Paradise
ParadiseThis is just a tiny oneshot I wrote years ago that I decided to re-work for Haesica. Enjoy!
The woman gasped and opened her hazel brown eyes.
The man spat out a mouthful of salty water, a crease of limp black hair fanning his dark orbs.
Their clothes were drenched and they were lying in soft and lumpy sand.
A beautifully crafted Victorian-styled ship with classic white sails lay on its side in the shallow sapphire water.
They didn’t know what had happened.
All they remembered was the water.
Gushing and rolling about, swirling and cloying at their exposed skin, filling every orifice till they gradually sank to the bottom.
Then they had finally broken the surface of the foamy spray as wave upon wave crashed down on their heads, threatening to take them under once more.
And now they were here.
The man staggered to his feet, his simple attire consisting of a white dress shirt and beige pants clinging to him as he moved towards the woman.
The woman remained spread-eagled on the ground, the remains of a resplendent royal blue dress with lacy white frills around the edges adorning her skinny figure, a mane of golden brown hair framing her heart-shaped face.
“Are you alright?”
“I-I think so.”
Her eyes drifted to their tropical surroundings. “Where are we?”
“I have no idea, it looks like some kind of island. I don’t even know what the date is.” The man admitted with a wary countenance.
“Neither do I.”
The man glanced at the capsized ship. “I’ll go see if there are any survivors on board and check for supplies.”
The woman watched as the man stumbled back into the water and began swimming towards the floating wreck.
After a careful search of the mangled boat, the man swam back to shore several times with a number of other things they might need to stay alive.
There were no corpses on deck or even in the surrounding water.
Aside from the creatures which resided in the ocean, the man and woman were the only two living souls for miles.
“What are those?” the woman asked, pointing to the man’s quarry.
“Supplies. This should keep us afloat for a few days until I can scout the rest of the island for any possible game.” The man explained, his eyes scouring the mass of jungle behind them.
“But how long can we stay here? Shouldn’t we signal for help?” the woman questioned despairingly.
“We’ll be able to make a fire. But if no one comes-”
“What do you mean?!”
“I’m not sure if wherever the hell we are falls along any major shipping routes. Even if it does, we may be stuck here for a while. We need to find shelter and a water source, if there’s any fresh water in this place.” The man ventured firmly.
Truthfully, he was just as anxious as the woman about their chances of survival. But he needed to keep his head, for both their sakes.
“Let’s a build a fire,” he suggested.
The woman sat on the shore where she and the man had first been set adrift, her gaunt eyes staring sullenly at the grey ocean in the distance.
Rain pelted down on top of her head like bullets from a machine gun, staining her dress and drenching her to the bone.
The smouldering ashen remains of the fire the man had made lay in a pitiable state beside her.
In fact, the man had made several four bon fires to signal passing ships for each day they had been stranded on the island thus far.
And each one had been doused by the sudden tropical rainstorm which flared up sporadically in the muggy afternoons.
Still, the woman got up every morning at daybreak and sat resolutely on the sand, willing a boat or any help to appear.
Each day, the man was roused from his slumber by the woman’s continuous vigil as she exited the tent, a modern green edifice which he had found among the abandoned ship’s supplies.
He ped the entrance and stepped out into the pouring rain.
A mesh of exasperation and pity washed over him when he observed the woman’s rigid posture while she shivered uncontrollably.
“It’s no good, this rain is more stubborn than you!” the man shouted, the pounding rain stabbing at his cheeks like chips of ice.
The woman ignored him, hugging her sodden legs to her chest, her teeth chattering like crazy.
The man sighed and sat down beside her, gazing despondently at the dismal waves tumbling and rolling, the wind shrieking and whistling like the cries of a banshee. Amidst her grief and frustration at being lost to the outside world, the woman didn’t stop herself from stealing surreptitious glances at the youthful man sitting next to her. He had a kind-looking face that was almost effeminate in its searing perfection, ending off spectacularly with a manly jawline that she could picture herself running her dainty fingertips off.
From the moment they had arrived on this island, the man had already been struck by the woman’s pinched and haughty features, almost as if she was incapable of smiling. But there was something about those soft brown eyes that told unvoiced tales of intense vulnerability, which drew him to her. She had a lovely figure that the man couldn’t help admiring, even if they were just two strangers forced to depend on each other for survival.
These were strange circumstances indeed.
“I don’t want to give up any more than you. But there’s nothing we can do while this storm persists. Come back into the tent, you’re going to catch pneumonia.” The man urged in a persuasive tone after a few more seconds of silence. .
