[ WP ] You are stranded on a deserted island all by yourself for years , when you get rescued . You express your surprise that people are still looking for you after all this time , when one of the rescuers says that you 've only been gone for three days .

They came in a rigid-hulled inflatable boat painted yellow and green, its flashing blue lights alien against the sunset I ’ d grown used to. There were two men on the deck. One of them shouted something as they anchored the boat, but it was too muffled and distant for me to hear. I sat on the beach and waited as they waded in. 
 
 The man leading—taller, slightly thicker set than the other—knew my name. 
 
 “ Mr Allen. Can you hear me? ” 
 
 A voice that didn ’ t belong to me. Didn ’ t belong to the jungle. My breathing quickened and dug my fingers into the sand. An emotion I couldn ’ t place bubbled in my stomach. They were still looking after all these years; they had come to rescue me. I ’ d dreamt of this moment, but now that it was happening it didn ’ t feel real. 
 
 “ I ’ m here to help you. We both are. Your family have been terribly worried these past few days, ” he said. 
 
 Fresh worry must mean something ’ s wrong. The bubbles in my stomach popped and sent words floating up through my throat. “ The last few days? Is everything okay? ” 
 
 The man curled one side of his mouth up into a smile and tilted his head. He looked at me as if I were a child asking something charmingly naïve. “ We thought we ’ d lost you, Percy. May I call you Percy? ” I nodded, not caring what he called me as long as he told me whether my family were safe and well. He continued, but didn ’ t answer: “ Thankfully this whole operation has been a success. You ’ ll be back at home with your family soon. ” 
 
 “ But what ’ s happened in the last few days? Lulu… I suppose she ’ s Lucy now. Is Lucy well? Please tell me nothing ’ s happened to her. ” 
 
 The man smiled, this time with his whole mouth. “ Lucy is fine, but she ’ s missed her Daddy. ” 
 
 I closed my eyes and exhaled; somewhere inside me one knot untangled and another tightened. “ I ’ ve missed her too, ” I said. Every day it had pained me not to be there for her, to be trapped here without her. 
 
 “ I understand, Mr Allen, ” said the man, reading my mind. “ At that age a few days apart can feel like a lifetime. Blink and your toddler becomes a teenager. Blink again and you ’ re giving her away on her wedding day. You ’ ll be able to see her once you ’ ve been examined. ” 
 
 The second man stepped forward, indicating that whatever examination they intended was about to take place. I wasn ’ t ready yet, and I wanted to know more before I left this place with them. 
 
 “ How did you find me? ” 
 
 The first man, the speaker, seemed puzzled but understood the question. He thought for a moment before answering. “ You were brought here. We ’ ve been keeping a close eye on you. ” 
 
 Though weak from diet and solitude, I exploded, leapt to my feet and burst backwards, away from the men. Were these men my captors, rather than my saviours? Physically, I was no match for them and they quickly closed in on me, one either side, and brought me back to a sitting position, arms clamped to my side and to the sand. I struggled, but only briefly. 
 
 “ Mr Allen, I ’ m going to need you to calm down. Breathe. There, that ’ s good. I ’ ll explain everything, but I don ’ t want to overwhelm you. You ’ ve been through a very difficult situation. I don ’ t want you to worry, and I need you to trust me when I say that we are here to help you. It ’ s very reassuring that you seem to be in a good physical state though. ” The last sentence seemed to be directed more towards the second man than to me, as if they had been considering my physical health before they arrived. “ If you can manage it, would you be able to come with me and Bernard? ” 
 
 I didn ’ t say anything, but allowed them to lead me out to sea to their boat, at least one hand on my shoulder the whole time. The sea sloshed about our legs, mine bare, cool in the dying sunlight. When we reached the boat, the first man climbed aboard and helped me up. I was led inside, into a small room with a thin foamy bed and two chairs. The walls were filled with maritime paraphernalia and a small window next to the bed. Bernard, still silent, motioned for me to take the bed. As I passed the window I saw a third man, younger than us all, staring at me with a wild, unsettling stare. I felt a strong reluctance to ask about this man. 
 
