Nina And Other Stories | ✔

Uncharted Island - Part Three - I Do Not Consider This a Vacation

There was the sound of glasses clinking and cutlery hitting china.

The people were happy and everyone toasted to each others health. Tons of sea miles were behind them and it felt like the world was only ocean.

Suddenly the sky became dim, the blue transformed into a merciless gray that could only bring thoughts of doom and armageddon. A thunderbolt was released and a loud crash sounded. Soon everywhere was water. She struggled to stay afloat but the harder she tried the harder she was pulled under by the waves.

The big fish that capsized the ship was coming for her, she tried hard to swim away but she was no match for the huge mammal.

As the whale opened its mouth to swallow her Melanie woke up screaming.

Her heart continued beating erratically and as she looked around everywhere was dark.

No! I won't be digested!

She stood up and ran out. She came upon the ocean, a bright, cloudless blue sky and was confused.

"Morning sleepy head," a deep voice boomed causing her to flinch and scream.

She found Mr Idiotic and suddenly everything came back to her.

Thank goodness it was just a dream.

"Are you OK?" he asked a little bit scared.

"I'm stuck in the middle of a deserted island with nothing to eat and no way to communicate with the outside world, what do you think?" she snapped.

He raised his hand in surrender. "Sorry, you don't have to snap at me. It's not my fault."

She sighed. There was truth to his words.

"So what do we do today? I'm starving," he whined.

She looked back at the dense forest.

"I'm studying botany in university, maybe I can find some edible plants in there."

In truth whatever knowledge she had in edible plants was diminutive.

"Really?" His eyes popped out.

What surprises you? The fact that I'm studying botany or that I made it into university?

She rolled her eyes and started off into the forest making a trail to the cave in case they went far.

The forest was dense but she saw no signs of anything edible.

"So, if we're gonna be stuck here together we might as well know each others names. So I don't keep making up names for you. And by names I mean synonyms for dumb and cute," she bent to inspect a plant.

"What?" there was a blank stare in his eyes. He looked at her like she'd just spoke Latin.

"What. Is. Your. Name?" she pronounced each word like she was talking to a baby.

"Oh!" he brightened up finally understanding. "Jake. Name's Jake Sullivan. Yours? I can assume you're British."

Dumbass would've been better but I'll take what I can get.

Aloud she said, "What gave me away? My accent or the fact that I've been lamenting about my lack of morning tea?" sarcasm dripped off every word.

"Your accent, duh!" he answered completely ignoring the sarcasm.
She rolled her eyes. This guy is dumber than a box of rocks.

"So, Jake, what made you go on the cruise?" After deciding the plant wasn't edible, she stood and dusted her hands.

"Oh, a partner and I decided to take a break and relax," he waved it away.

Partner? That struck her as odd. He didn't look like a person to complete 1+1 without this brain exploding from overload not to talk of being in a business and coming up with ideas.

"Really? What do you do?"

"I sell postage stamps. Pretty awesome, right?" his ocean blue eyes shone with pride.

Her face fell. "On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give that a pretty big minus 95," she shook her head mentally chiding herself for putting her hopes up.

"It's a pretty great job," he gave her a lopsided grin. If she forgot the fact that an algae probably had more brain cells than him, she'd actually have melted from how handsome he was.

She shook her head and was attracted to a small bush just in front of her. The bush had small blue berries sticking out on it.

Hope soared in her heart as she went closer to inspect it. She found tiny berries that looked like blue berries.

Only one way to find out.

She plucked three and stood up.

"Jake, can you help me with something?"

"Sure," he smiled.

She shoved the three pieces into his mouth.

"What does it taste like?" she asked as she watched his face for any hives. He seemed to really like it and chewed enthusiastically.

"Blue berries. And they taste wonderful."

She did a little jump and proceeded to stuff her mouth with the tiny berries.

"Don't you think you should wash those before you eat?" concern laced Jake's voice.

"Are you hungry or not?" she asked while chewing a few.

He shrugged and joined her in eating the berries.

After they'd been stuffed full of berries, she carried some back to the cave. She put some more sticks in the fire and went to sit by the ocean.

The water was so clear she could see the bottom. For the first time she appreciated the beauty of the place. The blue of the water combined with the blue of the sky, the off-white of the sand and the green of the trees to create something close to a masterpiece.

If this place wasn't a prison I'd actually cave and tell myself I'm on a vacation. But I do not consider being stuck on an island in the middle of nowhere with a man who was probably taught how to breathe a vacation.

The blue of the water reminded her of Kenzie's dress. The stunning blue halter dress she'd specifically bought for Melanie's birthday.

A tear rolled down her face.

I'll never see Kenz, or aunt Lydia or even that creepy guy from the supermarket ever again.

I'll never eat normal food again and I'll probably turn into a cave woman.

She bent her head and dissolved into tears.