(Part 2, of 4 )

Then suddenly, from up out of the abyss came a powerful force that launched Jonah up out of the water and into midair. Jonah got jolted and came back to life gasping for air on the back of a giant sea turtle. While at that same moment, Solomoon awoke from his vividly real dream with a gasp.

When Jonah recovered the ocean was calm, the wind and rain had stopped, and the sun had peeked above the horizon. It was just like when he was born, exactly one hundred years earlier. Solomoon laid there in a sweat and wondered if his dream was real, but that was something that only time would tell.

Meanwhile back on Ponce's ship, everyone rejoiced that the sudden storm was over. They were very happy that they got Jonah Jynx off of their ship.

Now Lucky Jonah had been rescued by an old friend that he had long since forgotten about. A friend that remembered being nearly pecked to death by voracious sea birds before Jonah rushed to his rescue. It could be said that Jonah had a guardian sea turtle watching over him, and he was just waiting to return that life saving favor. Like with the appearing and disappearing boat, the giant sea turtle's timing was absolutely perfect.

As Jonah clung to his old friend's back he caught a ride toward a tiny island. Then the huge turtle turned his head and asked Jonah, "You don't remember me do you?"

Jonah was amazed that his guardian sea turtle was able to talk, and very happy because his voice could help to make this a really great story. Then Jonah said, "I don't remember you. Which turtle are you?"

The big turtle said, "I'm Solomon the Sea Turtle, you named me Solomon after you rescued me from the sea birds. Remember?"

Jonah said, "Yes, but I was yelling to my brother, Solomoon."

Solomon said, "I thought that you were naming me Solomon. I like that name, and it's been my name for about ninety years. So there's no sense in changing it now!"

Now Solomon had been watching Jonah throughout his entire life, and he knew that Jonah was truly loyal to the well-being of the sea turtles. That was one more reason why Solomon had chosen to become Jonah's loyal guardian.

While Jonah rode toward the tiny island he asked Solomon, "Where are you taking me?"

Solomon told Jonah, "I'm taking you to a very special island that I discovered many years ago. I know you'll like it there because there's a lot of those rocks that you collect, and many turtles are hatched there."

Jonah said, "I promise that I will look after the young turtles for as long as I am able."

Solomon smiled mischievously like he knew something that Jonah didn't. He was very happy that Jonah was going to look after the young turtles for a very long time.

Meanwhile back on Ponce's ship, Oneye looked through the telescope with his good eye. He yelled and pointed, "There's land! I've discovered land!" Then in a flash Ponce grabbed the telescope and punched Oneye again on the same blind eye.

Ponce screamed, "Oneye, how many times do I have to tell you that I'm the discoverer, not you! Don't you remember what happened the first time you said that!?"

Oneye pleaded for forgiveness, "Yes Ponce, and I'm sorry! I promise it will never happen again!" The first time Ponce punched Oneye it blinded his left eye, which was how Oneye got his nickname meaning, "one-eye". Ponce was obsessed with being the first person to actually spot land. He would never punch Oneye on his good eye, because he needed him to spot land.

Then Ponce looked into the telescope and yelled, "There's land! I've discovered land! All hands prepare to go ashore!" While the crew was preparing Ponce thought to himself, "This has got to be the island of Bimini, I've found my fountain of youth, praise be to God."

In the meantime, Solomon and Jonah were very close to shore, and Jonah couldn't wait to set foot on dry land.

At the same time, Ponce was being paddled toward shore by Oneye and Dipsy. Then Ponce screamed, "Can't you snails paddle any faster, I'll die of old age before I get to the fountain!" The rest of the crew followed Ponce in the other dinghies.

When Jonah climbed down off of Solomon's back he was very weak, but he was excited to be on an island that was free of invaders. He looked around and wondered which way to go.

Solomon sensed Jonah's distress and said, "Everything that you will need is in the cave, except for food. You have my permission to take as many turtle eggs as you need to get your strength back. There should be plenty of freshly laid eggs up by the tree line."

Jonah said, "No thank you! I would starve to death before I would eat any of the eggs."

Solomon replied, "No, I just meant that it's all right to sacrifice several of the eggs to insure your survival, because with your survival many more turtles will survive."

Jonah said, "Don't worry, I've been hungry all my life."

Solomon felt sorry for his little pal then he said, "I will catch you a fish and return soon." Solomon's personality allowed little room for small talk. Then with a powerful thrust he vanished into the ocean.

Jonah followed the stream toward the cave and thought to himself, "I'm one hundred years old now, I wonder just how long Solomon thinks I can survive?"

When Ponce landed on his island it seemed much larger than he had heard, but it was just such a beautiful place that it had to be the magical island of Bimini. By the end of that day Ponce was going to wish that he hadn't discovered that huge new island.