 Once I was on the bed, the first man came and sat by me, a smile once again on his face. He spoke in a soft, rehearsed tone. 
 
 “ Now I ’ m just going to ask you a few simple questions. If you don ’ t know any of the answers that ’ s fine, but I ’ m going to need you to try your best. Bernard will note down a few things as we go along, ” he motioned to the second man, who now held a clipboard and pen, “ but there ’ s no need to worry. It ’ s standard procedure for cases like this. ” 
 
 I grunted some kind of assent. 
 
 “ We ’ ll start off with an easy one. Can you tell me your name? ” 
 
 “ Percy Allen, ” I said, mumbled and perfunctory. 
 
 “ Thank you Percy. Now tell me about your family. ” He knew which buttons to press. 
 
 “ I have a wife, Rebecca, and a daughter, Lucy. ” 
 
 “ How did you and Rebecca meet? ” 
 
 “ We met at university; my second year, her first. We ’ ve been, or at least had been, together ever since. I wouldn ’ t blame her if she ’ s remarried. All I ’ ve ever wanted is for her to be happy. ” I ’ d opened up more than I had meant to. I still didn ’ t trust these men. 
 
 “ Very good, thank you. Do you remember Lucy ’ s date of birth? ” 
 
 It was easier to remain uninvolved when the questions were factual. “ Fifteenth of January, ” I said coolly. He looked at me expectantly, still smiling, as though my answer was incomplete, so I gave him the year as well: “ 2011. ” 
 
 “ Excellent—we often use that question to identify good fathers as well as sound minds. And how about the current year. Would you be able to tell me that? ” 
 
 “ Well… I expect it must be 2023. Or 2024. It was difficult to keep count of the days after a while. It was all I could do just to stay sane. ” 
 
 The man and Bernard looked at each other, and Bernard scribbled something onto his clipboard. Something was wrong. Maybe I ’ d lost count; maybe it was even later. The man ’ s eyes shifted around the room as he thought, and then returned to meet mine. 
 
 “ Mr Allen, Percy, do you know where you are? ” 
 
 He ’ d changed the subject, but I let my guard down completely and suddenly became conversational with my possible-captors. Thoughts I ’ d been turning over in my head for a long time came pouring out all at once. “ It ’ s something I ’ ve wondered for years, you see, as I went off course somewhere in the channel but the storm caught me by surprise and I ’ ve not been able to figure out how far north I drifted, and although I ’ ve tried to identify lots of the flora and fauna here it ’ s really not been enough information to pinpoint exactly where the island is in the— “ 
 
 “ Island? ” Lines in the man ’ s brow had deepened, and Bernard was now writing continuously. 
 
 “ The island. That big sandy thing you just picked me up from. ” 
 
 The man ’ s confusion softened, but his concern remained. “ Mr Allen, look around you. ” 
 
 I looked around. The room still had the bed and two chairs that I ’ d initially seen, but there was a permanence about the place that I hadn ’ t fully appreciated before. I noticed some machinery and an IV stand on the other side of the room that I ’ m sure hadn ’ t been there when we came in. The window I ’ d walked past showed only a reflection of the room. “ I... I don ’ t understand... ” 
 
 “ You ’ re in the hospital. Your boating accident left you with some bleeding on the brain. We had to operate, and you seem to be doing remarkably well. ” 
 
 The air was filled with panic, and I was breathing it in faster and faster. I couldn ’ t be in hospital. I couldn ’ t. “ But… why have you… I ’ ve been here all these years? ” 
 
 “ Mr Allen, today ’ s date is written just over there on the whiteboard next to the door. ” 
 
 It was the fifth of February, 2017, and I ’ d crashed my boat three days ago.
