Legend of Alvaro #featured

Chapter 10 - Unexpected meeting

The heavy breathing continued. My heart raced and I was too afraid to open my eyes. The breathing got closer to me , its was rapidly. My whole body started shivering. I felt a big cold hand on my upper arm. My nerves shot through my whole body and exploded in my chest. I decided to flee. I jumped up and opened my eyes, ready to run away as quickly as I could to try and save my life one last time. I looked up straight into calm hazel eyes belonging to a young man with long blond hair and fairly tanned skin. I lost the feeling of fear instantly and a bit of excitement rose up inside of me. We both just stood there looking at each other in silence. He was only a bit taller than me and wore pieces of clothes made from cotton and braided vines. He's skin showed the result of long hours in the sun and his hair have not been near a brush in ages.

"H-Hello..." I said said slowly to see if he understands English. My brain told me to run because he is a stranger and I don't know what he is capable of but something inside his eyes told me that he wouldn't hurt me, they reflected a friendly soul. The movement of his chest showed that he was nervous as he breathed heavily.

"Hi.." He replied me. Hearing his voice made me feel like a deaf person hearing for the very first time.

He sounded surprised to hear his own voice.

"I'm stranded. I was pushed off a ship a few days ago. Please say you can take me home or know a way off this island. " I said and realized how good it felt to be talking so someone again.

"I haven't seen another person in many years. Come with me!" He said and his face lit up as he grabbed my hand tightly. He turned around and began to run. I grabbed on to his hand and ran with him as he pulled me. We ran past big trees and small trees and went through passages made of plants. We got to a big open space inside the jungle. He jumped over a stream and held out his hand to me. I took his hand after hesitating for a few seconds and jumped over as well because I was scared to be left alone. He grabbed my hand once more and started running again as soon as I was steady on my feet. After a few paces he stopped. I blinked a few times because my eyes were teary from the cold breeze.

I looked up and saw a tree house build in a big Koatree. It was too beautiful too believe. I glanced in his direction. He looked at my with big bright eyes and his face glowed. The adrenaline rushed through my veins still, just before anger stepped in.

"What are you doing leading me into the scary jungle like this?" I asked annoyed and folded my arms in front of my chest. I could see that my sudden outburst had taken him by surprise as he lift his eyebrows and his eyes widen before he started laughing.

Is this person mental? Who could laugh at a stressful time like this?

He climbed up a small ladder made out of tree branches and indicated with his hand that I should go with him. I swallowed my pride and eventually followed him. We climbed up all the way to the top and stepped onto a little wooden porch next to the house. I got afraid of the height while he climbed like he have been doing it for years. He opened a little wooden door that struggled a bit and led me inside. It was dark before he lit a torch as soon as he closed the door behind us. It looked like a genuine house inside except everything is made from wood. He disappeared behind what looked like a little wooden counter that resembled the kitchen and came back with a bowl filled with fresh fruits like pears and apples. I grabbed a pear from the bowl and started eating. The juices dripped from my lips onto my lap but I didn't care because I was so incredibly hungry. He just stared at me in awe. I sat down on the floor for there were no furniture to sit on. He sat down as well, a few feet away from me, not taking his eyes off me once.

"Thank you." Was all I could get out and waited for him to say something after a long and uncomfortable silence. He stood up again and grabbed a bottle filled with strong smelling oil and handed it to me.

"What is this?" I asked curiously.

"Take a few drops on your tongue. You will regain your strength." He said and brought his hand towards his mouth, like he was demonstrating to a young child.

I slowly tipped the bottle towards my mouth and dropped a few drops of the oil on my tongue. It tasted really sour.

I handed the little bottle back and he set it down on the floor next to him.

"Where did you come from?" He asked eventually in a accent that wasn't familiar to me.

"Me and my sister came from the United States to Mykonos and got on a cruise ship. I was pushed over board and somehow washed ashore on this island. How about you?" I asked and felt better instantly to be talking to somebody about what happened. The storm inside my head calmed a little.

"My parents came here when I was nine years old. They said they wanted to protect me from the cruel society, but I found out later that my father was actually running from people trying to kill him. We came here with a small plane but we kind of crash landed and got it stuck in a tree. The plane never worked again. " He said.

"Where are your parents now?" I asked and curiously looked around suddenly feeling frightened that there could be more people on the island.

"They both died and I buried them on the Island. My mom died from kidney failure and a snake bit my dad." He said without much expression on his face.

"That must have been terrible. I am so sorry to hear that. What is your name?" I asked with sincere sympathy.

"My name is Alvaro." He said and his face lit up.

"I guess there is no way off the island? No cellphones or people coming by?" I asked hopefully.

"No, Nothing. There haven't been anyone near the island in more than ten years, except you." He said and a smile appeared on his face.

"Well, Alvaro. My name is Samantha Perdita. I hope to have people come look for me because they will realize I'm missing. They will come and save us." I said hopefully.

Alvaro didn't say anything. He stood up and disappeared into a room and came back with a blanket.

"Did you build this house?" I asked and took the blanket from him and hung it around my shoulders, my body relaxed to the feeling of something civilized touching my skin.

"My dad build the house and we brought most of the blankets and furniture with us when we came." He said and sat down on the floor again.

"Where do you drink water?" I asked when I couldn't handle the dryness in my mouth any longer.

"Come with me." Alvaro said and held his hand out to help me up. The muscles flexed perfectly up his arm and I could feel my cheeks flush as I grabbed his hand and pulled myself up.