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Azuton Island Adventure
Drifters Diner was literally in the middle of nowhere. There was nothing but highway road for a hundred or more miles on either side of the diner, gas station, convenience store combination.
The quaint and rustic café looked like a wood cabin in the country. It had a large front porch, on it two adirondack chairs and a giant horseshoe shaped ashtray. Inside the diner, the tables were covered with red and white checkered table cloths, clear plastic and heavy metal napkin holders.
Against one wall there were a couple of extra large booths. The red leather seats looked worn but were still really comfortable. There was a giant jukebox filled with songs sung by all the country music greats.
Behind the cash register there were a few shelves that held some basic sundries that a worn out traveler might need. The gas station was self-serve but most people came inside to use the washroom, grab a coffee and freshen up.
Caroline Bennett had worked at
Drifters Diner as a server for a very long time. She worked hard and both customers and coworkers adored her. She had a warm, generous smile and easy going personality.
The diner was extremely inconvenient for staff to get to. No one wanted to commute since the place was so out of the way.
The solution was to allow the staff to live on-site in one of six studio apartments. Each was fully furnished and included cable television. There was a small laundry room that was available for the employees to use for their personal clothing as well as to keep up with the diners' linens and staff uniforms.
One of the rooms was occupied by Caroline. Another was occupied by Helen and George Belfour, they were the main caretakers of the rustic rest stop.
George did most of the cooking in the diner. And he was a jack of all trades, so he frequently helped the customers who needed some basic car repairs. He would fill your tires or top off your oil if you needed. Anyone who met him found him to be so gentle and helpful.
Helen ran all the errands the diner required. She was a fantastic baker and kept the diner stocked with the most wonderful pies and desserts. She made lovely "to go" packages for the weary travellers and the lonely trucker's the diner attracted.
One evening, around dusk a cute young couple popped into the diner. They were friendly, played a couple of songs on the jukebox and ate dinner.
After they left Caroline discovered a twenty dollar bill along with a travel brochure on
the table. She quickly ran outside and thankfully caught up to the girl who was pumping gas into their little green convertible.
"Miss, you forgot your brochure and some money" the out of breath Caroline said as she ran toward the sun kissed blonde. She reached out to hand the girl both the twenty and the brochure. "Oh, the money is for you to keep" laughed the girl. "And the brochure is just a pipe dream. You can just throw it away" "Really?" said Caroline "Are you sure?. "Yes," said the girl. "I am sure." She laughed again and continued on "Put the money towards your pipe dream"
By this time she had finished pumping the gas and had jumped into the car. The couple smiled and waved to Caroline as they sped off down the road.
Caroline stood in front of the gas station for a second and then she folded the twenty and the brochure in half and put them into the pocket of her apron. She jogged back to the diner and forgot about the interaction until the next morning.
When she woke up the next day Caroline was grateful for two things. First, the sun was shining and two it was her day off. Caroline had an extra long shower, threw a sundress on and poured herself a piping hot cup of coffee into an extra large mug. Then she remembered the huge tip that young couple had left for her.
Caroline began to count out the night's take and it turned out she had made $58.70. Then she picked up the brochure that the girl had told Caroline to throw away.
The Grotto getaway resort on
Azuton island was the vacation spot featured in the brochure and Caroline could see why the young couple thought this vacation spot would be a pipe dream.
It looked so exotic and exciting. The hotel was designed to look like a real grotto with water running through the faux caves. The glossy pictures were of white sandy beaches and clear blue water. Everything about it seemed perfect.
Caroline had never heard of Azuton Island before but the more she studied the discarded brochure the more she began to fall in love with the mysterious vacation destination.
As she was pouring her third cup of coffee Caroline couldn't help but feel unsettled when she recalled the words of her generous tipper. " Use the money to put toward your pipe dream".......the girl had said. Well, just what was Caroline's pipe dream?. The truth was she didn't have one.
She had settled into her life at the diner years ago and didn't. really think of the future. She lived day to day After, every shift she stuffed her tips into an empty peanut butter jar. Once a month she would hitch a ride into town with Helen and make a bank deposit.
Over the years Caroline had accumulated a little bit of a nest egg. If she needed something she could buy it. Although, she spent very little. Since she lived at the diner she never wanted for food or drink. She lived a simple and very content life.
After studying the travel brochure Caroline made the out of character decision that she wanted to go there. She was hypnotized by the mystery and beauty of this seemingly isolated vacation destination.
The next opportunity she had Caroline hitched a ride with Helen into town and headed straight to the local travel agency brochure in hand. Thirty minutes later she exited the agency. She was booked for a six week all inclusive vacation on the Island of Azuton.
