The Love Box Experiment

Chapter Twenty-Nine. Nov to May

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE 

Paul woke with the alarm clock rattling at 6 o'clock. An old 1950's bedside clock that belonged to Stephanos. It was still dark outside and Paul turned on his mattress to look up at the ceiling. He could just make out the supporting beams that held the sloping roof, which juttered out from the side of the taverna. The lean-to had been built by Paul with the help of Stephanos and Hektor. They had started the construction in December to provide a bedroom for Paul, a wooden floor, wooden walls with one window. It had taken them two weeks to finish it in late December. 

That was four weeks ago.

Paul listened to the rhythm of the sea, the gentle waves sweeping onto the sand, then a count of four seconds before the next wave. After two months living on the beach, Paul could tell the weather and sea conditions from the warmth of his bed. 

For Paul, this was heaven; no worries, no stress, no internet; just a simple life. Peace. He thought about the poem that LC had given him, written on a piece of scrap paper, now committed to memory.

Open ears and open eyes

wake up to your starbound bride

who goes in and then stays inside

Oh the demons come, they can subside. 

Was LC sending Paul a message, he wondered?

Today, the late January mist would give way to a cold start but the sun would provide some heat by nine o'clock.

Paul got up, washed at an outside tap, dressed and pushed the fibreglass boat down to the waves. Clambered in, rowed out a little way before starting the motor. The routine was the same every day; he would fish at dawn, bring back his catch after three hours, to a breakfast with the others.

He judged himself lucky to have found peace at the beach and the friendship of the four who owned the taverna, who had become more like the parents he didn't have in the UK. 

Author's Note: Take a look at the media attached to this chapter. The words form the poem given to Paul.