"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...
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The leaves crunched under our feet and the foliage brushed against our uniforms as we walked back to the shore. Suddenly, Simon veered off the path, eyes shining brightly.
"Wait, where are you going?" I cried. Simon didn't answer. Instead, he peaked under a large leaf, which hung over a nearby stump. Underneath was another large leaf, and crawling across it was a small lizard! I squatted down to watch as Simon gently slid the lizard into his hand.
"Oh wow," I breathed, eyes widening in enchantment. Simon gave a small, serene smile as the lizard crawled around his hand and up his arm.
"I found him when we first arrived here," he said tenderly as he sat down on the stump. "His name is Walter and I love him with all my heart. Last night I put him here, and today I just want to check on him." Walter continued to crawl up his arm and then rested on his shoulder.
"Aww, he likes you," I said quietly, so as not to scare Walter. Something about Simon had softened the minute he had seen Walter. His shoulders were less tense, and he seemed a lot more relaxed. His eyes were still shining brightly, but they had a peaceful sort of brightness to them, like the thoughts in his head had stopped racing around the train of thought in his head and had stopped to rest upon seeing Walter. He reached up and began to gently stroke the back of the lizard's head with his forefinger. Walter leapt up onto Simon's face, and fell off as soon as he squinted with discomfort. Then Walter scuttled around in Simon's lap. I giggled as Simon looked up, grinning bashfully.
"You have a way with animals, don't you," I said.
"Yes, I find them easier to hang out with than other people," he said shyly. "And they do have a lot to say, but you just have to listen closely." He let the lizard crawl over his hand. "Sometimes I think that people are afraid of things because they don't understand them. Like the ocean, for instance. Everyone thinks the beast comes from the ocean. We don't know much about the ocean, but I think it's incredibly fascinating. I've always wanted to explore the ocean. The waves, the fish, the plants down there fascinate me and make me want to learn more about them. I think they're so pretty." His eyes shone in the darkness. "Maybe if you let something you don't understand do the talking, you'll find that you have more in common than you-"
"Shh!" I hissed suddenly, putting a finger to my lips. Simon froze, and my eyes darted around the trees. I swore I had seen something, I swore on my-
"Roger!" Simon said in a hushed voice. I jumped, and sure enough, Roger's figure came into the clearing, holding a long, sharpened stick.
"Why aren't you two in bed?" he asked quietly. He tilted his head toward Simon. "Thought Ralph said you weren't supposed to be here." Simon's hand protectively shifted to cover Walter.
"What, are you suddenly on patrol or something?" I couldn't help saying.
"What's that you got there?" Roger asked, pointing at Simon's lap.
