As the woman walked up from the shore, the crowd of islanders met her. As some of the islanders went to welcome her, the others were still trying to work out how she had got there.

They were not primitive; they were just confused about her journey. Well, as they looked out at the sea they saw no sign of a boat, a canoe, not even a raft, absolutely nothing. She had just appeared with those two bags on her back.

As she was motioned to a rock pool for a rest by her welcome party she was given a drink of water. After being given time to relax the woman was questioned about where she was from and how she had got to the island. Having learnt the island language before she came, the woman explained why she had come, but curiously never mentioned how.

The woman told her captivated audience that she had come from a land where bitterness and hatred ruled; she spoke of her determination to get out before she was caught up in it all. Being unsure of what she meant the islanders asked her to clearly explain what she was going on about. So the woman told the avid listeners about how she had created some special gems, special gems which were so precious that they were the route of all of her trouble. As she observed their perplexed faces she took out a handful of tiny capsules from her bag so that she could show the islanders what she was talking about. The newcomer told her amazed onlookers that these gems were world changing and war solving. Again sensing that this had not clarified anything the woman decided to be completely candid. The stranger stated that by making these jewels she had not only found a cure to eradicate hunger and disease. After moving her hand around the whole crowd so that they could all clearly see what she was holding, she carried on with her story. The woman then detailed how after many years of exploration, investigation and examination she had created these wonderful pills that were the answer to curing the starving and the sick all over the world. The newcomer and in fact the whole audience took the opportunity to pause and consider what might have happened if that action had occurred. After a few moments the woman then described how inevitably in her society the gems were not seen as a great giver of life, but instead the great giver of money. She informed the group of the threats, the violence and the hatred that she had been confronted with by those who wanted to make money from what she had made. After she had depicted just a few of the contemptible actions that had been taken against her by such people she trailed off because she did not want to frighten her hosts too much. She decided that she had bared enough of her soul and now she wanted to move on.

As the woman drank some more of the water that she been given, took in some deep breaths and surveyed the faces of the islanders, an elderly lady broke the silence by asking the woman if she could have a pill for her hunger and for the excruciating pain that was in her leg. The stranger nodded her head and handed out one of her pills to the elderly lady who gratefully took it and hurriedly swallowed it.

The pill needed no time whatsoever to work. The old lady was suddenly shouting about having had the greatest meal of her life ever and then challenging the rest of the community to a marathon.

After witnessing such magnificent results the other islanders, so shocked by the old woman's reaction, hastened the newcomer to their village. When the stranger arrived in the village she gladly set to work on curing the sick and feeding the hungry. Meanwhile, the elderly woman who had first been freed from her pain had rushed to the neighbouring village on the island and was in discussion with them. She told them about ceasing their differences between each other so that they would give permission for the fantastic woman to come to them and cure their ailments. The other village, astounded by such news and generosity were suspicious. That was until they went down to the first village and observed the work of the newcomer as she tended to all of the laid up. As she moved from person to person she was thanked with such joyfulness from each and everyone. Thanked for keeping people alive, thanked for helping forgotten limbs to be used again and thanked for providing every persons taste buds with sensations that had never been dreamt of, let alone felt. On seeing this incredible atmosphere the second village expressed gratitude and appreciation to their friends for thinking about them and allowing the woman to be taken to their village to repeat her treatments.

The island is now free of disease and hunger that was endangering it and it is also freed from the war that had threatened to ravage it. This is because now everyone is truly content in their lives and not needing to survive through the urge of hunger or greed. Instead of clashing over individual plots of land or materials, the islanders develop the land for the whole community. Useful projects like building better houses and schools happen, whilst resources aren't wasted on pubs, clubs and churches to frequent, because everyone is happy enough to meet, relax, play games, and share stories on the golden beaches that surround them.

Many of the stories that are told are based around three simple principles that the island stands for:

• Learn to care,
• Live to care,
• Want to care.

The woman who helped bring prosperity to the island still lives there and, like everyone else, she helps instil the three simple principles through story. However, unlike all the others, her tales do not talk about what life is like with the values. Instead, her role is to use her experience to describe what life is like without these three fundamental principles. She only occasionally does this, but every time she delivers one of her pieces they are different but relevant, as they all encompass the rushed, pushed and flushed ethos of her former homeland. Her tales have described the bloody-mindedness of business, the repulsive workings of regimes, the violence of the vile, the sickness of celebrity, spitefulness of sport and the malice of the media.

Through these accounts the islanders, old and new, recognise the importance of maintaining a community that holds decency and honesty at the forefront of its thinking. Each time they hear of societies that are run by depravity and have lost any moral code they are filled with a strong and determined desire not to lose the simple yet vital goals that they live by. The woman, who never did disclose how she got to the island, is treated the same as everyone else, she teaches in the school, helps build new homes and comes up with new games for the community to play, just like everyone else does. Obviously, her other role is to be available to help heal the sick and starving when they first arrive on the island. But this is not a busy job, with her tending to about seven people every eleven years. Well, only a few lucky or well-researched people have ever found the island.