jobs was the least they could do to give her somewhat of a life.
The gift of the ocean was what led me to Ava Grace. She had been let out for her daily break from the prison. That’s when I found her splashing around, bobbing on that old piece of driftwood. It was her time to be a young adult, free of the dangers within the confines of the prison fence. Her time to let her guard down. The problem was, now I had taken that little sliver of peace from her and put her back on the defense. I could sense her new fear. It was no longer limited to the dangers inside the fence, but now what lurked on the outside too.
There we sat, in the clearing of the tall grass. After hearing her story I shook my head, feeling terrible that she was dealt such an awful fate. My first instinct was to take her away, to get her off the island and give her the normal life that she deserved. I thought of the girls back home having their shopping trips, pool parties, and giggling in the halls while they talked about boys. Maybe she didn’t care about those things, or even know about them for that matter. But, I could see her wanting a real future. College. Career. Family. She deserved that much. Those things weren’t possible in a place like this. That’s when I made myself a promise that someday, somehow, I would get her off the island.
Staring at her, and back out into the ocean, my mind raced. Maybe I could sneak her back to our quarters and beg my father to take her home with us. Sadly, I knew that would never work. I would be in so much trouble if he knew I’d even made contact with a prisoner. That’s when I came up with the idea for the raft. Something we could make ourselves that would surely get her away from the island. I’d go home, gather the supplies I needed, and take her away myself. “Meet me here tomorrow. Same time.” I smiled in anticipation. It would work. I just knew it would.
• • •
Ava was in every thought I had that day. And with every thought, a new spike of heat erupted inside of me. Once I saw her, I couldn’t get her out of my mind. At the dinner table … Ava’s eyes. Loading the dishwasher … Ava’s smile. Mowing the lawn … Ava’s smell. I’d never thought so much about another human in my entire life.
When I was finally off the hook for completing chores, I rushed to the workshop to complete my mission. As I rummaged through my father’s supplies, again I pictured her face. Butterflies swept through my chest as I imagined us spending the next several days building a raft together. The thought of seeing her again was exhilarating. I couldn’t wait to get back to her. To hear her raspy giggle. Hear her stories. To get to know her more. Maybe I could even find a way to get her to tackle me again. Thinking back on it, the rush of her straddling me was delightfully rousing.
The next day, as I crept up to the grove of tall grass, I smiled as I reached into my backpack and felt the baling twine I’d procured from my father's supplies. She was there, standing off in the distance and I couldn’t wait to talk to her about my surprise. When she heard the grass separate beneath my footsteps, she whipped around quickly to see me standing there. I pulled the twine from my backpack and held it up.
“What’s that?” she questioned.
“It’s your ticket out.”
• • •
That was the day we began building our raft. Every night as I lay in bed thinking of how I was going to surprise her, the anticipation built. Every afternoon when I got to her, her reaction didn’t disappoint. The way she looked at me set me on fire. I was enraptured by her disbelieving stare. It was always accompanied by a thankful grin. The way she leaned forward and ran to give me those bear hugs motivated me to come up with new surprises daily. It started with the twine. It cracked me up that she was excited over something so simple. I’d have thought I brought her a spool of gold the way she made such a huge deal over it. That’s what made me want to