The Island

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome onboard Emirates Flight EK 652 to Male” has been announced as I sip my glass of cold bubbly champagne in the comfortable business class seat. Goodness gracious, I need to pinch myself. Is this a dream?

-Cheers, my friend!

My friend Alina turns to me with a wide smile, fastens her seatbelt and we take off to a dream vacation.

I arrived to Dubai in 2004 with a few hundred dollars in my pocket. Two years later I was lucky to join the real estate industry right when it was booming. My first deal brought me $ 2,000 in commission. I will always remember a lovely Danish couple, who purchased their holiday home from our agency. I was devoted to my work, enjoying every bit of it. Meeting people from around the globe, great income and unique experience. Our management awarded my diligence and achievements with a gift -a business class trip and 3 nights stay at a fancy resort in the Maldives for two.

“For two….Maldives, yeah right…” I murmured to myself. “Who is coming with me?!” I freaked out. I was absolutely boyfriendless, not even a male friend who deserved to be with me on that plane.

- Hey, Alina, how are you?

- I am good, showing the apartment to a client. Anything urgent?

- Errm, not really. Do you want to come to the Maldives with me? All paid.

- What?! Maldives with you? Isn’t it a romantic destination for couples and honeymooners? Are you sure?

- Yep, I know. So are you coming or not?

- Of course! Talk to you later.

I knew it was pathetic. Going to a romantic getaway with a friend, but hey, who cares?! That trip was well deserved.

I am sure it was obvious to the cabin crew we were for the first time in the business class. A charming South African flight attendant was making our experience truly memorable. Cocktails, caviar canapés, fine food, you name it.

- Oh my God, Alina! Look at this! This is stunning!

I am shaking my friend who dozed off. Tiny islands look like cute paper crafts floating in the vast ocean. As we are waiting to board another smaller propeller plane from Male to Maamingili island, I have to rub my eyes which are not yet used to so intense azure colors. Let the fun begin!

Do you know what people do when they go to the Maldives? They have super romantic lobster dinner on the beach, so did we.

The beach, the stars, the sound of the ocean. Alina and I are sitting at the table, surrounded by torches and soft white sand. As our grilled lobster has been served, I burst into laughter. Stare at my friend with a thought: “A hot handsome guy should have been sitting in your place, damn it!”

Intrusive “Enjooooooooy” with cheesy smile from the waiter killed me even more. Sri Lankan servant must have thought that we were an LGBT couple on our romantic getaway. This “Enjoooooooy” was haunting us throughout the whole stay, making me burst into laughter each time I heard it. “Thaaaaaaaaank youuuuuuuuu!” I replied choking from laughter.

- Alina, listen, I am not going to lie down here like a lazy seal. We need to explore the island.

I know that my travel mate would have preferred a "lazy seal”option, but she knows I don’t take “No!” for an answer, she gives in and we go looking for an adventure. 15 minutes later we are sailing on a small catamaran. Our captain, a very young Maldivian curly guy, stares at us, trying to guess about our relationship roles.

- She is my friend, we are on a vacation gifted by my employer, we are not a couple.

I interrupt his fantasy before he is carried away in his imagination. The guy nods with a suspicious smirk. He is kind enough to take us to a small uninhabited island, a place where locals like to hang out and chill.

We docked by the beautiful beach of a very tiny island. I guess our captain was totally distracted by our presence. Two young attractive ladies on the boat would distract anyone.

And this sailor forgets to drop the anchor. We jump off the boat and go for a swim, watching small cute sharks and stingrays. Total bliss…

- Oh, no! The boat! Its drifting away!

We scream to alert our captain.

- Don’t worry, girls. I will catch it.

He assures us. We get stranded on the island with no phone, sun lotion, water, without anyone knowing we are here.

First hour was still entertaining. We were swimming, exploring the island and joking. Our male companion even dared to offer us to spend time on the island in a more interesting way. We declined his offer swearing at him mentioning all his family and relatives. It was about noon time. The heat of the sun began to burn our skin. Cooling off in a water was a short relief making things worse later on. We had big hopes that someone would find us before we turn into red boiled crabs. No help was coming, because no one knew we were out there.

5 hours later a boat appeared on a horizon. Like Tom Hanks in “Castaway”, we were jumping, waving and screaming to draw the attention.

Suddenly Alina and I froze in horror with darkest scenarios on our mind. A small boat with about a dozen of young men was approaching our island.

“This is it… we will die here, and no one will know. They will rape us and kill us here…” these thoughts were racing through my head. “At least I die on a beautiful island” an optimistic part of me was trying to cheer me up.

-Shit, Nastya, we are going to die! They will kill us!

My beautiful blond friend was repeating herself.

-Hey, have no fear my friend! We are Ukrainians, we don’t give up easily. Grab that spiky sea shell and we won’t make it easy for them to get us, we will bloody fight them.

(pffff, brave Ukrainian warriors with sea shells, how pathetic)

I stepped closer to my friend and squeezed beautiful pink conch in my hand, preparing for the worse.

Saying good bye to my family and praying to God.

It was our lucky day. Staff from our hotel decided to go play football on this island. They were very kind and friendly. They shared with us water and some snacks. We watched fascinating sunset. A skyline splashed with the most beautiful colors I have ever seen on the horizon. The boat owner arrived and brought us back to the hotel, before it got dark. A full refund was offered as a compensation for the trip that went terribly wrong. Instead we left some tips for him and his “genius” captain, thanking for the adventure. A life memory added to my collection.

It was time to return back to Dubai. Buttered with Aloe Vera cooling gel, we got cosy in the business class seats. For days dry burned skin (that was peeling off like snake scale) would remind us of the unforgettable experience on Maaminglii.

I would love to get stranded again on an island, but this time with a handsome Robinson Crusoe instead.