Eva's really touchy. I don't know what she's got against me. Women always exaggerate. Typical.
It's been two days since our little argument. Two days of her avoiding me, nonstop. I thought that was impossible on an island the size of a matchbox, but it turns out women always find the right ways to drive a man insane.
Come on, boy, admit it: you miss her. Be honest! You want her?
No, I don't want to sleep with her. Women haven't interested me in a long time. Besides, if I really wanted that kind of thing, I would've had options. Phuket was crawling with Evas of every age and color. Anyway, sex is the last thing on my mind.
Then why do I miss her? Well, isn't it obvious? It's just the two of us on this tiny island and, sooner or later, it was only natural I'd get attached to her, start wanting her around. As a person, as a soul, not as a woman.
No, I definitely don't want her. At her age, she could be my daughter. Does that thought turn you on, you pig? If it does, you're a goddamn bastard.
No, no way! Maybe I want her a little... against my will, but I'll get these stupid ideas out of my head fast. I remember when I touched her feet I wanted her, but now I just want to see her. That's all. Do I not even know what I want anymore?
I look for her and find her stretched out on her stomach in the sand, hands under her chin, staring out at the ocean.
"I didn't have a peace offering to bring you," I apologize, "so I brought myself. Please forgive me and let's drop this. Okay?"
I lie down next to her and for minutes we just watch the water come and go. Finally, when I almost think she fell asleep, I hear her voice:
"Has anyone ever told you you've got a face that begs for punches?"
"No," I whisper. "First time I've heard that. What are you looking at?"
She lifts her arm and points at a spot in the distance.
"I don't see anything," I say after a minute. "Absolutely nothing. Just water."
"Look closer," she whispers.
I focus and stare right at that spot. A cold shiver runs through me.
"Impossible," I mutter, full of hate.
"Yeah. You saw just fine. Those are shark fins," Eva says calmly. "I counted about three so far."
"Maybe they're dolphins."
She starts laughing and doesn't say anything. Then she notices what I'm holding and looks at me, surprised.
"It was on the beach," I explain. "The neighbor's throwing his trash in our yard!"
"You found a half-liter Coke bottle," she smiles. "Bravo!"
We both stare at the small plastic bottle the waves dragged up onto our island's shore. I play with it, toss it in the air, then read the label again. I can't make out most of these characters. Just the Coca-Cola brand and a "Made in China" that throws me off.
I hand her the bottle:
"Go ahead. I rinsed it well and filled it with fresh water."
She takes a few gulps and hands it back. I screw the cap on and look at the label again.
"So even the communist Chinese are getting a taste for the capitalist drink!" I say, amazed. "I didn't think it was possible we'd be this close to China. We flew for hours, straight south."
"That doesn't mean anything, Tiberiu," she explains. "A bottle like that can float for decades in the ocean. With its... plastic patience, it can even reach the South Pole. Did you know there's this patch in the North Pacific where millions of bottles like that float? That patch is almost as big as Great Britain. And it just keeps growing."
"Yeah. Saw it on TV. Well... great. Probably in fifty years there'll be thousands of plastic bottles right here on this beach. We'll be swimming through them."
"Will we still be here in fifty years?" she asks, smiling bitterly.
"Why not? The guys who are supposed to rescue us don't seem in much of a hurry to get their asses out of their chairs..."
Eva looks thoughtful. Fifty years is too much even as a joke.
"No," she decides. "We're not staying here fifty years. It wouldn't be fair!" Then, out of nowhere, she asks: "Why did you kiss me a few days ago? What do you want from me? Tell me straight."
The silence that follows is too awkward. If I weren't on an island, this would be the moment I'd get up and say I'm going home to feed my cat. But there's no cat within hundreds of kilometers, so I answer simply and honestly:
"It was just a kiss. A friendly kiss. I felt sorry for you. You looked really scared of that lightning and I didn't know what else to do. Call it a friendly kiss. A touch of lips--friend to friend."
"A consolation, then?" Eva smiles.
Yeah... she doesn't believe me. It's obvious she doesn't believe a word of what I'm saying.
"And you liked comforting me?"
"Uh... I don't know," I stammer. "It just came out like that. Don't get full of yourself, Eva. Anyway, you're not my type. I like big, healthy women. The kind you can grab without worrying you'll snap their bones."
