"I'm changing my mind, big bro! I think I want to spend some time here. It's a beautiful place! Think of what we can do, snorkeling, diving, kayaking… we can't do these things during winter! Hey! We are doing these things during winter!" Joe stretched his arms out wide as if he was trying to embrace the entire sea. After a lukewarm shower and some snacks, Frank swore Joe's sulky mood had washed away with the water into the drainage system. Before him now was his brother all normal and happy again. Frank was no sure if that was a positive change or not- since he was counting on Joe's grumpiness to tip the scales in his favor- which was for them to choose leaving the island, pronto.

"I'm know it's great. The room's great… the food's terrific and it's like a piece of heaven here… yadda yadda yadda… but I have this crazy deduction that there is this huge joke going on and we two are the butts. Before it gets even more insane…" Frank tried to reason out with Joe who had a huge smile plastered on his face as he bent backwards, eyes closed and took in breath after breath of pure fresh air- cleanse by the sea.

"Hmm hmm… yah yah… blah blah blah." Joe replied Frank in that typical careless manner which told Frank he was not really listening. Frank did not enjoy being the wet blanket in any situation but this time, he felt like he had to put his foot down.

"Joe! This is no joke… ok… it's a prank that has gotten way too big. You were drugged and dragged to the forest behind the beach. Granted we are both safe but who knows if something else happens again? I don't think the people in charge of our trip know where the limit is!"

"Frank…" Joe finally opened his eyes and spun around to face his brother, his star blue eyes shining with the anticipation of an adventure. Frank could feel Joe's adrenaline pumping in his own veins. His brother's excitement was contagious though not infectious enough for Frank to discard cautiousness to the wind.

"Yes? Ready to go? I haven't unpacked yet. We can be out of here very fast."

"No, no, no…" Joe stepped back in line with Frank and threw a heavy arm across Frank's shoulders, gesturing vaguely to their surrounds with the other. "Look… how can you not fall in love with this beach? Frank... open your eyes… and let it take over you… do you hear the waves? It's calling us to stay and enjoy our break!"

"Joe, I…"

"Frank! Joe! You two are early! The sun's not setting yet… I half-expected the both of you would have fallen asleep or something…" Holly raced up to them and Frank had to smile at the way she was struggling to be quick-footed on the sand. It was a lost cause as she kept sliding towards the direction of the sea with every step. Movies always made it seemed so easy to run across sand when it was the entire opposite. Sand hindered movements. People trip on sand. Sand gets into toes. Sand gets into the hair. Sand gets into the ears.

Sand gets into everywhere!

But she looks so good… I think she worked out… Stop it, Frank! Stop ogling at her! She'll know!

"HOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Save me from the blackface man!" Joe ran towards Holly and hollered at the same time in mocking fear. When the two met, having created a minor sandstorm in the process, Joe grabbed Holly's arm playfully and pretended to hide behind her, peering at Frank with wide, frightened eyes.

"He bad! He's scary! Please don't let him eat me… he's gonna barbecue me!" Joe feigned a high-pitched boyish tone which he had mastered since watching Oliver so many years back. The line "Please, can I have some more?" stuck inside his thick skull and never left- the same vulnerable tone resurfaced in different variations which were alike mostly in their annoying nature.

Frank who was following behind Joe in a deadpanned stride rolled his eyes but he could help his cheeks from flushing red. Holly was giggling throughout, not having the vaguest idea of how to deal with Joe's sudden affections. She patted Joe's hand and tried to look reassuring before breaking out into another fresh burst of giggles which only spurred Joe to continue his "lost boy" act.

"Holly, he's coming… save me… please… he wanna take me away from here… I don't wanna go…"

"Joe! Stop it! You're an embarrassment!" Frank hissed, finding some form of language finally. He gazed at Holly helplessly before shrugging in capitulation when Joe squirmed away from him like he was infected with the Ebola virus.

"Don't mind him, Holly… my brother never grew out of his diapers, no matter what he tried to get us to believe…" Frank smiled wanly at her before throwing Joe a deadly glare. She laughed softly; moving a little to shield Joe away from Frank's outstretched hands.

"It's ok, darling. I'll make sure the big bad wolf stays far away from you…" Holly assured a whimpering Joe who managed to sneak snickering looks at Frank simultaneously. Frank narrowed his eyes in a lethal expression to which Joe only drew himself closer to Holly. Holly laughed out loud this time, enjoying the attention no doubt.

"Forget it. Bunch of school kids…" Frank shook his head in resignation before he turned away from them to face the sea and sat down without much ceremony.

"Frank, we were just playing…" Holly raw, gentle voice spoke right into his ears and he jumped a little before raking fingers through his hair with some nervousness. In a split second, Joe was gone and there he was, on a quiet beach with Holly Strand about to sit right next to him.

"Where's Joe?" Frank asked, turning around just in time to see Joe inviting himself into a game of beach volleyball. Great looks and a washboard stomach with well-defined muscles that were not overwhelming at the same time could bring Joe everywhere. Frank shook his head with an amused smile on his lips when he saw two pretty girls dragging Joe immediately to join their team.

"Ah. My brother. Always the Cassanova."

"And if I remembered correctly, you're always the romantic." Holly remarked, giving him a knowing look. He stared at her in dire bafflement. Callie had always grumbled about his practical and logical mind and was always urging him to take a lesson or two from Joe in ways to treat a girl right. He knew he was the sort of guy who would not give his girlfriend a rose for the simple reason that roses die.

