LOVE ISLAND

He drank himself to stupor hoping to find himself in the great beyond but he was surprised to find himself wide awake with a monstrous headache combined with strong movement of the ship, throwing things to the floor in obedience to the raging storm in the sea. He knew there and then that he didn't want to die just yet.

Somebody suggested going to Spain to cool off the emotional tension that was threatening to take her life. It kept coming. His mean muscled hands chocking her and when he she was gasping for breath, he left her till another time. She felt it again. This time, she was choking. Her eyes were turning white. She struggled, trying to kick the monster away. She wanted to shout but she couldn't. It seems a force had taken away her voice. Instead, she lay still giving up but the shaking won't stop.  Then her eyes were opened. It was a dream. But a man's eyes bore into hers. There was danger and alarm in his eyes. He was the handsomest thing she had ever seen. The urgency in his voice made her realize the danger they were in. His breath had a mix of liquor and she wonder if it is reasonable to trust the stranger.

'We need to get off this ship, it is sinking', he roared on top of his voice.

The thought of a sinking ship and the fact that she can't swim spread the extent of the peril to her face and it turned white with horror. To add to the danger they were in, it was raining very hard and the storm in the sea is just beginning to gain momentum.

They were hurled against the walls of the cabin. The water was gradually filling in. There was an alarm blaring. The sound of running feet and the voice of men screaming orders along side that of women screaming with fear.

They were at the sea shore with the morning sun making its inroad into the new day. They were surrounded by palm trees and inside of it was a deep forest. The sun burned her face and the breeze rustled her golden hair. She felt the breeze on her temples and reaching over to her hair. She woke up, startled.  She sat up and surveyed the environment. There was no recollection of how they got here. Then all of a sudden the event of the night before came pouring in. The water filling the ship, the storm and the heavy rain. She turned to him and saw that he had started a fire and something that looked like a rabbit roasting in the fire. The aroma of it was inviting and she realized how hungry she was. As if reading her mind he said:

'It will soon be ready, just a little more fire to the belly'.

She studied him. He was shirtless. Except for a knicker that he wore. His long wavy hair is tied in a pony tail. He is slim but muscular with a lean face that smiled easily. He took the roasting meat from the fire, settled it on banana leaves he had cut. He took out a knife from his pocket and began slicing the meat into different chunks. He placed some before her and took some for himself. He didn't wait for the meat to cool off before devouring it.

The meat was tastier than she had expected. She finished it up in no time. They chew the meat momentarily forgetting their condition. Alone in an unnamed island as the only survivors. They could be danger of wild hungry animals prowling and even unfriendly Islanders.

He was throwing the bones into the sea when her question caught him by surprise.

'Who are you and how did we get here?'. He stopped wrapping the remaining meat in the leaves. He looked up at her and noticed her physique for the first. She is proportionally endowed. She has a face that looks angry and at the same time friendly. Her dress barely got to her knees. Revealing clean shapely legs befitting a woman. He had removed his shirt and given her to wear before they entered into the boat from the ship.

'I am Marcus and we had a ship wreck. The storm was nothing I had ever seen before. The last thing I remembered was swimming against the tide with you unconscious when the boat tumbled.

'And the others?'

He shook his head.

'I afraid they didn't make it'.

She swallowed hard turning up the words in mind. She wondered how they were going to get out of the...

'We will be out of here in no time. I spoke with one of the locals who had agreed to help us.

She stared at him studying his face that had a grin spread across it. Who is this man? Is he some kind of spirit? How was he able to read what she was thinking.

'I didn't get your name'. The grin had spread even further on his face.

'Nancy', she said absent mindedly.

She turned her eyes to the sea and watched the waves rose and run up to the shore and receded back into the sea before starting over again. She thought about her failed marriage. She was married to a monster but there was no sign of it initially. Brian was every woman's dream man. They had clicked instantly and three months later, they were married. Few months after the marriage, she knew she was married to a monster. He was unreasonably possessive and he had a violent temper. Her plea for divorce was met with bashing and torture. Her redemption came when Brian went for a business meeting. She took the next available flight from U.S to Spain far away from Brian. She didn't know when the tears began to fall.

'Why re' you crying?'

She turned to him confused. Touching her face and that was when she saw it.

'Are you okay. I already told you we will be out of here'.

'I heard the first time', she snapped wiping her tears.

'Then why the tears? Are you missing your husband?'

How did he know she was married?

He pointed and she saw  Brian's ring in finger. She pulled it off and hurled it into the sea.

'Not anymore', she said with a smile of contentment.

'I didn't know. I am sorry'.

'It's okay'.

The sun had risen with fierce intensity and they left to sit under a tree that shaded them from the sun. They spent the rest of the afternoon talking about their lives before the shipwreck.

'I was married to a whore. She kept driving me crazy with her promiscuous ways and still I loved her. When she eloped with my friend, that was when I took shipping to forget everything. I intended drinking myself to death when the alarm rang off that the ship was sinking. And then I saw you...and I forgot I wanted so much to die'.

'When you came to wake me, I was having a bad dream. I dreamt that Brian was choking me and when I saw you, I wanted to escape from all my troubles'.

When the local finally arrived with a steamboat that would sail them to the mainland, she was nestled on his chest, the only place she wanted to remain.

Thank you for walking with me to Love Island. I hope the journey was worth it?

Let's make it a date next time. I am still Yours Truly,

Julius Topohozin.