Page 12 of Restoration
“If it’s uninhabited, why would we—?”
“Because it’s supposed to be paradise. Most people don’t even know it exists, so it’s never been developed or populated. It’s like the Garden of Eden with a natural spring of the purest water ever tasted.”
I sigh, thinking the whole thing sounds kind of sketchy. Some mysterious paradise island that no one has ever heard of? “So you know exactly where it is?”
“I know the general vicinity.”
“The general vicinity in the middle of the Pacific?”
“Yeah.”
“What if it’s dangerous?”
“Why would it be dangerous?”
“There could be wild animals. Poison snakes or frogs or spiders or whatever.”
Edmund snickers. “What if there are werewolves or vampires or swamp creatures?”
“I’m being serious.”
“I know you are. We can be careful. It will be one of those adventures we don’t have much more time left for.”
I’m not sure I would have agreed had I not already been feeling so bad about leaving him. I much prefer to follow carefully planned schedules and chart predictable courses. I’m absolutely sure that if I say no, Edmund will agree. He’s never dragged me into anything I tell him I don’t want to do. He might wheedle and try to convince me, but he respects my final decision.
“All right,” I say at last. “We can give it a try.”
He sits up, his expression brightening. “Seriously?”
“Yeah. Seriously. How long will it take to get there?”
“If we change course now, we should get there by the end of the day tomorrow. If the rough coordinates Jon gave me are accurate.”
“We should have plenty of supplies then. Let’s do it.”
Edmund pushes himself up to his feet.
“But I’m not agreeing to wander aimlessly through the Pacific. If we can’t find it by tomorrow night, we’ll have to turn back.”
“It’s a deal.” He glances at me over his shoulder. “Just think. If you spent six more years with me, you might turn out as wild and spontaneous as me.”
I laugh as he heads back toward the helm and call out after him, “Don’t count on it.”
***
THE FOLLOWING DAY Itake an hour’s nap after lunch and get up feeling relaxed but slightly disoriented.
Needing to anchor myself somehow, I go to look for Edmund.
I find him behind the helm, frowning down at the computer screen above his instrument panel.
I can tell from the frown on his face and the hunch of his shoulders that something is wrong. “What is it?” I ask, coming over to sit beside him.
“There’s a storm out here. It looks pretty bad. It was supposed to be farther out, but it’s changing course and coming toward us.”
“Oh.” My chest clenches in disappointment—more for Edmund than for me. “Are we going to get into it?”
“I don’t know. We shouldn’t have, and we might still be okay. It’s not clear what it’s doing yet.”