Page 108 of Wrecked
“Baby, I say this with love, and extremely limited confidence in whatever you’re feeding me, but what the fuck is that? And why the hell does it taste likethis?”
I take the cup from him and take a large sip, wrinkling my nose at the taste. “Because we’re going on a trip, baby.”
“A trip?”
“Yep. Chacruna and Ayahuasca are ingredients. Shamans used them in the stew you’re drinking. It’s an indigenous Amazonian recipe.”
“Is it supposed to tastegood? Because we have some fish that I can?—”
“It’s a psychedelic stew.” I giggle. “Happy anniversary, baby.” I spread my arms out in a “ta-da” motion.
His eyebrows shoot up his forehead, and he lets out a gruff laugh. He takes the cup from my hands and takes a much larger sip this time. “Well shit. Ok, Pip…let’s go on that trip.”
I laugh, stealing the cup back and taking another large sip.
Several minutes later, I feel warmth spreading through my body. The vivid colors around me start to intensify. The ocean becomes a hue of different blues and greens, the waves shooting forward, transforming into a large hand that picks me up and sweeps me away. I giggle as I ride on top of the hand-shaped wave, watching colorful fish jump out around me. I look up at the sky and observe as the clouds morph into cheeseburgers and hot dogs.
Yum.
I really, really want a hot dog.
I start laughing hysterically as I shout at my new fish friends, “Makes me want a hot dog real bad,” in my best Jennifer Coolidge voice.
I look behind me and see Nate running up and down the beach flapping his wings. Hmm…when did Nate get wings? “Fly, baby, fly!” I shout, but Nate’s no longer there. Suddenly I’m back on the sand, the tiny beige crystals sucking me into the ground. I turn my head to my left and see Nate lying beside me. He swats at the air, laughing at whoever he is talking to.
I feel good, weightless and dazed, enjoying the sensations running through my body. I start to draw patterns in the sand around me, each design coming to life before my very eyes.
“Nate, look!” I point at the ship made of sand edging its way to the water. “Think we can sail it home?”
“Why would we want to go home when we live in this beautiful castle?” he asks me, pointing to the castle made of ice in front of us.
“Yeah, you’re right,” I say, waving goodbye to the ship.
“Do you think that fate is alive?” Nate asks. “Like they aretiny little people living in the clouds, deciding what happens to us all?”
“Maybe the universe is alive. There’s an entire world up there, and it’s where we all go when we die.”
“Yeah, I think you’re right. We’ll have our own little section of the sky one day, Ellie.”
“I think I’d love that,” I whisper back, as a large gorilla walks past us on the beach.
We lay there for the next hour, kissing and laughing as the drug works its way out of our bodies. Eventually, the clouds take back their normal form, and the sand lets go of our bodies. The sun dips lower in the horizon, painting the sky a beautiful orangish-pink.
We start to come down from our high right in time to watch the sunset.
I look over at Nate. “Let’s never do that again.”
“You’re telling me. A goddamn Pac-Man was chasing me.”
“Pac-Man? I thought you were trying to fly.”
We both burst out laughing, telling each other the ridiculous things we’d hallucinated.
We sit up, wiping the sand off of our arms. Nate pulls me in front of him, opening his legs so that I can rest against his chest. I lean my head back, searching for a kiss that he happily obliges. I close my eyes, letting the remaining warmth of the sun envelope my body. The happiness I feel with the man behind me seeps into my soul. It doesn’t matter that we are stranded on an island thousands of miles away from home.
This was the perfect way to celebrate the beginning of us.
This moment of togetherness, in our own little private paradise, is unlike any other experience we could have as a couple. We get to escape the chaos of life and connect in a way that the conveniences of the real world would never allow.
