Our Holiday
Sometimes we wonder how far we'd go for our family. We ask ourselves how far we'd go to keep them happy, fullfilled, successful and sometimes even alive. We ask ourselves this because we love and care for them and to be without family is a scary thought, so we consider how far we'd go to keep our world intact. When we realise that our world may change for the worst we bargain harder than ever.
These were the thoughts running through Kristine's mind at a million miles an hour. Her face was dirty and scraped as she moved as fast as she could whilst the brown jacket she still wore was scratched and ripped. Sweat dripped off of her face but unnoticable in the heavy rain, her breathing was deep as she moved.
Nicky's arms were limp and hanging over her sister's shoulders as she was carried through the forest. Kristines hands were linked behind her back and holding onto Nicky's body tightly to try and stop her from falling off while her legs held onto Kristine's hips.
Every plant and vine she passed was reaching out to scratch and graze her exposed skin and link to her clothes to slow her down. It were as though the forestry was begging the two to stay with them. Beneath Kristine a vine snatched her leg and forced her into the ground with a smashing power, making her eyes flash bright white briefly. The two began tumbling downwards until hitting flat and hard ground,. Kristine stopped first and looked up to see Nicky roll to a stop beside her and remain completely still on the leaf covered ground. Kristine's leg ached but she didn't dare to look. She could only crawl to her sister's limp body and hope for the best, but expect the worst.
"Hey, wake up" she whispered with a hand on her shoulder and giving her a slight push.
She let out a soft moan. "What's going on?"
"We're going to Fiji!" Kristine announced eagerly jumping onto Nicky's bed and bouncing happily on her legs underneath the blankets. "Get up! I didn't sleep a wink last night how could you?"
"I slept because not as moronic as you" she announced sleepily but blinking her eyes open. Kristine stopped her bouncing and smiling down on Nicky eagerly. "Come on get up! You're not even packed yet".
"I'm packed...I just haven't put my stuff in my bag yet". Nicky tried to conceal herself underneath her blankets to continue her sleep. Kristine grabbed her arms and stood up on the bed, trying hard to pull her upright.
"Get up!" she grunted as she tugged her sister's arms, making her upper body flail around. She leaned back hard to loosened Kristine's grip, causing her to somersault backwards over the front of the bed and smack hard onto the ground.
"Oh shit, are you alright?" Nicky called her bed sitting upright now and trying to spot Kristine. "Krissy?".
Kristine's hand suddenly shot up and revealed to her sister a thumbs up. "I'm alright, I'm good!"
It wouldn't take long for Nicky to pack her clothes and accessories, especially since Kristine was doing most of the world. The two were sisters and very close to one another, almost to an identical extend. Nicky was ten months older than Kristine but they were essentially the exact same person. The only noticable difference between them was their hair; Nicky's was short and curly while Kristine preferred hers long and straightened no matter how many hair straighteners she'd burnt through to get there.
The two were both half African and Caucasian with fair and light skin which made them appear to have rather heavy tans. Though slightly small in stature both were well built with slime bodies and very firm, often being told to become models instead of their chosen professions.
It was four in the morning and all the other lights in the neighbourhood were out with the only signs of life were the occasional sound of an engine zooming past on a distance road. "We'll be back before you know it Mum, don't worry about us because we're going to call whenever we can" Kristine stated standing in the house doorway before their Mum who's eyes were red and damp.
"My baby girls" she whimpered bursting forward to give Kristine a very tight hug. Nicky was by the car and loading the luggage into the back when she noticed Kristine's hug.
"Where's mine?" she asked jogging over, getting ripped into the hug with them.
"I want to know you're both alright every hour. You have to call every hour" she stated between tears as she held them together. The sister's shared and awkward look before trying to break back away from their Mum's grip.
"Alright we need to get going, Mum. If we miss our plane we won't be able to go anywhere". Kristine announced before heading to the car with Nicky, ready to get to the airport.
"Ready?" Kristine asked holding her hand up and her elbow against her knee. Nicky sat behind the driver's wheel and brought the car to life.
"Ready!" she replied eagerly gripping Kristine's hand with her own as they drove out of the driveway and down the street.
