Guava House

He stares out towards the ocean drifting in thought as waves break in the background.



He thinks to himself, its summer break and here I am wasting it away on a family vacation that I had no say in. He checks his phone and notices that the no cell service is still being displayed. How do old people survive??

He decides to wander aimlessly down the shore in hopes of getting some cell service while anxiously thinking what his friends might be up to while he's away. As he walks he notices the sky beginning to dim ever so slightly. What time was I supposed to meet mom and dad again? I couldn't understand anything they said except "booze cruise" and them chanting "no kids!" in unison over and over again.

He suddenly feels a welcomed breeze embrace his body. He wipes the sweat forming around his brow. The summer heat was no joke in Hawaii and he started to wonder if he put on enough sunscreen. He decided that too much of a safe thing becomes an even safer thing; well it made sense to him he thought.

Unzipping his backpack, he brought out a long tube of Banana Boat sunscreen, SPF 100. More banana sunscreen? Why don't mind if I do. You see, I'd hate to peel. He discretely started chuckling to himself. As he was grinning over his wonderful pun and applying gallops of sunscreen to his face, he noticed a small child several feet away staring worriedly at him. He quickly adjusted himself and acting, overly nonchalant, began his way further down the shore

With one eye locked to the signal icon on his phone and the other to the shore in front, he realized his journey was coming to a near end. Towering rock cliffs stood in the distance dividing the shore path with native trees and shrubbery.

He sighed in annoyance "why, of course. Nature always getting in the way." Than he looked back and saw he had trekked quite a bit of distance from where he originally started.

"Great, I'm glad this all payed off in the end cause oh boy, if I came all this way for nothing I'd be feeling like a real loser right now."

As he was about to make another sarcastic remark, a swift breeze picked up some sand and propelled it at his face. While choking on pieces of sand and shame, he had realized he was starting to feel dehydrated. He glanced around the beach berm hoping there was a Starbucks nearby or maybe even a Qwiki-mart.

Seeing no familiar logos or businesses he was accustomed to, he was ready to call it quits until he scantly spotted at the corner of his eye, a rundown vintage looking tiki shack. The shack had an old thatch roof which looked like it could be blown off at any moment. Wooden bar stools as ancient as the structure itself were situated around the bar counter tops. On top of the shack lay mounted an old surf board with words that read, Welcome To Guava House.

"Guava house?" He read aloud in a confused tone.

He cautiously walked towards the shack counter and pulled up a stool. No one seemed to be around. He waited for a few more minutes before deciding to call out.

"Hello?"

A voice squeaked below the counter tops followed by a loud 'thump.'

"Oww oww oww!"

A few seconds later, long dirty-blonde hair flew upwards almost whacking him in the face. A figure soon followed; a slender girl with golden olive skin, sporting oversized men's sunglasses, emerged. She was rubbing the back of her head as she looked hesitantly at him.

She took her time adjusting herself and then pushed up her sunglasses so it lay resting on her forehead.

"Don't do that," she said in a stern voice.

"Don't...do what?" he confusingly replied.

"What you just did like 3 seconds ago. Scaring woman and children, than making them hit their heads on cabinets. It’s just not right and you should apologize for it."

He hadn't seen any children when he arrived, and was a bit taken back by how this situation now became 'his,' fault. Regardless he didn't want to make things worse.

"Umm yeah. Sorry about that. I didn't see anyone around."

She leaned in closer to his face, now only being a few inches away.

"Apology NOT accepted." she pouted.

"Excuse me??" he retorted.

"Unforgivable. I wouldn't be surprised if god struck you down right where you stand. He shalt be forgiven only if thy order a drink with a customary 35 percent tip." she continued on speaking in a bit of old English mixed with a lot of gibberish.

"uhh... sure."

The whole situation seemed weird to him, but he was thirsty after all. He scanned the walls for a menu but couldn't find anything that resembled one.

"Great! One Guava Goose coming up!" she exclaimed.

"Gu-a-ya what now?"

"It’s my specialty don't worry," she replied accompanied by a wink and a smirk.

She got to work pulling out a concoction of liquids and fruit from beneath the cabinets. Mason jars filled to the brim with unknown substances was meticulously being added to the blender followed with handfuls of ice. When she was finished, what lay before him was a cup in the shape of a hula girl holding a straw and topped with a decorative miniature umbrella. Pink liquid filled the hula girl’s body and it seemed to be of a smoothie like texture. 

