Tensions between the communities began to escalate as disputes concerning the story of the round brown fruit became more and more intense. Efforts were made to dissect the various stories and determine which one was valid, often in an attempt by one group to convince the others that their version was right and the others were wrong. But the greatest conflict came from those who didn’t participate in any association at all. These people were baffling to club members. How could anybody deny the story of the fruit altogether? The fruit were obviously important to the creation of the island community; this was evident because so many people endorsed some version of the story. The “non-clubbers” though used the diversity of stories as evidence that the fruit, and the stories attributed to it, were of no consequence. Otherwise all the groups would embrace the same story.

Contentions over the fruit and its story began to get violent when “non-clubbers” sought positions of leadership over the island; such island-wide positions of authority were required in order to coordinate projects that affected all the communities, as when a break water was constructed to provide a harbor for their fishing boats. Beliefs about the fruit could vary among the island’s leadership, to a certain extent, but a leader denying the fruit’s importance altogether was going too far. Therefore, non-clubbers seeking leadership roles were resisted in various ways. Some were harassed by having their gardens dug up, their shelters broken into, and their storage cellars ransacked. Occasionally they were assaulted, usually without consequence for the perpetrators since the laws of the island were enforced by club members. And for the most part these efforts of intimidation worked. The non-clubbers eventually stopped trying to become island leaders although they continued to advocate their non-clubbing ways among the people.

Then it happened that one day a group of people from a faraway land arrived on the shores of the island. It was the first contact with anyone from beyond the island since the communities were first established. The new-comers had been on a journey and were driven off course and eventually spotted the island on the horizon. Since their supplies were low they decided to make for the island and rest before continuing on their way.

At first they seemed to be people who were very similar to the people of the island, and everyone, both the new arrivals and the islanders, were glad for the encounter. In fact the atmosphere was quite festive. A spontaneous celebration began in which a feast was prepared and entertainment was provided. This went on for several days, and as word spread of the new arrivals, people from all the communities of the island made their way to the celebration. The travelers described where they’d come from and showed the islanders some of the things they’d brought with them from their homeland. Among other things, they possessed unusual tools, and some features of their clothing were unfamiliar too. This made them seem “exotic” to the islanders.

For the most part the two groups intermingled freely, enjoying one another’s company, however, occasionally some minor contention did happen, as when one of the larger men from the island challenged a newcomer of comparable strength and size to a test of strength. At first it was just a friendly competition in which heavy objects were lifted to see who was the strongest. When neither man could out do the other they began to wrestle and this prompted greater interest from the crowd of onlookers. Again neither man could prevail over his opponent, and as the match continued, the fervor of the crowd increased with supporters for each opponent cheering on their chosen champion. Eventually, however, the atmosphere intensified as some fighting broke out among the onlookers. But just when the situation was about to turn into an all-out brawl, the two competitors stopped, shook hands and, after complimenting one another’s abilities, turned to the crowd and encouraged everyone to calm down, thereby restoring the festive atmosphere that everyone had been enjoying.

Later that evening as the celebration began to wind down, leaders from among both the islanders and the newcomers gathered around a campfire and began to engage in more serious conversation. Questions were asked about how their respective communities functioned: How did they get the food they needed? What kind of shelters did they live in? How did they govern themselves? And so on. As they exchanged this information, it became clear that there were many similarities between the two groups. How they went about gathering and growing their food, and the manner in which they built their shelters, were quite comparable. Their respective governments also bore some resemblance as well.

Then one of the islanders noticed what appeared to be an insignia on the breast pocket of a newcomer’s vest and asked about it. The newcomer responded with obvious pride that it was the sign of a “society” to which he belonged. It looked like a jagged object with a tail reminiscent of a lightning bolt. He explained that this was very important for the people of his homeland, because it was through this object that their community had been originally established.

The newcomer then began to relate the story of the object. He explained that long ago their ancestors were adrift in several boats and in danger of dying on the water when a streak of light appeared in the sky that descended to the horizon. As they paddled toward the horizon where the light had disappeared they saw an island, and when they landed on that island they found everything they needed to survive. Eventually they built shelters and established their community. And when they investigated the island more thoroughly they found a crater with a huge jagged stone in the center and determined that it was this object falling from the sky that had produced the light that led them to the island. They owed much to this stone and determined that the community should always recall its importance for the original founders; making future generations recognize that if it had not been for this stone they would have perished.

