Fantasy Islands

Chapter 3

Friends

7:00pm

I sighed, never removing my eyes from the ceiling. What was wrong with me? I should be more excited! I was on a ship—a cruise ship no less—with real live cartoon characters! I should be bouncing off the walls. Not lying in a bed feeling disheartened. Yet, here I am. Though, it shouldn't surprise me. I haven't exactly been myself lately. Not as happy and enthusiastic as I normally, well, use to, act. Sometimes I can be that way, though. A child with no worries and finding everything full of pleasure and good fortune; but it comes at random and, of course, not when I need it to. Maybe it's part of growing up, I would often tell myself. It just happens, just because, and you'll be yourself again soon. I hate being serious.

After the ship had set sail, I had taken a small look around. Scrooge had suggested it to me so I wouldn't get lost. The ship was pretty big. I couldn't compare it to anything in my memory, however, since I have never actually seen a ship. The closes I've ever been on a ship-like-boat was Donald's home in Toon Town at Disneyland. I suppose that doesn't actually count though, does it? I have been on all kinds of little lake boats before, but those are nothing compared to being on a ship.

Anyways, I took his advice and gave myself small and brief tour. I was even afraid of getting lost, so I didn't want to look around much. Plus, I was actually feeling kind of tired. Not sure how or why, considering where I was.

I had found my room and had plopped on the bed, which brings us up to now. It had been easy to find my room, if you were wondering, for my bags were in one of the rooms. Coincidentally, the first room I had walked into was the one they were in. Can we say luck? Or mystical mind powers! Nah, just kidding; always luck or a hunch. Either way, once I had gotten inside I lied on the bed and have been starring at the ceiling for the past… maybe, twenty minutes?

I felt tired, yes, but I couldn't sleep. I didn't want to yet. I couldn't. Something was bothering me, and it was the same recurring question. What am I doing here?

No, not a question of what my life's meaning is. What am I doing on this ship? Why did they bring me here? Why the email invitations? Why was I a gullible, naive idiot? As exciting and unbelievable as this all was, there was that side of me telling me how stupid I was for even accepting the invite. For coming with them. For all I know, this could be a trick, a scheme, anything but innocent cartoon fantasy. It seemed like a logical thing to think and consider, at least with how the world is today, you wouldn't be able to help but think that if one was to receive the same email. It's what all of our parents teach us to consider so we don't get hurt. What we have to take cautions for as we grow into adults, for the world isn't a kind place and there is always someone out there who wants to harm you; whether you are their direct target or not. The world is indeed full of dangerous people, no one can deny that, and this could very well be one of their tricks to lour innocent people into their grasp and do whatever it is they do.

A side of me kept telling me this… But I can't even consider nor think it. As regretting as it would be if that was true, I simply could not accept that this was what this was. These characters were alive, solid, living, breathing, beings. The very heart of innocence and imagination. It was inhuman to think they could be anything else. But I knew, I was certain, they were indeed in need of something; that much I was positive about. They were keeping something from me, the true reason for all of this; but why leave me in the dark? If they truly needed me—or anyone if I wasn't the only one to respond to that email—then why not explain why? Why keep secrets?

That's the reason none of this felt right. I didn't like the thought of them bringing me to some uncharted island, wherever it was, and not telling me why. A free trip to a place with real cartoons: a dream trip! But there is always a reason behind these kinds of things.

I sighed again. My brain was really beginning to hurt. Especially since I kept getting distracted from my thoughts by any small dots I noticed on the walls or wherever in the room. Trying to return to my thoughts after they wonder is a real task for me. I sat up and pushed myself to my feet. I looked around the room; it was the first time I actually looked at it. It was pretty big and luxurious. Were all rooms on cruise ships like this?

7:33pm

After looking around the room and putting a couple of my things away, I had gone up to the deck again to watch the sea. Something about it was just calming. Besides all of the earlier events, the day had gone by pretty 'normal', if you can accept any of this as normal. Nothing really happened after the ship had taken off just quiet sailing. It seemed like I was the only actual guest passenger on board. Not counting Mr. McDuck, since he seemed to be in charge of organizing the crew and making sure everything was running smoothly. Everyone else on the ship were crew members, which meant they were also off working; whether below deck or in other areas of the ship. Which also meant they were never really in sight unless walking to their next work destination; you get what I mean. It was just pretty empty and quiet. I couldn't help but feel a little lonely.

