"Good morning, Jade," she said, trying to cheer me up. "I brought you some fresh food and other provisions. How have you been holding up?"
"As well as can be expected under the circumstances," I smiled weakly.
Te' pulled the shades back across my enclosure, glaring at the guards for not giving me enough privacy. For a moment, I considered t
elling her about my failed escape attempt, but I figured it would just inflame their already raw emotions even further.
"Are you finding the drapes I made for you are keeping things a bit cooler in here?"
"Yes, thank you," I said, happy to hear that at least she wasn't being tied up in her hut.
"I thought you might like a bit more protection against the sun and the prying eyes of the villagers," she said, handing me a folded white cloth through the bars.
I unfolded the garment and smiled, seeing that it was a dress similar to the one she'd replaced from the previous night's wedding ceremony. I pulled it over my head then pressed against the bars, desperate to feel her touch. She reached out and squeezed my hands as we pressed our foreheads together.
"Te'," I moaned. "I've been thinking of you so much. I watched the ceremony last night, then I heard you with Manaia in the hut—"
"Don't pay any mind to that," she said, pulling back to peer into my eyes. "He may possess my body, but my heart will always belong to you. We just have to wait a few more days until things quiet down, then we can find a way to escape this god-forsaken place."
"What about the two guards?" I said, noticing the tribesmen still scowling at me. "How can we hope to escape with them watching me twenty-four hours a day?"
I glanced in the direction of her hut, fearful that Manaia or her father would see her with me.
"And what about Manaia? What if he finds us? I have a feeling that he and your father won't be as lenient if they were to catch us again."
"Let me worry about them," Te' said. "I know how to keep Manaia distracted. He's sleeping right now. We'll have plenty of opportunities soon enough. They'll never find us on the other side of the island."
I shook my head, remembering how easy it had been for the other tribesmen to catch me.
"Have you seen any sign of my sailing crew? The sooner we get off this island, the better. I think I've had quite enough of the tropics for a little while."
"There's been no sign of them. But my father says a cargo ship is due to pass by any day now. We won't have long before you're sent away."
She lifted a bowl full of figs and sliced pineapple, and I closed my eyes, breathing in the heavenly aroma.
"Are you hungry?"
I nodded, and she pushed the bowl through the hole in the bottom of my crate.
"This reminds me of our first day in the lagoon," I said, lifting the sweet fruit to my parched lips. "I remember waking up to the fresh scent of these hanging above our treehouse after we made love that night."
"It's all I can think about too," Te' said, squeezing my hands so tightly they began to turn red. "It's the only thing that keeps me going."
I looked at Teuila with sad eyes and frowned.
"I'm sorry, Te'. I should never have come to this island. If you had never met me, you'd never have known anything different—"
"I'd still know what it feels like to be abused by a man," she said. "If it weren't for you, I'd have never known what it feels like to be truly loved by someone."
"Oh Te'," I cried, thrusting my body against the front of my crate and throwing my arms around her. "I don't want to lose you. I can't imagine my life without—"
Suddenly, the flap covering Teuila's hut swung open and Manaia turned to face us, glaring angrily in our direction. He quickly descended the steps and began running in our direction, and Teuila turned around and began running toward the woods. But he already had a healthy head start, and he quickly closed the distance, tackling her in the sand. Then he picked her up and threw her kicking and screaming over his shoulder, snickering at me as he strutted back up the steps of his hut. Soon after, Te's father emerged from his cabin and nonchalantly sat down on his rocking chair.
Teuila wasn't kidding about the men on this island, I thought.
As the thumping sound resumed in Te's hut, the chief leaned back in his chair and began to rock it slowly, nodding to my guards to keep a close watch over me.
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