I Thought of Today

I gate crashed yet another fishing party today.

The boat left the island at 6:45 am. The moon was still up, the sky still dark. Our eyes half awake, our stomachs craving for warm coffee.

I waited for the sun to come out. It’s been a while since I last saw the sunrise.

I sat by the edge of the boat and marvelled at the rising sun, its light taking over this small paradise.

I thought about my past 8 months here and how I have slowly settled into the island life.

I thought about my plans before moving here.

Before signing my contract, I told myself that this will be my last overseas contract, that once this contract is over, I’ll retire and go back home for good. I thought about the island life and how I will miss it once I go back home.

I thought about the days when I stroll down the beach to watch the sunset after a day’s work or swim and mingle with the fish & turtles or gate crash a fishing party. I thought about the luxury of coming to work in flip-flops and of not cooking for myself, of just having to bring myself to the canteen and put the food on my plate.

I thought about the days when my skin smelled of sun and sea, and of days when I won’t be able to smell it anymore. I thought about the days when I would want to swim but would only be able to do so after a five hour drive to the nearest beach.

I thought about all of these and more.

I thought of today and how today will just become a yesterday, a month ago, a year ago or a decade ago.

I thought of all the memories that I will take with me once I leave this paradise for good and how it will stay as vivid as the Maldivian waters or how it will blur out as I age, when I can’t distinguish the difference between a memory and a dream anymore.

I sat by the edge of the boat and marvelled at the rising sun, its light taking over this small paradise, its light taking over me.

 

maldivian-sunrise
today’s sunrise

Author: aysabaw

Aysa is a stubborn island girl, drinking more than 3 cups of coffee a day, swimming with the reef sharks, turtles and parrot fishes almost everyday. If she is not reading her books, writing something comical, leaving rubbish comments on your posts or strumming her guitar, then she's up to some mischief.

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