So, after spending a few minutes up on deck, I headed back to my room. It was getting dark, and maybe some sleep would do me some good. After descending the stairs and only a few steps into the hallway I ending up crashing into something. Not sure if it was a 'someone', because what I crashed into felt soft; and whatever that soft thing was, from our collision it came toppling over and fell around me. While on the ground I had realized what fell. Blankets? "…Blankets can walk?" I heard a voice moan and mumble something. I pushed myself onto my knees, removing one of the blankets from my over my head.

"Gawrsh, they did it again. Now listen here, blankets! I don't want any more of your funny business. We have a job to do, and your exploding doesn't help none. There's a lot of rooms that still needs ya, so no more of your dilly-dallin!"

I bit my lip as I tried not to laugh, but I couldn't keep myself from growing a huge smile, amused by his silliness. No surprise; Goofy could always make me laugh. At least I wasn't freaking out as much as I was with Donald. Ah, the joy of laughter! Makes you forget any worries and whatnot on your mind. Or maybe it was just the excitement.

Goofy stood up, and pulled on a blanket to start folding it again; however, it was the sheet that he was standing on. He gave it a couple of pulls, finding he couldn't pull it all the way off the ground. Wanting to show the large piece of cloth who was boss, he gave it a big yank. He succeeded in freeing the sheet, only he had pulled so hard it sent him flipping a couple times quickly in the air and crashing back onto the ground.

I gasped, wondering if he was alright. He was in a pile on the floor again, tangled in a couple of the quilts. I tried not to laugh again, but ended up doing so. For the first time, Goofy noticed I was there. There was a pause before he smiled with one of his trademark 'hyucks'. "Hi there!"

"Hi!" I giggled. I looked at his tangled condition, "Need some help?" He shook his head as he clumsily attempted to push himself to his feet, still tangled here and there, "Nah, I've gotten outta worse sitiations!" He assured confidently, standing on his one free leg. I held my smile as I walked over to him, "Well, how about I give ya a hand with this one?" I grabbed a loose end of the sheet, first trying to see if there was a way to unwrap it around him, but I knew Goofy better than that. So, taking a firm grip of the thick sheet, I gave a nice, quick, hard tug, sending me falling back as the goof spun in the air from the quilt sending him loose like a toy top. Now free of his bonds, Goofy dizzily sat up and we look at each other. I cracked a smile and we began laughing.

"That should be all of them!" Goofy declared, glancing up and down the hall to double check our work. After helping Goofy gather and fold all the sheets and various blankets, I offered more of my assistance in helping him set them up in the rooms. We finished pretty quickly, even with the incidences now and then. I stood proudly next to the goof, doing the same. "We make a pretty good team!" I smiled. He exclaimed a "hyuck!" in agreement, "We sure do!" He stuck out his hand, "Thanks again for helpin' me, Miss, uh…" I stared at him, then realized, we never actually introduced ourselves! "Oh! Right!" I laughed, shaking his hand, "I'm Heather." Just then, Goofy's face lit up brighter than usual, let out his trademark chuckle, "So YOU'RE the infomos... In-infamus, in…" He chuckled again, "The famous Heather!"

I smiled shyly, "And how am I famous?" I knew I was the only human onboard, but I couldn't see how that would make me famous.

"Well, you are the first person to come to the island in years!"

My smile slowly faded upon realizing what Goofy just told me. "What?" People had come to the island before? Then why had I never heard of it? Did this mean I was the only one heading for the island? If people know about it, then why; and why in such a smooth operation to bring just one person? In fact, what was so important about inviting people? It didn't seem like it could be a tourist thing, or business. If going to the islands made me so "famous", what made it so important?

Before anything else could have been said, the ship's bell chimed clearly through the air, about eight times to be exact. Was it really eight o'clock? Seemed like it would be later than that… I felt my brain snap back into reality upon hearing Goofy say something to me. Only, of course, I hadn't been paying attention, and he headed up towards the deck. Stumbling, I gave chase; I wasn't done with him yet, I still had questions that needed answers! Once on deck, however, I saw that I had lost sight of the dog-man. Snapping my fingers with a rough sigh, I suppose it wasn't too important to bother Goofy with questions for now. My eyes wondered to the ocean around me. The setting sun made the whole sight breathtaking. This whole experience was almost too good to be true! I couldn't help but once again question if it was all real.

