The ocean breeze was calm and the despite the high June sun beating down. Mike stood on the deck of the yacht and looked out at the ocean, sea spray hitting his face as the small boat headed through the waves.
Behind him, he heard a shout, and he turned to see Davy, yelling in delight at the speed of the boat. Peter, steering the boat through the waves, grinned at his friend's strange behavior, but didn't comment. The speed of the boat was thrilling enough to make anyone shout out loud.
He felt, for about the third time that day, how nice a day it was out on the ocean. A friend of his had offered him use of the yacht, and though he'd been skeptical at first, he'd agreed to use it, and now he didn't regret his decision. The air was wonderful, the temperature just right, and the ocean wasn't too busy.
Far in the distance, he could see swimmers on the beach, a hundred towels and umbrellas that accompanied the day's round of swimmers and sunbathers. But they were on the beach.
"Hey Mike, where'd that guy say we're going?" Peter yelled over the roar of the ocean and the motor. Even though he was only on the other side of the boat, Mike had to struggle to hear him, and so he yelled back in response.
"'Bout a half=mile to your left, Pete," he yelled back. "Just past that little island."
"You mean where the palm trees are?" Micky yelled.
"That's it," Mike replied. "Jack says it's one of the best calm lagoons for swimmin' an' it's got some good fish, too." Micky grinned at the prospect of food.
Ten minutes later the boat arrived at the far side of the island. From this side, they couldn't see the swimmers and bathers on the beach, but instead faced out to see.
Stepping away from the beach, the four headed inland towards the small lagoon that was reportedly in the center of the donut shaped island. Peter carried the fishing poles, Davy the bait, Micky the picnic basket. Mike lead the party into the island.
After walking for a few minutes, Mike pushed aside a few branches to reveal the lagoon they were searching for. The other three gasped.
The circle enclosed lake was surrounded by palm trees and a light, sandy beach. No towels or beach umbrellas covered the sand of this mysterious beach, and the four of them had it to themselves.
On the opposite side of the small lake, a river stretched out, heading for the ocean, and from this little river swam the fish that populated the lagoon.
Mike laid down the towels he'd been carrying, and the others dropped their things near them. Davy spread out the towels, Micky began to set up the picnic basket, and Peter and Mike started to put the bait on the fishing lines.
Peter and Mike sat down on a log near the water and threw the lines out toward the bright, clear water. Micky and Davy removed their shirts, revealing their bathing suits, and raced each other into the water.
For the next hour or so, the beach had alternating scenes of calmness and hysteria. Micky and Davy splashed each other in the water, disturbing the quiet peacefullness of the lagoon, while Mike and Peter enjoyed it, fishing quietly on the bank.
Eventually, Mike and Peter both managed to bring in a few fish, and sat on the banks to clean them and begin to cook them. Micky and Davy, lured by their own hunger and the smell of the fish cooking on the fire, returned to the beach to eat.
The fish were delicious, and even though they'd packed a few sandwiches just in case, everyone decided that the fish were delicious.
"They taste best when you work for 'em," Mike joked after Micky commented on the taste of the fish.
"Hey, I woulda, but we only had two poles," Micky objected. Mike just nodded a "yeah, sure," look, and Davy and Peter laughed.
A few hours later, with the fun and food all dispersed, the four headed back to the yacht. Mike decided to take the wheel this time, and steered the boat back to shore while the other three lounged on the deck.
They hadn't even cleared the island yet when Mike thought he spotted a girl out in the farther parts of the ocean. Here on the opposite side of the island, she was too far away to have come from the beach. But then where was she coming from .
Acting on instinct and not thinking of the consequences, Mike let go of the wheel and dived headfirst in to the ocean waves. The girl wasn't that far away from him, and he swam, arm over arm toward the girl, fear making him swim a little faster.
"Hey!" he yelled after he was within close range. "Are you okay?"
The girl didn't seem to hear him at first, but then she turned around and saw him. She swam towards him.
"What are you doing out here?" she asked with concern in her voice.
Mike wasn't sure what, but he heard something in that voice. Not in what she said, not even in how she said it, but something in her voice was beautiful. He couldn't explain what it was that he felt or why, but he knew he felt it, and it touched him. This girl was important, and he was in love.
"AUGH!"
Unfortunately, he also had a cramp.
"What's wrong?" the girl asked, and Mike just moaned. The water was freezing, he realized, even in June, and his muscles began to cramp.
"Cramp," he mumbled. "Water..too cold."
The girl looked worried. "The boat, back there, is that yours?" she asked. When Mike nodded, she began to lift him in her arms.
"What are you doin'?" he asked. "You can't carry me all the way back there."
The girl just smiled. "Sure I can," she replied with a smiled, and began to swim quickly back toward the yacht.
By this time, Peter, Micky, and Davy had realized that their boat was without a skipper and were anxiously scanning the water for Mike. When they spotted him, Micky and Peter both dived into the water and began swimming toward him.
By this time, Mike was so cold and tired he was practically delerious. He was barely aware as Micky and Peter swam back to the boat with him carried between them and lifted him up to Davy. Davy and Peter wrapped him in towels and blankets and sat him down below decks.
"Mike? What were you doing?" Peter asked him.
"There was...a girl," Mike moaned. "Beautiful girl. Had to save her. But she saved me." He turned to Peter. "Where is she?"
"What girl Mike?" Peter asked. "I didn't see any girl."
"Neither did I," Micky said. "Just you, floating in the water."
"There was a girl," Mike mumbled. "Beautiful girl." But he was so tired, he didn't finish the sentence.
