Forbidden

Chapter 3

There were three of them. Boys. Probably in their early twenties. I guess that would make them "men". They were each carrying a surfboard. I'm not going to lie, they were kind of cute. Luckily they seemed even more startled than I was. For a moment we just stood there staring at each other. Then the one in the middle bent down to meet my eye level.

"Hey little girl, where's your mommy?" He asked. I didn't answer, though I felt a strange desire to punch him in the face for mentioning her. I ignored it and turned to run but he gently grabbed my hand. "I'm not going to hurt you."

The weird thing was, I actually believed him. Some strange guy, that I'd never met, on some weird island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, that it was physically impossible for me to be on in the first place, told me he wouldn't hurt me, and I believed him. I was tired of running. I was tired of being alone. I didn't care who they were as long as they would keep me company. By now the other two were kneeling next to me as well. They were studying me, trying to decide what to make of me.

"Where do you live? Are you lost?" I stayed quiet. Even if I did want to tell them, the answers to their questions were... complicated. They met each other's eyes, seeming to come to a mutual agreement. Then the one on the left asked,

"Wanna play in the water?" My eyes lit up and I nodded eagerly. The mere idea made all my fear wash away. No one had played with me in years.

"Bryan, she probably can't even swim!" The one on the right exclaimed.

"I can too swim! And I bet I can swim faster than you too!" I nearly shouted. They laughed, but I didn't see why. I was quite serious.

"You got spunk kid. Ever tried surfing?" I shook my head. They all got big smiles on their faces. The middle one held my hand and started walking towards the water.

"Well, you're never too young to learn."