Prompt #23
Erupting Volcano
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Alto was perched on the edge of a rocky cliff, facing the leeward side of Big Island.
The skies were so clear today, even Tua Lupa was within view, its tallest peaks peeping just above the horizon. And the ocean, the ocean itself was incredibly calm, the air oddly quiet without the constant crashing of waves.
He gazed out into the vast expanse of blue, musing, thoughtful, attempting to unravel the riddle posed by these islands.
But his thoughts were interrupted by approaching footsteps, and he knew without even looking who was climbing up the rocky slope.
Yun-hai reached the summit and flopped down on the ground beside Alto, his gaze naturally falling in the same direction.
“Figured it out yet?”
Alto frowned.
“Not quite.” He scanned the horizon once more, as though the empty oceanscape before him would yield an answer.
“I mean, we know the islands are volcanic based on the type of rock. And the chain of islands in this direction,” he lifted an arm and gestured toward the barely visible Tua Lupa, “We definitely know they follow the contours of the tectonic plates. Which also means they probably emerged from volcanic eruption. However, the rest, the clusters, the spirals––” Here, he threw his hands up into the air in frustration and flicked his fingers twice, in perfect imitation of the islanders’ invocation to leave it all to Lagolagi, even hanging his head in the perfect angle of resignation.
The pitiful sight made Yun-Hai chuckle, mostly out of amusement, but also somewhat out of awe at how quickly Alto had absorbed the most subtle habits of the islanders.
“And Big Island?” asked Yun-Hai.
“Part of the same chain, and most likely the oldest,” replied Alto. But his voice sounded distracted and his gaze had shifted to what seemed like another indistinguishable patch of ocean. But even Yun-Hai knew that about 200 miles thataways was where the tip of the spiral islands began.
Alto suddenly sat bolt upright, his eyes widened.
“You figured it out?” asked Yun-Hai, but this time his question was met with violent nodding. Alto immediately unfolded himself from the cliff edge, scrambling to pack his notes as he hurried back towards base camp.
“What’s the answer?” Yun-Hai called out to Alto’s retreating back, and received a distant hollered response,
“A very big volcano!!!”
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