Mañana - A Better Day

Jim on the other hand was a natural born singer and self-proclaimed Parrot-Head. He was almost thirty, had a cult following and had made and lost his fortune more times than he could count. Right now he was in the middle of losing his fortune and had decided that there was no better place to spend his days in the poorhouse than on a beach fishing for his dinner every day. He knew that he would hang around until he was hit by some new inspiration and he would run off for a few months again while a record company dumped a fortune into his pockets. But has Jim often said, those pockets had no bottoms in them, he had burned through them during his first fortune.

"So you guys don't really have any electricity on this island do you?" Emily asked.

"There's two windmills on the northern shore and two on the southern shore. Newfangled gadgets that put out more power than your average windmill. However, they only go to the bar. Just enough to keep the drinks cold, the ice frozen and the place lit up on party nights." Jim said, "Oh and of course it's enough to run a blender or two."

"My god, I'm in love with this place now." Emily sighed happily.

"You have problems with electricity?" Desdemona asked.

"Just a whole lot of crap going on at my old job that I was sick and tired of. But if the most technology this place has is a blender...good god, I don't think I'll ever leave." Emily laughed, "So where can we eat?"

"Well the bar serves dinner occasionally. But Mother Nature is a good provider. Mangoes...bananas...coconuts...oranges...limes...and of course there's the sea life. Fishing is a good source of both entertainment and food." Jim explained.

"Fishing? Leo wouldn't happen to have left a fishing pole in his house would he?" Emily asked.

"House? Ha! Just wait until you see." Desdemona laughed.

They walked down the path and out of the trees. On their left, Emily spotted what they were talking about. A small bamboo hut with a thatched roof. It was perfectly round and maybe fifteen feet across. The hut's floor was raised a foot off the beach and a single wood step sat in front of the open doorway. The doorway faced towards the ocean and there was only some hanging beads over the entrance.

Emily stood in front of the hut, looking around.

"It's your's now, go on in." Jim nudged her.

"Oh, right!" Emily nodded and walked up into the hut.

The inside was sparse. There was a red hammock hung in the back of the shack. On her right were some shelves covered in trinkets, rocks and fish bones. To her left was a light-colored wood dresser. She continued to look around and found what she had been hoping for.

There was a beautiful eight foot fly fishing rod sitting in the corner between the shelves. It had a bamboo rod and a cork handle. While she hadn't been fly fishing as much, she was still eager to try it.

"There's your fishing rod." Jim chuckled.

"It's beautiful." Emily smiled, putting down her bags.

She picked up the rod and carefully tested the reel. The whole thing was in perfect condition, there was just no lure on the end of the string.

"The lure?" Emily asked, looking around.

"Maybe here." Desdemona said, pointing at the silver box on the shelf.

"It looks like a tackle box to me." Emily said, picking it up.

The box was closed and locked tightly.

"I 'Spose you'll have to ask Leo for the key when he comes back." Desdemona shrugged.

"Key...wait a second..." Emily tapped her chin, "I think I have it already."

She dug into her bag and found the small silver key that Leo had put in the locker. It fit in the keyhole perfectly and the box clicked open.

"That cheeky bastard really did think of everything." Emily sighed, looking in the box.

It was full of beautiful hand-tied flies. The entire box was compartmented off into small sections so each fly could safely sit alone. She picked one up and looked at it closely. it was a beautiful yellow with red feathers.

"So I think it's safe to assume you're happy?" Jim asked.

"Oh god yes." Emily said, closing the box, "But I do have one question."

"What's that? Where's the bathroom?" Desdemona chuckled.

"No, I get that the bushes are for that. I was going to ask where he cooks at?" Emily asked.

"Probably just lights a fire down on the beach. Without electricity, nobody but the bar has a stove. So we all make do with barbecues and open fire." Desdemona said, "If you have any other questions, you know where my store is. It's my house too."

"And I live in the bar more often than not, since it's where I play every night. Hey, once you get situated, take a nap. When the sun goes down, grab a lantern and come up to the bar. We'll have a real good party to welcome you. You can meet everyone." Jim said.

"Lantern?" Emily asked.

Jim pointed up. Emily looked into the peak of the thatched roof and saw a gun-metal gray lantern hanging there. It was an older kerosene lamp, but it had obviously done the job for Leo.

