When Worlds Collide

The next morning you woke up to the sun just peeking through the trees. You stood to brush the debris from the ground off your pants, and were reminded of the night before by a throbbing headache. Bloody rum.

“Jack?” you called, searching for a sign of him in the clearing. Nothing stirred.

You walked toward the ocean, which you could barely see through the thick woods.

Finally, you felt the sandy beach underneath your bare feet.

Jack’s boots were about twenty feet away, but Jack wasn’t. You walked the short distance to the surf of the water, and looked to your right. Far in the distance, you saw the faint spec of a person standing about knee deep in the unusually calm water. Removing your own boots, and placing them next to Jack’s, you walked leisurely up the shore, Jack getting closer and closer.

“G’morning, Isabella.” He said tiredly, sounding frustrated at something.

“Isabella?”

“’s your name, right?”

“Well, yes. I’m just not used to people calling me my full name.”

“I’m not big on the whole shortening of names thing. I figure, your parents bless you with a name, who’re you to go and chop it up?”

“I suppose...you been up long?”

“Couple hours.”

There was a silence between the two of you, and it was then you noticed the long branch Jack had in his right hand, with one end in the water. You waded into the blue water next to him.

“Walking stick?” you asked out of curiosity.

“Nah, I’ve been trying to catch a bloody fish for the past at least two hours.”

With a smile, you reached across Jack’s torso, and took the stick from him. Reaching it out of the water, you saw that one end was crudely sharpened. But it’d do.

“Be still. And quiet.” You told him.

A couple minutes passed, and you kept the spear out of the water. Eyeing the water below carefully, you spotted the faintest shadow in the water. You watched it for a while, and it seemed to be swimming gleefully in the same pattern, just half a foot in front of you. It was truly annoying you, swimming back and forth. Back and forth. Over and over again.

With as much force as you could muster, you thrust the spear into the water directly above the shadow. Seawater misted your face, and you felt the spear pierce something quite easily. Lifting it from the water, you saw that the fish you’d caught was none other than a nearly 7 inch coral grouper, orange with small blue spots.

The life had quickly faded from his eyes, and it was clear that you hadn’t caused him too much pain.

Proud of your catch, you handed the spear to Jack, with the fish still pierced on it.

“I’ll let you skin it” you said. “I’m not big on that part.”

You walked back up to the sand and began to trek back to your shoes.

As you were putting your boots on, you reminded yourself you’d have to make yet another fire for the fish, and somehow fashion a makeshift stove to cook it on. You gathered as much wood as you could carry on your way back to the campsite, and to your luck, found a relatively large, flat stone, that you placed precariously on top of the pile of wood in your arms.

You reached the clearing, and began to fashion something as close to a stove as you could get. With two of the biggest wood pieces you could get, you propped up the stone, and underneath, orderly placed the remainder of the wood. You were actually pretty proud of your creation.

Jack showed up about half an hour later, with bloodstained hands, and two small slabs of raw fish. “Well that certainly was a good time.”

You smiled as Jack placed them on the stone. “Thank you.”

Jack started the small fire underneath the stove, and you kept an eye on the fish, flipping with a small twig when necessary. When the fish was finished cooking, Jack patted the fire out with his foot. The two of you ate in pretty much silence, Jack finishing his fish a lot earlier than you.

“Say,” you said after you’d swallowed your last bite, “Any idea if there’s any fresh water around here?”

“Aye. Back in the woods a good bit farther, if I remember correctly” jack said, as if trying to recall its location deep in his mind.

He stood and walked deeper into the woods, with you close behind. You walked for what seemed like ages, and finally reached a spring that went down a small hill, and formed a good sized pond at the bottom.

Before you knew it, Jack had removed his shirt, hat, and shoes and jumped into the water.

“Well?” he said to you, “You gonna get it?”

“Well I can’t exactly just take my shirt off and jump in.”

“Sure you can! I won’t look.” He said, with a look an his face that said ‘I’m going to say I wont look, and I’ll have a really innocent face while I say it, but then you’ll get in and you’ll find out it was a total lie.’

“Nice try.” You said.

Kneeling by the edge of the water, you rinsed your hands, splashed a bit on your face, and took a sip of it from the cup you’d made with your hands.

Jack got out of the pond and sat beside you. “What is it?” he asked.

“What are you talking about?” you replied.

“You’re afraid to get close to anyone, aren’t you? You limit yourself. Love is a good think, Isabella. Truly, it is. Maybe you don’t think I’m one to talk, maybe you’ve heard...rumors, but love isn’t anything to fear. What is it that’s happened to you that makes you fear love itself so much?”

“When you see through loves fantasy, though, there lies the risk.” You said. “Because who you thought was your absolute perfect lover, they just look like a...a perfect fool. So what happens? You go off in search of a perfect stranger, who will rescue you, and be your knight in shining armor, and you realize that perfect stranger just may not exist. And all of the loneliness buried deep in your heart builds and builds and suddenly comes bursting out. And you risk everything for it. And most of the time everything is lost. And...I don’t want to risk anymore.”

“What’s life if you don’t risk anything? I’ve seen it all before. Been all over the world, met different people, experienced different things, and I’ve had my heart ripped apart too. May not seem like it, but deep down, I’ve got love inside me too. I’m stuck between the depths of my fears and the peaks of my pride.”

Jack stood, took your hand, and helped you to stand as well. He put his arms around your waist, and ran his hand down your spine, making you shiver the slightest bit.

“If you’re willing, I’ll try to change your perception of what love is.” He said at a whisper.

“Willing as ever,” you replied, in even a softer tone than his.

He pulled you closer, and you put your hands behind his neck. The beads of water from his torso and drenched trousers soaked your front as your bodies met. His lips softly brushed against yours as he said “I meant what I said when I told you I was in love with you,” just before he leaned in the smallest bit and kissed you softly.

His kiss started so soft, it was barely discernable, but it escaladed into a more passionate kiss every second. You could taste the trace of rum in his mouth as he moved forward, pushing you backward into the wide trunk of a tree. You leaned against it as Jack’s hands moved farther down your back. You parted your lips from him for a mere two seconds to mutter the words “easy, tiger,” and pull his hands back up to their original position.

“Fine, fine. You’ll have to teach me some as well, I guess.” He whispered with a sly smile, just before leaning in once more.