Upon hearing this, one of the islanders asked, “Is the stone still there?” The newcomer responded saying that the stone was buried during a typhoon many generations ago, and it could never be found again because the storm had completely changed the landscape of the island.

One of the island leaders then explained that they too had their own story of survival, and he began to tell the story of the brown fruit discovered by their ancestors when they first arrived on the island. But as he did so, he was soon interrupted by one of the other island leaders who said he wasn’t telling the story properly. This man then took up the account and began telling his own version of the story only to be interrupted by another leader with his version. Soon all of the island leaders were arguing with one another about how the story should be told, and the discussion became quite intense.

The newcomers were amazed at this and one of their leaders finally posed a question that brought the entire discussion to an abrupt halt. “How do you know that the story’s true, when there are so many different versions of it?”

At first, no one seemed to have an answer, there was only silence as all the islanders stared into the fire and contemplated the question.

Then one of the leaders got up and pointed upward saying, “That’s how we know it’s true.” All the men looked up toward where he was pointing. There, at the top of a tall plant were some broad leaves, and among those leaves nestled some of the brown round fruit. “We know it’s true because there’s the proof,” the islander added.

One of the leaders then climbed up the plant and retrieved a brown fruit ball. Back on the ground he held the fruit out to the newcomers and declared, “This was what saved our ancestors. If they hadn’t found this, we wouldn’t be here today.”

A newcomer took the fruit and looked at it; then he passed it to the others and said, “It doesn’t look very appetizing does it?”

Another newcomer asked, “What does it taste like?”

Hearing this, one of the islanders said, “Well, no one actually eats it; mostly it’s used for decoration. We use it to remind us of our past; we don’t want to forget where we came from.”

Another islander chimed in, “It’s not really clear how it’s supposed to be eaten.” He was looking at the brown ball as he said this. “Obviously, you can’t just bite into it, and it takes a lot of force to break it into pieces. And once you do only parts of it seem to be edible … at least that’s what I’ve been told.”

Another islander added, “I found one of them broken open on the ground once, but it really smelled bad; it wasn’t anything that I’d want to eat.”

One of the newcomers, looking bewildered, asked, “If it’s not edible, how could it have saved your ancestors?”

The islander responded, “Well when you’re starving you’ll eat just about anything, right?”

“I suppose so, but it just seems kind of strange.”

This comment prompted the islander who’d retrieved the fruit to say, “Look, here’s the fruit, what other evidence do you need? It’s not important how it was used, what’s important is that it was used and used successfully. I mean we’re the proof of its value, otherwise we wouldn’t even be here.”

The newcomers didn’t appear convinced, and one of them bounced the brown fruit in his hands and said, “It’s certainly heavier than any fruit I’ve ever seen.” Then with a smile he added, “I wouldn’t want to drop it on my foot, that’s for sure.”

This last remark prompted some giggling, mostly among the newcomers, but also one or two of the islanders appeared to stifle a smile too.

One of the older islanders stepped up and took the fruit from the newcomer and passed it to one of his companions. Then he glared back at the newcomers and asked, “Do you think it’s funny … our heritage?”

The newcomer who’d made the remark didn’t seem fazed and responded, “I’m just saying, it seems like an odd tradition, that’s all. I mean what have you got, a piece of fruit that’s supposed to have saved everyone’s life, and no one knows how to eat it? That’s just odd.”

One of the other islanders stepped up beside his elder and poked his finger toward the newcomer’s chest, “What about your story? Your people were supposedly saved by some stone that you’ve never even seen. How do you know it ever even existed?”

“We don’t I guess, but it doesn’t really matter does it? It’s the idea that the story presents, that’s what’s important. It gives us some explanation for why our community exists. But you, you’ve got the supposed proof in your hands, and yet you can’t show us how this brown round “thing” can actually be used. That seems to ‘disprove’ your story rather than prove it.”

To Be Continued