"It's probably already full, but if you need anything, Robert Jones runs the shop down across from the bar. He's got a delivery worked out with a few Cubans who give him everything he needs. He'll have kerosene or anything else you need." Desdemona said, "See you later hon."

She walked out after Jim and Emily was left standing in the small hut. She smiled and looked around. Besides the shelving, dresser and hammock, there was also two flat-topped wood chests. She knelt down and looked inside them. One was full of everything from cooking spices to first-aid. The other had folded blankets, a pillow and some beach towels. She shut the lid and looked down at the floor. Covering the wood panel flooring was a threadbare red rug that she hadn't noticed before.

"I still can't believe that ass is my uncle." Emily sighed, sitting down on the hammock.

She promptly fell out of it with a cry. Groaning in pain, Emily picked herself up off the floor and rubbed her arm that had caught her fall. As she thought about it, she realized that she was feeling a little giddy just standing around. Emily stripped off her clothes and tossed them onto the hammock, panties and all. Digging through the bag, she found her new yellow and white bikini that she had gotten from Desdemona. It was a little more revealing than she was used to, Emily usually wore one piece. But Desdemona insisted she didn't have any and it would be terrible for Emily to end up with a one-piece bikini tan line.

Slipping on the bikini, Emily tossed her hat on top of the clothes and strode to the doorway. The rainbow colored beads clacked behind her as she pushed past them to stand on the top step.

The sand was beautiful and white. The ocean splashed happily on the shore and she could see sparse white clouds drifting overhead. It was all so much to take in at once. So Emily shook her head and stepped onto the sand. It squished softly beneath her toes and she walked down the beach and into the water. The ocean was warm and soothing as she dove under the waves. Her sunglasses fit well enough that the water couldn't push them off her face and the sun shone brightly even under the water.

Her cares went away with the sounds of the world as the water swirled around her. It was so quiet under the waves as she swam down deeper. It seemed like she could go on forever. Even twenty or thirty feet from the shore, the water was only ten feet deep. Clouds of colorful fish started at her motion and ran from her.

Surfacing for air, she looked back at her new home. The small hut sat right near the treeline, thirty feet up the beach. Right at that moment she decided to never go back to her old life. Never, without good reason, step foot in Spokane again. If an uneducated beach bum like Leo could make an island community like this, Emily knew she could handle a life there.

And what a great life it was going to be.

Chapter 3 - The Weather Is Here, I Wish You Were Beautiful

Emily gasped and her legs fidgeted. She had swam for a while and then laid down on the beach to dry off. Her kept telling her how tired she was from the previous few days' jet lag. So she had submitted, walked back into the hut and laid down awkwardly in the hammock. She had never lain in a hammock before and it wasn't as easy as she thought. But once she had settled into the soft red material, it was very comfortable. But after a while, she couldn't still fall asleep, so she had fallen back on her easiest method of getting asleep.

Masturbating.

Natural sleep aid, she wasn't ashamed or afraid to pleasure herself at all. However, she was still very angry with Leo for hurling her suitcase into the water. It had her vibrator in it.

So now Emily was lying in the hammock rubbing herself beneath her bikini. At first she had been a little nervous because there was no door, but then she realized that it was unlikely for anyone to just come visit her for no reason.

Emily moaned again as her right hand groped her breast and her left rubbed a finger between her wettening lips. The hammock was a rather perfect bed for having fun alone, it wrapped comfortably around her shoulders and let her squirm and move without inhibition. She gave another moan as her middle finger slipped between her lips and into her moist insides.

"Aaaah!" Emily gasped, fruitlessly trying to arch her back on the hammock.

Suddenly there was a jingle of beads on her left and she her head over to look, expecting someone to be in the doorway. The sudden motion sent the hammock backward and her weight rolled forward. She fell onto the floor in a heap and groaned in pain.

"Damn it all..." Emily grunted, getting to her feet, "Who's there?"

She fixed her bikini and walked out the door to look around. There was nobody in sight.

"Musta been the wind." Emily sighed, the mood now thoroughly ruined.

She sighed and walked back into the hut. The beads clacked behind her and she turned around. There was something about those beads that didn't seem right. She pushed on one string with a finger and it barely moved. Examining down the entire strength, she found heavy fishing weights hanging on the bottom just a few inches off the floor.

"How could the wind push these enough to make them move like that?" Emily said, trying the weight of one of the lures in her hand.