Then Oneye pointed and said, "Look Ponce! There's the fountain!" Ponce dashed off toward his so-called fountain of youth like a man gone mad. While doing so he yelled back at Oneye and said, "I'll let it go this time Oneye!"

Now Ponce was a man that was infatuated with delusions of youthfulness. His mind had tricked him into thinking that what he saw was a beautiful lagoon with a lavish fountain. When in reality it was a murky, brackish water estuary that was teeming with adolescent life not yet ready for the open ocean.

As Jonah entered his new cave there seemed to be a very powerful lure that kept drawing him inside. It was a mysterious glow that seemed to be the source of a fresh water stream. That was kind of unusual on such a small island surrounded by nothing but ocean water.

When Jonah's eyes adjusted this time, there it was. The most magnificent fountain ever imaginable, which poured into a crystal clear pool of water. But what fascinated him the most was that the pool was adorned with his golden rocks. They were big and small, and there were thousands of them, everywhere! Jonah approached his fountain cautiously because he really wasn't sure what to expect. He walked into the pool of water very slowly to let himself get used to the frigid water. Jonah was completely unaware of what was going to happen to him.

Meanwhile at the same time, Ponce dove into the murky water while all the others hung back in hesitation. He frolicked around underneath his fountain of youth in a childlike fantasy. Then Ponce said, "Come on in you guys. The water is beautiful."

They all replied, "Na, no thanks, maybe next time."

Ponce asked, "How do I look Dipsy?"

Dipsy asked, "Do you want the truth?"

Ponce said, "Ha-ha very funny. I meant do I look like I'm getting any younger?"

Dipsy answered, "No, not really."

"Oh well, it probably takes a little while," Ponce reasoned. After a few minutes passed by Ponce asked Dipsy again, "Is it happening yet?"

Dipsy answered, "Nope, not yet."

Then Ponce blasted back at Dipsy, "Don't you lie to me! It has to happen, I'm the great Juan Ponce de Leon!"

Then Dipsy said, "It doesn't matter who you are, or how great you think you are, you're still an old man!"

In an angry rage Ponce slapped the water and said, "Those Indians lied to me!"

Dipsy rubbed it in by saying, "Yup, and you went for it, hook, line, and sinker."

Ponce ran out of the water and said, "Dipsy, if I get my hands on you, you're history!" But Dipsy anticipated Ponce's anger and was long gone by the time he got out of the water.

While all that madness was going on with Ponce and Dipsy, Oneye was along the shore observing all the unusual fish that were swimming around in the water. So he picked up one of the transparent fish that had washed up on shore. With the glob of jelly resting in his hand he asked Ponce, "Hey Ponce, what is this?"

Ponce quickly slapped the fish out of Oneye's hand then said, "You fool, don't you know a poisonous jellyfish when you see one!"

Oneye said, "Sure I do, look at all of them out there in the water." Then a look of shock came over Ponce's face as he looked out into the water. Oneye wasn't too smart, but he was a lot smarter than Ponce. Oneye wouldn't go frolicking around in a lagoon that was infested with poisonous jellyfish.

Meanwhile, Jonah was thoroughly enjoying the cool, clean spring water from his fountain. Then he got the idea to form one of his rocks into the shape of Solomon, his guardian sea turtle. As he formed his clay he noticed that the liver spot on his hand had started to disappear right before his eyes.

Jonah thought to himself, "Could it be that this is my youth fountain? Praise be to God, if I've found my youth fountain." Jonah wasn't sure since there was nobody else there to tell him if he looked any younger.

Now Ponce wasn't ready to give up his dreams of youth just yet. He told Oneye, "I must be getting younger, my face and body itch terribly." He began scratching all over and digging at his left eye. He wondered what was wrong with him so he projected his reflection onto the water, just to see if maybe he had gotten younger. Then a look of terror came over Ponce's face. He cried out, "Oh my God, I've gotten older!" The reflection cast Ponce as a man in his nineties. When in reality, he was about fifty-three years old.

Meanwhile, Jonah was wondering if he had gotten younger. So he projected his reflection onto the water. Then a very contented look came over Jonah's face. He laughed out loud and said, "Oh my God, I've gotten younger!" The reflection cast Jonah as a man in his eighties. When in reality, he was one hundred years old.

Jonah told himself, "Now I know why Solomon called this a very special island." After all, Solomon was ninety years old, and that is really quite old for a sea turtle.

By now Ponce didn't have enough hands to scratch all the red blotches that had developed all over his body. He began to scratch his left eye with vicious intensity. He asked Oneye, "What's the matter with me? I itch terribly!"

Oneye showed Ponce no compassion when he said, "Well, you shouldn't have been out there swimming around with all those jellyfish, and you called me a fool."

Now under ordinary circumstances Ponce would have hauled off and punched Oneye, because Oneye insinuated that Ponce was a fool. But Ponce's scratching was so severe that Oneye's remark was the least of his problems. Ponce whined, "But I didn't even see them out there in the water."