"I can't believe we're going to Fiji!" Kristine announced gleefully with her feet tapping rapidly on the airplane floor. She hands were clenched on both of the armrests as she waited eagerly for the plane to take off, the craft having taxied to the runway already and waiting for the go ahead to take flight.
"I know, right!?" replied Nicky smiling to herself as she watched Kristine getting wound up.
"The flight goes for a few hours so get comfortable". The two were sitting in two adjacent seats in the centre row of the plane so they were both on an isle row. It was a large plane with a lot of empty seats, there were more empties than there were filled places.
"Do you think there'll be any guys there?" Kristine asked in a whisper by Nicky's ear.
"Maybe" Nicky replied with a shrug. "Maybe a few tourists like us or...some native guys". Nicky turned to her as she answered. "Why Krissy, you want a little holiday romance?"
"No" she retorted quickly and loudly, looking away from her sister."...Maybe".
"Oh my god!" Nicky yelled giving Kristine a few jabs in the side with her fingers. "You skank" she laughed as she poked.
"I'm not a skank!" she defended holding her hand up so stop the barrage of jabs. "I just thought it might be nice to meet someone on a island, someone exotic that's sensitive and..."
"Oh my god!" Nicky repeated, interrupting Kristine before she could finish to give her a harder poke. "You're such a skank" she continued to tease.
For the two of them this holiday was a long time coming. Both Kristine and Nicky were incredibly smart, with Kristine aspiring to become a physicist and Nicky wanted to be a doctor but unlike Kristine she wanted to be a medical doctor. Kristine was one to get worked up over even the small things so during the last years of school she became a wreck, and Nicky knew it. The two made a promise that when it was all over they'd pack up and go on a long vacation together and soon Nicky had organized an entire four weeks in Fiji for the two of them.
Nicky had passed everything and achieved over the results that she needed easily while Kristine had only just squeaked through, but they had both made it into the University of their choice.
Despite waiting an extra hour on the tarmat for take off the trip was eventually underway. From their early morning both Kristine and Nicky had fallen asleep in their seats, resting the seats back on the empty space behind them. The airplane was playing soft music and since most everyone was sleeping the isle and above lights were turned off.
Through the airplane windows a storm could be seen up ahead which flashed frequently from lightning.
The inertia of the plane was shifting rapidly and throwing Kristine and Nicky awake. Kristine pulled her seat back up immediately and fumbled around for her belt. A sudden pull downwards lifted her off of her seat just by millimetres before falling back down.
"I can't get my seat up!" Nicky claimed frantically with her hands shaking on the lever. Kristine tried to reach across to help Nicky but was pushed forward by the plane's momentum and had to hold on to stop from hidding the seat before her. "Kristine!"
"I'm coming" she repeated in a yell, the roar of the engine getting louder and she could sense that they were dropping towards the ground. "Hold on". It felt as though the entire plane was in chaos as the only few lights still working were flickering rapidly and the sound of luggage and objects being flung was very noticable. She grabbed her seatbealt and fastened it up before attending to Nicky's seat. After slipping forward her hand mashed against the small lever and Nicky's seat shot back up which allowed Kristine to bulk her belt up before she was tossed out.
"What's going on?" Kristine asked through grinding teeth though barely hearable amungst the plane engine's roar. Her entire body was tensed up harder than a plank of wood with her hands clenching the belt as though it were a lifejacket, Nicky was doing the same. They bounced on their seats as the plane decended further down.
Outside a massive skidding noise sounded which send Kristine into a scream of shock, fearing that they were crashing. The sounds outside caused vibrations through the floor. The skidding stopped momentarily before picking up again and repeating, as though the plane were skipping along something. Both Nicky and Kristine screaming every time the noise picked up until the sound died down and the plane's vibrating stopped.
"We apologise for the rough landing ladies and gentlemen, that chop really came out of no where. But you'll be happy to know that we have landed safely and will be disembarking shortly". The two were still still and clenching their belts and armrests, breathing deeply and clearly shaken from the experience. The heavy breathing soon turned to laughter as they realised they weren't about to crash.
