The Discovery of Fugi

**The Discovery of Fugi**

The sun faded over the horizon, signaling that night was about to fall. The man was done, completely done—tired and lonely. It was time to go home. This road was too stubborn and old to fix; it was a lost cause. The road worker, Bob, walked home with his head down, feeling like he had accomplished nothing that day. The 6:00 pm rush was crowding the road, making it almost impossible for Bob to cross. He waited and waited until his mind was full of boredom. Then he saw an alleyway—a shortcut he used to take in his teenage years. Feeling curious, he wanted to experience that youthful thrill again since all he did these days was work.

He went down the alleyway and, to his surprise, saw a completely abandoned cabin next to a dock full of boats. Bob trudged over the sea of mud, finally hopping into the abandoned cabin, feeling relieved that he hadn't tripped into a puddle of mud that would've swallowed him whole. His forehead wrinkled in confusion as he tried to figure out what the shape was. He walked closer, and there, standing right in front of him, was an old, dirty cloth—a mystery waiting to be uncovered. Bob took a deep breath, scared to see what was beneath. He slowly unfolded the cloth, and Bob was left completely speechless. As a construction worker, Bob had never seen anything like this before. This boat looked ancient. And get this—it looked like a goat! Bob was shocked, his head spinning. Right in front of him was an ancient, goat-shaped boat!

Then, a very dim skateboarder rolled in. "Yo, yo, my dude!" he said. "I see you've found my cri—whoa, what is that thing in my crib? Since when did that thing belong here?"

Bob responded, "H-hey, I just got lost and needed some navigational help. Then somehow, I ended up here looking at this weird goat-shaped boat that you've apparently never seen. This boat practically looks 2,500 years old. The engine is fully rusted, and the sidelights are on the verge of malfunctioning."

"Dude, you're such a nerd. What does this thing even do? My dad used to be an engineer. I can easily make this ancient-looking thing work," the skateboarder replied.

He walked up to the boat smugly, thinking he could fix the ancient piece. Suddenly, a deep voice emerged, saying, "Y-you have been ch-chosen to conduct a mission. I have some clues for you. Here is the first one. The boat does not work when the sun is down. I hope this will help you win the crown. Don't let me down. Good l-luck!" the boat cried.

The skateboarder exclaimed, "Chosen for what, bruh? Tell us more details!" Silence. The boys were confused and also mortified. They had no idea what the mission was, who had spoken to them, or what would happen if they didn't complete the mission.

The skateboarder, JJ, was completely freaking out. Bob was trying his best to calm him down, but it wasn't helping.

"WHAT IS IT ASKING US TO DO? WE HAVE NO INFORMATION!" JJ screamed.

"Just calm down and think logically. The clue was that the voice said, 'The boat does not work when the sun is down; I hope this will help you win the crown,'" Bob explained.

He searched the boat and concluded that it was far too old to just take out onto the water. There were holes from mice and moths chewing up the wood and sails. They worked and worked until sunrise. By the time it was 8:00 am, they had the boat set and ready to sail. Hours passed, and they had only had a couple of drinks and some chips to eat.

They were in the middle of the ocean as the sunset faded over the horizon and night was just around the corner.

"Whose idea was this again?" JJ said with a yawn.

"It was yours! You left us stranded at sea without the essentials needed to live!" Bob exclaimed.

As the sun got lower, the seas grew rougher and choppier. The sea was roaring, and the wind was howling. They didn't even think they were going to make it through the night. As the night grew darker and the stars got brighter, the boys noticed a note wedged in between the helm. As they opened it, Bob and JJ realized how old this boat actually was. It wasn't just a random note; it was a clue about how to fix the engine. It stated, "Someone that has no clue will fix the boat until it becomes new."

As Bob and JJ thought about it, they suddenly realized what it meant. JJ had no idea what he was doing, so Bob let JJ try his best to fix the engine.

"Don't worry, bro, I can easily fix this. I am the next pro engineer," JJ declared.

Hours passed. Birds flew by, and fish swam through the cold sea. Nothing happened. The engine wasn't fixed, and they were still stranded at sea. Bob reread the note and realized that it was written in red, which could've set them up for failure, or even worse, it could've been a trick.

"That's why you never trust a silly boat," Bob explained.

All of a sudden, "Crunch!" The ancient boat broke into many pieces.

"What did you do, JJ? I thought you said you were a pro!" Bob shouted.

Suddenly, an inflatable raft popped out of the boat, sliding down onto the sea. The wind swept the raft, shaking it forwards and back.

"Quickly, get on the raft before we get swept into the sea!"

Without thinking, JJ and Bob leaped onto the raft, securing their safety for a little while.

"W-wait till the time c-comes, mother nature will leave you c-crumbs..." lagged the goat boat, slowly dying into despair.

"We have to figure out what that message means, quickly!" shouted Bob.

"Wait, how do we know it's not a trick question again?" questioned JJ.

"We'll have to trust the boat. We can't stay here forever," Bob said.

Bob and JJ thought about the rhyme for a little longer until JJ said, "You know, once I led my cat into her bed with treats. It was so cute, haha."

"Wait a minute, it all makes sense now! The pieces of the excess boat must lead to something amazing," Bob shouted.

Without thinking twice, JJ and Bob paddled toward the excess boat pieces that were slowly drifting away with the tides. They paddled for a while, following the pieces that they hoped would take them somewhere special. The pieces suddenly started moving closer and closer to an island that looked particularly small from where they were. After sleepless nights of no luck, finally, luck seemed to be coming their way. In the distance, they saw a dazzling, mystical island.

JJ and Bob paddled their hearts out until finally, their hard work paid off. Upon arriving on the island, the first thing they noticed was that the trees smelled rather quirky. The sand was cold, and the sea was darker than usual. Could this be the odd land of Fugi? Thinking back to when they first uncovered the boat, they thought, "What even is the mission we have to accomplish?"

After thinking and thinking, they realized that all the clues the boat gave them were trying to tell them how to fix the boat. In the distance, there was a small hut. A man named Chris waddled out of bed, his skin wrinkled as if he had just gotten up. Chris was a builder who had been stuck on the island for many years and needed help finishing his road-like structure to escape and return home. When JJ and Bob told him their mission was to escape from the middle of the ocean and fix the boat, they came up with a genius idea. They would help each other with their problems.

So, for the whole day, Chris helped fix the engine while JJ and Bob had some work still to do. JJ, Bob, and Chris finally finished their bridge with the help of the goat boat, which originally had nowhere safe to cross. After many months of hard work and dedication, their teamwork finally paid off in the end. Bob, JJ, and Chris completed the bridge, securing their way back to the safety of home.

Two years later, Bob finally finished the project he had been working on for years, feeling relieved and accomplished that day. He walked home to find JJ and Chris having a cup of tea next to their ancient boat, Fugi.

"Yo, yo, my dude!" JJ yelled to him.

"Hey, mate!" Bob yelled back. "And of course, my old friend Chris!"

As Bob got closer to the table, JJ and Chris were looking in the distance. Then he saw what they were looking at.

"Are those the photos we took on our journey from Fugi?!" Bob asked, shocked.

"Yeah, do you remember?" JJ asked.

"Of course! I could never forget!"