chapter 3

To say Opoloo Island was tiny would be an understatement. There was only enough room for ten families, each of which had lived on the island for several generations. The fact that the island was too small for development was a blessing in disguise because it really WAS a tropical paradise. White sandy beaches. Inviting tide pools. A large lagoon in the center of the island which held more than enough fresh water for all the inhabitants. Bananas grew all over the place as did coconuts and a wide variety of tropical fruits. There were goats for milk and chickens for eggs and meat. All in all a tropical paradise indeed!

What was curious to Heather though was the total absence of any research or laboratory facilities. There were ten huts on the island, enough to house the native population and a rather large Quonset hut located within ten or so feet of the lagoon. There was no electricity and thus no computers. Probably the best word to use to describe the accommodations on the island was primitive. It made Heather wonder just WHAT she was going to DO there. But then her thoughts went back to $75,000 a year and all her "pertinent" questions were answered.

She was told to pack light only it wasn't until she showed up on the company yacht that she found out just HOW light. She could only take what she could fit into a medium size duffel bag; one skirt, four blouses, five pairs of shorts, six tee shirts, one pair of tennis shoes, and a pair of sandals. She managed to stuff in some shampoo, a bar of soap, toothpaste and a toothbrush, and a comb. To tell you the truth, she felt a bit like Robinson Crusoe about to be stranded on a desert island.

A company representative accompanied her to the island and he introduced her to all the inhabitants who had gathered on the beach. What struck Heather the most was just how fat everyone on the island was. Not just run of the mill, I let myself go fat either, but morbidly obese fat. It didn't worry her that much. She figured she was probably there to observe the native diet and take note of physical condition of the inhabitants.

One of the young men from the leading family on the island took her duffel bag and headed off into a wooded area somewhere in the distance. Heather was lead to the Quonset hut where she made herself to home. There was a soft, big bed and an over-sized sofa along with a table with a big basin on it. That was the extent of the furnishings. There was no running water, but being as close to the lagoon as she was, water was the least of her problems.

She felt exhausted. The long voyage to island and the effects of jet lag made her incredibly sleepy so she stretched herself out on the bed and fell fast asleep. She didn't know how long she had been out, although it DID look as if it was the middle of the afternoon, meaning she had been out for eighteen hours. Her toiletries were laid out on the table next to the basin and someone had considerately filled the basin with water. Heather washed up, brushed her teeth and dressed herself.

As she opened the door she saw a rather large bowl that contained something that resembled pudding. There were no utensils, just the bowl. She flagged down a woman who passed her hut and asked what the bowl contained and the woman said in perfect English, "Why, that's your breakfast. ENJOY!" Heather rather gingerly dipped four fingers into the "pudding" and began to eat. She was sure the main ingredient was bananas with a wide assortment of tropical fruit and she was convinced that all that fruit had been mixed with some kind of milk or cream, maybe coconut milk, maybe goat's milk. Well, no matter WHAT it was, it was delicious and Heather finished the whole bowl and still felt as if she could make room for more. But right at that moment, she was overwhelmed with an intense sense of exhaustion and so she headed back to the hut and lay down to sleep.

When she got up a few hours later, there was another bowl at her doorway. This time it was a bit larger and the "pudding" tasted sweeter, as if it had been laced with a large amount of honey. This only stimulated Heather's appetite and she finished the whole bowl in a matter of minutes, actually licking the bowl to pick up the remaining pudding that adhered to the bowl. Yet again, Heather was overwhelmed with a sense of exhaustion and once again she fell into a deep sleep.

When she awakened this time, there was something that resembled a trough in front of her door and it was brimming with what looked like creamed chicken soup. Heather tentatively reached down to taste the concoction and she could definitely taste the chicken and it seemed as if it had been cooked with a large amount of coconut milk. Although her previous two meals were sufficiently large to have filled her up for the day, there was something about the soup and made her feel ravenous. At first she started to eat the soup as delicately as she could but in no time at all she was gulping and snorting all the way down to the bottom of the trough, after which she let out a rather loud belch, scratched her by now bulging belly and headed back to the hut to sleep off her "dinner".

Whatever concerns she had harbored about her job and her duties and responsibilities on the island seemed to melt away. She seemed to live in a hazy existence of eating and sleeping, totally unconcerned at at peace with herself. The only word that seemed to apply was CONTENT!