You guys wanted an update, so I updated - yay! If you would like to know my update schedule, you can't, because I don't have one! I just update when I feel like it, which is important for a writer, to feel like writing, because otherwise the chapter would be bad quality, and I wouldn't produce anything less than what I am satisfied with. So I hope this chapter satisfies you! 😏

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I was having the strangest dream. It began with me falling off a boat and into the ocean, before being saved by a handsome stranger. There was a storm, and suddenly we were on an island, and the handsome stranger caught us fish and we ate it together at sunset, talking and laughing. The next thing I knew, I was floating above the ground – at least, that was what it felt like, but in my dream I could see the handsome stranger man's face screwed up in determination and glistening with sweat as he carried me in his strong, muscled arms. It was such a perfect dream, and I didn't want it to end, so when it began to fade at the edges I reached out, grasping at the wisps of consciousness that floated away from me, and though the picture disappeared, I could still hear his voice, calling my name and calling me back to my dream, as I stirred back into reality.

"Huda, are you awake?"

I scrunched up my eyes, feeling like my brain was swimming in my skull. I was so disorientated, it took me a minute for my limbs to come alive again, prickling with inactivity. Once the feeling returned in my body, I stretched my arms and legs out, but when I did so, my right hand knocked into something that felt a lot like a human being.

"Ow," I heard someone mumble, and that's when my eyes shot open, landing on the victim of my stretch.

"Ilyas?" I sat up, but that was probably a bad idea because my vision shimmered with white spots and I blinked several times, only to find myself face to face with Ilyas. Wow, I didn't know he had such brown eyes – like melted chocolate. And I craved chocolate so badly right now...

"Is she awake?"

The sudden appearance of a tan-skinned woman with thick black curly hair and a white smile broke our long, intense gaze, switching the focus on her. Once she saw me she grinned even wider, carrying a jug of water and a cup as she approached me.

"I'm so glad you are awake now. Here, drink this," she handed me the cup of water, and I was surprised at the force I snatched the cup, pressing it to my lips hungrily and letting the cool fresh liquid cascade down my throat. The woman let out a tinkling laugh.

"You must be very thirsty," she remarked. It was then that I took notice of the room I was in. It was a cool, white walled room with a couple of colourful fabrics hanging on the walls, the only light source being the window framed by wispy white curtains that flew in with the breeze. Ilyas sat on an ottoman beside the couch I was on, and I noticed a cup and plate of crumbs on the coffee table, which meant he must have eaten already.

"Thank you," I smiled back gratefully at the woman who must have taken care of me, but how had I gotten here? Last thing I remembered was being on a beach...I glanced at Ilyas, a question forming in my mouth, but I never got to ask it for the woman was telling me her name.

"I am Kalara, and you may stay here as long as you have to," she beamed as she set the jug on the wooden coffee table.

"Kalara – that's a pretty name," I complimented. "My name's Huda."

"I know, your friend here told me," Kalara glanced at Ilyas, who shot me a wink that left me momentarily speechless. "He was the one who brought you here, and told me everything."

"Everything?" I gave Ilyas an inquiring look, and he just shrugged.

"Yes. I know about your journey here, and I will be happy to help you," Kalara smiled perpetually, just like all the native Fijians we had met and seen so far. I mean, why wouldn't they be smiling, they lived in an island paradise.

"Thank you so much, Kalara. God bless you," her smile was infectious, and even Ilyas looked a little happier, which was rare for him.

"And you, Huda. Would you like to use the bathroom to freshen up? You two look like you need some new clothes, and I could wash what you have already if you like," Kalara offered generously, and we took her offer graciously. Once she had left the room to get us some spare clothes, I finally had a chance to speak to Ilyas.

"I'm not sure if this was real or not, but did you...carry me here?" I asked in a slight whisper.

"I did what I had to do. You passed out from heat exhaustion," Ilyas replied, his hands stuffed in his pockets. I took in his dishevelled appearance, from his damp matted hair to his dirt-patched shirt and shorts, and I didn't need a mirror to tell me I looked just as bad. His words sunk in, and I realised that whatever dream I had had just before was true. He really had carried me all the way around the mountain, and I knew I wasn't the lightest of feathers.

"Thanks," I managed to blurt out. "For saving me. Again."

"Now you owe me twice," Ilyas smirked. "And so far, you haven't paid your debt."

"So far, I'm the only one getting into trouble," I responded sheepishly. "Sorry about that."

"No, it's fine. I was only kidding, you don't have to pay me back," Ilyas held up his hands.