"Uh-huh," she says, looking at me with those eyes, black as coal. "Weird tastes. You kiss people left and right to comfort them. Anyway... tastes aren't up for debate, so we won't debate yours either." Then she suddenly asks: "Tell me straight. Do you like me? Do you want to have sex with me? Be honest."
I can feel myself blushing hard--all the way up to my eyeballs.
"Eva, are you hitting on me?"
"It was just a question. Do you like me or not?"
"Well, maybe I like you a little. I like you most when you laugh. Then you're really cute."
"For example, now?" she says, laughing hard. Then she suddenly stops, turns to me, and takes my face in her palms: "Do you love me?" she asks seriously.
"Well, that's a good one!" I say, scared. "What the hell got into you?"
"Come on, answer me. Do you love me?"
"Of course I love you," I joke. "You've got a million and a half euros in your bank account. Anyone would love you!"
"I'm serious and I want a serious answer from you," she whispers with a face I don't recognize. "Come on, tell me you love me and I'll have sex with you right now, here on the sand. I'm not joking! All you have to do is say it. I'm asking you one last time: Do you love me?"
God, she's cracked! She's straight-up crazy. Why did she turn into this all of a sudden? What the hell am I supposed to answer?
"Eva, I don't know how to explain it, but the truth is..."
"That...?"
"I don't love you. That's it," I say, relieved. "I don't love you. Are you mad at me?"
She stares at me in silence. Not a muscle moves in her face. The only life in her face is in her eyes. The seconds pass empty and cold beside us, through us, between us. I've never felt this shaken and it's a feeling I don't like at all. Poor thing. She's really messed up. I knew it was a bad idea to...
Eva starts laughing like a lunatic.
"You were joking?" I ask, stunned.
"Oh, if you could see yourself, Tiberiu!" she says between fits of laughter. "Too bad we don't have a mirror. Ha, ha... I can't! My stomach hurts. If you knew what your face looks like right now, ha, ha, ha!"
"Thank God," I say, wiping the sweat off my forehead, exhausted. "For a second I really thought you'd lost it! So you weren't serious?"
"No way!" she howls. "God, your face!"
Eva stops and looks at me with a calm face, then leans in, cups my face in her small palms, and kisses me long and hard on the lips.
When I finally catch my breath, I stare at her, dazed, and ask in a voice I don't recognize:
"What the hell was that?"
"Nothing," she answers seriously. "I took my kiss back."
I feel myself starting to tremble. Her kiss, so simple, shook me completely. I don't even dare look in her direction anymore or say anything. I don't want to break the spell.
Whatever I say will be wrong. Better to stay quiet.
Right then, the girl jumps up off the sand and screams, pointing out to sea:
"A ship!"
"Where? Where?"
I snap awake and all my senses sharpen. I look quickly. Yes--there really is a ship out there, on the horizon. I can see its shape clearly. It reminds me of one of those ocean cargo ships, a freighter. A huge one.
"Quick, Eva!" I shout. "We've got to make a fire. Help me gather wood."
She runs faster than I do.
In less than two minutes, we pile up all the wood the storm scattered on this part of the beach. I try over and over to light it, but everything's so wet I don't stand a chance.
I pull my T-shirt off and tear it into strips.
"Bring me kindling!" I yell. "Bring everything you can find! Move it, girl! Any dry twigs, dry grass... Whatever you can find!"
I barely manage to light the cloth strips and frantically stack thin pieces of wood over the flame. Little by little, the fire catches, but it's a weak fire, like it's dying.
God, why don't I have my fanny pack with me? It's plastic. It would've burned like gasoline! But it's lying somewhere in the sand, all the way on the other side of the island.
"Too late," she whispers. "Too late."
I watch the freighter disappear. Its silhouette melts into the distance. Fuck! We missed our chance.
The damn fire doesn't really catch until now. The sticks crackle and white smoke rises.
I'm so pissed off I can't even speak. What stupidity! I should've seen this coming. I should've had the pile of dry wood ready ahead of time. How the hell could I be this stupid? I don't even have the strength to groan. I know it's my fault.
The ship is gone. We stand on the beach like two statues. Eva has nothing left to say.
She just cries.