The Secret Island
CHAPTER 26: Day Ten

"Celine, do you want to take a walk?" Martin woke up the young woman sleeping next to him. She was so serene. Her eyes were still closed, and she was breathing in an even rhythm. He wouldn't dare wake her in a normal circumstance, but after he decided to commit to this 'relationship,' he wanted to do it to the best of his ability; this role of a boyfriend. He felt his face going a bit hot every time he thought about it. He didn't believe he could feel like a teenager at this age. How absurd.

No matter what happened from this point on, no matter what was waiting for him, in this short period of time, he would spend every second of the life he chose with the woman that dispelled all the darkness in his head. He wanted to experience the light, even for this short time we had together.

She said she liked him.

He didn't even like himself. He didn't see anything good in him. No bright future waiting ahead. Nothing he could do for her. But in the six, no, five days we had left together, Martin vowed to always make her smile. He vowed to give her everything she deserved.

All his time. All his care. All his attention.

"Umm. No, Martin, I'm really sleepy. Can you give me five more minutes?" She whined, rolled her body in the other direction, and hid within the thick blanket. Martin was puzzled by this, he didn't know how to properly wake up a grown woman, but he understood the time was not ideal for her. It was before dawn, a few hours before her usual wake-up time. Only a neon light was on. The sun hadn't risen just yet. It was dark and cold outside. He could feel the cold breeze and the smell of the ocean from the open window.

"Five minutes will soon turn into an hour. Get up right now, please. I will make your coffee. This will be worth it, I promise." He tried to negotiate.

"No!" He looked at her body under the blanket that resembled some round lump, and he smiled faintly. She occupied the whole wide bed and was completely hidden by the blanket. He tried to pull the blanket away, so we could see each other. After several attempts, her hair was a bit of a mess. Her grumpy, sleepy face looked at him, more disgruntled than pleased to see him.

He bent down to kiss her sleepy face. She looked even younger without make-up. And he liked that very much.

"Wake up. Let's go for a walk along the beach. You know, the morning sunrise is to die for. That's why I go morning jogging every day. Everything is beautiful." We didn't have much time together, and he wanted to spend as much time with her as possible. Seeing the sunrise together might be another good experience together and thus good memory later on. But since we had nothing in common, she might not like what he liked. But again, who would dislike seeing the sunrise? Since he was a kid, he had been an extremely introverted person. He kept his thought to himself instead of voicing all his opinions. Celine was so much different, and she said everything on her mind. He didn't have to guess what she was thinking. If she wanted something, she would say so.

"You can kiss me again, and I will get up. I think I need a good morning kiss to wake me." There, this was a case in point. She negotiated, and he complied. She was demanding in her own way, and he liked it. She influenced him to be more upfront as well. And that was why he took more initiative in the relationship. Although it was not to Celine's satisfaction, he knew it.

He brought her to an old wooden bench by the beach, its color had faded, and the wood corroded by the humidity. It was his favorite spot on the island. During his morning run, Martin had a stop here every day to watch the sun slowly rise from the horizon. In an almost meditative stage, he always watches the scene in silence. The warm light reflecting on the blue ocean surface comforted him. The view was mesmerizing, and the experience was soothing to his soul. And today, this morning, this moment, he had a chance to share it with her. His heart was suddenly beating faster for no reason.

"What do you think? Isn't it beautiful?" Like a kid showing his favorite artwork to his parents, he rushed to ask. He only wanted her to appreciate the view as he did.

"Yes..." Celine turned to look at him and smiled faintly. She stared at him for a while as if trying to remember his face and every detail of this moment. Instead of her usual talkative self, she kept her silence, and he wondered if anything was wrong. She was unusually quiet this morning. In fact, since we walked out of the villa, she didn't say anything to him. She didn't even ask where we were heading. "Just 'yes'? Give me more comments." He tried to create more conversation.

"...Can we do this everything morning? Watching the sunrise, I mean." She stared blankly into the horizon. He couldn't guess what was on her mind. "Of course, we can." He quickly agreed.

"Great, Let's do this every morning. I hope we can do it every morning...." She said softly. Her voice was almost inaudible, as if she was speaking to herself.

She reached out to hug him. Celine clutched his t-shirt tightly and sighed.

"Celine..."

"So, you agreed. Every morning..." She slowly pushed him away and forced a smile. In an instant, he saw her sad gaze; he immediately knew what had happened underneath those beautiful eyes. The guilt was starting to eat him up alive. Her eyes were begging for something he couldn't give.