Among the Vinca

Chapter 30: Blake

So this is the sensation of a kiss. That was my only functioning thought. The rest of my mind was wonderfully, gloriously without calculations or logic. The rest was simply images. If I were an artist, I would have splashed the canvas with scarlet, varying shades of a lighter variety. I would add spots of gold, trim it with bright silver and with a mysterious midnight black. Incredible. It was madness, of course. There was no reason or place for romance on this island. As a matter of fact, looking at it logically, it never should have happened. We were surviving, for heaven's sake. Yet my mind was foggy as we went back to the camp, where Whynne and Ryan had completed their fishing and started a fire. I felt Whynne's questioning eyes on me as I stared into the fire, watching the coals dance.

"What?' I asked defensively.

Can she tell? No, of course not. How on Earth would she know? I'm simply imagining things. Or perhaps I have fish on my person, and she wishes to inform me.

"Is there something you want to share with me, Blake?" Whynne asked, smirking at me. I scoffed at her and turned back to the flames of the fire. "What are you looking at? Or you thinking of something? Or... Someone?" She asked teasingly. I felt my cheeks begin to heat up.

No! Neutral, neutral...

"I was simply observing the flames. They have an eerie beauty, do they not?"

"Are you really going to say nonsense?"

"It's not nonsense!"

"Oh?"

"It is an amazing thing!"

"How so?"

"It is alive, but it is not life. It eats, but does not drink. It moves, yet it stays. It gives heat, but it will hurt you if you come too close. The colors are both beautiful and deadly; It is warning and attracting on it's own. It belongs to no one but itself. Beware, traveler, to what you call your own." Whynne stared at me for a few moments before she became overcome with giggles.

"What?! Why are you laughing at me!?"

"Only you would recite poetry when you were under pressure, Blake." She managed to say.

"I was not reciting. That was my own invention." I retorted, insulted.

"Really? That was pretty good on a few second's notice." I huffed indignantly.

"It has been circulating my thoughts for many a fortnight."

"How long do you think we've been here?" Whynne asked suddenly. Her expression had changed to be completely pensive.

"I'm uncertain. Two months, at the least." I saw Eric and Ryan's heads rise slightly.

"School will start soon. I wonder how they will cover up us being gone. I doubt our parents expected the experiment to take this long." Eric remarked. I sighed.

"As long as my parents continue to receive their money, they will not care." I reminded them solemnly.

"Well, mine would! They need- Well they- I... They miss me... Don't they?" I glanced at her curiously. She looked like she was going to burst into tears at the any moment.

"Hey... It's ok." Ryan consoled. He put his arm around her.

"Yeah... It's ok. We'll figure something out. Maybe we can figure out where that radio is at." Eric added. Whynne sniffed.

"Y-yeah..."

"It's alright." Ryan told her soothingly. She wiped a few tears from her face, but their paths remained.