As luck would have it travel packages staying at the Grotto Getaway Resort were on special right now because the resort was being renovated.
Caroline wasn't too concerned about the renovations. The travel agent had called the resort directly and they assured her that Caroline's stay would be unforgettable and they would take great care of her.
Three weeks later Caroline was on the first of two flights that would plummet the simple server straight into paradise. And nine hours after that she was standing in front of Bella the concierge of the Grotto Getaway.
Bella greeted Caroline with a flower necklace and air kissed each of her cheeks. "Caroline, luv welcome to the Grotto Getaway" Bella said in a booming voice. "You are home, my luv". For a few moments Caroline felt so happy and loved.
The next day Caroline made it a point to stop and talk to Bella longer than usual. She casually asked Bella if she knew where Rachel went during the day. She was met with this response " Oh luv, everyone here is searching for something, including you my sweet".
That night Caroline didn't sleep very well. Part of her wanted to stay awake and try to speak to Rachel and part of her wanted to sleep. Eventually the latter won out and she fell asleep missing her opportunity to see Rachel when she came back to the room.
When Caroline woke up the next morning she decided she was going to do some exploring of her own. Why not? Maybe, she would run into Rachel. So, she packed up her backpack with some snacks, water and sunscreen and off she went.
First she stopped and spoke with Bella again except this time Caroline asked her some direct questions. She found out that there was a path behind the gardeners shed that let out into the grounds behind the hotel. That seemed like a great place to start.
For the next two days Caroline spent the afternoons walking the path behind the hotel. It was a beautiful walk for sure but there was no sign of Rachel or anything out of the ordinary.
That all changed on day three when Caroline spotted a woman through the foliage. Her heart was beating through her chest as she followed the woman. She couldn't quite tell if it was Rachel or not but she sure hoped so. Caroline kept her distance and continued to follow the young woman.
After about ten minutes the woman stopped and began to walk off the beaten path. Then she came to a stop and pulled out a piece of paper. It appeared like she was reading it and as she got closer Caroline could see it was Rachel.
Caroline came up behind Rachel and startled her when she said "Hello". "God, Caroline what the hell are you doing here??. "Oh, I am sorry" stammered Caroline. "I wanted to see where you were going everyday".
Caroline took Rachel's hand and stood up. Then she followed Rachel a few paces toward a small waterfall. At the bottom of the waterfall there was a small pool of water. "Here sit down" Rachel gestured to the ground beside the pool of water. She took the bandanna off her head and dipped it into the water. Then she gently dabbed the moist bandanna on a few scratches Caroline had on her arms and legs from the fall.
She wasn't seriously hurt or anything. Just a few scrapes and bruises. The cool water felt good against her skin. Caroline tried again to apologize to her new nursemaid slash roommate. But, Rachel just brushed her off.
"Look, it's pretty much lunchtime" said Rachel "Let's just have some lunch and then you can head back to the resort".
Rachel pulled out some bottled water and some fruit and a couple of danish.
For a few minutes the two young women ate in silence. Then Rachel broke the silence. "Look, if I told you what I was doing you would think I was crazy. So, it's better if you don't know". Caroline said she understood and then she explained "This is my first vacation and I guess I was just looking for a little adventure, that is all". She carried on "You are right it's not my business but if you want some help I would be happy to
And that was how the two strangers ended up together on this Azuton Island adventure.
Three months later at the Drifters diner Helen opened up the daily newspaper. The headline read: Young woman finds bag of jewels. Underneath was an interesting article about a single young woman who had found a bunch of jewelry on Azuton Island. The young brunette in the picture was grinning from ear to ear.
"George, look there's an article here about that Island Caroline went to". Helen rushed over to show her husband the paper. "Let me see," he said. "Gosh, I wonder what ever happened to Caroline" his voice cracking.
Helen didn't answer him. She blinked back tears as she recalled how she had gone to the airport to pick their young friend up weeks ago but the girl hadn't been on the plane. And when she called Grotto Getaway someone named Bella told her she had never heard of anyone named Caroline Bennett.
Genie passed the rugged stone building of the school. No siree, not today would she be going to class, the books there worn and old, the pages falling apart with one tail flick. Instead, she would head to the library. The smell of pure paper wafted towards her nose. She swam over to one of her favorites, Star Sea. As she flipped to her favorite page, she read, ?The stars can be seen at stardusk, for 20 minutes. The stars, oblong shaped and shining, are watched by land dwellers as normality.? The leather cover felt rough against her dark skin; she traced the gold lettering with her finger on the cover. Two large stars, each embroidered with the finest gold thread seen. Oh, how Genie loved that book! But her reimbursement was disturbed. As the Blestffle Squid started huffing, everybody took cover underneath the tables, but Genie had gone into her own dream. ?Genie!? she heard a voice say. But she was too late. As the black ink sprayed on her, her tail changed color for worse, from a light purple to a foul, dark black. Embarrassed, Genie ran, and she ran all the way to her volcano home.
