What Strange Paradise

“The two kinds of people in this world aren't good and bad — they're engines and fuel.”

9 year old Amir Utu washes up on shore amidst a mass of shipwrecked bodies, distended with seawater. Sprawled facedown, arms outstretched he is surrounded by the wreckage of the boat he once sat on. Police pull caution tape along the walkway that leads to the beach that lies in the shadow of a luxury hotel. The guest rumble about their ruined day, now confined to the hotel grounds. There are angry requests for refunds.

The boy opens his eyes and sees two men approach in baggy white containment suits. He runs.

Beautifully written with a spare storyline bisected into Before and After. After, we see Amir lost on this new island, helped by 15 year old Vanna. Before, we find out how Amir finds himself aboard the Calypso, crowded among the other refugees. They remain hopeful, armed with newly minted Western names, wielding crucifixes and memorizing mantras in English: “Hello. I am pregnant. I will have a baby on April twenty-eight. I need hospital and doctor to have safe baby. Please help.”

It's a simple story, that is devastating in its little details.