways to end with their lives. As bad as it sounds, it’s not so bad here, at least not anymore. We finally adapted to the island. We learned how to survive with the weird vegetation and the enormous Beasts, at least, that’s what we were told. I was born on this rock, so everything looked ordinary to me.

Although everything was finally sane and as normal as it could possibly be, I couldn’t take it anymore! I could not stand it, being on this overgrown boulder. There was nothing to do here. We did the same thing every... single...day! Over and over again! I knew every single speck of the area that we were allowed to venture in, and I was tired of it all. I wished that I was allowed to go outside the borders and find my true calling. Every single day, I explored, searching for something. Perhaps something new and exotic, or maybe something, just something, to give me a clue on how to get off of this treacherous island. Every day, my hopes vanished piece by piece, but I pulled myself together again and kept on trying.

The sun was beginning to set, reminding me once again of how extremely beautiful the evenings were on this island. The sky turned into a potent mix of red and orange followed by the last three colors of the rainbow. These colors continued to shine and shimmer on the water’s surface. The Water Walls turned red, as if they were now walls of scorching fire sent from the skies above. It was truly mesmerizing; however, I was only able get a glimpse of such a wonder as it indicated that I had to head back to the village since the day was coming to an end.

Due to my great sense of direction and instincts, I knew exactly how to get to my destination. I’m not being smug or anything, it’s just something that I was born with and the results don’t lie. As my instincts told me, I picked up the pace from a jog to a run. I needed to get to my tree hut before the nocturnal Beasts started to come out with their ear splitting shrieks and screams. Everybody knew that the nights on this island were the most dangerous of all. All the animals and insects became mad and demon like. It’s quite scary, sad even.

The night was always beautiful here, at least, that’s what I assumed whenever I peeked through the cracks of the boarded up hole in my wall that we called a window. It would be nice to have a bonfire on the beach for once, which seemed to be a lot of fun based on the stories that were passed down to us by our great-grandparents. My favourite stories were the ones about the days before the villagers crashed here, back to when they lived on the main land with, millions of people, as my great-grandma once described. That was truly hard to imagine when one lived on an island with a population that can easily be counted at a village meeting.

Following the same path that I created earlier, all I heard were the sounds of my breath, as well as leaves, pebbles, and other natural debris crunching under my feet as I jumped and climbed over some roots while ducking and crawling under others. Since it was always so hot here, the soil was damp. Whenever the debris cleared, my feet sunk into the soil. I needed to get to the tree hut faster because, quite soon, myself would not be the only sound I’d hear.

Finally, I reached the village, which used to consist of only sixty-three survivors when they first crashed. Now there were a lot more. I didn’t really bother with the numbers. The villagers lived in tree huts located high up and had a system of bridges that connected different homes, buildings, branches, and trees together to make it easier to visit each other or do business with. Sometimes, feuds between families would occur and they would burn that bridge, literally. This made it harder to access certain areas and people that didn’t have good abilities had to climb all the way down to the bottom, run over to the right tree or branch, and climb back up. However, no matter how different we all were, we were like one big family.

Having memorized the position of every ladder and its destination, I found the one that led to my tree hut, stretching far above me, and began to make my way up. The ladder was made out of wood so sturdy that one could mistake it for colored metal, at least, that’s what I’ve been told.

Half way to the top, I looked back towards a small partition in the leaves, the breeze gently brushing my face. The sun was almost fully gone and the sky was already becoming increasingly dark with a bit of indigo left on the horizon. This meant that I was moments away from my family barricading the door and leaving me outside to be devoured by the night. Don’t get me wrong, my family was not as bad as you might think, but this was a rule that The Triple Force created. It stated something like this:

If anything happens to our brothers and sisters, we must forgive, forget, and move on. We must stay put and barricade all doors, if not, then we will die a death that is more painful than anything of this world. If they are out there, then there is no more hope for them. Remember, forgive, forget, and move on.

Yep, that was our nice little motto, "forgive, forget, and move on." Personally, I thought that that was terrible advice because there is always hope for everyone. If I was part of The Triple Force council, then I would’ve definitely made some changes around here.

