Near Lake Malawi

Once upon a time, in a small village near Lake Malawi, there lived a young girl named Waitipaso. She had just passed to Standard 5 in school and was the youngest in her family, known as the Kasambara family. Waitipaso had two older brothers and two older sisters, but none of them had finished school. Despite this, Waitipaso had a big dream—she wanted to complete her education and become a doctor, so she could help the sick people in her village.

At school, Waitipaso was loved by her teachers. They thought she was a very clever girl. One sunny afternoon, when she returned home from school, she discovered that her parents had some visitors. At first, she didn't think much of it. She took a bucket and went to the lake to fetch water for her daily chores. But when she came back, her mother called her to sit by her side.

As Waitipaso sat next to her mother, one of the visitors made a comment. They said that Waitipaso would make a good wife for their son. Hearing this, Waitipaso became unhappy because she knew that if she got married, she would have to drop out of school. Her dream of becoming a doctor would be shattered. That night, she made up her mind to run away to her grandmother's house.

Under the cover of darkness, Waitipaso gathered her schoolbag filled with books and some clothes. She sneaked out of the house and embarked on her journey. She followed a path near the lake, and suddenly, she heard a splash in the water. Frightened, she stood there quietly, her eyes fixed on the figure splashing in the water. To her surprise, the figure emerged from the water, and before she could escape, it caught her. She screamed for help, but there was no one to hear her cries.

The mysterious creature pulled her into a boat and rowed deep into the lake. Try as she might, Waitipaso couldn't escape. After some time, the boat came to a stop, and she realized that the figure was actually a person. They both got out of the boat and found themselves on a small island surrounded by water.

The person led Waitipaso to a shelter on the island without uttering a word. They made a fire, grilled some fish, and offered it to Waitipaso, who was famished. She gratefully accepted the meal and ate it. Then, the woman told Waitipaso to rest in a corner of the shelter. Confused and still crying, Waitipaso asked why she had been kidnapped. But the woman hushed her and instructed her to sleep, promising to explain everything in the morning.

When Waitipaso woke up the next day, she saw the woman had opened her school bag and was reading her books. The woman asked Waitipaso if she was in Standard 5, and she nodded in affirmation. With a smile, the woman asked her to come along to the other side of the island to show her something special.

As they reached the other side, Waitipaso discovered another shelter, but this one looked like a classroom. It had a blackboard, books, and large stones serving as tables, with smaller ones as chairs. The woman began explaining to Waitipaso how she ended up on the island. She shared that after her father passed away, her uncles took their land away and forced her and her siblings to work in the fields, depriving them of an education.

Driven by her love for learning, the woman decided one day to attend school. When she returned, her uncle beat her severely. Determined to escape her harsh reality, she ran to the lake, took a fisherman's boat, and roweddeep into the lake. That's when she discovered this island. For many months, she lived on the island, building a shelter and surviving on the fish she caught in the pools formed by rocks.

At night, she would row back to the mainland, searching for books left outside schools. She would bring those books back to the island and read them. Over time, she collected so many books that she built shelves for them in the shelter. Now, she had read all the books and felt ready to teach children.

When the woman saw Waitipaso walking by the lake with her schoolbag, she thought that Waitipaso could be her first student. Waitipaso shared her own story, explaining that she had run away from her grandmother's house because her parents wanted her to get married. She wanted to finish school and become a doctor to help the sick people in their village.

Worried that her parents might think she had gone missing, Waitipaso wondered how she could let them know she was safe. The woman reassured her and suggested she write a letter to her family, explaining her reasons for running away. Waitipaso agreed and wrote a heartfelt letter expressing her love for her family, her desire to complete her education, and her dreams of becoming a doctor.

The woman took the letter and rowed back to the mainland under the cover of darkness. Waitipaso was left alone on the island, surrounded by books. She continued to read and learn, eagerly awaiting the day when she could fulfill her dreams and make her family proud.

The woman had a wealth of knowledge about the environment and a deep passion for taking care of birds, which she shared with Waitipaso. She taught her about different bird species that inhabited the island and their unique behaviors. Waitipaso learned how to identify birds by their calls and feathers, and how to nurture sick or injured birds back to health. This new knowledge ignited a love for nature in Waitipaso, enriching her dream of becoming a doctor with a newfound respect for all living beings.

Additionally, the woman showed Waitipaso how to plant trees and create a sustainable environment on the island. They worked together to cultivate a small garden, growing vegetables and medicinal plants. Waitipaso understood the importance of preserving nature and how it was interconnected with human health. This experience not only enhanced her academic learning but also gave her practical skills that would be invaluable in her future medical career.

During times when the woman had to leave the island for supplies, she would leave Waitipaso in the company of a small, playful puppy named Puffy. Puffy had wandered onto the island one day, and the woman had decided to take care of him. He quickly became a beloved companion for both of them. Puffy would keep Waitipaso company, playing with her and staying by her side as she read or worked in the garden. His presence made the island feel more like a home and less like a place of isolation.

And so, on that island in Lake Malawi, a special bond formed between Waitipaso and the woman who had found solace and knowledge in the books she collected. Together, they embraced the power of education and the dreams it could ignite, believing that one day, Waitipaso would become the doctor she aspired to be, bringing healing and hope to their village and beyond.