Stranded in Love

Chapter Six

Derick and I had taken refuge in our small shelter. Aside from formulating our plans, that remind me of our strategic team meetings we've had in the past, it was mostly silence. We immediately broke off to work on different tasks once the rain had subsided, leaving the sticky humidity behind. The sun's rays had begun to bleed themselves between the trees, and the sun had shown signs of settling down in the sky in maybe an hour or so. I took a refreshing sip of the rain water and continued with my task. Derick wanted me to stay as stationary as possible to not stress my leg, but to collect what I could without overworking myself. I had been working to make our shelter more secure, but it was proving difficult to do without tools. I wiped the sweat from my forehead as I continued collecting sticks, branches, and leaves that littered the ground.

My stomach pinged with hunger as I continued to work, putting my collected items where I thought they'd fit best. Derick had been laying kindling material on the beach in hopes the sun could dry it enough to start a fire. In these moments, I had never considered the thought of being stranded. That kind of thing happened in movies. I was never interested in camping, or survival shows. I was never outdoors unless I needed to be. Now, all I can think about is what can I do to be helpful? What can I do to not hinder us? I knew the basic necessities, but to have the capacity of surviving with nothing?

I had never considered this kind of predicament happening. Why would I? I would never fly again in my life. I knew that my fear was rational and I should have never taken my feet off of the ground. I grew angry with myself, growing irritated in my decisions. All I had wanted to do was fill my life with demanding work, so that I couldn't be left in my own thoughts, but at this moment all I could do was think.

I thought about Mrs. Hughes and the pilot, and how guilty I felt to be alive. Derick told me he couldn't get to her in time, and the pilot surely had died when the plane broke apart. The memories of the explosion brought chills to my core. I could have been more help, but instead I was afraid, I froze. I didn't know what I could do. I felt I should blame myself. My purpose in this world was to help make the lives of those around me better. Inspire others. Be available for people to open and express concerns. I still had so much growing to do.

I knew Mrs. Hughes had a husband and two grown children. The thought of her family not knowing where she is destroyed me and even more so with the fact that she would never make it home. As I glanced in that direction, I thought back to the plane and faintly saw the large white pieces of metal that were left. She and the pilot were in there, and the thought of their bodies still stuck inside made me feel ill. I took a break to see what Derick was up to. I collected some water in a large leaf and folded it up so it wouldn't leak, and walked from the shade of the canopy to the soft sand and warm sun.

I scanned the beach for as far as I could see, and saw nothing but more sand and trees. I would like to eventually walk this beach, and know if there was anyone around who could help us. The waves lapped gently against the sand, which was a stark difference to the choppiness it possessed mere hours ago. Other than the humidity, there was no way of knowing if there had even been bad weather... or if a plane had crashed.

Derick was working on the second to last letter of our SOS signal, hoping that a plane would fly above us to notice it. He had plans to make it more noticeable tomorrow. I walked carefully around the deep holes as I brought the improvised cup slowly to him as he noticed me and stopped with his signal making.

"Thank you, I was starting to get thirsty!" He said as we exchanged the water, and he downed it quickly. 

"How is the shelter coming along?" He asked.

 "I've grabbed more branches and vines to weave around it, but it's so hard without tools. Do you have any ideas of what we could do to make it easier?" I questioned. He sighed, and his eyes darted back and forth in thought.