Kris cracked the shell of a coconut with a loud thwack, tuning the knife against the crack to make a hole that big enough for the sweet liquid inside to seep out. He handed it to Aya and she immediately began to drink up, watching as he opened one for himself. That was their lunch for the day, the same with breakfast and if they don’t find anything else to eat, then it’s going to be their supper, too. Life was hard, but it somehow gave Aya a comfortable feeling due to its simplicity.

She took the knife from him and split her coconut in half, also used it to scrape out the meat that clung to the shell. She never really fancied coconuts, but they were good. Besides, it’s the only abundant food in the island and she didn’t want to aggravate the situation by complaining about it. There were a few fruits trees in the middle of the island, but she never dared to go there, afraid of what she might find.

“Yum!” She giggled as she took a bite from a chunk of the white, jelly-like substance.

“You like it?” Kris slightly chuckled at her. “Aren’t you getting sick of it?”

She waved his statement aside. “I never ate coconut back in the city. This is all new to me. Why would I be sick of it?” she questioned.

He leaned over. “Don’t eat too much. You’ll have stomachache if you do.”

Aya arched a brow at him. “How do you know so much about these things? Don’t tell me you were stranded in an island before.”

“You’re being silly.” Kris sat up, his hand reaching over to her face. He swiped something off of the side of her lip. “You got some right there.”

Aya flinched again and watched as he did the most unexpected thing she’s ever seen since she married him. Instead of wiping his finger off somewhere, he the thing off. She blinked slowly, her eyes wide as she watched him. She gulped the rest of the coconut she was eating and looked down, her cheeks flushed.

To be honest, she had seen some ships pass by, but she pretended not to see them. For some reason, she liked this version of Kris, always looking after her and never cold although he didn’t smile often as usual. Still, he was warm and because there was no work to get in the way, he seemed to concentrate on her more and her on him.

She figured it was the higher form of the relationship she had established with him from day one. She smiled at the thought and even considered herself silly for wishing for something else than what she got, but still, she wanted to spend a little more time with him, stuck in that island.

Suddenly, he stood up and grabbed her hand, dragging her with him. “Come on!” he ordered.

“Hey!” Confused, Aya dug her heels into the sand. “Where are we going?” she demanded from him.

He merely smiled at her. “You’ll see. Let’s go.”

“Okay.”

They walked through the forest, nearly reaching the middle. She was on the verge of complaining after tripping on some lose roots, but then, Kris stopped and she ended up crashing against his back.

Aya’s hand flew to her nose. “Ow! Why did you –” She looked around her and saw a spring. She looked at her husband and found him grinning like an idiot. She also did the same thing. She stepped towards the edge of the clear pool. “Is that what I think it is?” she asked him.

He nodded. “Fresh water.”

She laughed. “Thank goodness I don’t have to drink rain water anymore!” She sighed. “When did you find this?”

“Just this morning.” He seemed pleased that she was happy about his discovery. “Wait til you see what’s on the other side of that thicket. He pointed farther into the spring.