The Magic of the Moment

(The text and audio are the same, so feel free to listen along as you read.)

The scent of sunscreen filled her nostrils as faint images of sandy feet and crashing waves entered briefly into her mind. "You ready?" Abby asked her, hand prepared to let the morning sun illuminate the room.

"Yalla," she replied, lotioning her elbows as an (always) last touch. Couldn't risk sun damage to these babies. She and Abby walked in stride, their vibrations high and long-forgotten bronzed skin affirming this much-needed holiday. She didn't know what to expect from the morning's "dolphin tour", or if it'd even happen, given that she'd confirmed two spots on the boat the previous night with a man who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere — one of the many tour and party salespeople at the resort looking to make connections.

Before long, she and Abby were seated, side-by-side on the sandy boat, freezing saltwater from the boat's propeller splashing them just enough to cause discomfort. The captain stood shakily, hopefully for some purpose other than to freak out the water-fearful, she thought.

"Now! Everyone put on your snorkels and get in the water!"

After a brief struggle, her hose upside down and water in her goggles, she was submerged into the deep blue, fervently looking through bubbles for friendly fins. She was particularly excited at the chance to see dolphins up close, in the wild; her favorite childhood stuffed animal, materialized.

After what seemed like thirty minutes of frantically searching her surroundings for the abundance of dolphins she thought she'd find, she rolled back onto the boat, simultaneously dejected and exhilarated. "Nothing for me. Did any of you see one?"

Her boatmates' expressions seemed to mimic her disappointment.

"Don't worry, they'll come back!" chimed the captain, probably in an effort to encourage the team.

"I see them!"

She whipped her head around, following the voice's finger through her and to the flipping creatures, who seemed to be enjoying the sport of hide-and-seek with their human counterparts. As the boat bobbed and rocked this way and that, her boatmates trying to catch some underwater action, she and Abby remained on the boat, satisfied with the dolphin acrobatics before her fish-like friends returned back to the deep blue.

Beyond the several photos she would always treasure, she felt joyful seeing these animals in their natural habitat, looking as if they were playing so freely. She committed to herself to remember to find joy in as much as she could -- at least on this holiday. How often in her lifetime would she be in Zanzibar, anyway?

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The waves began to settle as the boat pulled into turquoise waters — something out of a travel magazine. Mesmerized by her life and present environment, she hardly noticed other boats rolling closely by, other tan-skinned and eager-eyed tourists donning their snorkels and plopping into the water one after the other.

As Abby consulted the boat's captain for snorkeling advice, she descended into the light blue, thankful for her long and wide feet — no flippers needed. The water felt like a warm and heavy velvet blanket on her body after a long, physically tiring day. She stretched and flexed her limbs, playing with the fish and algae so bent on avoiding her human touch. Swimming over coral reefs and through schools of colorful fish, she spied a few of her kind huddled several meters away and made her way over. As she approached, two of the three humans swam away, leaving her with a snorkel-less and — oh, handsome! — young man who smiled and handed her a broken piece of banana peel. She nearly choked, laughing at the bubbles leaving his mouth as his impossibly white teeth shone at her. Sensing their snacktime, several fish swam up to the couple for some delectable banana peel. Strange, the thought, glad to learn Zanzibari fish enjoyed such cuisine. Giving the coolest thumbs up she could think of, she swam back to her boat to check on Abby.

Forty minutes of fish play went by and people began to fill their boats, preparing to return to their respective hotels, she presumed. Never one to keep her eyes to herself, she watched as people struggled back onto their boats with their slippery, wet bodies, or as they stole away for a final dance in the undersea world. Ready to settle her sights on her own boat's horizon, she met the eyes and bubble-less gleaming smile of the young man from her underwater escapade. She imagined that if her complexion wasn't so deeply bronzed, he'd see the blush on her cheeks, evincing the dolphin's flip her stomach was doing. She was satisfied with the tingle of a new crush, of imagined affection, and allowed this feeling of lightness to carry her from the boat to the sandy shore, then to a nearby restaurant for some much-needed food fuel.

Typically, she'd try to find food as indigenous to her country of visit as possible, but her mind was occupied by the dream-like nature of that morning. It couldn't have been more perfect, according to her opinion and feelings at the time. Even the discomfiting chilly saltwater splashing her face simply added character to her excursion.

With most of her senses now activated, she felt indulgent, unapologetically. "Let's go for some gelato, yeah?" She proposed to a reluctant Abby, who seemed very ready to retreat to their room. Thankfully, for her, Abby stuck around in… solidarity? Shifting her attention, she accepted the overflowing cup of coconut and chocolate gelato from her server and went for a small spoon. Where she meant to find utensils upon her turn, she instead, once again, met the brightly shining eyes and smile of her underwater love. Nearly swallowing her heart, she returned his smile, eyes darting around his body to appreciate his chocolatey-golden complexion, toned and muscular arms, and, also, locced hair. She was pretty certain they'd exchanged names and basic information, though she couldn't be sure. She challenged herself to examine shy she'd been so taken by this young man… save that analysis for later, though. Just enjoy the now, she thought as, before she knew it, they'd parted ways, the lingering smile stuck in her chest.