She shoved up the smooth, flat stone up the volcano as she dove in her home. No bubbles today. She thought. Her pitch black tail swung around as it slapped the side of the stone walls, her attitude spicy. Genie sighed, her silver hair plastered on her forehead, adorned with dry seaweed from a midnight dive, and she opened her closet door. ?Locklin. Come ooouuuuut.? The electric eel slithered out of his small jar to reveal his 12 foot long body, green on the bottom like fresh sea grass and blue on the top like the smooth sea water. His fins were almost transparent, blue, and you could see the veins peeking through like eyes in a cavern. ?Genie.? he hissed. ?Where are the stars?? she sighed. ?I told you. We can't get stars. They're? forbidden.? he spit out fish guts. ?How? We can see the stars' reflection. Why can't we see them?? Genie sighed. She did have to explain to him every single night. ?The air is poisonous, Locklin. We can't go up there. We'll?.go away.? she said. He understood. At least, Genie thought he did. He huffed and went back into the jar. ?So what if we go away? At least we'll have a good sight to see.? His voice echoed in Genie ears like a voice in a tunnel. At least we'll have a good sight to see. Genie shrugged. She took the sponge and started scrubbing off the tight black ink off her luscious tail. No use. The sponge bruised and scratched her fins but didn't erase any part of the ink. Locklin swam up behind her, miming chomping into a piece of food. She sighed, and gave him a smooth seaweed cake, but just as he started to go out the door, Genie said. ?Those are given. Not shared.? The girl, too, was hungry but greater work was needed to be done before she could sleep. But far too hungry was she, for when Locklin came back, the crumbs of the seaweed dribbling across his mouth she dove into her cupboard, sending pots and pans, along with rose hips and seaweed cakes flying out. Finally, she came upon what she would eat. A truffle. Just one single truffle, stuffed with cherry crisp and sugar. After the truffle was devoured, Genie was far too tired to continue on. She said goodnight to Locklin, lined up her shawl on the coat hanger, and dove into her pallet, closing her eyes.
Genie couldn't sleep. The bubbling and the popping of the lava was normal, but today it felt...dangerous. She tossed and turned again, her blanket wrapping around her toes tightly. Just sleep. She told herself. Genie attempted to focus on the volcanos erupting into a bubble blitz. One rested outside her window, but led upwards towards the surface. Towards the stars. Unf! She flung the blanket off and it fell softly to the ground with an unsoft THUMP. Her cloak was draped on the closet and she put the silvery shawl around her shoulders. Her fin was twisting around, trying to wake Locklin. ?You're not getting my fish!? he mumbled in his sleep. ?No, no, no!? Genie put a hand on his fin, but she quickly took it back as the shock rumbled. ?Locklin.? she said softly at first. ?Fine. I'll get crawfish.? he whispered. Genie rolled her eyes. ?Locklin!? she said again, her voice raised higher. She could see his eyes flutter, but they rolled back down. ?Locklin Serras Tre!? she shouted, her patience running low, using his full name. ?What?? he said groggily, his voice slurring. ?We're going.? ?To where?? he said. Which she replied. ?To the stars.?
?Genie we can't just go to the stars!? Locklin said. He was pacing around, the lantern's swinging, rumbling. He picked up a book and flipped through it with his fins. ?Aha!? Locklin muttered, his thick-rimmed glasses balancing at the tip of his nostrils. ?There. It states, we can-? ?- go watch the stars at a time of stardusk. Today is the final stardusk! We can go! Besides, you told me to go, remember?? she exclaimed. Far too excited, she rushed out of her home and started swimming to the surface. Her silver hair flowed behind her just like the Milky Way, and she waved delightfully towards the clownfish, who looked at her strangely. They were playing around with shells, and they pounded them and put them on their faces and laughed. Oh, the sea was perfect! But more perfect was the stars, or so she hoped. She passed the thick bay of coral, the little ferns waving with their blooming green hands. As she passed the washed up starfish she started to wonder if this was a bad idea after all. Locklin knew it was a bad idea. It wasn't stardusk anymore. But Genie swam up to the surface. Gasp! It was not stardusk. But she was determined to enjoy it, as Locklin said. Gazing up at them, she heard a voice call for her, and her breath floating away. But she saw the two stars on the cover of the book, lying in the sky. As her breath ran out, she started to panic, but looked up at the sky, in its wholeness. The stars twinkled, and her eyes fluttered softly, and she took a deep breath, then stopped, her eyes closing peacefully.
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