I took these next few moments to think things over. What was I working myself up about? Why wasn't I excited beyond all reason? I don't know, something just didn't set well with me. I was being too paranoid. I suppose the thought of an amazing adventure came with the wonders of the challenges a "hero" of said adventure was suppose to face. Villains, citizens in distress, a city that needed saving, the works and etcetera, etcetera, etcetera…

However… Maybe it was all just for fun. This must mean Disney characters have always existed, right? If people had not been the islands in a long time, maybe they just want to slowly get people aware of it again? Yeah, maybe I was just the first of invites for now. Why not set up a website, though, if you wanted advertisement? I know of a pretty fair amount of Disney fans that would of found it in no time flat! Maybe this was all a private matter? Then why me? Also, why not let me in on this whole thing? Could it be possible they were hiding something from me? Now that I think about it… How would you set up a website designed for an island of real cartoon chara—

"HEATHER!"

"AAHH!" I nearly bent over backwards turning to face my surprise guest. I'm gonna feel that hit to the railing in the morning. Did crack my back pretty well, though… "Don't DO that!" I exhaled.

Donald tapped his foot impatiently, "Maybe if you had been paying attention, you wouldn't have nearly fallen overboard!"

"How long have you two been standing there?" I looked between the duck and dog.

"Enough to have repeated your name six times…" Donald huffed.

"Oh…" Smiling sheepishly, I rocked on my heels, "Sorry about that." I chuckled. Did I feel like a space cadet. "You alright there, Heath? You seemed sorta out of it." Goofy asked, a hint of concern in his voice. I gave them a smile, "Yeah, I'm alright, just sort of… thinking."

"About what?" Goofy inquired.

I lightly kicked the wooden boards beneath my feet. This was it, my chance to get my answers! However… Was it really best to ask them now? What if they saw me as some kind of paranoid freak? What if they'd send me back home? What if they'd shun me for questioning their motives? I probably looked silly, squinting my face, nearly spinning in circles in trying to decide whether to spit the words out or not. Donald ended up deciding for me, "Spit it out already!" Wincing at the thought of having to do this, I took in a gulp of air and gathered my words. "Alright… I was just wondering…" I paused to look at Goofy, "What did you mean when you said, that I was the first person to visit the island in years?" I braced myself for some kind of menacing looks. Nothing. Donald, however, did get a little tense; I could feel his anxiety beginning to fill the air.

Goofy, on the other hand, merely chuckled, "Is that all?" He 'hyucked', "That's easy! It's 'cause you're the first to accept the invite ever since Mickey sent 'em out!" He answered innocently. Donald didn't seem to find it so harmless as he shot warning glares at his friend. "But why?" I pressed, "Why did you send out the invites? Why has no one been there in so long and why try and bring them back?" The questions spilled out with each step I took closer to the two. By now, Donald found it a good idea to jump in, "Well will you look at the time!" He began to nudge me towards the stairway leading below deck, "It's nearly time for lights out, and you need to get your rest!"

"A bit sudden, don't ch'ya think, Donald?" I asked bluntly, doing my best in protest to his constant shoving. He grinned nervously. "He's right, Heath. You got big days ahead of ya! Wouldn't wanna walk into 'em half asleep, right?" Goofy chuckled, walking next to me. "But…!" I sighed in defeat. I was tired, and didn't feel like putting up too much of a fight on the matter. I still had another day before we arrived on the island. That was be the best time to attack with my badgering; I laughed inwardly. "Aye, aye, Shipmate Goofy." I saluted and headed for the stairs. I stopped at the top and turned back to face the two once more, "Just answer this question for me then… Are you guys hiding anything from me?"

I could feel my heart jump in my throat as they looked at each other. Silently exchanging thoughts with only a look. Goofy was the one to respond, "Heath we can promise ya we ain't hiddin' nothin' that you need to worry about right now." I nodded. I looked at them both, unsure. Donald took a step forward, "Don't worry yourself so much." He gave a reassuring grin. "Yeah, Heath, we're your friends! You can trust we can trust we wouldn't do anything to hurt ya!" He spoke confidently. Despite my better judgment, I slowly grew a smile. In a way, I had known these guys all my life, it was impossible not to trust their words. There was a connection that I couldn't ignore.

I shook a small nod and continued down the stairs.

I could feel my smile threatening to grow at the edges of my mouth. As many doubts as I had about all this, I couldn't help but feel more relieved after the assuring words of Donald and Goofy. Now, not only did I know I could put a bit more faith in them…

But I also knew that I now had friends for my upcoming adventure…