The rest of the afternoon was a relaxed blur of watching children annoyingly splash their parents in the pool, catching sun under shady palm trees,  and a one-off shisha break. It was about 8:23pm when Charlie texted her, asking if she and Abby wanted to meet for dinner. She felt more relaxed with Charlie today than she had yesterday when he'd enthusiastically stopped her outside a shop and introduced himself and his pastime of making foreign friends. The previous evening, Charlie had shown he could be trusted during their visit to a nearby restaurant with live music. He was even a joy to be around. So when he proposed dinner, she and Abby wore their cutest beach dresses and met him thirty minutes later. A few beers, a plate of hummus, and a surprise joint later, she was dancing in circles around Charlie and Abby, externalizing the joy and dynamism they must have been feeling internally.

"There's a party tonight if you guys want to go…"Charlie's voice trailed off as he observed her exchange looks with Abby. "It's just down the beach and a lot of people will be going."

She shrugged slightly, "What do you think, Ab?"

"Yeah, sure?" Abby replied, her response clearly dependent on her friend's willingness to engage in deeper spontaneity that evening.

Another magical joint appeared, and the trio made their way to the mysterious party location. Several moments passed where she and Abby held hands tightly and wondered if they were consciously walking to their own demise. In her current state, it felt like her heart was beating in her mouth, and she could tell by Abby's sweaty palms that she felt the same. Charlie, however, chattered on, always enthusiastic, always telling a story, until he stopped and pointed.

"We're going over there."

Her heart slowly descended to its rightful place as she heard faint music and, through narrowed eyes, saw people milling about the venue. "Great, looks fun!"

They hurried through the sand and uphill to find more people at the bar than on the dance floor. No problem, she thought as her inner smile expanded. She'd always enjoyed a sparse dance floor, giving her more room to show off her improvisational choreography. She and Abby performed what probably seemed like a capoeira-type dance, their freedom of expression owing to those few puffs and subsequent feeling of lightness. And there it was again, another beautiful joint, as she would come to think of them, purposed specifically to aid her transcendence into dance-dom. And that's what she did, with herself, with Abby, and with anyone who'd stick their hand out, interested in similar spiritual access.

But alas, even moondances need a break. So, thirsty and curious, she and Abby made their way through the now-crowded dancefloor to the bar, to find beloved Charlie mid-laugh and gesticulating with the next human. She was thoroughly convinced he could manifest friends out of thin air. She admired that.

One mojito, a bottle of water, and a few tickling human observations later, she decided to re-enter dance-dom. Taken aback by the dancefloor's overflowing state, she located an empty spot on the floor and designated it her personal corner. It's as though she could feel the bass rise from her feet to her fingertips. She closed her eyes and imagined herself in the music video accompanying the tune between her ears. A sweet scent filled her nostrils, causing her to open her eyes and connect with none other than her snorkel-turned-gelato-turned-dancefloor heartthrob, looking and smelling delicious as ever.

Their gazes connected once again, and they exchanged smiles, moving to meet each other in the middle of what seemed to be a circle created for them -- as if the whole room was in on their rendezvous. She felt the music was their telepathic language, rhythmically drawing them closer together until their hips swayed in unison. She let her cheek feel the warmth and subtle stickiness of his neck and swore time stood still as she imagined his pulse throbbing against her skin. She closed her eyes and her sensations heightened, having shut off the gift of sight.

"Do you want to go somewhere more quiet?" she heard him talk-whisper in her ear, smooth, creamy, and decisive. After a brief nod, he led her to just outside the building, the bar partially in view with Charlie stranger-hopping and Abby shyly swaying in her chair, nursing a can of Redbull.

She propped herself up on a stool and pulled him close, in between her legs. His body with hers felt perfect in that moment, so… conclusive, she thought. Abruptly pulling her out of the magic of the moment, he rolled his hips forward and reached for her face, presumably to finally connect, as intimately as they could at the moment.

"Woah," she held her hand out and caressed his chest. "Calm down. No need to rush." She leaned forward slightly, prompting him to do the same. "We can take it slow," she whispered as the heat from their faces filled the small space between their lips. She slid her hand to the back of his neck and kissed him. This time, they both rolled their hips forward, excited, it seemed, to finally be together. She lost recollection of where she was, what had happened throughout the day, her plan for the rest of the trip, and submitted the whirlwind and whimsy of this kiss. He bit her bottom lip just the right amount of hard, causing goosebumps to appear along her arms and her sacral region to contract. She leaned in, feeling dizzyingly impassioned, and he peeled away, looking at her. She knew her desire was all over her face because she was gazing at him through her eyelashes — her bedroom eyes making their appearance.

"You know what," she asked when she managed to speak. "I don't remember your name."

He half-smiled and brought himself closer to her once again. The tips of their noses sparked upon contact as he pressed his lips onto hers, whispering his name into her mouth.

…