Destined By The Waves

One Step At A Time

Faith

"Are you sure you'll be able to hike with these heels on?," Joy asks me, with concern dripping in his voice.

"I'll be fine, I guess. I will remove them if they start troubling me," I tell him and he nods.

"There is something else we can do, but I am not sure if you will like the idea," he says looking at me apprehensively.

"Don't tell me you want me to wear your shoes too now. You know they won't fit me Joy, your size is too big for me," I say casually, but I watch a smirk growing on his smug face. I mentally face palm myself at my careless choice of words. And, why does he have his mind in the gutter all day long?

I roll my eyes at him and he chuckles light-heartedly.

"I know my shoes are too big for you, that's not what I meant," he says.

His lighthearted expression suddenly vanishes and he gets all serious.

"What else, then?," I ask him curiously.

"I can carry you up? You know, like a piggyback ride? I am not sure if you would like that, though," he says nervously looking away.

I gulp. My arms around his strong, wide shoulders and my legs around his chiseled waist, all while climbing up bumpily towards the hill top? As inviting as the idea sounds, it's too much and I don't think I can handle so much proximity with him. I already feel way too attracted to him for my liking. This will just screw up my head even more.

"I knew you wouldn't like this idea, I shouldn't have brought it up," he says, his voice clearly showing his disappointment at my silence. 

"I appreciate your offer Joy, I really do, but I told you I don't like taking help remember? And, this is way too much, it's a long walk and it's just cruel to put you through that," I try to reason with him with a more plausible explanation than the one that I gave myself. 

The reality is, I really don't mind taking his help anymore, he has already broken down that barrier I keep up, but he doesn't have to know that.

"I understand," he says and nods, "but if anytime during the hike, you change your mind for whatever reason, remember that my offer still stands. You just have to say it."

"Thanks, I will tell you if I need it," I smile at him assuringly and he smiles back a half-hearted smile.

We start the trek towards the hill top slowly and carefully. Joy insists on staying behind me at all times, in case I accidentally twist my ankle or something, because of the heels. 

Since, it is just a few minutes past dawn and the sun isn't out yet completely, the wind is soothingly cool and the surroundings feel surreal. 

We already had a early morning round of fruits and Joy is carrying some more in his jeans pockets, while I am carrying some in my handbag. We didn't carry anything else along as it would just weigh us down and slow us. Since we have already found a cave now, our aim is not to explore the hill, but just to scale the height and have a better view of the island's geography, especially the stream. 

If the height helps us find a human establishment in some corner of the island, or if we are lucky and we spot the city at some distance in the ocean, it will be cherry on the cake.

But, as Joy said when I presented that thought to him, let's not get too ahead of ourselves and be disappointed if things don't go our way. Yes, that's one possible way to look at it, though I prefer to foresee all possibilities beforehand so that I can be prepared for whatever comes my way. Yes, that brings disappointment sometimes, but what doesn't?