The woman pursed her lips and closed her eyes. The last thing she wanted to do was go back into the tent and confront the many hours still left of this miserable day.
However, the goose bumps on her exposed arms affirmed that pneumonia was a distinct possibility. And with the miniscule medical supplies they possessed, it wouldn’t be wise to risk her health when help from the outside world seemed as though it would never come.
Her cold fingers stretched and clasped the man’s hand as he helped her to her feet. In more of a bid to shield her body from the elements than to offer any real comfort, he placed his arm over her shoulder and steered her forward, being extra careful to not offend her sensibility by touching too much of her.
And because there was nothing else to do but entrust her very life to this strange man, the woman acquiesced and they returned to the safety of the tent.
As if with a sudden groan from the heavens above, the black clouds withered away in wispy . The sun emerged brighter and hotter than ever, the sky painted a majestic blue. The sea had calmed into a tranquil gurgle, the waves lolling to and fro with sluggish languor.
With a strong sense of euphoria, the man and woman emerged giggling from the tent and began exploring the island. They hadn’t done much talking since they’d washed up on the shore of the island. And yet, the sudden relief that came from experiencing unexpected clear skies was contagious, making their camaraderie seem all the sweeter.
As soon as they left the beach behind, they encountered a dense and lush array of vegetation and foliage. The trees were higher than lampposts and the ground was littered with soft mossy grass and thick brown roots, which tickled their bare feet as they walked. The screeching of invisible birds and monkeys startled them around every corner as the sounds leapt across the mottled branches of the hanging branches and vines.
Their clothes became slick with perspiration and the dank humidity spun around their heads like a flaming halo.
Their air began to cool on their brows as they climbed higher up a hillock, slushy mud tarnishing their feet.
They both gasped in unison when they ascended to the top and peered through a curtain of vines.
It was as if they had stepped into a prehistoric world, untouched by the callous and exploitive hand of Man.
A splendid waterfall approximately 30ft tall lay in front of them, framed with scores of green vines like a wreath, which opened up into the mouth of a massive lake.
They scrambled down the grassy knoll and clamoured towards the embankment, where they could see a multitude of multicoloured fish racing to and fro through the water, which was as clear as a mirror. They identified the screeching birds they had heard minutes before from their vantage point as they sailed like kites between the torrential floods of the waterfall.
It was Paradise.
Like two ecstatic children, the man and woman uttered cries of pure delight and dashed towards the water.
Soon after this, the woman and man fell into a routine of searching for food on the island.
They discovered that the man was a skilled hunter and could kill animals from both a short and long distance. The woman watched in fascination as he took a penknife and fashioned himself a rudimentary bow and arrow and strung it up with the dried spleen of a monkey that he had killed. After they shared a quick breakfast each morning, the man left the tent and went hunting for the occasional squirrel, monkey or flightless birds inhabiting the island, which bore a strong resemblance to the extinct Dodo.
While the man went hunting, the woman spent her time gathering nuts, edible mushrooms and other herbs and roots she could lay her hands on. She could distinguish between poisonous plants and plants they could use for medicinal purposes. With some help from the man, she weaved a basket out of dried grass and roots and placed the nuts and berries she collected in it on a daily basis.
She mopped at her sweaty forehead with the back of her hand on one particularly humid day.
She had gathered all she and the man needed and she was thoroughly fatigued.
She had been picking up scraps of herbs near the vast lake when the tantalising ripples of water began beckoning to her.
Both she and the man usually bathed together during the day so that neither one would be left vulnerable in case of an unexpected attack from either human or beast. And they always bathed with some of their clothing still on, never fully exposing themselves to one another.
But the woman was famished and tired from her day’s work. And the man would only return to camp in another hour.
There was no one else about – why not chance it?
She slipped the straps of her blue dress off of her pale shoulders. Because of the mud and grass that had stubbornly clung to the edges, the woman had converted her simple frock into a knee-high affair days ago, the ripped edges giving her a false aura of brave savagery. All that she wore underneath the ruined dress was a pair of white cotton .
She took these off too and waded tentatively into the water, covering her bare chest self-consciously. She uttered a moan of pleasure as the soothing water touched her skin and enveloped her instantly like a lover’s caress. She let her brown hair down from the loose knot she’d tied together with twigs and let it cascade down her back.
The man strolled through the shroud of hanging reeds, carrying a dead wild boar on his back.
He’d had a of luck in stalking his prey and silencing its terrified squeals rapidly.