They were heavy enough to keep the strings in line and to keep a light breeze from moving them.

"Maybe I'm just paranoid..." Emily sighed, rubbing the hip she had fallen on.

Emily walked back inside and crawled back into the hammock. This time she managed to roll over and get to sleep.

*******

A bright light flared in her eyes and Emily squinted and tried to move back. This rocked the hammock forward and she very nearly fell out of it again.

"What...who's there?" Emily asked, annoyed by the rude awakening.

"Heya hon, party's startin' and you weren't there yet." Desdemona said, helping Emily stand up.

She looked around and found it dark. Moonlight shone through the beads. Desdemona stood in front of her with a bright flashlight.

"I thought you said you guys didn't have any electricity?" Emily asked.

"I don't. This is a funny little flashlight that, if you shake it like your jerkin' a guy off, it recharges itself." Desdemona said, demonstrating it by shaking the flashlight up and down.

"Oh...right...right." Emily sighed, digging through her bag of clothes.

She put on some tan shorts over her bikini and pulled on her white shirt that Leo had torn. A quick knot under her breasts and it didn't look that bad.

"Better grab your lantern. It's a dark walk back." Desdemona said, reaching up to get down the lantern.

"Thanks. How do I light this thing?" Emily asked.

"Well..." Desdemona put her flashlight in her cleavage, "Pull this handle here to pull up the glass and then put some flame to the wick."

She produced a Zippo from her pocket and lit the lantern. Emily was still eyeing the flashlight tucked securely between Desdemona's large breasts. She was still just wearing the purple bikini top.

"Like what you see?" Desdemona chuckled, pulling the flashlight out.

"Just a little jealous I suppose." Emily said, putting a hand to her own small breasts, "I don't even have a bit of cleavage."

"Be happy. These things are grope magnets and back aches." Desdemona said, fondling herself.

"That bad? I always thought people blew that whole 'back pain over large boobs' thing out of proportion. My mother had large breasts and she never complained...Then again she grew up on a farm and chucked hay bails her whole childhood." Emily shrugged.

"Usually it's not so bad, but if I go jogging or anything that really makes me exercise, my back gets sore rather easily." Desdemona explained, leading the way out of the hut.

Emily held up the lantern and the light from the kerosene flame spread ten feet in front of her.

"I don't think I would mind having at least a little bigger boobs. I always feel like I don't fit in at beaches or pools. I mean...look at me? I'm barely even a B cup...and...to tell you the truth...I might as well be an A cup because I only bought a bigger size because I stuff them." Emily said, "I usually just put a clean sock in each cup."

"I can tell you hon, nobody on this island is going to look at you for your breast size. Most guys just want you to look good in a bikini and..." Desdemona looked over at her, "You do that well."

"Really? I mean...I've got almost no curves at all. My butt is the only thing that has a curve. I might as well be flat from my hips to my shoulders." Emily said, "I'm really jealous of girls like you...You've got such a great body. You're hips are beautiful and you've got a perfect butt."

"You're just saying that." Desdemona said, "My butt is too big, I mean, look at that."

She turned her butt towards her and ran a hand over it.

"Well I think it's darn cute." Emily said, continuing to walk forward.

"Hey, is there anything on your mind?" Desdemona asked.

"What? No, why do you ask?" Emily wondered what had prompted Desdemona to ask.

"I've got a kind of...sixth sense about people. I'm really good at spotting things like sexual frustration and whatnot." Desdemona said.

"I don't know...I feel like I'm being watched." Emily shrugged, "I was...try to nap this afternoon and...meh...it's really not worth mentioning."

"Nap? Emily, we're a close community here, I mean...really close." Desdemona said, "Please don't lie."

"Alright...I was having trouble napping and so...I...well...I tried to help it along." Emily scratched her head.

"I get it. I 'try to help it along' too." Desdemona giggled, teasing her.

"Anyway! I was in my hammock when I thought I heard the beads jingle." Emily said, "And those beads have weights on the bottom of them, so they couldn't really move all that easily."

"Ah! I think I know what's going on." Desdemona sighed with a smile.

"What?" Emily asked.

"We have this...well...you could call her a spirit on this island. Nobody is really sure where she came from, but she is a kind of guardian to the village. Nobody really ever sees her, but we've all spotted her from time to time." Desdemona said.

"What?" Emily said flatly.

