Isla Verano.
After changing flights for a few times and riding a local boat that takes you from one island to another, Adriane finally arrived at the almost isolated island he could've been. The boat ride schedule was very limited in a week because of the distance of this island from the others.
He looks around. It's past 3pm when he arrived at the tropical island. He was not expecting this kind of temperature at all. The sun was way up in the sky and the humid air during the boat ride makes one sweat buckets and the ocean wind makes it even worse. He walks away from the beach and towards the first pathway he can see. Walking past the sandy part of the beach, all he can see afterwards were rolling green hills, the dramatic cliffs and lighthouses. A scenery that may seem like it came out of novels itself. A beauty that was not fully discovered because of the lack of tourists.
"Hello. Are you Mr. Valerio?" One local old man walks toward him and asked in a very clear English but with a hint of that local accent.
"Yes, I'm Adrian Valerio." He answered curtly as he shook the old man's hand.
"I am the one who sold the house to you. My name is Jose. As you know, tourist don't usually goes here because it's not officially part of the tourism route. It's even more rare for someone to buy a house here." He talks as we make our way to the house I recently bought with some help. He told me many things about the island, the schedule of the boat rides, the important places to go to, (like his own place), the assembly house or cabin for residents, the local store where I can buy some necessities, etc.
The walk from the beach to my house was far from what I expected but it was worth it as all the people we came across greets us enthusiastically and the nature wind was more refreshing because of the trees and plants all around the island.
"I just noticed that all of the people here are of certain age." Adriane stated as they enter the small house he bought.
"You mean the old people living here? Yes, yes. All the people here are old one, very old. All the young'uns went to other islands for work and almost never comes back. Except maybe during the Christmas or summer vacation or when someone dies." Jose replied as he laughed like it was an amusing thing he could talk about with him, all the while Adrian's expression showed confusion. He clears his throat at the weird joke Jose shared.
"Oh! There was also Isla." Adriane handed Jose a cup of cold water and placed some snacks he bought from the airport on the table.
"Isla? You mean another island?" He thought as Isla is island in their language all the while he easily finished up the glass of water because of thirst.
"No. No. Isla is a girl. She lives in this island and helps the old people here."
"Oh... That's nice to hear." A girl... maybe someone's cute daughter prancing around to help the old people living here. A little girl surely will make them happy and lively at the same time, worried for her growth.
"I guess she's busy, as I haven't seen her this entire way."
"Yes, yes. She, ahh, helping with buying the things you still need. I still don't buy all the things you listed before." Jose, though still finding it hard to communicate in English, admits his mistake. Adriane just nodded.
After a few moment of interactions, Jose excused himself and that's only when I started to unpack my luggage and set up my laptop in a place over viewing the ocean. The sun's about to set and as the sky's color changes, the view over the horizon becomes more beautiful. He decided to grab his phone and walk down to the coast to take pictures as his novel's reference later on.
As the sun slowly moves towards the horizon and the few clouds that has been dyed golden and other colors that would just leave anyone speechless and emotional, the ocean's soft waves makes the scenery more serene and artistic. The breeze and the sound of the waves lulls Adriane into melancholy that he almost forgot the take the picture. His phone was just in front of him, hanging but not capturing any image. And just then, he saw a local boat being pushed by men from the shore - a fishing boat, perhaps, because it looks much different from the one he just rode to get to the island. They were unloading some things and a woman with long wavy hair disembarks from the small boat and grabbing some bags from the men, and walking off. Maybe one of the resident and elder of this Isla Verano. He brush aside his curiosity and continue to take pictures of the sunset but then, as it grows darker by the minute, he choose to walk back as he noticed that there are just almost a handful of street lamps here. However, he still had to use his phone's light on his way back since darkness quickly catches up to him.
"Hello. Are you Sir Adriane Valerio?" A woman standing in front on my door asked from afar.
"Who are you?" Adriane cannot hide the shock and confusion on his face. The woman standing in front of him was not an elderly one, nor anyone he knew, but a young woman with long wavy brown hair, small stature compared to him, and large, round, and innocent eyes looking straight at him together with a beaming and charming smile.
"My name's Isla Maris. I am the official local tour guide here at Isla Verano. Nice to meet you." She offers out her hand for a formal handshake. "I also brought the things that Tatang Jose listed that you needed in here. If you need any more things or help, just mention it and I'll assist you. I'll be coming again in the morning."
Adriane can't take his eyes from her even as she walks away with a big flash light on hand. "Isla? And here I thought, she'll be some young child here in the island." He immediately smack his own face in embarrassment before grabbing the bags and going inside the house. He cannot forget the smile of that lady and how the soft light from his porch make her appearance even more charming.
"Get a hold of yourself Adriane Valerio. You're not here to fall in love. You're here for your last vacation before you die." Throwing himself on the bed with those thoughts just made him feel more exhausted together with built-up fatigue from all his travel and change of environment. And just like that, he fell asleep - a deep sleep he hadn't had for the past few weeks.