Time Of Our Lives

Lifes A Beach

3 hours and 30 mins later, we reached our hotel. The flight got shaky so we were all tired and we collapsed on our hotel beds. The following morning as the sun rose, we were greeted by the suns warm embrace. Having recovered from the jetlag from the previous day, I went down to the beach to go for a walk. As I went outside I encountered Yuphel. "Can I join you please? I want to go and explore the beach" said Yuphel. "What are we waiting for? Let's go" I replied while putting my shoes on. As we walked around the beach, I could see the joy in Yuphel's face. My heart started beating once again. This time instead of blushing I smiled. It was a peaceful moment and I savoured every moment of it. Her smile, her laugh and the warmth of the sun. As we walked back to the hotel, I found Kuenzang laying on his face on the sands. "I hate your sister" groaned Kuenzang. "What did she do this time?" I said. "Deki can't stop talking about your sister and just this morning she and I planned to go for a romantic walk across the sands. Then she saw Dechen going for a run." said Kuenzang still laying on the sands. "She joined her and I got left out." "Its fine man, let's go eat something right now. It might help you cheer up" I said trying to comfort him. We went to the buffet and we took our food to the beach shore. I had two omelettes, a stack of warm pancakes and a large cup of orange juice. I split my food with Yuphel while Kuenzang was not looking. Kuenzang was eating bacon and was drinking sweet coffee. "Wow bro, I didn't realize you were hungry. You demolished that entire plate within minutes." said Kuenzang as he sipped his coffee. I awkwardly nodded and gulped my juice. As we were finishing up our meal, Dechen and Deki showed up, both giggling and smiling. Kuenzang stared at them, showing no emotion and resembling a lifeless husk. As Deki and Kuenzang left for their photoshoot, I decided to take the girls out for a swim in the ocean. "I can't wait to wear my new swimsuit and swim in the ocean" Yuphel changing into her swimsuit. Yet again, I started to blush. As we walked down the beach we saw many tourists, and many snacks shops. As Dechen and Yuphel went to swim I went to buy some coconuts, I decided to drink and sleep on my mat. "Hey Jamyang, are you not going to swim?" asked Yuphel as she hovered out of the water. "Your sister already made some friends and she is hanging out with them. She is so cool." said Yuphel while still fangirling. "I would join you but I don't like immersing myself in a fish toilet." I said while slurping from a coconut. "Wow, so negative. Give it a try, what is the worst that could happen." said Yuphel trying to drag me to the ocean. While I was thinking of a reply, Yuphel had already dragged me into the ocean. I panicked and flopped like a fish out of water. Yuphel quickly dragged me out of the water. "Jamyang! Are you ok? I am sorry I dragged you into the ocean. I didn't know you were scared of the ocean." said Yuphel as she patted on my back. "I am not scared of the ocean, I just don't know how to swim" I said coughing out water.

"Woah, I did not know that, I am sorry. Well on the bright side allow me to help you swim." said Yuphel while holding my hand. How did I get myself in this situation? I am now in the ocean learning to swim from a spirit. "Humans float naturally over water, so just let yourself go and dance with the ocean waves." said Yuphel minutes later, "Maybe don't literally let yourself go" said Yuphel said as she dragged me out of the ocean. "*Cough*Cough*, I should have thought that through." I said as I gasped for air. "This time be calm, gently kick with your legs and stroke your arms." said Yuphel as she demonstrated. I relaxed myself and calmly followed her instruction. I gently kicked my legs and stroked my arms. Before I knew it I was floating, I was finally able to swim. "Yuphel, I can swim. I can sw...blur blur" is said before I lost control and drowned again. We spent the entire day learning to swim and I was finally able to swim. As we returned to the hotel, Kuenzang, Deki and Dechen were all laughing at me. I had forgotten to apply sunscreen and my entire body was sunburnt. "You look like a cooked lobster. You look like an angry cartoon character. You look like Cliff the Small Red Cat (parody of popular kids character)'' said Kuenzang as he laughed. Deki and Yuphel just giggled while my sister lectured me. "How can you not wear sun block? Are you deluded? How irresponsible are you? You are supposed to be the older brother" screamed Dechen. I was left speechless and I just walked off while Kuenzang ran after me. "Are you too shy? Your whole body is red in embarrassment" said Kuenzang while still laughing. I was getting annoyed of his shenanigans. As we walked into the restroom he continued to make fun of me. While we were using the urinals, he was dancing while insulting me. Just as he danced he slipped in some water on the bathroom tiles and he fell face first onto the urinal. I came out of the urinal carrying an unconscious Kuenzang. I left his teeth in the urinal for him to fish out later. The girls burst into laughter, to the point the hotel management told us to quiet down. I took Kuenzang to Deki's room and left him there to rest and recover.

Later that night as everyone was asleep, I felt a hand across my waist. As I looked closely through the dark, I noticed it was Yuphel. My heart started beating more than it ever did. Why was she in my bed? When did she get in? Suddenly lightning struck and Yuphel hugged me tighter. I realized she was afraid of lightning; I wanted to embrace her more, so I pretended to be asleep and hugged her. Hugging her was almost therapeutic; though I felt nervous. I was not willing to let her go. Yuphel stopped shivering and went to sleep peacefully. The next morning as I woke up, Yuphel was staring at me from my bed. I awkwardly asked her "Uhh, what are you doing on my bed?" "I know you were awake last night, thank you for hugging me. I am sorry I got into your bed. Ever since I was young I was afraid of the lightning. So I felt scared last night and climbed into your bed." said Yuphel while blushing. I responded with a smile and said, "Whenever you are scared, you can count on me. I will always be here for you." That day I and Yuphel grew closer than before.

Our flight was to take off in 5 hours. I took that time to go for one last walk with Yuphel in the beach. Luckily Dechen and Deki took Kuenzang to the local dentist's office. As we walked along the beach, we did not say a single word. Yuphel slowly grabbed my hand and continued to walk silently.

We rushed to the airport and as we boarded the plane I and Yuphel came to a realization. Having finished one more regret out of Yuphel's list, we were anxious and uncertain about our future. Only time could tell what surprises our future would hold