I stepped onto the landing that my tree hut stood on. The ground below me disappeared as I was too high up and it was too dark for it to be seen. The tree hut was built with dark, sturdy wood all around and only four giant leaves for the roof. It was all held together by a vine that was so thick that it would be impossible to break or even burn. The hut was made out of fallen bits and pieces from the strongest types of trees in the jungle that we called Steelics. I think I remember my great-grandma telling me that the name was taken from some kind of really strong material that, back in the old days, people called "steel".

Whoever made up that name was not very creative, I thought at the time.

The wooden door creaked open as I walked into the hut, which immediately opened up into one giant room. This was an all-in-one room, often used as a kitchen, family room, dining room, or guest room. It had four doors in the walls. Three of them were bedrooms for my mom and dad, my grandparents, and myself while the last one was the bathroom. It wasn’t necessarily the biggest hut, just a standard one that was given to all of the average families, but it was enough since our family was pretty small.

The interior temperature was always moderate, not too cold and not too hot, just the way my family and I liked it. The smells inside were amazing, a mix of spices and roots. This type of smell always told me one thing, we were going to have a giant bird for dinner called a Hugen. Huge hen, real smart right? Who came up with these names? Anyways, the hunt must’ve gone well if we were going to have something so big and vicious for dinner.

As soon as I took off my boots, I looked up and saw mom and dad glaring at me with their arms crossed. My grandparents sat carelessly at the round table, already used to the scolding that my parents gave me every other day.

As always, I asked, What?

And as always, my parents replied with a question, Do you know what time it is, Isla?

I opened my mouth to speak, but was interrupted by mom, It is dark. The sun is almost gone. And only now are you standing at our doorway. You know perfectly well that you have to be here before the sun touches the ground and no later than that. We almost barricaded the door! Do you know what could’ve happened to you out there on your own? We’d have to obey the rules and we’d have to...

I said it with them, "Forgive, forget, and move on."

"Don’t roll your eyes at us, this is not a joke! Not one villager would’ve come to your aid, not even the guards, and you would’ve been left on your own to die. You’re grounded young lady! Tomorrow, you will not leave the hut. You will stay indoors all day and scrub the floor, cook the food, and yes, clean the bathroom."

"But that is so not fair! You know that it is never my job to clean the bathroom or even do anything inside the house! You always tell me to be outside and do whatever I want so that I could develop myself! Even hunt if I want to and that’s a male job!"

Yes, honey, my mother replied, "but clearly we’ve given you too many privileges and we’ll have to take strong measures from now on. If you cannot get here on time, then you might as well be here all the time. And we advise you not to use that tone with us or your punishment will be cleaning the whole village's waste! Now Frank, she turned to dad, the sun is completely gone. Please barricade the door while I set the table. After that, we can eat."

No thanks, I’m not hungry. I’ll just go to bed, I grumbled. I went to my room, shut the door, and slumped onto my wooden bed.

What are we going to do with her, Frank? my mother sighed, her voice carried through the walls. When is she going to learn to listen to us? I just want to protect her.

I know, Maria, honey... my father chimed in as he barricaded the door. Slam! I know... we both do, but we can’t do anything about it. She has to learn that for herself. Even if it does mean learning it the hard way. After he put the third, and last, thick piece of wood across the door, Slam! I stopped listening.

My parents didn’t understand what it was like. They grew up under The Triple Force rules when they were just coming into place. The rules, being new and popular, had everyone excited to try them out and see where they would lead them, especially since the village had a huge population drop due to famine, low birth rates, and more. Everyone looked to The Triple Force to find a new way, to give them hope. And so, a new system was established.

From the moment we were born to the day we turned eighteen, our education revolved around one main subject, marriage. The only thing that they cared about was teaching us on how to be good husbands and wives, and our roles and purposes within the village’s system. We were born practically knowing what we were going to do for the rest of our existence. Of course, it wasn’t our choice. It was all based on our skills and a much calibrated system design. The most successful system, as they put it, created thus far to ensure the survival of our village, a model that hasn’t been altered since its first creation.

The people loved it, everything was already pre-planned and they didn’t have to think or worry about their futures. They didn’t have to try so hard to attract a wife or work towards a career. They felt safe within a system that has already provided everything for them.