"A young girl, maybe eighteen. She just showed up on the island one day when Joseph caught her stealing a bit of food from the bar. Nobody was really sure how long she had been on the island before that, but she is very wary of new people and more than one guest to our island has become convinced that they were being haunted." Desdemona said, shining her flashlight ahead of them.

"What's her name?" Emily asked, seeing the light ahead of them from the bar.

"We call her Ola'Uhane." Desdemona said, "It means 'Living Spirit'. Ola for short."

"Interesting." Emily nodded, "Maybe I'll have to try and talk to her."

"Good luck with that. Nobody has seen her for more than a few seconds and she's never said a word to any of us." Desdemona said, "Looks like the party's in full swing already!"

All one hundred inhabitants of the small Isle De Margarita were grouped around the bar. Two lights inside the bar lit the inside of the building and a bonfire in the middle of the buildings lit the rest of the area, along with some tiki-style torches.

"Emily! Welcome!" Jim called, seeing her.

He was holding two coconuts in his hands. They had their tops cut open and straws were sticking out of them.

"Hey Jim!" Emily said, waving to him.

"Here! This is Joseph's special drink! It's a Coconut and Rum margarita!" Jim said, handing her one of the coconuts.

"Are all these people here because of me?" Emily asked, seeing many of the people looking at her.

"Yes! It's a big deal when someone moves to the island, not just visits! Especially someone so well known!" Jim said, putting an arm around her shoulder, "Come on, meet some of the family."

Emily took a drink of the sweet margarita and followed Jim around. As the night went on, her eyes started to waver and things started to just become a buzz. She remembered Jim refilling her coconut twice over and remembered shaking hands and hugging with dozens of people. But in the end, the entire night became one fun filled smear in her memory. She probably wouldn't remember a quarter of the people she was introduced to.

But one distinct memory stood out from the night. At one point when she had wandered off into the trees to relieve herself, she saw some glowing yellow eyes poking out from a bush. Emily walked, more stumbled than walked, towards it and the eyes had disappeared with a rustle of leaves.

*******

Groaning, Emily opened her eyes and squinted against the bright sunlight. Her head throbbed and she didn't know where she was. Sitting up, she almost screamed, but instead grabbed her head in pain. Her eyes barely registered the fact that she was ten feet off the ground, lying on the angled thatched roof of Desdemona's home and store. Looking down at herself, she found that she was only wearing one sandal, her shorts were missing and she had a colorful fresh-flower lei around her neck. The strangest part was that she was also missing her white shirt and bikini top. However, she wasn't indecent, she was wearing a tie-dye bikini top now.

"What the hell happened..." Emily mumbled, her head throbbing with each syllable.

She rubbed her head and looked down at the ground. People were passed out against the buildings and the remnants of the bonfire still smoked. Emily sighed and shimmied down the roof. She hung off the edge of the roof and dropped to the ground. Her rubbery legs gave out under her and she collapsed onto her back. She just sighed and stayed there.

"What we're you doing on my roof?" Desdemona asked, poking her head out of the door.

Her hair was messy and she was topless. Jim poked his head over her shoulder and looked down at Emily.

"I...have no...idea..." Emily said, trying to cradle her throbbing head.

"Really? That means you did well last night." Jim chuckled, "If you remembered everything, then you didn't have a proper party."

"Any idea...ohh...where my clothes are?" Emily groaned as she got to her feet, "This isn't my top...and my shorts are missing...and a sandal..."

"They'll work their way back to the bar. Everyone returns what's not theirs to the bar after a party. Trust me, you're not the only one who woke up in wrong clothes." Desdemona said and she gave a squeak, "Jim!"

"Not my fault. It's just the morning." Jim said, nuzzling her neck.

"I'll talk to you later Emily." Desdemona smiled, "Unless you'd like to join us?"

"What...no!" Emily said a little to loudly and she cringed against the throb of pain.

"Alright then." Desdemona said, ducking back into her home without closing the door.

"Huh...so Jim and Desdemona...ohh...I need to go sleep..." Emily groaned.

She actually found her lantern hanging from the corner of Desdemona's porch. A quick shake showed that it was still over half full. Emily stumbled down the path with the lantern hanging from her hand. The entire island seemed eerily quiet, with the exception of Desdemona's moans coming from her doorway. They were really an open community around here if they were having sex for everyone to hear.