The Beach

Richard laments having to leave half of his belongings and cigarettes behind for the swim to the secret beach. Richard is sure to bring the map and an extra set of clothes. Françoise guesses that the beach is one kilometer away. The swim is easy at first, but soon becomes tiresome, and the island does not seem to be getting any closer. Richard soon finds that his legs kick despite their numbness and pain, they arrive eventually at the shore and flop down in exhaustion.

Richard describes his ceiling at home, which is covered in a hundred glow stars, planets, constellations, and meteors. He remarks that “Glow stars are strange. They make the ceiling disappear” (73). Richard has insomnia and awakes to find Françoise looking at a passing satellite in the sky. He tells Françoise about infinite parallel universes, and how there is a planet out there in which everything happens. After Françoise goes to sleep, Richard continues reflecting on this, musing on how somewhere there is a place where he and Françoise kiss.

The shore where they arrived at is on the opposite end of the island from the beach, so after eating, Richard and the others set out for freshwater and to make their way there. The only way to the beach is through the jungle, and it proves to be thick, humid, and full of life. They find themselves at a muddy slope and slowly pull themselves up; at the top is a flat shelf with a clear view of the surrounding islands and jungle before them. Richard is so dazed he does not realize they are standing in a huge field of cannabis plants. When two men appear, Richard and Etienne realize they are in trouble. They look for Françoise, who reappears and starts talking. Richard panics and covers her mouth. They hide in a shallow divot in the ground and wait, and Richard notices that the men are carrying rifles. The men talk to one another and then leave, and Etienne tells Richard, “I don’t want to die here. You must get us out” (81).

Richard is forced to take charge as Etienne and Françoise lie panicked in the leaves. He decides they should press forward and look for the beach. The next few hours are a haze as they all recover from the shock of their discovery. They reach the top of cliffs that surround a secret lagoon and find themselves with no other way to move ahead but to jump down the cliffside waterfall into a pool below. Richard is nervous, but reasons that because the trees around seem old and the pebbles below his feet are smooth, there is likely a basin worn away at the bottom of the waterfall. Suddenly feeling tired of all the struggles and setbacks of the journey, Richard decides to jump. He lands in the water without issue, screaming for joy. As Richard sits waiting for his friends to follow, a man appears, deeply tanned and covered in facial hair. He compliments Richard on jumping within such a short period of time.

The man (Jed) calls Richard an “FNG” (Fucking New Guy), a Vietnam War term. Richard jokes he has been here before, just in his dreams. As they approach the camp, Richard notices it has several bamboo huts and a large gathering house. The light around the camp is dimmer than it should be, as there are large branches covering it to prevent being seen by planes flying overhead. Three people, Sal, Bugs, and Cassie, approach Richard and the others to introduce themselves. Sal does all the talking and seems friendly. She offers food just as Richard faints from exhaustion and hunger.

Richard awakes in a daze, seeing blood around him and wondering when Daffy is going to show up. He starts talking to Daffy and taunting him when Bugs interrupts. Richard asks if he is named after Bugs Bunny, and Bugs admits that he is. Françoise approaches and explains to Richard that he is not dreaming; the blood he sees is from his own head. Françoise tucks him in and coaxes him back to sleep, kissing him on the cheek, and Richard is then certain he must be dreaming. He sees Daffy above him in his sleep, and his blood drips down on Richard. Richard cannot distinguish between what is real, a dream, or a hallucination.

Richard comes to awareness mid-morning the next day and sees Sal sitting in front of him. Richard tells Sal of how he met Daffy and discovered the map, and she is perturbed that he had to find Daffy in that state. Sal sits silently without reacting as Richard shares all his experiences, and the only thing he leaves out is his sharing of the map with the two other tourists before Richard, Etienne, and Françoise left for the beach. Sal returns to her friendly state and comments on how people normally do not find their way to the beach. When Sal describes the environment as a beach resort, Richard is skeptical, and Sal soon admits it is more than that—it is an escape from beach resorts. She explains that the marijuana growers on the other side of the island keep to themselves and vice versa. Richard presses Sal for more information, asking about Daffy, to which Sal replies that he was a friend, and then leaves.

Richard explores the encampment and finds the bamboo huts are used for storage and food preparation, the tents for sleeping, and the longhouse for gatherings. In one of the tents, he spots a Game Boy. Richard wonders how they get food and supplies to the island and where all the people are, though he can sometimes hear voices nearby. Even Etienne and Françoise are nowhere to be found, and Richard feels paranoid and abandoned. He finds his way to the beach, which comes as a relief at first, and gazes up at the cliffs, feeling protected but also somewhat imprisoned. Finally, he spots a few people spearfishing in the water and is relieved. He sits on the shore and watches them, amazed at their skill.

The six people in the water emerge, and Richard notices Françoise and Etienne are among them. Etienne is happy to see that Richard is feeling better and introduces him to the others. Françoise seems distant and cold, and Richard wonders what he said to her in his delirious state. On the way back to camp, Richard catches Françoise and asks her if something strange is going on. Françoise asks if he is worried about having confessed his love for her, and Richard describes her forwardness as being like an Exocet (a French missile designed to destroy airships). Françoise assures him he said nothing odd, and when she leaves to catch up with Etienne, Richard feels isolated once again.

