Ferry Island

The mud was thick and goopy as Hannah and I walked through the fields of Brazil.

"Oh man, this mud is ridiculous! How much longer?" she whined. It was a decent question, but we both knew the answer. I don't know when the rain will stop, or the trail will end. As long as we get to Ferry Island, we're okay. My boots finally gave in and opened it's seams, letting in layers of sloppy and wet dirt. I grimaced as the cold crap hit my leg. Hannah's boots gave in a mile or two back as well, and she was wincing with every step. A tree appeared on the horizon and I figured it would be a good time to take a break. We sat down and cleaned out our boots. Our first obstacle was the deep and treacherous amazon. Because we came from Campo Grande, we also had to find our way around the Amazonian tribes. After that misery, we had to cross the river. Its currents seemed neverending as we both slipped and fell many times, Hannah even cutting open her arm once. Then came the mud fields, which is where we are now. Which, by the way, is hell after everything else. I laid back and tried to get some rest, but it was no use. The adventure was too exciting to rest. Hannah laid her head beside mine, and we just looked up at the grey sky.

"Do you ever think about quitting something that you've dreamt about for years, but you don't do it? Because that's how I feel right now." Hannah asked. I pondered the question for a bit.

"Yeah. But I always think about how far I've come and what I've accomplished over this time. She smiled and leaned in a little closer.

"Thanks." she laughed.

"For what?"

"Giving me a reason to believe I'm not going to die." she cracked. We both started laughing hard, and we both had no idea why. This adventure has probably worn down our mentalities, but it was most likely the fact that it was true. We had a very good chance of dying at the hands of Mother Nature. After I regained composure, I looked over at Hannah. We both knew what we wanted to do... but was it really appropriate? We have been best friends for well over 17 years now, so why ruin it? I was quickly proven wrong when she placed her lips on mine, and we kissed. It probably lasted 10 seconds but it felt like 5. I broke it off and sighed. We both looked down at the ground.

"Should we-?" she started.

"Yeah. Let's go."

The cars speeded by on the road. They are only supposed to go somewhere around 30 but there was hardly anyone on the road. It took a while to find one that was going slow. However, when we finally found one that did, it was like cat and mouse. We pounced onto the trunk stairs of a dirty blue pickup truck and hitchhiked down to the coastline. The breeze felt light on the skin as the unaware driver continued his journey to the coast. We helped ourselves to the rice bags in the back and a couple of granola bars. If we were going to make it to Ferry Island, might as well enjoy the trip there, right? After a while, the guy stopped for gas so we hid under the remaining rice bags.

"Hey, so, what happened back there?" she sweetly asked.

"I don't really know, to be honest. I think we were just out of our normal minds and connected briefly." I noted. That seemed to be the wrong answer because Hannah shifted and frowned.

"Well, I want it to mean something," she said after a long silence. "I've liked you since we met all the way back in the fifth grade. I want our first kiss to be the start of something beautiful." I smiled and reassured her.

"Don't worry, Hannah. It certainly means something to me, but I just don't know what it is yet." I grinned. The driver came back so we came out from under the rice bags. The rest of the drive was eerily quiet, besides mentioning the occasional animal or small talk. Her smile never returned to her face as the car chugged forward. We hopped off in the town of Natal and headed towards the dock. Now, I didn't know what we were going to do, because even though it's called Ferry Island, there isn't a ferry to get there. It was named after some dude named Paulo Santiago Ferry. I just figured we'd find someone kind enough to take us out to the island because it was roughly a mile out. As we approached though, no one was in sight. Not one single human being was there to take us. I wanted to wait for someone to come, but Hannah, being Hannah, wanted to steal a boat. I've got to say, I wasn't expecting that one. But, whenever she set her mind on something, she stuck with it. How else did she drag me with her in a literal cross-country journey to Ferry Island? It took a while but we found a boat with the keys still in it because some idiot left them there. We both hopped in and started the engine. Unfortunately, the owner of the boat came out of the john and saw us on his boat, so he started sprinting at us. I quickly took over the wheel from Hannah and put the speed lever at the highest level. The owner took out his gun and fired off a couple of rounds, which missed us clearly as the boat sped at 50 MPH off the coast. Hannah let out a victory cheer as we zoomed towards Ferry Island. After I slowed the boat a bit, Hannah took off her mud-stained jacket and pants, which was a bit much after I just got shot at. She didn't seem to mind or even notice that I was in full view as she dipped her clothes in the water, cleaning them a little bit. She hung her clothes on the seat and sat down.

"I just can't believe this is happening!" Hannah exclaimed.

"Yeah, me too! You know, I wouldn't even have considered I'd be running away from home, a fugitive on the watch of the wary eye of the police, and with my best friend through it all two weeks ago!" I shouted over the waves. She smiled and turned her head to see Ferry Island fast approaching.

The boat washed up on the warm beach as we laid down, gazing at the stars.

"I'm on Ferry Island. I just... I can't..." Hannah stuttered.

"Wow. I did it. I made you breathless." I joked. She giggled a little bit, not analyzing my words enough to catch the subtle hint.

"And guess what?" I said.

"What? What is it?" she asked.

"I'm going to make you breathless again." Before she could respond, I kissed her deeply, wanting to feel every part of my newfound love. I could feel her smiling as we broke apart.

"Wow... so this means-" she chimed.

"Yes. I accept."