The sky was more blue than the ocean with enormous clouds up higher than the stars. The Sun beat down on them all intensely as their boat bounced over the small ripples in the almost completely clear ocean water. Kristine and Nicky were on a small power boat heading towards a large island coxained by a native and dark skinned man steering the engine by hand. The two wore dark outfits with backpacks over their shoulders with a roll up sleeping bag tied to the bottom.
'Wow' they both mouthed as they came closer to the island. The boatmen took them through a large dank cave before coming out the other side at a lagoon like beach that was completely hidden from the open ocean. Along the beach were a few groups of people and a smoldering grey area from the apparent bonfire from the night before. The captain pointed to the cliffs surrounding the secluded beach and spoke in a foreign language that neither could understand, Nicky nodding and smiling to him to act as though listening. Kristine gasped loudly and covered her mouth with her hands as she was overcome by the majestic site before her.
They came up to the beach with increased speed. "Slow down" they screamed to the boatman with a laugh as they collided with the shore. He pulled the engine up out of the water as the boat skipped a few metres onto the sandy beach before coming to a stop. On either sides of the beached boat some of the other tourists cheered happily. Kristine stood up on the misbalanced boat and waved either side of her to the other vacationers.
"Welcome to Lenhai Island" a German sounding man yelled with a similar backpack to theirs.
"This is Amazing!" Nicky screamed over the edge. Kristine came up behind her and wiped the sweat away from her forehead. Nicky was standing near the edge and looking down on the beach they'd arrived at earlier, so high up that everyone looked like tiny ants below. "I told you wish had to come to Lenhai, it's the best of them all". Kristine nodded but didn't say anything. Her breathing was deep and she couldn't stand to talk in complete sentences. "I'm out..." she stated between breaths"...of shape".
"No you're not. you just haven't been hiking in ages".
"Neither have you".
"Yeah but I do cardio".
"Since when?" she asked grabbing Nicky's backpack exhaustedly and pulling her away from the edge just to be safe. Nicky simply shrugged as her answer and looked further up the path.
"It goes all the way around the island. There are so many beaches and waterfalls and camping grounds".
"I read the brochures as well, I know this".
"What're we waiting for?" Nicky asked beginning the journey, but turned around and say Kristine leaning against a tree and taking a big drink of water. "Oh right, we're waiting for you".
"You don't have to" she panted with chuckle.
"Alright. See ya on the other side of the island then".
The path ran across the shore of the island and looked down over the waves that constantly crashed into it. The only reason to stop along the path was to admire the view and that happened so often that the path took hours to traverse. Only the way were constant signs of other's who'd travelled this way, including wooden signs that told of 'fresh water nearby', then a similar sign a little further that said that 'the water's actually further than you think, haha'. The sky was turning orange and insects began to buzz around in the cooling air as the two too a rest on a small section of beach.
"Here?"
"Yeah, this looks good" Nicky replied happily as she unstrapped her heavy backpack. "Oh god that feels good" she sighed as it clunked onto the grassy ground. Krstine untied hers as well before retrieving the tent from the other items. "You ever set up a tent before?"
"Nope, have you?"
"Yeah I have. You need to camp more" Nicky replied in a teasing tone.
"You're so experienced in camping then I think you can do it!" Kristine threw the tent hard to Nicky which rattled from the metal pegs inside.
"You have to start the fire then!".
Nicky and Kristine separated for a few minutes before reuinting. Kristine had left in search of firewood but came but with non and Nicky's attempts of pitching a tent were a success only if she planned on creating one that was lop sided. "Fire?"
"I couldn't find any on the beach that wasn't wet or sandy. How's the tent coming along?"
"I think the instructions are printed wrong" she replied sarcastically, digging through her heavy backpack for something. She gave an interested 'hmm' as she retrieved a camera from the very bottom. "Hey, let's take a picture together before the Sun set's too deep". Kristine nodded and walked slowly to the shore while Nicky began setting up a mould of sand to hold the camera in place before running into position, the small red light flashing on the front of it.
