It was approaching the twilight of the morning when Jeff began to get ready for his usual early morning jog, when suddenly, a bright glow of light reflected through his bedroom window from his back-yard. Dressed only in the bottom-half of his sweat-suit, he approached the window frightened and surprised, and for a few seconds he was speechless, then, he said to himself, "What On Earth Is That?"

Jeff was the only child for his parents with whom he lived. He was 16 years of age and a track athlete who trained for the National School Championships. It was a Saturday morning so he did not have to go to school. Jeff decided not to go jogging, which he often did on a Saturday, and waited until 7 a.m. when the sun was up and shining to go and investigate what he saw from his bedroom window. He never told his parents what he saw, but he decided to tell his friend, Collin, next door who was also 16 years old. He called him over and they both approached this large box which had the exact shape of a telephone booth; it had a mysterious look about it and somehow it blended in well with the vegetation in the yard. At first glance, one would think it was a needed piece of 'furniture' that should have been there.

"Where did this come from?" asked Collin. "I don't know," said Jeff, "I just saw it glowing in the darkness!" The boys noticed that there was a door knob and Jeff cautiously reached out to open it. Then immediately, a man appeared from behind the box and said in a deep tone, "Hello boys." Jeff and Collin were so frightened that they screamed as girls. "Don't be scared, I won't hurt you, as a matter of fact I'll help you," said the man. "Who are you?" asked Collin.

"First let me tell you about this box. It's the greatest invention when it comes to transportation. The instructions inside are very simple. It can be folded and put into your pocket. The box can also expand and hold up to a thousand people. It operates like a radio wave or a signal. Go in and see," the man said.

Collin opened the door and he and Jeff went in and saw a map of the world on the wall with tiny flashing lights signifying every town and city in the world. Jeff decided to ask the man a question, so he went back outside. But the man was gone. Jeff decided to walk around the box twice in search of the man, but the man was nowhere to be found. Then, Jeff saw a note on the door which said, "Some Of Us Have Entertained Angels Unawares." Jeff showed Collin the note and said, "Maybe the man was an angel!"

Collin thought hard and said, "Maybe I should come back another day Jeff." Then soon after, the door closed automatically. "Jeff I know you didn't close that door so why did it close automatically?" Collin continued, "I know I am 6ft and am 16 years old, but I think I want my mother." "Relax Collin," said Jeff, your hand is pressing a button - see it flashing there?" "It says Congo Jungle in Africa."

After a few seconds, Jeff and Collin felt a funny sensation. Then, Jeff opened the door and saw that they were in a different place. Suddenly, they saw some giraffes, elephants, tigers and lions. Collin then said, "Maybe we're in Congo Africa." Jeff agreed and said, "This is amazing." All of a sudden, some lions in the distance noticed Jeff and Collin and started charging in their direction.

Jeff and Collin never noticed the lions because their backs were turned to them. Collin, still admiring the place, casually turned around and to his shock and horror, he saw a pack of lions charging towards both Jeff and him. Collin shouted to Jeff, "look the lions are coming our way RUN!" Collin and Jeff were about 10 metres away from the box, they ran as hard they could; the lions were just about 50 metres away from them when they reached inside the box, they had no time to choose which country to go to, so they just pressed a random button and left just in time before the lions converged on the spot where they were.

Jeff and Collin landed somewhere else, but they were so frightened they never had time to check before. However, where they landed felt so cold it took them a few minutes before they could open the door. When they opened the door and saw outside they were on top of some snowcapped mountains. It was below zero, they hurriedly closed the door and checked the map and saw that they had pressed the 'Swiss Alps'. They were in Switzerland in the mountains. Jeff then said, "It's cold, but it sure is better than being eaten by lions." Collin agreed and said, "You know what, let's go back home and then we can figure out what we are gonna do with our new toy."