He decided to return early to camp to despatch the day’s meal on a blazing fire and simultaneously check on the woman. A nagging feeling of anxiety had taken over him and he had quickened his pace towards the beach.
He knew he had no reason to worry; the woman was sensible and never took any unnecessary risks with her daily tasks. Yet, a natural desire to protect her stirred somewhere deep within the man’s chest. Perhaps it was the remnants of her exquisite dress that told him she was a lady of virtuous proportions who needed to be carefully guarded and taken care of.
He took a short cut along the terrain of the waterfall to get back to the tent.
That was when he saw a most perplexing and wondrous sight.
It was the woman, her back exposed to his wandering eyes, bathing in broad daylight.
He unwittingly deposited the boar onto a mossy tree stump.
He let his eyes travel along the wet strands of the woman’s hair framing her skin like a dark velvet sheet. Then he observed the silvery droplets which clung to her arms as she lapped up the water around her and washed herself.
Something vibrated in the man’s belly like an earthquake when he drank in the supple curves of the woman’s s. He was completely riveted by the alluring sight, his feet rooted to the ground as if with shackles.
Just then, the woman opened her eyes and caught sight of the man watching her from the embankment. She shrank in disbelief and wound her arms tightly around her chest.
The man snapped out of his dazed stupor and backed away towards the curtain of hanging reeds.
Before the woman could respond, the man was gone.
It was a tense evening which ensued between the two.
After she had caught him watching her, the woman had quickly dressed and returned to the tent.
She found the man skinning the dead boar with his penknife, not looking at her once.
The woman retreated into the tent for a while before emerging later, a blanket draped around her shoulders. She watched pensively as the man laid out some dried twigs and branches, preparing to make a fire.
Wanting to break the unbearable silence, the woman blurted out: “Will you show me how to make a fire?”
She knew she should be angry that the man had spied on her ness, if only for a few seconds. But getting angry at him for being human meant not talking to the only person she had need of for conversation and even protection in this strange situation. Even though she could remember very little about her life before the island, the woman correctly surmised that she was a simple creature at heart: wanting and craving the warm contact of another. The fire had already done wonders for heating up their cold and aching bones. Wouldn’t talking to one another without reservation bring about an even greater sense of wellbeing?
The man looked up in amazement at the woman’s words, uncertain at first if she was speaking to him. Then he blinked and replied, “of course.”
He made room for the woman as she knelt beside him. Then with gentle murmurs and gestures as if she was a frightened animal, he patiently showed her how to place the lighters and how to best harness the oxygen which collected between the pockets of space.
After several tries, the woman made her first fire.
Despite the flames being meagre and sluggish, the man’s heart leapt at the woman’s transports of delight, her eyes dancing with happiness at her newest creation.
He too smiled in turn as they both watched the amber blaze gathering and flickering with twinkling merriment.
As before, the need for survival prevailed once again.
The woman started asking the man questions on the subject of hunting.
On a day when their supply of herbs and roots were ample to last two days, the man agreed to let her accompany him to stalk a wild boar.
He showed her where to step on the mossy ground so as not to make any sound. The woman observed in hushed amazement as the man took aim, the arrow whizzing through the air like a deadly wasp.
She squealed and winced while the man showed her how to skin the dead animal. But she soon became absorbed in their task of separating the choice meat from the rough hide, pointedly trying to avoid thinking about the way the poor creature’s sticky blood clung to her delicate fingers.
“I think that’s enough work for one day. Let’s have some fun.”
“Fun?” the woman asked distractedly, wiping her dirty hands on the hem of her dress.
“Leave that alone now,” the man interjected, taking the knife out of the woman’s hand. “Come on.”
The woman obeyed and followed the man, a confused expression on her face.
He led her towards the waterfall.
“What are we doing here?”
“I feel like going for a swim. How ‘bout you?”
The woman gazed in alarm as the man began stripping his clothes off right in front of her. She turned away abashedly when he removed his pants and teasingly threw them at her feet.
“Aren’t you coming?”
The man’s lower body was mercifully hidden beneath the shallow water. The woman couldn’t tear her eyes away from his lean and muscular chest, a thin trail of hair travelling from his ribcage down to his navel.
The man shook his head laughingly at the woman’s obvious embarrassment and began doing a series of graceful backstroke towards the centre of the lake.
The woman knew why the man was doing this.
He wanted to make up for unwittingly spying on her while she bathed.
The gesture was unnecessary, but decidedly kind nevertheless.