The villagers saw it as an ideal form, not realizing what they’ve signed up for; however, I knew. It was an easy way to control us while pretending to save us. It started with the control of the wives. By controlling the wives, they controlled the husbands and so they ended up controlling the entire population. It’s quite easy to control a population by subjugating the wives into doing only one thing, taking care of the house. The wives were unable to provide for their family while the husbands were kept extremely busy by trying to provide for their entire household.

Both, men and women, were now subjugated to the inability to find the freedom or time to do or create anything else, anything new, anything successful. They didn’t even have the time to think about something that wasn’t related to their duties. And it definitely didn’t help with the time constraint of being back inside the hut before darkness. They were all slaves to the system and didn’t even realize it.

When both people have the free will to do whatever they want to and provide for themselves however they choose to without any limitations or constraints, that is where the true power and freedom lies. But what do I know? It’s clearly all in my head since I’m only seventeen.

Yes, seventeen, and yes, my marriage ceremony was just around the corner. That was why I’d been searching for a way off of this island more frequently and frantically these days. I’m not ready to marry anyone! I won’t do it!

It was one of the major rules that The Triple Force developed: as soon as a few females and males turned eighteen, they’d have to get married. In order to do so, they’d need to go through a series of competitions to see who was worthy of marrying and having kids.

I thought about that... or... more like wasted my time thinking about that every single night as I tried to peer out of my barred window cracks. The terrible shrieks and screams outside told me that the worst and most vicious Beasts had come out. Eventually, I was lulled to sleep by the terrors as the candle light caught a glistening tear streaking down my cheek.

~ 2 ~

I awakened to the sun pouring in through the cracks, illuminating my room. The screams of terror were gone and the world felt peaceful once more with the giant flying Beasts chirping loudly outside. I was told that, once upon a time, the sounds of the island and the Water Walls were extremely deafening to the survivors’ sensitive ears, deafening to the point of insanity, another reason to why many ended with their lives. While others adapted and the new born came into this world with less sensitive hearing abilities so that the sounds of the island didn’t bother them.

Looking around, everything was as it should be: a wooden table with a wooden chair neatly tucked in, and the closet door open with all of my clothes peeking out. The clothes were similar to one another... at least that’s what I told myself to make things more interesting since they were actually all exactly the same. They were made from plant based materials and then soaked in green color for camouflage.

And so, aside from the bed, that was the whole tour of my little room. Some people unbarred their windows as soon as they got out of bed, just like their main doors. I didn’t bother with it. I only stayed inside the house to eat and sleep, but my real life was outside.

Happily walking into the main room, I was up before everyone else, as always, and was ready to get the day started by heading outside. My smile faded as soon as I remembered that I was supposed to be indoors, under house arrest, for the entire day. Sighing and grumbling under my breath, I got breakfast started.

I cooked up a few egg omelets made from one giant egg that was split between our neighbours. The eggs, fruits, vegetables, meat, and other products were always divided between multiple neighbours at a time as one product was enough to feed several families. Everything was humongous and had to be dragged or carried many men, where upon reaching the village they were evenly split to accommodate everyone. As long as everyone performed their role, they received the basic food required for survival, whereas special products or delicacies, such as cocoa beans, had to be traded for.

By the time my parents, grandparents, and I sat down and started munching, the sun was already a quarter of the way up. Great, I thought sarcastically, only three more quarters until this day is over. If I get lucky, it’ll pass in a flash.

After we finished eating, I started my work. This included cleaning the table, dishes, every other available surface in the hut and... the toilet. The toilet, if you wanted to know what it looked like, was one of those types that gathered waste and, once it was three quarters of the way up, somebody had to scoop it up with a shovel and dump it into a bucket. Then, just like the rest of the villagers, they’d take the bucket to a huge hole that was located far away on the outskirts of the village. They’d dig into the soil, dump it in there, and then finish the process by covering the waste with soil on top. If you thought that’s disgusting, well then, you’re lucky that you didn’t have to do it. I just hoped that I didn’t gag in the process.

