Mid-Week Flash Challenge Week 88

This week's photo is actually a Windows 10 Spotlight photo. But it only gave credit to Getty stock images and not who actually took the photo. It's a little atoll in the Indian Ocean, in the Maldives and utterly dreamy.

I have this as my current screen saver and keep dreaming up stories for it. If you enlarge it you can see more detail. I tried to be original but it's hard, and this story unfolded this way. I might one day grow it to a proper size.

The General Guidelines can be found here.

How to create a clickable link in Blogger comments can be found on lasts week's post here.

There is also a Facebook group for Mid-Week Flash, if you fancy getting the prompt there.

Free

Lizzy stood at the fore of her little two-man sailing yacht, scanning the horizon with her binoculars. Suddenly she spotted it. It was barely a blip at this distance, but it was there and that was all that mattered. 

Her heart picked up speed as she rushed back to the helm, checking the position with the binoculars and putting it in line with the compass, moving the tip of the boat round and opening the sails to pick up the breeze and get her there faster. She couldn’t wait. 

The blip grew into the tiny island she’d been dreaming about. Lizzy got ready to navigate the reef surrounding it. She knew the small inlet well, having done this countless times, but her excitement this time meant it was harder to focus and she forced herself to take it slowly. 

She could see the little island house set back from the shore, and a figure inside. Her stomach flipped.

As she drew closer the figure came out and ran to the shoreline, wading into the water to meet her, waiting patiently until she was close enough to throw a rope down so they could pull her in. 

Again she had to force herself to focus on the task of getting the yacht into position and fixed so it wouldn’t drift, either onto the coral or away. Only then could she do what she had dreamed of doing this past year, of jumping down into his arms. 

They stood there in the surf, the soft waves breaking around them as they reacquainted themselves with each other’s touch, smell, embrace, and most importantly, lips. It was a while before they pulled away, and walked with arms round each other back to the shore and into the small island house Rufus had refurbished and made liveable. 

Lizzy sighed. “I can’t believe how magical you’ve made it. It’s wonderful. I began to wonder if I was ever to get here.” 

“I was worried too. I got the radio working but the reports scared me. I didn’t think you were going to be able to get out.”

“If I had left a day later, I wouldn’t have. They blocked the harbour entrance, raiding everything going in and out. I had to switch off the CB in the end and maintain radio silence. I couldn’t handle the sound of hearing our friends lose their boats, and some of them, their lives. And I was worried they might come after me.”

Rufus squeezed her. “I’m glad they didn’t. Did you get everything out?”

Lizzy jumped back. “Oh, no, Rusty!”

She rushed back into the water to the boat and shinnied up the rope to climb aboard. She flung open the doors to below deck and heard the whining. 

“I’m so sorry Rusty, in my excitement I almost forgot you!”

She opened the door to the dog crate and her beloved whippet came bounding out, licking her face all over as she cuddled him. Then they went back out on top and jumped off into the water, making their way to shore, Rusty going mad at the sight of Rufus who was squatted down ready to embrace his friend.

While Rufus made a fuss of the dog, Lizzy took in a deep breath and looked round at their island paradise. It was far enough away to survive the human apocalypse going on back in the inhabited world, and small enough to not be easily found. It was only because it had been their holiday destination for years, after they’d discovered it on their honeymoon, that they knew its exact location, which shifted slightly from year to year with the motion of the sea and sand.

Rufus’ predictions had been correct and she was glad he’d left when he had, as scientists and academics were the first to be condemned and imprisoned, and later publicly executed. Lizzy had remained as long as she could to gather the supplies they needed, stocking the boat every night, and pretending to be a part of the uprising every day. She’d got out in the nick of time, knowing the search lights were being installed as she’d slid the boat through the marina during darkest part of the night. Only turning the engine on once out in open water, glued to the radio, she’d been terrified she’d been spotted, but with Rusty comforting her as they embarked on the three month sail, they’d made it out to the little island atoll, and sanctuary.