"Let's do a side by side thing" Kristine suggested leaning against Nicky and making her fingers into the shape of a gun. "No that's lame".
"No, let's pretend we're fighting". The camera began beeping rapidly.
"No that sucks".
"Well let's do something!" Nicky screamed with a laugh. They both were unsure what pose to make, just before the picture was taken they jumped into the air with their hands out. After the click Nicky ran up to the camera and investigated. "I think the flash is broken".
"Wouldn't surprise me, how hard you threw your bag down".
Night crept up slowly over the island. Without the constant thumping of their heartbeat in their ears from the hiking it was easy to hear the sounds of the forest coming to life. Insects and bugs clicked their strange songs and some other nearby creature seemed to enjoy hooting, but different from the usual owl hooting and more of a wolf whistle hoot; if there was such a thing. Just before their tent waves crashed hard on the shore.
"It's like stem cells".
"What're they again?"
"They're like the instruction manuals for making babies" Nicky replied. They were both laying in their tent and within the sleeping bags they're brought. Each laying on their stomach and looking out of the misquitoe mesh at the front of the tent to see the stars out in full in the sky. Having come from the city they'd never seen so many all at once. "Except they can be used for healing people".
"That doesn't make sense" Kristine remarked as her hands began tying her hair back in a ponytail. The only light source came from a solar powered lamp at the back of the tent which cast a blue tint over everything.
"Well it's hard to explain. There's a lot of study that has to be done yet. Stem cells are basically what 'starts' a person growing when they're in their Mum's womb. And they can sort of fix anything that might be wrong with an adult's body as well. In the future people might be able to grow back arms or legs that they've lost".
"That's pretty far in the future though isn't it".
"Well..." Nicky started but became distracted when a flashlight shun in their direction. "Who's out this time of night?" she queried in a whisper. Nicky's feet reached back within her sleeping back and covered the solar lamp.
"Heyo!" called a male voice from behind the flashlight. "You there? I can see your light" he announced walking closer to the tent. "What're you guys doing our here by yourselves?" he asked about a metres from the tent's front and shining the light in their eyes unnoticing how bright it was to them. His tone of voice led Kristine to think he may be drunk.
"We're just on holiday, thanks".
"Hey, you guys should come with me!" he announced. The flashlight quivered as he took a swig of whatever he happened to be drinking at the time. "Yeah, we've got a whole campfire down that way and there's free drinks and all. Come on over".
"No thanks" Nicky announced blinking repeatedly from the bright light.
"Gimme one good reason why not" she stated probably thinking he was being charismatic but actually only sluring his words.
Kristine was getting slightly nervous as she was only in her underwear beneath the sleepingbag covers and if something happened she'd feel awkward being in the night air like that. Nicky's hand slid out from her sleeping back and reached over to Kristines, her fingers venturing in and retrieving her sisters hand in kind.
"We're actually a couple" Nicky stated mater of factly before leaning over and kissing her sister's cheek.
"Oh, alright. But if you feel like some drinks you should come over. We're over that way" he announced pointing in the opposite direction as before before stumbling away in a third direction. As he left everything went completely dark and quiet again except for a few sticks breaking in the distance as he headed back up the path to the jungle.
"Still want a holiday romance?" Nicky teased.
"Ew, no that's disgusting!" she claimed loudly and punched her sister's sleeping bag.
"No...I meant with someone else. Because it looks like they're all drunk" she stated with a small chuckle. "What did you think I meant?"
"I thought you were being gross, that's all" Kristine stated scratching her hair. "Don't kiss me again without warning".
"What...like this?" she asked before leaning towards Kristine. Kristine had turned her head at the moment she said this and suddenly their lips were touching in a kiss. It only lasted for a moment but the silence afterwards lasted for an eternity. "Were they your lips?"
"Yup".
"Ew!" Nicky laughed and began licking her tongue over her pillow to pretend to get the taste out of her mouth. Kristine rolled her eyes but in the dark Nicky couldn't see it. Nicky's licking continued as she made funny 'glarh' noises every time.
"Shut up!"
"You taste really gross. Like really gross. I would rather make out with a snail than do that again. Glarh!"
