Lost and Found: A Stranded in Paradise Romance

Love in the Waterfall

I watched Dylan expertly fillet the fish we'd caught in the lagoon then we skewered the meat and roasted it over the fire. Even though it had no seasoning or any extra accompaniment, it was the best seafood I'd ever tasted.

"Wow," I said, sucking on the juicy flesh. "Talk about farm to table. This is the freshest seafood I've ever had."

"It's not too shabby," Dylan nodded, watching me lick the morsels with rapt attention. "I also noticed some shellfish scurrying around the sea floor when we were out in the lagoon. Maybe next time we can cook up some fresh lobster."

I paused for a moment, suddenly becoming pensive.

"It's strange, isn't it?" I said. "Do you ever wonder why we were the only ones to survive the crash and why we washed up on this bountiful island? We could just as easily still be drifting out at sea with no food or water."

"We got lucky, that's for sure," Dylan said, peering up into the cloudless sky. "But who knows how long it might take for someone to find us. This island is pretty tiny compared to the size of the Pacific Ocean."

"Think of it as a little vacation," I smiled. "A vacation with the best seafood for miles around."

"That's one way of looking at it," he chuckled. "Are you looking forward to getting back home?"

"I'm eager to see my kids," I nodded. "They must be fearing the worst right about now. How about you?"

"I don't know," Dylan said. "This is the last place I imagined being stranded."

"Do you miss your wife?" I said, noticing him hesitating.

Dylan paused for a long moment while he swallowed the last of his seafood.

"Would it be terrible to admit that I don't?" he said. "This little diversion has made me reexamine my priorities. Suddenly, I'm not so worried about advancing my career and owning a nicer house. Out here, everything goes slower and there's nothing to worry about."

"Except maybe companionship," I chuckled. "I think God smited us when he put two married people together on this island. Everybody will be curious what we did to pass the time while we were stranded out here with nobody but ourselves to keep each other amused."

"You've never cheated on your husband?" Dylan asked.

"No," I said, feeling my heart beginning to pound in my chest. "You?"

"No," he said. "Although I suspect it was more out of a sense of duty than true love."

"Mmm," I nodded. "It looks like the only thing we'll be rubbing together while we're stranded in paradise is some dry wood to make a fire."

"Speaking of..." Dylan said, standing up and emptying out the plastic bucket. "We're going to need to boil some more water pretty soon to stay hydrated. I'll fetch some from the stream while you put some more logs on the fire. Be back in a jiff."

While Dylan trundled off to gather the water, I built a stone buttress around the pit to support the bowl he'd whittled earlier with his metal chisel, then I peered out over the lagoon, reflecting back on what he'd said earlier. I'd been ashamed to admit that I wasn't missing my life back home much either. I didn't miss getting up at five-thirty every morning and crawling through rush hour traffic to go to a mind-numbing job, only to come home to the same boring life of preparing meals for my family and sitting around the TV watching stupid reality shows with my husband. Out here, I felt like I was reconnecting with my soul and living in the moment, savoring every sunrise and sunset with my new muse. The only problem was that I couldn't actually fulfill my desire to make love to the man of my dreams. Because I knew that if I did, I'd never be able to look my husband in the eyes again and that our children would suffer from our compromised relationship.