Page 28 of Redemption Island

“Chickens?” I interjected.

“Keep reading.” She nudged my arm again with her shoulder which pressed against my skin. She’d shifted to her side and was focused on the book in my hands.

“No," said the little prince. "I am looking for friends. What does that mean--'tame'?” I stared at the words. I once considered Rick a friend, but he hadn’t really been.

“It is an act too often neglected," said the fox. “It means to establish ties.”

“’To establish ties’?” I swallowed hard after I read this line. I had no ties to anyone. I drifted.

“Just that,” said the fox. “To me, you are still nothing more than a little boy who is just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you. And you, on your part, have no need of me. To you, I am nothing more than a fox, like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world…”

“I think I’d like to be the fox, actually,” she said.

“You want to be tamed?” The idea of dominating her returned and tension filled the air, yet somehow taming meant more than domination. It seemed to mean responsibility, caring for something. I’d already promised she could dominate me, instead, but I was changing my mind.

“I want to be friends,” she whispered, her breath brushed my skin, and the heat between us rose again.

“Am I one to you? I’m certainly no prince,” I said, my voice lowering. I wanted to be her friend. I wanted to be so much more.

“You are a thousand little boys until you learn to tame me, to be invested in me, as I am invested in you. Then you will be my friend like the fox says,” she added. Her violet eyes were playful, sparkling in a way I’d never seen before. Gone was the hatred. Gone was the desire. Gone was fear. In its place was something more, and it pleased me.

I groaned. “I still say you are a vixen.”

24

Day 47 - Juliet

The heat of the day was oppressing, but the nights refreshing with the ocean breeze. We sat on the edge of the water in the dimming daylight, staring silently out at the calm water. Midnight blue was catching the waves as blackness chased it. There was no sunset tonight, only clouds on the horizon.

“I made this for you.” Presenting him with the braided bracelet I’d made with leaves rolled into string, I held my breath. I’d never given a man a gift, let alone something I’d made.

“Aw, did you make me a friendship bracelet?” he teased, and I pushed at his shoulder. I bit my lip, suddenly self-conscious. It seemed foolish after all.

He took it from me, spinning it over and over with his fingers. His tips traveled the thick circle, and he appeared to be admiring my handiwork, but I braced myself for another tease. He extended his wrist, one I imagined typically held an expensive watch, and he slipped the band over his hand. He twisted his wrist back and forth.

“Why did you make this for me?” he asked, his voice lacking the teasing tone I expected. I shrugged.

“I wanted to thank you for saving my life, twice.” His eyes were intense, and I looked away, cursing myself for the offering. It was a silly idea, I decided.

“Mouse,” he whispered, tracing a finger down my cheek to my jaw, and gently forcing me to look at him. “It was my pleasure to save you. And thank you. This is really special. No one’s ever given me something like this before.”

“A leaf bracelet,” I joked, trying to lessen the sudden seriousness around him.

“A handmade gift. It means you really thought about this and then took the time to make it specifically for me. It fits perfectly. I’ll always wear it. Thank you.” I prepared to make another joke about his wearing it forever, but the earnestness in his voice stopped me. His appreciation was heartfelt, and a soft kiss on my cheek surprised me.

Suddenly, the sky crackled and lightning raced upward. I flinched in surprise.

Tack’s arm came around my shoulders. He rubbed up and down and then released me. Strangely, I longed for him to continue holding me, but the touches had been few and far between since our friendship started. A brush here. A hair tuck there. A finger sliding down my jaw, but nothing deeper. I’d fallen asleep next to him the night he read The Little Prince. After our interchange of reading about the fox, I let him continue, drifting off with the inflection of his rugged, but gentle voice. To both our surprise, he slept as well, and we woke with my hands wrapped around his arm like I was holding onto him for dear life. I hadn’t been dreaming, or at least I couldn’t remember if I had, but I’d somehow latched onto him during the night. He didn’t say anything about it. His smile brightened, and he whispered “Good Morning” before brushing my forehead with his lips and rolling off the bed.

The lightning flashed again and thunder echoed in the distance. I flinched a second time.

“Don’t like lightning?” he asked, and I squinted out at the dark sea.

“I was home alone. There was a bad storm, and I remember waking at a certain point in the night, hearing the sharp crack of thunder. It was 2:43 a.m. I hadn’t been able to go back to sleep, and I lay there breathing heavily, willing the lightning to go away. I hadn’t known they died yet, at that exact time, but ever since that night, I just can’t shake the fear that lightning means bad things.” I scooped my hands through the cool, white sand, as my voice drifted.

“I won’t let it hurt you,” he said, and I smiled weakly at the comment. “I’d save you again and again if needed.” He owed me. It hesitated in the space after what he said. He felt responsible for what happened—he owed me, to save me if anything ever happened again. I sighed in frustration. He’d been saying things more often like this. Little compliments or startling words said casually, and on the surface, they seemed sweet, but underneath seemed imbued with a deeper meaning. My heart foolishly skipped a beat with each one shared, hopeful that it might mean more to him, knowing it only meant something to me.

The sea wasn’t curling and cursing near us, but it looked like a storm was definitely over the ocean.