Short Stories

Love Messenger

Written On: May 15th, 2019

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I never meant for it to happen. It was a joke, I wasn't going to take it seriously. I was only going to join for a week, then delete my account. My friends, Olivia and Parker, told me that I should look for someone or I would be lonely forever. So, to get them off my back, I told them I would join a dating app called 'Spark' for a week to see if anyone would catch my attention. If not, they would have to stop trying to get me into romance. It was the fifth day when I got a message from a guy named 'Jessi'. It was a weird way to spell it, but I assumed it was a mistake or a style thing so I never asked. His first text was a cheesy pick up line, and although I'm not usually into those kinds of things, it was funny so I decided to give him a chance. What I thought would be a fifteen minute conversation turned into several hours of us just bouncing topics and opinions off each other. We seemed to have a lot in common, like how we both wanted to travel the world and that we both hated spicy foods. It was about nine thirty-five p.m. when we stopped, but the messages repeated themselves in my head. Long story short, I didn't sleep very much that night. So now here I am, blabbering about it to Olivia.

"Seems like you really like him, Scarlett." She remarks, wiggling her eyebrows at me. "We just met last night, no way would I like him like that already!" I retort sternly, folding my arms.

"Please, I've seen this kind of behaviour before. You're totally into him!" She teases, poking my shoulder and making kissy faces at me. "And who made you a love expert?" I huff and turn to my notes.

Well, maybe she was right. Jessi and I started texting more and more, each time becoming closer. He became the highlight of my day. Of course I still stay up to date with all my school work, but anytime I could sneak in a text, I would. Soon enough, we were talking about meeting in real life. Since Spark is still in its early stages, we can't send pictures to each other. He told me we should meet on Cuddio Island. I was shocked when he suggested that everyone knows about Cuddio Island. Anyone who goes there, never comes back, which is why it was even weirder when Jessi said that's the only place we could meet. It sounds really sketchy, so that's why I'm going to talk to Parker and Olivia about it.

"Scarlett, you can't seriously be thinking of going there?" Parker questions. "You've never even seen a picture of this guy! How do we know he's not some old man planning to kill you or something?!" Olivia follows up.

"Well, I don't. But I do know he's the only guy I've been interested in and probably the only one I ever will." I try to reason with them. They're the ones who were always pressuring me to find someone, why stop me now when I have? "You will definitely find someone else, so please don't be an idiot! This is obviously a trap!" Olivia almost seems to be begging as she says this. I sigh, clasp her hands in mine and stare deep into her olive eyes.

"Olivia, you know me. I've never done anything crazy in my life. I've always had good judgment, and I don't sense any ill-intent from Jessi. My mom always used to tell me that you have to run before you can walk, and I've been crawling. Olivia, I need to do this. I have to take this jump or I'll never know what's on the other side." I tell her. Her eyes were wide as she lightly squeezed my hands. "I know I can't stop you when you have your mind set on something, so that's why I'm coming with you." Olivia, with a slight frown on her face, tells me. I nod gratefully and look at Parker.

"My family has a boat we can use." He shrugs. I'm glad he's helping me. Once school finished we went straight to Parker's house. His parents won't be home until five, so we have about an hour and a half to get to the island and come back. It's not too far away, so this shouldn't take long.

"I'm bringing a first aid kit and a phone ready to call 911. I'm not going up with you." Olivia murmurs to me as we board the boat. I offer a shy smile and Parker starts the boat.

The water was calm and there was no bone chilling, just the three of us and the waves. We arrived at the island in about ten minutes, which is considerably shorter than I thought it would be. I guess I should expect no less from a speed boat. I tied the boat off and started to climb the cliffs. I know that no one had lived to tell what was behind the cloud, but still I climbed. There were a few sharp edges and bumps along the way, but at last I made it to the top. I stand and brush myself off while looking around. I almost stumble right off the side of the cliff when I notice a village in front of me. The houses look old, yet new at the same time. I walk into the village and pull out my phone. I begin texting Jessi.

Scarlett: I'm here, where are you?

Jess: Center of the village.

-I have dark brown hair, also I'm wearing a red polo shirt.

I begin making my way to the center of the village, giving awkward waves to the few people I see on the way. They always look confused, but wave back anyway.

I eventually find the center and look around. There are several people, all of which have dark brown hair. Only one has a blue sweater, so that knocks that option out.

Scarlett: You're going to have to be more specific.

-There are others that match your description.

Jessi: My hair reaches to my shoulders.

I look around once more. Two of the people stop using their phones and walk away. Two more options out. I try to tell the difference between the others, but they all look the same from afar.

Scarlett: Is Jessi short for something, or a nickname?

-I may be able to ask about you.

I look up from the screen and take one last glance around, only this time I notice one of the people is a female. She's the only one. My phone buzzes and I look down.

Jessi: Yeah.

-Jessica.

I snap my head back up and lock eyes with the girl. She smiles and waves at me excitedly. I wave back, and I can feel the corners of my lips turning upwards into a grin.