Her initial chagrin vanished when she saw that the man was thoroughly enjoying himself. Before she could change her mind, the woman removed her scant clothing and waded through the water.
The man obligingly turned away so as not to see her ness for a second time.
Then they stood together with the water coming up to their necks, allowing their tired bodies’ time to adjust to its tepidness.
Out of nowhere, the man splashed water all over the woman’s face.
She spluttered and stared indignantly at the man, searching for the perfect insult. But he only smirked back at her, which made her even more incensed.
So she slapped a handful of water straight into his open mouth.
She laughed when the man swallowed and choked comically. Then she shrieked as the man streaked towards her with the speed and agility of a shark.
They started wrestling in the lake, scaring the fish away in the process while they behaved like little children.
To the woman’s surprise, the man disappeared from view.
She called to him, searching for any air bubbles which sprinkled the surface.
Then she yelled in fright when a pair of clammy hands encircled her waist from behind.
When she realised that it was just the man, she turned around and began peppering his chest with her dainty fists. But they were both laughing uproariously at this point that her former annoyance had evaporated.
The man stopped smiling when he discovered that the woman’s hands were still resting on his biceps, sending tingles down his back. She cottoned on quickly too when she felt the burning weight of the man’s hands gripping her hips.
Both were breathing heavily while he searched her eyes and she gazed at his parted lips.
But just as he leaned in closer, the woman pulled away, swimming uncoordinatedly back to shore.
The man watched in dismay as the woman grabbed her clothes and sprinted back into the jungle.
It took him another 10 seconds to decide to chase after her.
After putting on his clothes, he sped past the trees, his heart in his throat.
To his intense relief, he found the woman (now dressed) standing on the beach near the remains of the fire. She was staring at the waves which broke over each other like the sweeping of a trawler’s net.
She turned around when she heard the man’s footfalls, an unfathomable look on her face.
“I don’t know what happened before. But I just-”
The woman stepped forward and silenced the man’s rambling with a chaste kiss. She pulled back rapidly and stood blushing in front of the astonished man. It hadn’t been her intention to kiss him. In fact, she had prepared a speech in her mind for several minutes which would outline just how impossible a romantic relationship between them was, considering their current circumstances of being stranded on a tropical island together.
But then he had actually chosen to come after her and it made reason and logic left her mind like a bird taking flight.
And now they were standing together on the beach, a shoreline of possibilities crashing down like waves and nestling at their feet in the golden sand.
He could see no fear or anxiety in her hazel eyes.
Only desire, hot and scalding like a volcano.
And it was mirrored in his dark eyes as he took her in his arms and fused their mouths together with desperate longing. He had wanted to do that ever since he had seen her bathing in the lake.
The woman grasped the man’s neck like he was her anchor, returning every one of his hard kisses with eager jubilance.
Then he began guiding both their bodies into the tent, the only connection between them being their lips that remained fastened like shackles of euphoria as they finally gave vent to their growing desire for each other.
When clothes were no longer a taunting barrier, he caressed her womanly curves at every turn and laid sweet kisses all over her translucent skin that shone like pearls. Then it was her turn to settle on top of him and claim his mouth repeatedly with hers, rubbing slow circles over the taut muscles on his chest with burning clarity that made the man’s veins boil over with taunting excitement. All the while, their hands remained entwined as their soft breathing morphed into moans of longing, ending off with triumphant screeches of ecstasy that rivalled those of the chattering monkeys beyond the confines of the green tent.
And when they were finally through, the woman remained nestled closely in the crook of the man’s neck, letting their clammy bodies condense into cooling pits of resolution and inexplicable joy as they spent the rest of the night in each other’s arms.
The man woke with a start, shivering.
He was clad in a scant blanket which covered his stomach down to his knees.
The woman was no longer sleeping leisurely against his chest, her arms wrapped around his neck.
With sinking resignation, the man put on his pants and stepped out of the tent.
The woman stood exactly where he had found her the night before, gazing at the placid ocean. She had left the man’s warm comforting body a short time before, wrapping her frame in a heavy blanket of her own.
The man relaxed when the woman turned to him and smiled radiantly.
“Morning.”
“Morning. When I woke up and you were gone, I thought…”
The woman shook her head and chuckled, placing her hand on the man’s cheek. “You don’t need to be worried about last night.”
“Are you sure?” the man persisted, hoping with all his heart that the woman reciprocated his feelings.
“Yes.” The woman answered assuredly before kissing him with complete abandon.
