Melody loved the feeling of the fresh air blowing her short black hair all around her face. She hadn't ever liked the sun, but for some reason, she loved it out here, out on the sea. The ship had set sail almost an hour before. She hadn't even bothered to check to make sure that her friend, Lydia had gotten on board safely. The captain had said that two beds in one room wasn't going to work, so the two practically inseparable friends had been forced to take two separate rooms, though they were right next door to each other. Melody had come up onto the deck to get some fresh air. She hated the dank smell of the area below deck, and she thought she hated the fresh air, but when she had come up, all her senses went to new levels. She was in love with the salty freshness of the open sea. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and there were no other ships on the ocean, so Melody could see where the unbroken blue of the sky met the beautiful dark blue of the ocean. She stood leaning on the boat's railing, just gazing into the distance. She had been there so long, and done nothing at all. She had let her mind wander, picking up on little things that had been floating around inside her head. She and Lydia had decided that they would move away from their big city hometown and into the wilderness of one of the under-populated islands off the shore.

~~~~~IoH~~~~~IoH~~~~~IoH~~~~~

Melody had been going through some tough times. Very tough times. Lydia had made the final decision. Melody had come home around midnight from one of her late-night strolls around town. Lydia had been up waiting for her.

"That's it. I've had enough of your moping around. We're going to move," Lydia had said, stopping Melody at the door.

"Move? Where are we going to move?" Melody's confusion was only slight.

"Silly, we're going to move to one of those islands!" Lydia informed Melody as she held up a flyer.

Calling all adventurers, pioneers and tradesmen! Do you want a new life? One that is full of nothing but total bliss and happiness? There are more than 100 small islands off our shores! Come help us liven up our islands! Many of them have been untouched by mankind, and are full of hidden caves and tall mountains. Do you have what it takes for this adventure? For information, and to ask any questions, call the city hall at XXX-XXX-XXXX. We'll see you on the islands!

"You want to go to an under-populated island? We've lived in the city our whole lives, and you know I hate the sun. How do you expect us to survive?" Melody looked Lydia straight in the face.

"There'll be other people on the island, too. It won't be just us. And no one ever said that you had to be in the sun. Maybe you'll learn to like it. You'll never know unless you try, Mel," The nickname that Lydia used struck a chord somewhere inside Melody. She looked deep into Lydia's eyes, trying to see if there was anything her dear friend wasn't telling her. She found nothing but sincerity and concern flashing back at her from those eyes.

"Fine. When does this boat leave?" Mel asked of her pushy yet lovable friend. "We have to be ready, don't we?"

"I knew I would get you to come! I'm so happy!" Lydia hugged her friend tight. "The ship is leaving tomorrow at 10."

"Seriously? You want us to pack up everything and move by tomorrow at ten?" Mel asked with a look of disbelief. "Are you going to be the one packing all of this up?"

"We're going to leave the house as is and rent it out. If the island deal doesn't work out, we'll just come home," Lydia looked hurt, like she couldn't believe Melody would say something like that.

"I'm sorry. That's a great idea. Let's go pack our clothes. We leave tomorrow at 10!"