*

On my way back from the village’s waste, I was accompanied by a boy who was soon to be a man, Caspian. Mother mentioned that she had asked him to keep an eye on me so that I didn’t run off elsewhere. Despite not being happy about his company, I couldn’t avoid him forever.

So... what’s up? I broke the silence.

Nothing much, just, you know... keeping you within my sights, Caspian replied with a very dazzling smile. His eyes twinkled very brightly from the sun, a deep blue, the color of the ocean. His mud colored hair hid them from time to time. Caspian was a pretty nice kid. Actually, he was a childhood...umm... acquaintance to be exact, yet... some might call him my friend. I wasn’t much of a people person, I just liked to keep to myself and my thoughts, and so I kept wishing that he’d go away.

Yeah, about that... I started, I’m sorry about my mom. She can be very-

No, no, it’s fine, Caspian quickly interrupted, and you don’t always have to apologize for her, you know? Don’t be mad at her. She’s a very nice person who’s just trying to protect you. Trying to keep you safe. You understand that, right?

I don’t always apologize for her... I grumbled. Who was this guy trying to tell me what to do and what not to do? How did he always figure things out before I even formed a complete sentence? See, this was why there was no point in talking to him, just one word and he’d begin and finish the entire conversation himself, as if I’d already said everything.

Leave me alone! I wished in my mind.

"I don’t need any advice from you, irritated, I tried to hint at who was in control here. I know my mother a lot more than you do, just hurry up so that I can finish my duties..." I was just about to say, as far away from you as possible, but decided against it. Who knew? He might become my husband if they pair us up after the competition. I didn’t want him to hate me till death did us part.

Okay, okay...feisty today, aren’t you? What got you so hot headed? Just don’t get your knickers in a twist, he smirked. I just ignored him and walked ahead.

What the heck are knickers?

Soon enough, we mumbled our goodbyes and dispersed in different directions.

The day had gone by extremely slowly, opposite to what I expected. I became delirious from exhaustion and began mumbling about how life isn’t fair and how mean my parents were for making me do this. My hands were scrubbed clean, even some parts of my skin began to blister from cleaning everything possible.

My parents were pretty happy, although my grandma mumbled something about being as slow as a slug, comparing me to how well she used to clean back in the day and how I missed a few spots here and there. I didn’t mind though. I just slumped into bed and fell asleep, forgetting what was awaiting me the next day.

*

As soon as I awakened, I found myself at Ghost Cliff. The cliffs spread far and stood tall over the ocean as its waves crashed against them, spurring water into the air. There was a strong breeze today; still, I loved to sit here, no matter the weather. To sit here and think, so close to the edge, with my hands holding my tucked-in knees, all that I craved to do at that moment as the wind played with my hair. This was always my favourite spot to go to when I needed some time to myself and process a few things.

Today, I was going to be meeting the wedding competition candidates. Even though I already knew who they were, I still had a lurching feeling in my stomach.

Lost in thought, I kept trying to map out the routes and places that I’ve been to, looking for a way to escape through my memories. I haven’t missed any sections within the permitted borders, which technically stretched as far as one wanted to as long as the villager had enough time and physical ability to get back before sundown. One could get pretty far within half of a daylight’s run forward and half of a daylight’s run back, but clearly not far enough.

I continued to rummage through my brain, to find something, anything, that would’ve given me a clue. Perhaps even proof of the existence of one of those story-told huge metallic birds that might’ve crashed here a long time ago.

Nothing. That was what I found. Nothing.

The way to escape must be somewhere beyond the borders, somewhere farther into the island.

Hey Isla! Caspian startled me from my trance, a smile shined through his mud stricken face. Just like me, he was covered in mud and plants to hide his human stench from the Beasts, which was the most important basic survival rule to follow when one left the village. A rule that I took to heart after almost being killed by a Beast that tracked me the entire day until I camouflaged myself.

What is wrong with you? I raised my voice as my fight or flight instincts came in. Who the hell scares someone like that? It was obvious that I was someplace else!

Actually, believe it or not, I called your name five times, Caspian started to defend himself, putting up five fingers in the air. I just figured that you were ignoring me like you do most of the time... Anyways, I just ran here to let you know that the competition ceremony begins at a quarter morning, sharp. Your mom asked me to remind you. He rubbed the back of his head. I figured you’d be here... anyways... I wouldn’t want to disturb you any longer, so...see ya! And... in case that I don’t get a chance to say this later... good luck.