They held one another for several blissful minutes.
The man kissed the woman’s temple and encased her in his arms as they stood together, watching the pinkish rays of approaching sunrise.
“I think everything will be alright now,” the woman declared with certain gravity.
“I feel the same way,” the man agreed instantly. “But aren’t you the least bit curious about what happened to us and why we ended up here together?” he questioned with sudden trepidation.
Those same questions had passed through the women’s mind a thousand times before, and she was still nowhere near to formulating an answer she could one day live with.
In that sweet and golden moment, her every conscious thought was consumed only by the man standing beside her.
“I am, but it’s also tomorrow’s problem. As for right now, I could stay here forever, with you.” The woman said with ringing clarity.
As she said it, she instinctively believed the sincerity behind the words. And with the man by her side, she knew that nothing could ever come between them.
They had been stranded, but they had found love and solace in one another.
It was Paradise.
At least it was until the sky darkened unexpectedly and thick swirling waves came crashing down all around them. They were soon swallowed back up into the turbulent salty waters, fighting for breath and repeating the never-ending mantra of sinking and coming to on a seemingly perfect island…
“Sica! SICA!!!”
The Korean woman snapped her brown eyes upwards with the air of one who had risen from the dead.
She was usually at her desk during the lunch hour, compiling tedious reports on quality assurance for her line manager.
But she’d gotten up on a sudden whim to pour herself a Styrofoam cup of water from the fountain just down the hall.
A long queue of men and women stood behind her on that hot and sultry day, looking flustered and annoyed with her lackadaisical stance.
Something about the ebb and flow of the air bubbles swirling through the see-through water tank had caught her attention, lulling her into a dazed stupor.
Tiffany, her friend and colleague, bustled towards her with a knowing grin on her face. “Been daydreaming again?”
Jessica Jung blushed deep crimson and snatched up her cup, icy water spilling over the top like a waterfall and staining the grey carpet below. “Of course not,” she mumbled stubbornly.
“Oh, Sica…” Tiffany drawled, rolling her eyes. “I wish you’d just get on with it! You’ve only been crushing out on Donghae ever since he started working on this floor,” she continued slyly, a twinkling eye-smile forming as she spoke.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jessica spluttered.
“No point denying it, Robin Hood’s watching you now.” Tiffany mocked in reference to Donghae’s unexpected talent for archery which his colleagues had discovered during a drinking game at the last company Christmas party.
Jessica turned around sharply and saw the object of her pining standing a few feet away next to a photocopy machine. He was wearing a crisp charcoal suit with a white dress shirt and a bright yellow tie with palm trees on it.
As Tiffany had affirmed, he was now looking at Jessica with a mixture of curiosity and perplexity.
“Crap!” Jessica hissed, wishing she could disappear into the carpet below.
“Now’s your chance, get it, girl. Good luck!” Tiffany whispered, leaving her friend as she retreated back into her cubicle.
There was nothing else to do but to square her shoulders and walk past him.
Jessica had nearly brushed past Donghae when he unexpectedly blurted, “Are you feeling ok, Jess?”
“M-m-me?” Jessica stammered. She’d always been confident around other guys, until Donghae appeared in her life and turned everything upside down.
“Yeah. You were just standing there in front of the water machine. It seemed like you were concentrating really hard on something.” Donghae explained. He hadn’t been at this job for very long and he hadn’t put in that much effort to get know Jessica Jung. But from the little he’d seen of her and their sporadic interactions, he knew there was something strangely alluring about her.
Something that couldn’t be properly formulated into words. Only the semblance of a fleeting moment of déjàvu that felt a little like drowning.
Jessica’s face burned with chagrin, but she rallied. “Oh, it’s nothing. My mind wanders a lot.”
“That happens to me too. Especially when the weather’s hot and all you want to do is pack up for the day and head straight to the beach.” Donghae returned with a charming smile.
Butterflies erupted in Jessica’s stomach and she was only able to offer a sheepish grin at her crush.
“Well, I should go hand this report in. Enjoy your water.”
With another friendly smile aimed at her, Donghae departed with a stack of papers tucked under his arm.
Jessica watched him go, feeling like she could float in the air at any instant with the bubble of happiness coursing through her chest.
Her dreary job was nothing like Paradise.
But it would do.
Tee hee, I really am a louse :¬p Up next: a cute Yulti oneshot called 'Buried Treasure'. If only I could remember what Yuri's dog's name is. Take care, my dear readers. Pip pip cheerio!
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