Harrison Bonilla

Love as Fuel for Living

A peaceful day fishing with Angel… sure, she was annoyed because we were late to the docks and she was hungry. And maybe I’m not the best at planning events, but it’s the thought that counts, right? We didn’t come across a lot of fish that summer day in June, but man I did feel more in love than I ever felt in my life. God, I miss that woman… I can hear her voice speaking to me now… “Baby I love you,” in a sort of melancholy, sing-song tone that is layered with her acknowledgement of the mistakes of my past. “Baby, I love you.” “Baby, I love you.” “Baby, the island man.” Okay now I’m confused… “A remote island, man!” I awoke, startled, to Jack pacing around our shelter. He stops, turns to me, and opens his eyes wide. “Man, you know how much of the world is still undiscovered? I mean, I remember reading about some guy from like 50 years ago who took a boat off the shore of Mexico and was lost at sea for over 400 days. Over 400 days, man! That’s more than a year. No one was able to find him until he landed in the Marshall Islands.” “Can I have a second, Jack… I just woke up” I mumbled, almost incoherently. I haven’t been sleeping much lately. Jack comes closer. “No man, you DON’T get it. We could get a boat --a nice boat-- and just leave this place. No one would find us. We could find an uninhabited island. Live our lives out. Maybe bring some girls with us.” I had heard enough. “Get a fucking grip. We have to get to the safe zone.”