Siobhan Curham - Dark of the Moon

‘Do you think – do you think Hortense is still watching us somehow?’

Cruz frowns. ‘I don’t know.’

I force myself to be more positive. ‘But if it is all okay over here, and people are coming and going then . . .’

Cruz smiles at me. ‘I know. Then we will be able to leave too.’ His eyes start to twinkle. ‘And I will have saved your life all over again.’

I frown. ‘Oh really? And how’d you figure that one out?’

‘Well, I brought you to this side of the island.’

I raise my eyebrows.‘That’s funny. I could have sworn it was a gale that brought us here.’

Cruz shakes his head. ‘Yeah well, that was just – what do you say? A minor detail.’

I start to laugh. ‘Hmm.’

He pulls me close and kisses me lightly on the forehead.

I grin up at him. ‘Come on, let’s go get some pancakes.’

When we get outside, the others are gathered in the doorway of another of the cabins. It’s smaller than the one we’ve just been in and, once we get there, I see that it’s obviously the kitchen. The walls are lined with uneven shelves and I can’t stop my mouth from falling open when I see the piles of exotic-looking fruit and vegetables on them. The others are all looking similarly awestruck. Lola takes a clay pot from a cupboard and tips a pale yellow powder from it into a large bowl.

‘Corn flour,’ she says when she sees the Flea staring at it. ‘Ruby has a great farm here. It’s amazing. She grows all kinds of things. Even coffee.’

‘Coffee!’ the Flea exclaims. ‘Oh my, what I would do for a skinny French vanilla latte right now.’

Lola laughs. ‘Well, you might not be able to get one of those, but trust me, Ruby’s coffee is divine.’

‘I wonder if it is as good as the Costa Rican coffee,’ Cruz says.

Lola looks at him. ‘Are you from Costa Rica?’

Cruz nods. ‘Yes. Do you know it?’

Lola grins.‘Of course. It’s where Michael and I were before we came here. We did some voluntary work in San José. It’s a beautiful country.’

‘It’s where you were before here?’ Cruz repeats.

Lola nods. ‘So, how do you guys all know each other?’ she asks, bending down to fetch a cloth-covered jug from under a counter.

‘We go to the same school in LA,’ the Flea says. ‘We’re dance students.’

Lola looks up at him. ‘Really?’

The Flea nods. ‘Yes, apart from Cruz here. He was sailing the boat we were in when the storm hit.’

‘So, you didn’t know each other before?’ Lola looks directly at Cruz and me.

I shake my head, aware that my cheeks are flushing. From the way Cruz has his arm round my shoulders it’s obvious we’re a couple. I had gotten so used to our insular world I hadn’t really thought about what Cruz and I getting together must look like to someone from the outside. But if it bothers Lola she doesn’t show it. She just smiles at me, then reaches under the counter again and brings out a basket of eggs.

‘Holy omelettes!’ the Flea exclaims.

‘Eggs!’ Dan gasps, in the exact same lovesick voice he used to address the bed.

‘You have chooks here?’ I say, as the vision of a golden omelette appears in my head, complete with a jaunty sprig of parsley. I am suddenly so hungry even my fingertips feel like they’re screaming, ‘ feed me !’

Lola nods. ‘Yes. Right behind the vegetable garden.’

‘The vegetable garden.’ The Flea repeats her words with such heartfelt emotion it’s like he’s reciting a love poem.

‘I can’t imagine what it must be like to be shipwrecked,’ Lola says, cracking the eggs one by one into the bowl.

I watch her, completely mesmerised.

‘It must have been so scary.’

‘Not nearly as scary as some of the shit that’s happened since,’ Dan mutters.

‘What’s that?’ Lola stops what she’s doing and looks at him.

‘Nothin’.’ Dan quickly looks away.

Lola takes the cloth from the jug and pours what looks suspiciously like milk into the bowl.

‘Excuse me, but is that . . .’ the Flea breaks off, clearly speechless . . . ‘is that milk ? Like, from a cow ?’

‘Yes.’ Lola laughs. Then her face goes deadly serious.‘When was the last time you guys had a proper meal?’

‘About a year ago,’ the Flea says, gazing dreamily at the bowl.‘At least it feels that long. We’ve been living off coconuts, mostly. And the occasional fish.’

‘And cold hot dogs,’ Dan adds.

Lola looks at him. ‘Hot dogs?’

‘Yeah, they were in the boat we found.’

We all frown at him and he looks away, embarrassed.

Lola looks at the Flea. ‘You found a boat?’

‘Yes, the one you saw us in,’ the Flea replies. ‘We just found it randomly one day,’ he adds quickly, sounding about as convincing as a little kid saying it wasn’t him who drew on the wall in crayon.

Lola raises her eyebrows. ‘Wow, that was lucky.’

The Flea nods and looks away. ‘Yeah.’

Lola lifts up spoonfuls of the pancake mix, checking for lumps. My mouth, which has felt as dry as desert sand for most of the morning, starts producing saliva like it’s a magical spring. Lola takes an ancient-looking iron skillet from a hook on the wall and leads us back outside. In the centre of the clearing are the remains of a large fire. Lola puts some dried leaves on top and stokes the flames back into life, then she places the skillet on a frame over the fire and ladles some batter into it. We all sit in a circle and watch, silenced by a mixture of hunger and longing.

‘O.M. effing G! Is that what I think it is?’ the Flea suddenly exclaims. We all follow his gaze off to the side of the clearing. There, in the shade of some huge trees, is a round construction made from large clay bricks. Two wooden poles stand either side of it, with a beam running across the top. A rope hangs down from the beam, disappearing inside the bricks.

‘Is it a – well ?’ I whisper – hardly daring say the word out loud.

Lola nods casually, like having a source of fresh water is the most natural thing in the world.

‘And does it actually – work?’ The Flea gazes at her hopefully.

‘Of course.’ Lola shifts the pan slightly and the batter sizzles.

Dan lets out a whoop and the Flea starts to laugh.

‘I have a feeling this is going to be my best breakfast ever,’ he says, putting his arm around Belle. ‘See, Belle, I told you everything was gonna be okay. There’s even a well – with, you know, water !’

Belle nods but she still looks real tense. I can’t begin to imagine what it must feel like to suddenly go blind. It must be so scary.

‘I’m just going to get some plates,’ Lola says. ‘Can you guys keep an eye on the pancake for me?’

‘Oh don’t worry, I won’t be lookin’ at nothing else,’ Dan says, gazing at the batter as it bubbles gently in the pan.

Lola laughs and heads off to the kitchen.

‘I think it’s okay here,’ the Flea whispers as soon as she’s gone. ‘I really don’t think we’ve got anything to worry about.’

I don’t know if it’s the heavenly smell of the pancake cooking lulling me into a false sense of security, but even I’m starting to agree with him. I look at Cruz to try and figure out what he’s thinking, but he’s looking at the floor, his face expressionless.

‘Do y’all think they’ve got some maple syrup?’ Dan says dreamily.

‘Oh my God, then I really will have died and gone to heaven!’ the Flea exclaims.

Dan rubs his hands together.‘Or how about some chocolate syrup? Or –’

‘What’s going on?’ A woman’s voice echoes around the clearing, deep and stern. From somewhere inside the forest there’s the sound of flapping wings.