21 hours of love.

His eyes laid on me. Giggling, I introduced myself to the small group of men while one of them already handed me over a red cup. What a cliche. My girls were amused about the beer, while I couldn’t even stand the smell thereof. Hesitating, I placed my drink on the sandy floor, hoping no one noticed. Since it wasn’t their first drink this night, my doubts were baseless. Either way, the men’s focus drifted off to Juliett [tall, blonde, funny girl: perfection]. Yeah, I was somewhat annoyed by that ~

So where were we? What brought us to end of the world – and the sand beneath my toes, the stars above our heads & the gentle movement of the Pacific ocean in the background?

Two possible answers, both equally true:

The 1st & short one: Ever since I was a little girl, I dreamed of that back-packing lifestyle. So, after my A-levels, I left home & flew to Fiji for a voluntary project. Thus, I ended up – this very evening – at the local beach bar with some of my fellow volunteers, as a bunch of guys joined us.

The 2nd & far more special answer would involve fate:

“You look like Harry Potter” he whispered in my ear. As a dressed up woman I could have definitely been offended by that, but his eyes were honest (dark brown, just like his skin) … somewhat mysterious. “I couldn’t believe my eyes as I saw you at the bar earlier. You looked like Harry Potter with your round-shaped glasses & the big scar on your forehead” he continued. Each of his words sounded sincere. “Beautiful” he said under his breath.

No way that he had noticed me earlier. Yes, I had ordered some drinks, and subtly checked out the guys too, duh. He had been the only real man at that casual outdoor bar & far out of my league! Don’t you think I had noticed if he looked at me – looked at me close enough so that he could even spot the scar on my face?

I couldn’t hide my smile & his eyes glowed in the faint light. I felt absolutely at ease with him. He had to be several years older than me, but none of that mattered at a pretty abandoned beach on an equally abandoned Fijian island. Gosh, never before had I experienced such an unconventional & deep conversation with a STRANGER before. Such a beautiful simplicity.

After 2 hours of knowing him, I already left with him. Accompanied only by the roaring of the waves, the stars led our way. My parents would probably have died of a heart attack, well or killed me if they knew that I was wandering along the beach at night with a total stranger, 10 years older than me. But I had never felt saver than next to his strong arms. What happened next was stunning: We paused and he began telling me an ancient local tale about Orion’s-belt. In my mind I traveled through the galaxy with him. No one else would show such great effort as he did, he knelt down to draw the star constellation on the sand.

I swear, after this night with him I wasn’t the same person, I had been before. He touched me on a level no one else ever had before. 21 hours we spent together, then he left. Never to return.

~ G., if you ever read this, I love you.