Lola's Journey

Lola had been planning her trip to Hudrose Haven; a secluded, tropical island, for quite some time. Lola was adventuress and daring, she thrived on excitement and loved travelling. This trip would turn out to be the best one yet, one she would never and could never; forget.

7:30am -Lola's house

    Beep! Beep! Beep! Lola sprung out of bed and headed straight into the bathroom. She showered, shaved and groomed herself to perfection, there wasn’t a hair out of place; she was ready.

8:15am- Outside Lola’s house

    Lola eagerly waited outside her country house; her bags were packed and neatly placed by her side. She had her phone in hand, counting down the minutes until she’d finally arrive in paradise. Lola’s father had always talked about Hudrose Island, he’d say “It’s magical, unlike any other Island” and Lola would beam with excitement; in hope she, like her father; would get to go there someday. Lola’s father; Alexander, passed away when she was just eight years old, he left behind his trinket’s and other bits and pieces he’d collected from his travels, and Lola had kept them safe ever since.

8:25am

    She jumped in the pre-booked taxi and headed off to the airport, she was catching a thirty-minute flight to Kensington, where she’d then get another taxi to “Take the leap” a high rated, skydiving company. Lola’s father worked at the company for years before his untimely death and as soon as Lola was old enough; she booked her very own “leap” and couldn’t wait to feel the passion her father once felt. Luckily for Lola, some of her father’s old work friends still worked there, and were delighted to hear she was following in his footsteps.

    The plane journey was smooth and Lola landed safely. She made her way out of the airport and got into the nearest taxi. “Where too?” The taxi driver asked. “Take the leap” She politely replied.

    A little while into the ride, Lola noticed the taxi driver looking at her through his interior mirror, “Don’t I know you from somewhere? You look really familiar” Lola shook her head and replied, “No, I... I don’t think so, sorry” “Ah, not to worry young miss, my mistake.” Lola plugged in her earphones and was listening to music as the ride was taking longer than expected. She closed her eyes and zoned out for a while, but when she re-opened them again, the taxi driver was looking at her, as he did before, Lola was starting to feel uncomfortable, she tried to avoid making eye contact with him, but before she could look away, he spoke again, “Lola Rhodes, it’s you isn’t it?” Lola smiled awkwardly, “yes, how did...” Before she could finish her sentence, the driver interrupted, “I knew your father; Alexander, we shared many rides together, at one point I felt like his personal chauffeur, he showed me pictures of you and I never forget a face” Lola laughed out of politeness, “yes, my father was always traveling” Lola then felt at ease, and the two of them talked and talked, until their time together, came to an end. “There you go Miss Lola, we’ve arrived, be safe now won’t you.” Lola smiled and said goodbye.

    Lola had arrived at “Take the leap” and was waiting in the queue, she was booked in for 11:00am, but she was early. A man approached her; it was Jason Myers, a friend of her father’s, “how you’ve grown, Miss Lola. Lola smiled at Jason; she had heard many stories about him. “Hi, Mr. Myers, good to see you” “It’s good to see you too, it’s been way too long” Jason gave Lola a bear hug, and it made her feel safe. Jason led Lola into the staff room, “let’s grab a coffee” he suggested. The two of them sat down and started chatting; Lola knew it was only a matter of time before he would start giving her “the safety talk” just like her father always did.

    A little time had passed and a young man walked into the room; “Ah, here he is” Jason introduced the two of them; “Lola, this is Jake Johnson, he’ll be your diving buddy” Lola blushed, “nice to meet you.” Jake spent the next few minutes going through the health and safety procedure, and then got Lola all geared up; ready for the dive.

    Lola said goodbye to her father’s old friends and went with Jake outside. The two of them were getting on really well and Lola couldn’t help but smile the whole time she was with him. Jake was handsome and a real gentlemen. They reached the plane and went though the procedures once more, “you ready?” Lola Nodded, “let’s do this” They got onto the plane and Lola was introduced to the pilot; Simon. He was really energetic and got Lola pumped up even more.

    They had been flying for quite a while, and Lola was preparing herself, she held a photo of her father, on her chest, “this is for you dad” she whispered. Jake smiled at her and was getting her ready to jump.