Caspian’s gaze remained on me a little longer, almost drowning me in his personal oceans. Then he turned and walked off. I felt guilty as I watched him walk away, especially since he was right. I was probably going to ignore him anyways, no matter if I heard him call the first five times or not. The only factor that made this situation reasonable was that I actually didn’t hear him this time.

Wow, I must be really desperate for an escape if I didn’t notice him with my sharp senses. What if something actually attacked me?

What bothered me the most was that he knew that I’d be here, how? I was the only one that came to this place, to this spot in particular. I’ve never told anyone about it and made sure that I wasn’t followed. Hmm... I better start keeping an eye on him.

The thing that you should know about Caspian was that we’ve known each other since birth and that he stuck to me most of my life. Although I didn’t remember very well, I knew that we were good friends before. This was very hard to imagine since, for quite some time now, I’ve been treating him like he doesn’t exist... well, for the most part.

These days, Caspian mostly came around and helped mom whenever she had a task related to me, which was usually checking up on me, reminding me of certain things, and so on. The only reason he was putting in so much effort was because he wanted to hang out together, just for old time’s sake. At least, that was what I thought, I’ve never actually asked him. Anyways, it didn’t concern me, I didn’t have time to be anyone’s friend and I clearly had extremely diverse interests and goals from everybody else. Like getting off of this divine-forsaken island.

Besides, I couldn’t become too close to anyone right now or else it’d be a lot harder to let go once I left the island. There was no use of trying to convince anybody into joining me either since most thought that I was crazy or too young to have a logical thought process. And so, I continued to push everyone as far away as possible, things were a lot easier when one didn’t feel anything.

I got up and headed back to my hut to get ready for the ceremony. Right after that, the competition would commence.

~ 3 ~

The entire village, aside from the guards that were protecting it, had gathered inside a huge hut, probably thirty times the size of my family’s. I wore a slim dress that was a bit darker than the color of cranberries, which actually used to be the color of some white plant that it was developed from, but my family insisted on dipping it into a beet juice mix. This created a beautiful rippling ombre effect from the lightness of the top to the darkness of the bottom and made an interesting contrast with my emerald eyes.

I sat in the front row, my brown hair tied back with a pretty golden clip, a relic from the main land that was used only for special occasions. To be honest, the only thing pretty about my head at that moment was the clip. I hate my hair! I was lucky enough to be able to tame it today.

Looking left to right, I waited for The Triple Force to come in and take their seats on the raised platform in front of us. Everyone sat on their wooden chairs that they brought over from their huts, catching up with one another and patiently waiting.

Squuueeeaaaaak, BOOM! The doors opened and slammed shut. The audience immediately muted. It was so quiet that I could hear ringing in my ears. After a few moments, I began to pick up faint steps slowly working their way through the aisle and onto the stage.

The Triple Force wore blood red cloaks that stretched all the way to the bottom of their feet. Had they been young, they probably would've fit quite nicely, instead they looked like vultures on a mission.

An old legend had been passed down that these three raisiny men battled a ferocious Beast that threatened the villagers back in the day. After it was destroyed, a lot of blood spilled into its giant footprint. That was when they decided to take their long, thick cloaks, and dipped them into the blood. After that, The Triple Force was born.

Another major part of The Triple Force’s wardrobe were the pure golden crowns on their heads, which were created by joining and reshaping many old relics that the villagers owned. All the members looked exactly the same, especially with their very long, grey beards. The only way to tell the difference between them were their long staffs made out of a beautifully polished red wood, where each contained a different golden symbol at the top: a wave, a leaf, and a skull.

The Triple Force members ascended onto the stage and placed themselves in front of their specially made thrones. Each throne was specifically designed and catered to what each Triple Force member represented. The member who held the wave staff sat on a wooden throne that was carved into an awkward, wavy masterpiece. Nobody knew where its legs went while the arms were carved in strange directions. The throne didn’t look stable, but the fact that it had the ability to hold