Find Your Oasis

Chapter 9

May 19th

I open my eyes and sunlight comes pouring in through the windows in my bedroom.  I glance at my phone, and a disbelieving chuckle escapes my lips.  It's one of the craziest feelings in the world, being woken up at 4:30 in the morning because the sun is rising.  The absolute earliest the sun rises at my grandparent's house is 5:45, and that's only right at the turn of summer.  But here in Ketchikan, Alaska, the sun doesn't wait around.  I can't even imagine what it must be like farther north, the sun only setting for a few hours during the summer before rising again.  And that's not to mention above the Arctic Circle, where in the middle of summer the sun doesn't set at all, instead just dips down towards the horizon before rising in the sky once again.

"Noah?"  A sleepy voice calls from the living room.  "Are you up?" 

"Yeah, just a second." 

I crawl out of bed and take a glance in the mirror, frown at my hair which has decided to stick up every sort of direction, and run my fingers through it, trying to get it to calm down as I open my door.   I see Kailani with her head laying down on her arms on the table, and I grin.

"Did the sun wake you up again, too?" 

She raises her head and frowns at me.  "Yes.  It's ridiculous.  That makes four days in a row that I've woken up this early.  Do you know how not okay that is?" 

A laugh escapes my lips.  "I thought you were an early riser, getting up before the sun to go surf?"  I say teasingly.

"Yes, but even on the longest day of the year I can still sleep for another hour, walk to the beach and still be there when the sun rises."  She says as she wrinkles her nose.  "That hour makes a difference."  She adds with a sheepish grin.

I nod in agreement.  "You're right.  It feels like I only just fall asleep when the sun rises again.  We should've found jobs we can do in the morning, instead of at night."  I say as I shake my head.

"Well, we'll remember it for the next place we go.  Find some sort of work in the morning."  Kailani says with a sigh.  Then she looks up at me.  "Do you want to play cards or something?"

I shrug and sit down across the table from her.  "Sure, why not?" 

Soon cards are flying back and forth across the table as we dive into our game, each of us deep in thought, trying to outsmart the other.  I win the first two hands, but then Kailani goes on a streak and if I lose this game, it'll be five in a row that she has won.

"Do you have siblings?"  I ask suddenly.

She grins but doesn't skip a beat as she lays down a Queen.  "I know what you're trying to do."

"What are you talking about?"  I ask as a huge grin spreads over my face and I lay down a card.

"You.  Trying to be conversational.  You're really just trying to distract me."  Kailani says with a smirk as she sets down another card.

"Really, though."  I say as I look at her.  "You haven't said anything about siblings.   Do you have any brothers or sisters?" 

She looks up at me.  "No, I don't.  I grew up with my cousins though, and they're as close to me as siblings.  We practically did everything together."

"And now?  Are you still close to them?" 

She shrugs.  "A couple of them.  Several of them moved to Honolulu when they turned 18, they just wanted to live in the big city.  A couple of them are still in my hometown, though.  We hang out sometimes.  Not as much as we used to, but still a good amount."