Ten..Nine..Eight..Seven..Six..Five..Four..Three..Two..One

    Jake and Lola had jumped and were freefalling; Lola screamed with joy, she was finally living out her dream. She was due to land west of Hudrose Island, but some happened; something bad.

    All Lola could hear was Jake’s voice telling her to keep calm, and resisting the emergency safety procedure, she couldn’t help but panic; she was getting dizzy and losing consciousness. He drifted in and out, until finally she gained control of her breathing, Jake was trying to steer them towards the sea, and it was working until…. Snap! One of the straps that connected Jake and Lola together had snapped off. Jake was clinging onto Lola, but the wind picked up and the two of them were separated. They could see each other but the wind was pushing them into different directions. Lola could see Jake pointing at the back up parachute; she didn’t want to use it because that would mean that she and Jake would be separated upon landing. Lola was running out of time, she pulled the string and the parachute expanded, the wind picked her up and she was gradually floating towards land, and all she could do was watch Jake desperately trying to get his parachute to open.

    Crash! Lola had finally landed, but not the way she was supposed to. The impact had left Lola with a deep cut along her leg; she was losing a lot of blood. The pain was unbearable and Lola passed out. When Lola finally woke up, she could feel something tickling her bloodied leg, she looked down and couldn’t believe what she was seeing; in fact, she thought she was hallucinating. Lying beside her was…… a dolphin; it was rubbing its body against Lola’s, “what the hell?” At that point she definitely thought she was seeing things, and so she rubbed her eyes and focused, the dolphin was still there. Lola couldn’t understand why a dolphin was rubbing against her bad leg, but then she looked down and realized that her leg was healing, like rapidly. Lola wasn’t scared of the dolphin but she lifted her leg away and it just looked at her, like it wanted to be her friend. Lola sat up and reached out her arm, she stroked the dolphin’s head and it rolled over like a puppy.

    Lola spent some time playing with the dolphin, but after a while, she noticed its skin was drying out; it needed to be put back into the water. Lola stood up, with a small stream of blood running down her leg, and guided the dolphin back to the water. The dolphin seemed really happy to be swimming again, and Lola felt as if it was beckoning her to join it. Lola slowly walked towards the sea, and before she knew it; she was waist deep. Lola was enjoying herself but all of a sudden she remembered about Jake, she felt panicked and started to head back to shore, “Jake! Jake! She shouted and shouted; but no response. Lola stood on the beach with her hands on her hips, she looked down and her leg was completely healed, but how? She wondered. She confused and alone, but she knew she had to find Jake.

    Lola had been searching for a long time and was about to give up hope, but then the dolphin started calling her, she ran over to see if it was in danger, but it was quite the opposite; the dolphin had returned with Jake on its back. Jake was pretty banged up but he was awake, and more importantly; alive. Lola was impressed and immediately ran over to Jake and helped him to shore, she stroked the dolphin’s head but it kept pushing itself into her, as if it wanted them to stay in the water. For a while they ignored the dolphin’s behavior, but then something popped into Lola’s head, “what if…no, it can’t be, can it?” Jake looked at her all confused. Lola stood up and went to find something sharp, she returned with a cracked seashell, “What are you going to do with that?” Jake asked. Lola took a deep breath and cut her arm with the shell, “what are you doing!” Jake yelled. Lola walked over to the sea and laced her arm in the water, “I knew it” she whispered, “It’s healed.” Lola got excited and ran back over to Jake, she showed him her arm and he was just as amazed as she was; the water could heal you.

    Lola and Jake had been enjoying their time together, and they were both fully rid of their injuries. Lola now understood why her father loved Hudrose Island; it was magical……literally magical.

    The search team at “Take the leap” had been looking for Lola and Jake since the dive; they had received an alert from the tracking system on the parachutes and had made their way to Hudrose Island. Jason was on board the rescue flight and had landed on the beach. He ran over to Lola and Jake and handed them some supplies, “you ready to go home?” Jason asked. Both Lola and Jake looked at each other and smiled, “No, were good here.” Lola replied. Jason could see that the two of them had grew close over the short amount of time they’d spent together and so he gave them enough supplies to last them a week and had arranged a return flight for them.

    Lola and Jake returned home as a couple, and told everyone about their special island, and of course, everyone they told didn’t believe them and took what they said, as metaphors.

    Lola and Jake knew the truth; their magical island; existed.