It was only late in the morning when the two met. They walked around the beach, and as Flora seemed to enjoy chasing the tiny waves on the shoreline, they were able to reach the village side of the island. A bit farther from her cottage. The sun was becoming more robust, but the guest didn't seem to notice as she was having such a good time. Damien had to take her out of the open and bring her to the shades. It's her first day on the island, and she might get too burned even with the sunscreens applied."Would you like to have lunch? You must be hungry. It's noon already," Damien tried to get Flora's attention as she was too engrossed playing with the bubbles of waves and ran as if playing catch with the water. But she would also get bothered when she saw something interesting among the shells and stones. Some were colorful, while the others were with unique shapes."Huh?" Flora looked up to see Damien now with a pair of sunglasses on. He looked d
"Let's go this way," Damien pointed his arm forward. Not to the left nor to the right side as the pathway showed."Sorry, where? Which way?" Flora asked with astonishment. She was confused. The guide was pointing in a direction with no visible trail of a pathway to walk onto.Damien snorted at Flora's questioning face. She pulled her sunglasses as they were already under the shades and to make sure she was looking in the right direction he was pointing into."Come, believe me, we're on the right track," Damien chuckled at her doubting mien. "This is a shortcut. If we follow the pathway you are looking at, we won't get there as quickly as we can if we take it this way. This one is for walking trails. Vehicles can only take the wider road, so even if they turn around, it would be the same span of time to arrive at where I am taking you."Flora nodded. "I see. I guess I should just follow. You're the guide, after all."Dami
Damien noticed where Flora was suddenly quiet. He followed her gaze and saw his sister Danielle and her husband Ricky with the man's right hand hanging on the woman's shoulders. Flora had a gaze perception that she turned to look in the direction she felt someone was intently gazing at her, and her eyes met with Damien. Their eyes locked for a good minute. No one seemed able to move their eyes away, staring right back at the person staring at them.The sound of someone clearing its throat awakened Flora and Damien from their wandering thoughts."Ahhmmm, oh my... What had just happened?" Flora felt embarrassed and pretended to dust the hem of her dress top to avoid the eyes of everyone around her.Danielle saved the lady from embarrassment and pulled Damien away to take his spot beside Flora."Have you chosen what you'd like to have?" Danielle asked gleefully. "Don't worry about the price. They are affordable."
"Oh no, no, no!" Damien uttered as they tried their best to run and reach his house. It was around three hundred meters from the shore where they were, but as Flora did not move as fast as Damien wished she did, the rain caught up with them. Damien was worried Flora might not respond like the locals when it comes to sudden downpours on a bright and hot sunny day. People with asthmatic conditions do not do well with this kind of weather. And people in the village who were born with such illness got cured when they turn to age that they could swim in the sea. They claim that seawater and swimming cure asthma as elements in the seawater activate the body's healing mechanisms. But for Flora, she was new to the island. Her body may not adapt well on the very first day of her stay. She will regret if she has asthma or any illnesses. She won't be able to enjoy the rest of her stay if she gets tied up in bed. But Flora was sure she was healthy, and she was having so much fun on her ne
"We can try a small one somewhere you won't need to take off your clothes," Damien carefully stated.Flora became conscious. She checked her arms. She was wearing a see-through dress top earlier, but she made sure her scars would not clearly show with its long-sleeves. She realized she was already wearing a sweatshirt since she had to change her clothes as they got wet from the rain. Her scars did not show either. So she looked up at Damien with a calculative stare."What?" Damien softly snorted at her seemingly questioning eyes looking directly into his.Damien did not see any of her other scars. He only saw the one she had on her back. But he did not need to check her whole body to suspect she may have them somewhere else in her body. He had known some crazy facts about abusive people, and once it gets started, the word stop is non-existent in their vocabulary. Such behavior only intensifies. They never die down. Lucky for her if she
"Wow! That was quick!" Flora exclaimed with total amazement. "Ohhh, what a beauty! Now I can lift my arms without being conscious about such an ugly scar," she added with confidence, beaming with a cheerful smile.Damien felt flattered that Flora was happy with his chosen design, making use of the shape of her scar to create an image. But he felt a bit uneasy when Flora sighed."What...? What is it?" Damien asked.Flora cleared her throat and gathered her courage to tell Damien what was bothering her."I wanted to join a fitness club in a gym so I can have a professional trainer help and guide me stay fit, but I had to quit after a few weeks of session," Flora did not know where to start telling Damien about her reasons, so her words came out randomly.Damien listened with patience. He was open ears to hear whatever she was about to say. It wasn't anything new for Damien, his sisters would open up to him about their feel
Flora waited for his answer.Damien felt hot despite the weather surrounding them. He, himself, thinks that what he was about to say is awkward, but he also felt like he should not waste a chance of it seeming to present itself. He was quite aware that such chances won't come around too often.Flora smiled and frowned at his funny mien. He looked torn between telling her and not. She was beginning to think he was going to say something weird, but she held her laughter. She was also a bit wary; she might be causing him a dilemma. Flora raised her eyebrows as she tried to give him an encouraging look."Well..." Damien cleared his throat. "I have these cute designs..." Damien paused and nervously looked at Flora's face."And...?" Flora was inwardly relieved that what he was hesitating to say involved his tatts designs. She was feeling more comfortable that it wasn't something indecent. He is an artist."And I have had clien
"Can I just finish all of this, get drunk, and pass out?" Asked Flora with a nervous smile as she attempted to chug on the bottle of local wine. "As you please," Damien chuckled. He gave her a shot twice already, but as the alcohol might have needed more time to take effect, Flora seemed to be as sober as she had before she took a few shots. Maybe it also had something to blame on the fact that she was really nervous. And as crazy as it may seem, Damien also agreed with her idea, to do his task when she has passed out might just be more manageable. "Since you can't drink because you have to be sober to do your job, you don't mind if I drink directly from the bottle, do you?" Flora asked with a giggle."Not at all," Damien answered, also with a snort. He made himself busy preparing for things he would need, starting from the electric shaver that he would be needing to remove her pubic hair on the spot where he would be doing the tatt design Flora had chosen.