She hesitated. “Aren’t you…coming with me?”
I really want to.“I will join you in a bit. I have some reading to do.”
I showed her the heavy book and she snorted. She had questioned me about it when we picked it up earlier. Althoughshe said I was being “silly”—no matter what that word meant—I could see it touched her.
I could not wait to learn everything there was to know about human bodies. And, once I had the theory, abouthers.
11
Is there a better way to die?
Tamara
Filbur, although really focused on what he was reading, always glanced at me before turning a page.
I’d been swimming around for at least an hour. I’d expected the water to be cold, but it wasn’t. Somehow, everything on this planet felt warmer. Brighter. Even my memories of the Island I was born on felt dull and cold in comparison to this place.
I swam to the edge, close to the waterfall and placed my arms on the stone to rest my head. My hand distractedly reached for the pale pink sand, letting it slide between my fingers when something little moved and caught my eye.
The small creature crawled, carrying its pretty ivory green shell on its back. It seemed too heavy for its tiny size, yet it didn’t stop until it reached the shade offered by the rock behind the waterfall. Once hidden from the sun it slid out of the shell and lowered its little head to a puddle of water. If a prawn hada snail’s head, it would look like this. Once it was done, it went back to the big swirly shell and contorted to push its tail back inside.
I watched it walk away, going back in the sun to go wherever it needed to.
“That was acargio,” Filbur said and I yelped, nearly dying from a heart attack as he slid his large body behind me. “They are always thirsty but cannot drink sea water.”
I took a few seconds to calm my racing heart before I turned my head to look at my husband. “You scared me!”
He did not put that much effort into hiding his smile. “I am sorry.”
“No you’re not!”
His smile turned into a grin. “No, I am not.” I couldn’t help but return the smile when he dropped a series of kisses from my cheek to my shoulder. “Are you studying our wildlife?”
“This little thing is carrying a shell way too big for its small body,” I remarked, turning back to the forest where it had walked to.
“This is why it is always thirsty. Lots of effort.”
I glanced at Filbur over my shoulder. He smiled, but I wasn’t sure if he was joking or not.
“Why not carry a smaller shell then?”
“Helpless romantic,” he answered with a shrug. “It keeps searching for a female, so it wants their house to be big enough.”
It was absolutely adorable. “Ow, that’s sweet,” I said, my heart now rooting for the little guy.
Filbur cleared his throat. “Hm…No, not really.” I turned around to look at him, confused. He slid both of his arms around my waist to hold me closer. “The male does not survive the reproduction act.”Oh dear. “So…once it is done, the female eats him and takes his house.”
What? “Oh my god!”
He winced, this time looking actually sorry. “It is not a pretty spectacle,” he said. “But I guess it is not too bad. I mean…Is there a better way to die?”
“Really? You’d be happy dying this way?”
He shrugged, leaning to give me a quick peck on the lips. “It beats dying in pain from a disease or even sometimes old age. At least this one is taken by an orgasm so strong his little heart stops,” he said, tilting his head toward the now invisible creature.
“Oh my god.”
Filbur chuckled. “So you keep repeating.”