Then Oneye said, "Well, how come you didn't see them? I saw them, and I've only got one eye, no thanks to you!"

Ponce continued to scratch and dig his eye out which was swelling shut with each passing moment. He demanded to see Oneye's hand because he wanted somebody else to share in his misery. Ponce got very angry then he said, "Oneye, there's nothing wrong with your hand, and you picked one up!"

Oneye snickered, "Yah, but I was smart enough to pick one up that was upside-down."

At that point Ponce was near a nervous breakdown from all the stress that was inflicted upon him. His eye had completely swollen shut. He fell to his knees and pleaded, "Oneye, please help me! I can't see out of this eye!"

Then Oneye got his revenge by saying, "Well Ponce, now you know how it feels to have only one eye!"

Meanwhile, Jonah had just passed through a realm that only one lucky man had ever passed through. He was thoroughly refreshed but nearly frozen from the fountain's frigid water. The water was so cold that after drinking it, it had somehow preserved him from the inside out. The more he drank, the more he needed to drink. His thirst for youth became so great that he couldn't help drinking gallons of that magic water.

Jonah was in very high spirits after drinking all of that magic water. So he continued on with his sculpture of Solomon the Sea Turtle. His sculptural ability was entrancingly fast and it didn't take him long to sculpt a perfect leatherback sea turtle. Jonah was very proud of his creation, for he had finally found his way as a sculptor. But that wasn't his best victory, because there were enough golden rocks there for Jonah to create a masterpiece.

The following morning Solomon labored his huge body up the stream and into Jonah's cave. He carried a huge fish that he had ambushed just for his old friend. When Solomon neared his friend his first thought was that Jonah had passed away. Then with several powerful slaps Solomon blasted Jonah with the ice cold water. When that cold water hit Jonah's skin he sprang to life ready to fight, until he realized that it was his good friend, Solomon.

Then Solomon said, "Jonah, you look twenty years younger."

Jonah cast his reflection again to see if he was dreaming. Then he said, "I really have gotten younger! What a great place this is! How did you ever find this island?"

Solomon replied, "I don't know, I must have gotten steered off course by my broken paddle."

Solomon continued, "You must have drank a lot of the water to look twenty years younger."

"I sure did," answered Jonah.

Solomon said, "You better be careful how much you drink, unless you want to become a child again."

Jonah exclaimed, "Oh God, no!"

Then Solomon noticed the sculpture and asked, "What is that over there in the sand?"

Jonah answered, "Oh, that's a sculpture of you, my guardian sea turtle. That one is just a miniature, I'm going to sculpt a colossal one in your behalf. But it's going to take a lot of work, and quite some time."

Solomon objected and said, "Jonah, you don't have to do that."

Jonah disagreed and said, "Yes I do, because all my life I've been able to crush the gold with my hands, and I haven't made much use of it. And now that I'm lucky enough to have a second chance, I'm going to use it to its full potential."

Solomon said, "I understand, but be careful."

Then Solomon swam underneath the fountain and took a good long drink. Afterwards Solomon said, "Jonah, I must be going now, but I will check on you later."

Then Jonah reassured Solomon when he said, "Don't worry about the young turtles, I will make sure that all of them reach the water."

Solomon said, "I knew I made the right decision bringing you to this island, for you truly do deserve a second chance."

As Solomon vanished into the ocean there was only one thing that Jonah had to do, and never did he have to go so badly!?

Well, old Ponce's life went on as history has it. He did continue to search for the fountain of youth, but he didn't have much luck. He searched the eastern and western sides of Florida, and then he returned to Puerto Rico. He also sailed back to Spain to tell King Ferdinand of his findings. His biggest claim to fame was that he did name the land mass now known as Florida, and he claimed its ownership for Spain. That was all very admirable, but the Indians lived there for thousands of years before Ponce was even born.

Ponce was a very gullible man, and that was a great thing for Jonah, because that's what got him to the youth fountain. It was also a blessing for Jonah that there was a snitch on the island of Puerto Rico, because the gold lured Ponce there. Ponce did become a very wealthy man by enslaving thousands of Indians to dig for his gold. When the Indians told Ponce about the fountain of youth, he figured that it had to be real. It truly was a brilliant sham by the Indians to trick Ponce into going on a wild goose chase for the so-called fountain of youth. The deceitful Indians knew that there wasn't any fountain of youth, but they didn't know that there was such a thing as the youth fountain.

Now Jonah had lived a life that most of us could only dream about, but something very important was missing. In any man or woman's life, there is only one thing that really matters, and Jonah wasn't any different from any of us. He had suffered with his problem for over a century. With very little to live for, Jonah would soon be willing and ready to risk his life to find everlasting love.

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