David, Judka, Elenka and I travelled to the lake lands north of Kingston to celebrate a pair of birthdays. When I'd first heard of Black Jack Island I thought casino. So I polished my shoes and packed my white tuxedo. Baccarat, roulette and of course Black Jack - I would be ready. How could I have known that Black Jack Island wouldn't be the escape for wealthy spendthrifts that I'd expected?

 

 
 
On our first morning, David said that his hand-held device was capable of providing specific information for geographic locations. Then he proclaimed that Black Jack wasn't out there in front of us. I looked at my feet, nervously scratched my neck and pretended to cough. 
 

 On day two, Elenka and I could see images through the fog - no people, but forrest, lots of forrest. That night I told her we mustn't tell David of what we'd seen. The following morning, after the fog had lifted somewhat, the two of us silently set paddles to water and struck off in the canoe for parts unknown. Our first and actually only animal encounter was a bird-like creature. Its wingspan was two, maybe three metres, Elenka called it a Blue Heronosaurus ... or something like that. As we continued to stealthily circumnavigate Black Jack, we saw many large homes with no inhabitants. How could a massive island, only 200 metres from shore be there one day and not the next, we wondered? After completing our journey I raised my arms and was about to smack my paddle on the calm lake at the craziness of it all when Elenka said, "Don't rock the boat." Her voice was calm, yet stern and I instantly understood her command. She was cautioning me to not mess with Black Jack Island.
 

 
 
 
That evening we enjoyed a wonderful celebration of birthdays. Elenka will soon turn 60, David 65. After the champagne was finished I pulled Elenka aside and told her that we had to tell Judka and David the truth about Black Jack Island. Elenka caressingly ran her hand through my hair and asked if I'd taken my medication. When I told her that I'd forgotten to bring it from home she gave me an odd smile and said there was probably more champagne in the fridge.