"Really?"

"Really," Ilyas replied sincerely. "Besides, if it wasn't for you, we wouldn't still be here. In Fiji. And I gotta admit, it was fun."

"Fun? How is getting lost at sea, nearly getting struck by lightning, eating nothing but slightly raw fish and almost dying of dehydration fun?" I scoffed.

"You know what I mean," Ilyas said, and I arched an eyebrow in confusion, waiting for him to elaborate but he never got the chance, for Kalara had returned with some clothes.

"This is my husband's, he won't mind you borrowing it," she said to Ilyas as she handed him a folded t-shirt and shorts. "As for you, my dear, here is a beautiful long skirt of mine and a blouse. I also have a scarf if you like, for your head. And here are some clean towels for you to use."

I couldn't begin to express how grateful I was to this woman, so I just beamed and thanked her once again before heading to the bathroom.

Seeing myself in the mirror again after two days was an odd experience for me, and I almost didn't recognize myself. Whatever eyeliner and lipstick I had applied yesterday was smudged and basically washed off, and my whole face glowed with perspiration. I definitely looked more tan, and as I unravelled my hijab I could see a tan line where my hijab had framed my face, but it wasn't too bad. When I opened the faucet of cold water, I let out a sob of joy, which probably didn't make sense, but when you hadn't used running water for two days straight, you would be having mixed emotions too. Water never felt so good on my face, so much better than ocean water, which was salty and full of fish poop, and with every splash, I thought of how I had taken this for granted all my life. Food, drinking water, soap – all these things were so precious, but only when you didn't have them. And there were so many people in the world who didn't even have access to tap water, and they had to walk kilometres just to quench their thirst. Subhanallah, how ungrateful humans were nowadays.

There was a shower in the bathroom, so after locking the door, I peeled off my sandy, salty clothes and let the lukewarm water wash off the dirt and oil, healing and cleaning not just my skin but my soul. I felt replenished, and I felt tears spring at my eyes which fell with the steady stream of the shower, and though I wasn't in there for long, it was long enough to make me feel reborn. I was not just washing away the sand of the island and the build-up of two days; I was washing away the ungrateful, spoilt, selfish girl I had been, even if I had told myself I had already changed. We were all constantly changing as human beings, not just physically but emotionally and mentally, and this entire experience had made me realise what was really important in life. It wasn't how popular you were, or how many followers you had, or how much money you had. It was about appreciating the little things, and remembering Allah, the One who provided us with what we had.

"Alhamdulillah," I murmured once I had towelled myself dry, feeling cleaner than I had ever been in a while. Kalara had told me to use whatever I liked in the bathroom, so I helped myself to some spray-on deodorant and coconut lotion before slipping into the clothes Kalara had lent me. Every fibre of my body shivered in excitement at the prospect of wearing clean, dry clothes. Why had I never felt this feeling before? It was one of the most beautiful feelings ever, such a simple pleasure, and I couldn't stop smiling as I combed through my hair and tied it into a bun before placing the orange scarf Kalara had given me on my head, deciding to twist the two ends and tie a knot behind my neck.

Kalara had also given me some sandals to feet, which were a little big for my size seven feet but it was better than nothing. My wedges were still on that lifeboat which was probably long gone now, and I really couldn't care less. These sandals felt like heaven on the soles of my feet.

I emerged from the bathroom smelling of coconut lotion and happiness, and on my way through the hallway I bumped into Ilyas, who in contrast absolutely reeked. I guess I never noticed before since I had probably stunk too, but now...

"You smell nice," Ilyas simpered, and I raised my eyebrows.

"And you don't, so hurry up and take a shower."

I heard Ilyas chuckle as I marched past him and entered the lounge, which was where I had woken up not long ago. What looked like a banquet was spread on the coffee table, and from the half eaten plates I could tell Ilyas had already had his share of what looked like the yummiest food ever. There was pineapple, there was grapes, there were dates, there was salad, and there were pastries.

"Where do I start?" I said aloud, my eyes grazing over all the choices I had. I decided to start small, since my stomach was probably the size of a prune now from how hungry I was, and nibbled on some grapes, and then before I knew it I had finished two pastries, a handful of salad and countless chunks of pineapple.

"I hope you left some for me," Ilyas appeared suddenly, forking his fingers through his wet hair as his lips curved into a smirk.

"Oh, don't worry, there's plenty left, and I am so full," I clutched my stomach, wondering when was the last time I had felt so content. I had gotten so used to an empty stomach that I almost felt like throwing up all the food I had just eaten.

