I had been alone on the island for four months. How did I know this? I’d marked the days on a palm tree near the shore where I first washed up. I remember that day. I was all alone for the first time in my life. Pirates had shot at our ship. And they had good aim, for they sank us quickly. I wonder why they sank us, instead of just boarding the ship and killing us all, or taking us prisoner and getting money. Maybe it was just Providence, so that I would survive.