"i don't give up easily,
'specially when there's
a real pretty girl involved."
"cute, merridew.
that's real cute."
When the pilot's daughter crash-lands on a desert island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, all she wants to do is survive long eno...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The next morning, I woke up to slivers of light streaming in through the walls of the crudely built shelter I shared with Ralph and Piggy. A rough night had crusted my eyes together with sleep and some grains of sand, which I rubbed away with distaste. Piggy was still on his side, snoring lightly, but Ralph was gone. This made me feel a little sad: there was something so warm and so lovely about him. Being around him felt like comfort.
"Good morning, Y/n!"
I stopped rubbing my eyes and looked in the direction of the voice. Ralph stood at the entrance of the hut, chewing a piece of yellow fruit. In his other hand, he held another piece, which he held out to me. "Want one?"
I smiled and nodded. "Sure, Ralph. Thank you so much!" I bit into the fruit, which was sweet and plump with juice. Some of it dribbled down my chin, and I quickly wiped it away, ashamed. Ralph laughed.
"Do you want to come with me and get some more?" he asked. "For breakfast, or something?" I smiled and nodded, standing up.
"Sure!" I said happily, eager to spend more time with him. Then I cast a look at Piggy. "What about Piggy? Should we wake him up or...?"
"I think he'll be fine," Ralph assured me, patting my shoulder. A warm feeling flowed in my stomach. "Let's go, shall we?"
"So, Y/n," Ralph asked when we started walking into the forest. "Are you, um...are you feeling all right?" To be honest, I'd woken up feeling really numb. It was like someone had taken a knife to my heart and cut it out so I wouldn't be able to feel anything.
"Yes, of course," I said, chewing on my fruit. "As well as I can for being stranded on a desert island, I suppose. Are you?" I spit out the pit of the fruit into my hand and tossed it away.
"Yes, but-" He stopped, as though trying to figure out how to phrase the next question. "I heard you crying in your sleep last night."
"Oh no! Did I wake you up? I'm so sorry."
"No no, I was already awake, or, I had trouble sleeping," he said hastily. "But you started crying and I wasn't sure if you were just dreaming or if something was wrong or..." I racked my brain, trying to figure out what was troubling me.
A multitude of things, I supposed.
"I guess I'm just missing my father," I said, shrugging. "I mean, we were pretty close and then he died yesterday. I guess I hadn't cried enough over him, so I did it in my sleep. I don't really remember my dreams, Ralph."
"Me either." Ralph stopped at the base of a tree bearing yellowy-orange fruits. "I'm sorry, Y/n. I really am. I mean-" He reached up and picked a fruit from the tree, as though trying to buy time to figure out what to say next.
"I didn't know your father, but I'm sure he was a very nice man," he said honestly, looking earnestly at me. "I mean, he raised you quite well. You seem like a nice person. That's a mark on his character." I smiled, feeling comforted by his words.