When they return to camp, Richard sees that all the people have returned. There are 30 or so. He notices one man sitting with the Game Boy he spotted earlier and decides to approach him as the man yells “Game Over” (110). Richard enjoys video games and loves the moments before a Game Over when tension is high, and all the best moves are used: “the split second is the moment you comprehend you’re just about to die” (111). He muses how different people react to dying in a video game, thinking it must be similar to how they react to their actual deaths. Richard asks the man how he is doing on his game, and the man (Keaty) offers to let Richard play.

Richard thinks back on his first serious breakup and how he dealt with it by leaving the country to travel. He finds this strategy works well, and after a second day on the beach, life outside slowly slips away. He does not question life on the beach, watching as people eat little else but rice. On top of that, he feels as if he has already fully assimilated; everyone knows his name, and he has a bunk laid out for him. Forgetting about Sammy and Zeph and the world outside, Richard notes a familiar saying, “In an all-blue world, color doesn’t exist” (116). In other words, life on the beach seems normal because the rest of the world is so far away.

Richard quickly falls into a routine on the island, waking up with Keaty and Etienne to swim in the mornings, having breakfast with everyone, and then dispersing for work (which in Richard, Etienne, and Françoise’s case means fishing). They form a group with Gregorio, and Richard is grateful to be a fisher and not a gardener or kitchen prepper. He would have settled for carpentry working under Bugs’s leadership. He notes how Bugs is Sal’s boyfriend, and Sal is the unofficial leader of the camp. Jed seems to be a wanderer, often stealing pot from the fields to bring back to camp. In the longhouse where most people sleep, they often play a game of saying goodnight to each person in succession, memorizing who has been named as they go. Richard finds it endearing and it makes him feel included.

A month has passed on the beach. It is a Sunday, and everyone is off work for the day. As many of the group play soccer, Richard and Keaty sit out on a boulder in the water. Keaty muses how much he hates garden work, and then they decide to go swimming. Keaty swims back to grab the swimming mask for diving, and Richard searches the cliff face for a split in the rock where Gregorio pointed out the best coral lies beneath.

Richard sinks down to the bottom of the water and gazes at the corals. He sees a sea cucumber on the sand in front of him and touches it, noticing how soft it is. He feels like a fish as he looks around and watches the life around him simply exist, and then soon floats back up to the surface where Keaty is sitting on the rock. On the rock, they smoke a joint and discuss all the exotic destinations they each have traveled to. Richard asks about Daffy, wanting to know more about him, and Keaty cryptically replies that he will take Richard to “the tree by the waterfall” (127) tomorrow.

Bugs gives Richard, Françoise, and Etienne their seashell necklaces, signifying their official assimilation with the group. Richard’s has a starfish arm in the middle, and he feels grateful to be receiving it. Richard is unsure how to read Bugs, observing that he is often silent, competitive, tough, and cold at times. That night, Richard starts the goodnight naming ritual, and is beyond relieved when it picks up just like it normally does. He feels like he is one of them.

Etienne and Richard sit out on the rocks, fishing and discussing how perfect life on the beach is. Richard heads back to the shore to meet up with Keaty, gazing at the corals below him as he swims. He walks to the waterfall and along the cliff up to the garden, thinking about how the waterfall “represents a link between the lagoon and the outside world” (134), and this makes him uncomfortable as he prefers to forget the outside world exists. Richard and Keaty head to a tree that Richard compares to a rocket ship. Keaty shows Richard some markings on the tree that indicate three names: Daffy, Sylvester (Sal), and Bugs, the first three people to come to the beach and start the encampment in 1989. The names are accompanied by two zeros, signifying the “year zero” (137) that their new lives began.

Richard feels a newfound respect for Daffy as he wanders back to the coral garden to find Etienne. He thinks about the determination that Daffy and the other two must have had in coming to the beach, not knowing what they might find. Instead of finding Etienne, Richard finds Gregorio, who warns Richard that Etienne and Françoise are having sex and to leave them alone. This saddens Richard, so he goes back to the tents and plays on Keaty’s Game Boy. He plays Mario and discusses the tactics needed to beat bosses. The device runs out of batteries, and Richard must wait until the next run to the mainland to play again.

A leak in the roof ruins the rice. Keaty mentions how a run to the mainland for rice means returning to the real world, but Richard thinks it will be fine. Jed and Richard volunteer to go, and Etienne asks if Richard is “bored of Eden” (144). Richard is reminded of Zeph; he is jarred by the thought.

Richard stares into the corals and starts to envision them as piles of dead bodies. Daffy appears and teases him, and Richard notices he is no longer bleeding. When Daffy offers to shake Richard’s hand, blood starts spurting out of his wrists and all over Richard. Richard does not find this funny, but Daffy does. Daffy asks Richard who he plans to bring back from the mainland and Richard finds this question confusing. As Daffy disappears into the water below, Richard is left alone to ponder.