Until I Met You - TiBette

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In a faraway island sparsely populated, where life is simple yet so beautiful, there lives a happy family. The island's scenery is breathtakingly exquisite, its surroundings is so clean and peaceful, and natural resources are abundant. For most people, fishing and farming are the common livelihoods. The island may be small, the way of living is a little laid-back or undemanding, but the people are civilized; their lifestyle is not primitive. Technology has played a vital role in the development and progress of the place over the years. For most parts, it remains pristine, thanks to the island dwellers who continue to preserve and take good care of their environment.

Despite its beauty, the island is not well-known to the world. Only handful tourists come annually. Perhaps it's due to the fact that it's not very accessible to everyone.

Chapter 1

One foggy Saturday morning, the ocean is calm and a few joggers are by the shore doing their daily routine. A doctor happens to be by the seaside, all by herself, trying to sweat off a few pounds that she gained since she came back to the island a couple of months ago. It feels so good to be back, to breathe the morning sea breeze, and to experience the serenity of the island, away from the hustle and bustle of city life. As the doctor jogs, she's intrigued by a sight of something unusual on the shore. Curious, she runs faster towards it. But to her surprise, she sees a woman wearing a half unbuttoned white shirt and a black slacks, lying unconscious on the sand, sea waters are splashing all over her body; she's very pale, weak and not breathing.

Immediately, she checks her pulse then performs CPR. But the woman is still not breathing. The doctor continues to revive her until finally, she gasps for breath. Her body is shivering, but her eyes are not opening; still unconscious. No bruises are visible on her head and her body, but she definitely needs to be brought to the hospital immediately. With the help of other joggers, they call the medics and then a few minutes later, a rescue team arrives and hurriedly brings the unconscious woman to the nearest hospital in town. The doctor rushes to change clothes, fixes herself then proceeds to the hospital's emergency room. Another doctor is already attending to the unconscious woman and some nurses are helping out.

Though the patient's breathing has normalized, she's still unconscious.

Nurse: Dr. Kennard, are you okay? You're shaking.

She takes a deep breath and waggles her hands, trying to calm herself down.

Dr. Kennard: Yeah, I'm fine.

Nurse: You seem not okay. Do you know this woman? Is she related to you?

Dr. Kennard: No. I don't know her. I just found her on the shore. I don't know where she came from.

For whatever reason, Dr. Kennard is unnerved at the sight of the woman who still hasn't regained her consciousness. She has no idea who the woman is but she feels like she's someone close to her. She's never been so nervous during emergencies and she had always remained calm and composed, until right now. Her hands continue to shake, her heart is beating fast.

Nurse: She's wearing a wedding ring.

Dr. Kennard: Can you take it off?

Nurse: Yeah. But it's tight, her fingers are swollen. I need to apply some cream.

No one from the hospital staff or doctors can identify the woman; she's certainly not a resident of the island. Although they haven't really heard of any news about a ship wreck for the past few days or weeks, they believe she's a castaway.