"Hey, Huda, wanna date?"

Ilyas was now sitting beside me on the couch and when I whipped my head to him, he was holding a date and grinning cheekily. I rolled my eyes.

"Very funny. And props for originality too because I definitely haven't heard that before," I said sarcastically.

"I couldn't help myself," Ilyas shrugged, tearing a chunk off the date with his teeth.

"Well, you can help yourself to the rest of the food because I don't think I can –" I let out an unexpected burp, covering my mouth and feeling embarrassed, but Ilyas didn't even seem to notice and just continued to eat as if nothing had happened. Wow, why did I care so much? I never used to care whether someone heard me burp or not, especially in front of boys, but for some reason, I felt self-conscious with Ilyas. At least, now I did.

"I bet you I can catch this grape in my mouth."

I watched in amusement as Ilyas tossed a grape into the air and tipped his head back, attempting to catch it in his mouth, but he failed. Three times.

"Dude, let me try," I pinched a grape off the bunch, tossing it into the air and opening my mouth, almost choking on it once I caught it. I clapped my hands together and whooped, my eyes almost as wide as Ilyas' as he looked at me incredulously.

"That's just not fair, I'm gonna try again," Ilyas didn't like to lose, apparently, and when he finally got it in after another try he just chewed the grape coolly, as if it was no big deal.

"Let's see if I can get this one in," I picked up a grape and got ready to throw it at Ilyas, and was surprised when he caught it. This time he celebrated, looking pleased with himself.

"Do another one," Ilyas commanded, opening his mouth again, so I tossed another grape at him, and we kept at it like this until Kalara returned from doing the laundry.

"Oh, Kalara, thank you so much for all this food, we couldn't be more grateful," I told her as I rose from the couch.

"Yeah, seriously, you are the best," Ilyas chimed in with a grin.

"Aw, you two, it is my pleasure. By the way, I have washed and hung your clothes for you, they are outside now in the sun," Kalara informed us. She then swept her eyes over our outfits now, and smiled. "You look very nice now that you are clean."

"Why, thank you," I grinned, gripping my skirt and twirling it from side to side. When I glanced over my shoulder at Ilyas I caught him staring at me, but we both looked away at the same time as I sat back down.

"My children will be home from school soon, so until then, would you like anything else? I'm sorry we don't have a TV," until Kalara pointed it out, I hadn't even noticed the lack of a television set in the lounge, maybe because I forgot about things like that.

"It's okay, we will be alright," I assured her, and she nodded.

"Okay. You know, you are more than welcome to stay the night, if you need to. My home is your home," Kalara said warmly.

"Are you sure? We really don't want to be trouble," Ilyas said.

"Oh, no, it is okay. Our village is used to travellers stopping by," Kalara replied.

Her mention of the village reminded me of what I wanted to ask. "So do you know how we can get back to Fiji, the main island? Like, is there an airport or a ship we can catch?"

"Airport? Oh, no, there's no airport here, or ships," Kalara shook her head.

"Then how do you leave the island?" Ilyas asked.

"We don't leave the island," Kalara answered simply. "This island is our home. We are but a small village, but we stay here and the supplies come by every month on a small ship."

"When's the next time the ship will be coming?" I inquired.

Kalara took a second to ponder on this, before replying, "I think it will be here in two weeks. Yes, exactly two weeks from now."

I exchanged a look with Ilyas. Two weeks? We couldn't live here for two weeks...could we?

"Are there any other ways, like maybe by using a boat or something?" Ilyas questioned.

"You mean like a fishing boat?" Kalara asked.

"Well, yeah."

Kalara shook her head again gravely. "Oh, no. It is too far to travel by just a fishing boat. You might get lost again. It is too dangerous."

"So how can we leave?" I asked, feeling like we were running out of options.

"I don't know, Huda, I don't know," Kalara sighed. "I'm sorry."

Ilyas and I reflected the same expression of defeat as we sank back into the couch. Once Kalara left the room I said, "Looks like we got ourselves even more stuck out here."

"At least there's food and shelter," Ilyas remarked optimistically.

"At least," I murmured in agreement. Now we weren't stranded on a deserted island, but stuck on an inhabited island that had everything we needed, except a ticket home.

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Song of the Chapter is Perfect Strangers by Jonas Blue ft. JP Cooper because it just describes Huda and Ilyas perfectly...kinda

You can check out the playlist for this story which I listen to while writing because it gives me inspiration in the external link (it's on Spotify)