"And you're sure this is safe for general consumption right?"

She glared at him.

"Yes of course. I'm sure THIS time I didn't mistakenly add roach pellets. Like a good 80 percent sure. That other time was just a fluke," she evilly grinned.

Reluctant at the thought of dying from roach poison, he mustered up enough courage to take a sip from the pink straw held in the hula girl's hand. At first he swished it around his mouth to make sure no hard pellets chunks could be identified by his tongue. After thoroughly examining the drink, he did a quick prayer and swallowed.

The taste was extraordinary; flavors layered on flavors. A hint of ripe mango, a splash of milky coconut, and a base of sweet passion fruit is just some of the exotic flavors he could discern. His mouth was watering the more he drank, and the more he drank, the happier he got.

He ended up finishing the beverage in one sitting while the girl quietly kept to herself humming and cleaning, not wanting to interrupt the moment. 

When it looked like he was finally done being entranced by the little hula figurine, the girl came out moonwalking over towards him with an 'I told you so,' look plastered to her face.

"Well?"

"Well what?" he said back, trying to hide his blissful expression.

"Well, you didn't die right? I guess next time I should add a few more pellets," she chuckled.

He looked at her and then he started laughing too. For a few minutes they laughed and joked together about what brands were the best and how lucky the rats were at the shack.

Eventually the laughing subsided and he noticed the sun was starting to submerge into its watery bed. He checked his watch and saw that it was already half past seven. He remembered he was supposed to meet his parents sometime before nightfall.

"What! It’s already this late? The sun is still out?!"

"I didn't know folks on vacation were so pressed for time these days," she overdramatically gasped.

"Um hello, yours truly has important matters to attend to. Yes very important matters that could end up changing the course of time and all that we know and see. Potentially affecting the human race and maybe even giraffes."

"What are you doing here man! For the love of god, think of the giraffes! And if there's anyone in the world that loves giraffes, you can bet your bottom dollar it’s this girl right here. But I do have to inform you, if you leave know, you're going to miss some pure, unadulterated, honest-to-god.... super magic!"

"Magic?" he confusingly retorted.

"Super magic," she corrected him.

He looked around and didn't see anything particularly out of the ordinary. Maybe there was a fire dancer show starting soon. He remembered his dad saying something about how there were guys that came and spun torches while doing tricks. He did think that was pretty cool and might be worth an Instagram post.

"What time does this 'SUPER MAGIC' show start usually?" he asked.

"Well it’s hard to say since it changes almost every day. But for today I wanna say hmmm... in about 5 minutes. Let me close shop and I'll take you to the best seat in the house!"

Before he could reply, she quickly scurried off to the inside of the shack throwing fruit peels and tossing dishes all while continuing to hum Billie Jean by Michael Jackson. In just a few minutes she had already closed down the shack, wiped the countertops, and was in the process of pulling down the metal shutters.

"Quick, this way, or we're gonna miss it!" she exclaimed as she grabbed at his wrist and started sprinting towards the ocean.

As she was dragging him, she looked back and saw a bewildered expression stitched on to his face. She started chuckling and looked back towards the ocean. She then completely stopped when their feet were mere inches from the water, and suddenly yanked him towards the ground, taking a seat on the still warm sand.

As he was about to ask why they were staring at the sea. Something magical happened. The sky glowed a dark orange and a light red hue began to engulf the earth. The ocean reflected the vibrant colors making them its own; like flames dancing on sheets of water. The clouds, now fluffy cotton balls popping with an assortment of candy dyes, calmly flowed through the twilight sky with not a care in the world.

He was lost for words from the spectacle that was happening before him, not knowing how to react. He looked at the girl planted next to him and just for a moment, it seemed like the earth slowed down, if only for a split second. A vibrant radiance from the sun poured over her, soaking her skin. Her blonde hair, now contrasting with the orange backdrop, popped out like it was in 3D. Her eyes transformed into rich sapphires gleaming toward the horizon reflecting red fiery globes.

As they both sat quietly on the sand, a low 'bzzz' sound came from his pocket paired with a short vibration. He checked his phone and saw that a notification for data was being re-established. 

He powered off his cell and turned back towards the dipping sun. He noticed he was still clinging to the hula girl cup which was also reflecting the vibrant tinge.

With a tender smile, he thought to himself, Super magic.