The Islander

Isabella's lips were chapped and she licked them reluctant, knowing they would just feel worse. The sand under her back had cooled from her time lying there, staring at the clouds. She was dazed, and sat up, forgetting how exactly she go there.

David was strolling along the beach aimlessly, trying to figure out what to do on a mostly stranded island. He was pensive, thinking about his old life, memories tunneled only towards the positive.

Isabella rolled back onto her side to face the other end of the beach and spotted the figure that haunted her dreams. She hesitated, wondering if he was just a mirage.
"David?" She said. She realized her had not heard her own voice for a long time.

David turned his head, hearing a faint voice, so soft that he barely heard it and thought it to be the wind initially. On such an empty island, one often heard things they wanted to hear. Finding the voice to be one he knew so well, he smiled brightly. "Isabella!"

Isabella sat back up awkwardly. She returned the smile. "It's... been forever, hasn't it?" She said.

David laughed, feeling a giddy pleasure wash over him, warm and inviting. "Yeah. I haven't seen you for a long time." Avoiding his own feelings, he mentioned, "Addy's missed you."

Isabella's chest tightened. "You're just saying that. Last time I saw her, she was about ready to kill me."

David frowned, trying to keep the conversation light and positive, wanting to keep her from running away again. He flinched at the painful memory. "Haha, yeah, I guess she doesn't miss you a lot...how about a little?" he joked.

A sickly, forced smile crossed her lips. "That doesn't make me feel much better." The weight of the ring on her finger seemed to become more pronounced.

Grabbing at Isabella's fingers, David gave a reassuring smile. "Don't worry," he said, "She'll get over it."

"I don't think I will." She said, her arm tensing. "I'm a awful little child, aren't I? I lose myself in my own self pity and wallow there. I've missed you."

David grinned, feeling at home. "I've missed you too. I've never felt so lonely, even with the others around."

Isabella curled into his chest. "Take me back to our cave." She said softly. "I've forgotten the way."

David smiled, feeling a mixed feeling of bliss and a nagging pinch of an emotion that he could only describe as being guilty. His smile faltered, thinking of the word. He shrugged, thinking that it wasn't his fault, and led Isabella to the cave.

An extreme anxious joy gripped Isabella. Her feet were covered in mud but she didn't even notice. As they emerged into the oasis she felt a need to cry but avoided it. "Thank you." She whispered, looking at David through her lashes.

Another pang of guilt swept through David. He tried to keep it out of his voice as he said, "Don't say that...I'm just glad you came back."

"I'm not patronizing you, David. I would never blame you for anything." She said. "I..." She stopped, unknowing of what she might have said.

David let a sarcastic laugh slip. "You blamed me for everything. Everything you could think of. Things that weren't even my fault." He said, trying to control his temper.

Isabella detached herself from him. "Please don't." She said, a pain filling her blood. "If I was... a little less ignorant, a little less selfish-" She stopped. "I'm not going to defend myself. I had a right to my opinions. I was hurt, David."

David sighed, feeling the energy drained out of him. "I was too, Isabella..." He murmured. "And Addy, and everyone else... we all are hurt, just for different reasons..." he mumbled on, forgetting the conversation.

Isabella frowned, her eyes stinging. "This isn't what I wanted."

"Me neither. I wish I was home, playing video games with Addy and eating a burger." He said, his stomach rumbling on cue, as if it had heard the name of the delicious, yet so far away, food.

Isabella sat on the ground, the heat of the sand warming her numb limbs. "I hate this island." She didn't have much to say. "Come on.' She got up and skirted the pool, and entered the cave.

"Isabella..." David warned, glancing at her suspiciously, "what are you doing?"

As she entered she saw the long burnt out remains of a fire, their two beds and a pile of rotten fruit. Claiming one of the beds she lay down. "I'm remembering..."