Jeff and Collin eventually returned to Jeff's backyard and decided to analyse the box. They realised that the box operated on a very high frequency, and once they pressed a flashing button on the map (which represented countries, towns and places in the world) the box became a signal and transported itself to the location that was selected. They also noticed that the box could expand to hold a thousand people and could contract to hold in their pockets, just as the man, or Angel had told them. The question was, "What were they to do with the box?" Was it to be a secret between them, or were they going to present it to the world as a great invention?

Jeff and Collin decided to keep their discovery a secret until they decided what to do with the 'box'. However, something strange happened that night. They went to their beds and the same man they met at the box appeared in their dreams and told them the box could not be duplicated because it was God-sent and they were told that they should use it to help the poor, rescue people in danger and help bring peace to the world. Finally the man told them there was a place here on Earth that man has never been which is an island in the Pacific Ocean that can accommodate 400 million people. "It's not visible to humans, but animals can see it and they are the only inhabitants of that land. The box will be the only transportation to that land. Airplanes and boats can't go there because it's invisible to everyone else. The people you will take there will be the neglected poor, those who need a place of refuge and those who desire peace. The land will have no government, no weapons, no prisons, no security, no vehicles, only horse and donkey carriages. The diet will be mainly fish and chicken, vegetables and fruits. You will find this land on the map in the box as Box Island," the man said.

When Jeff and Collin woke the next day, they met with each other and realised that they had the same dream. They were concerned and a bit frightened. "Do you believe in God Jeff," asked Collin. "I guess so," said Jeff, "but why us, why should two 16-year-old boys make such a difference in the world?" asked Jeff. "I don't know, but maybe we are very special and we don't even know it," said Collin. "I was just thinking we should visit this Box Island and see what's it like," said Jeff. "Well, yes, but don't you think we are rushing it a bit?" asked Collin. "Come on Collin, there is nothing to fear, the man in our dreams must be an angel, because he told us the same things in our dreams, and if it's an angel, no need to fear," said Jeff.

They both entered the box and pressed "Box Island". In a few seconds, they were there (a place where no man had been before). They cautiously opened the door and went outside. The place was beautiful and the air was fresh. It had hills, beautiful trees, flowers of every description, rivers, the sounds of birds singing, horses grazing in the grass and running through the meadows, and butterflies tending to the flowers on manicured lawns. There were paved roads and beautiful houses made of wood. It seemed a place waiting to be inhabited by people.

Jeff and Collin were in awe of its beauty and its serenity and somehow felt an unusual spiritual presence. Then suddenly, from out of nowhere they heard a familiar voice, but saw no one. "Hello boys, welcome to Box Island". Jeff and Collin looked around and saw no one. "Who are you?" asked Jeff. "Where are you?" asked Collin. "You should know me by now," said the Angel. "Oh yes, the voice is familiar, but why don't you show yourself?" asked Jeff . "We are already convinced you are an angel," said Collin. The angel said: "Look behind you boys" As they looked behind them again, they saw the Angel, sitting with his back turned to them. "Oh, there you are," said Jeff. "You know, Sir, this is all strange and weird and happening so fast," Collin stated. The Angel turned slowly around and said, "It's all necessary, and as a matter of fact, there are more Box Islands around the world waiting to be inhabited. This is the first island slated to be inhabited and to tell you more, these islands won't use money nor any form of technology, all things will be provided, and everybody will be transformed into a peaceful and happy human being."

Your first assignment will be to transport 700 people from Africa to Box Island. These are people seeking refuge and food because of a Civil War in their country. Be careful of the enemy. You can do this assignment at lunch time at school, no one will notice and it shall only take a few seconds.

The day in question came and Jeff and Collin arrived in Africa about midday and told the 700 refugees to go inside the box (which had expanded to hold the 700 refugees) and that would be taken to a safe place. The refugees complied, but while they were going inside the box, the enemy was watching in nearby bushes getting ready to attack, but decided to wait until they all entered and then made the attack. As the last person went in, the order was given to attack, but before a shot was fired, the box was gone with the refugees, and the enemy was surprised and confused so they started fighting among themselves.

- Allan Lewis

(Part 2 next week).