Holly chuckled and tucked her hair behind her ears- an action which Frank had long associated with her. He knew in future, whenever he see a girl pushing a lock of hair behind her ear, he would be reminded of Holly Strand.

"Don't look at me like that, Frank Hardy. You know I'm right."

"If I'm the romantic, then where're the girls?" Frank wanted to sound cool in his self-jesting but somehow, those words came out sounding despondent and it did not help much when an awkward sigh left his throat right after.

"That's the problem. You're a hopeless romantic… believing in that one soul mate out there and, thus, you wouldn't give anyone else a chance. In that way, you may have missed your soul mate without even realizing as you patiently wait." Holly spoke softly- her voice traveling with the sea breeze to caress his mind. Frank let her words swirl around his consciousness before they settled down and sank into his understanding.

"I… hmm… I never saw myself in that way…" He stuttered for something she said struck a chord with his heart and sounded too true. In a space beyond time and reason, he remembered Callie's presence and could even smell her perfume. For the first time in many months, he allowed the heartache to visit him in full force- the heartache that twisted his insides and wrung tears to his eyes.

"You're still waiting for her, right? Why did you two break up? You were the golden couple… voted most likely to get married to each other… Sorry, am I upsetting you?" Holly took one of his hands in hers and the tenderness of the touch took his breath way- as did her emerald eyes which were as clear as crystal and as green as a fresh, young sapling.

"No… it's just that I never talk about it. Distance tears people apart physically and soon, emotionally and spiritually. I think love needs that presence and all those talks about being there morally etc… is just not true. Quite tough actually- to be all alone in Harvard when she broke the news. But it's also my fault. I didn't try to… I don't know… pull romantic stunts when I felt that something was wrong to try and get her to stay with me." Frank bared his soul and for the first time since they arrived, he took a good look at the scenery presented before his eyes. The aching loveliness only heightened the poignancy he felt but in that moment of pain, he felt that he could truly understand the beauty of it all- the beauty of the beach and the beauty of love.

"It's really pretty here." Holly voiced out his thoughts aloud and they exchanged a brief sad smile. Frank nodded silently, watching the molten orange ball fizzling out into the bubbling golden champagne. Coconut trees swayed with the zephyr and seagulls swooped down before skirting off the surface of the clear waters again. Now he knew why Joe was suddenly adamant about staying despite his unpleasant journey here.

"I used to think that the sun overheated itself in the day and so had to be dunked into the ocean for an ice cold bath. That was before science interested me and still does…" Frank pointed at the sun which was so much larger across the shorter horizon. Holly listened to whatever he was saying as she picked up a handful of the finest sand ever found and letting it run through her fingers and then repeating the calming process all over again. Frank gingerly touched the sand and thought, for a moment, if someone could fuse some fragrance with it, it would be exactly like talcum powder.

"I did have a boyfriend a couple of months after… after my brother was arrested. It didn't work out because I found out that I wasn't looking for that kind of love. I was merely looking for acceptance and I could not find it. It was then I came to this island. I needed some solitude … it has become a quarterly affair ever since." Holly confided in him. It seemed to Frank that even though they were decently clothed for the beach with him wearing his plain blue board shorts and her in a bikini top and mini floral shorts which showed off her well-toned body, they might as well be naked as the sudden brutal honesty laid their souls exposed before each other.

However, he did enjoy that moment of spiritual imminence. It was almost as if their souls touched each other in a way that caused their relationship to take that one step closer to a lasting friendship that was more than just jokes and shared laughter. It was also about tears and comfort.

He drew her into a half-embrace and they sat there, just admiring the sunset with that bit of heaviness in their hearts- a heaviness which was lightened because, somehow, they had found solace in each other's companionship in an encounter that taken them across continents and oceans to realize. Frank thought he could truly count her as a friend then. It was an affirmation which he knew she shared.

"Tell me, what changed the insecure girl into a lady?" Frank asked gently and was answered by yet another soft laughter- another of her trademark.

"A lady? Far from it. Maybe… maybe I have finally learned to accept myself for who I really am. Because I know I can't be anyone but me and once I know that, it's time to find out who am I. And you know what? This place is special for me because the first time I came here, the beauty pierced my soul and I just… I don't know. I was just so touched that I decided to be happy- to be forever thankful for the small blessings that I have and I have never looked back since. Never once." Holly replied with some pride. She had every reason to be. Frank was proud of her too.

"Small blessings? Many in your position would be jumping for joy… a new car each semester, holidays as and when you want…" Frank kidded, squeezing her shoulder at the same time. He was expecting the answer that would usually come- the "Money can't buy me happiness" rhetoric which was true but used by too many people who were in no position to say they were truly suffering from lack of needs.

Thus, he was taken aback when she hung her head low, almost in an apology to the world. "Precisely. I have many things. I have a loving father, I have wealth that can last me more than a lifetime and I have a healthy body and mind. I begrudge the death of my mom too much such that, I'm missing out on what I really have. Despite my riches, I've really done nothing with my life and possessions that could edify those around me. Wallowing in my self-pity, I neglected to see that there are really those in so much pain just right before my eyes. I thought I had the worst deal but they drew even more terrible cards. How ashamed I was when I finally saw through my veil of despair and found that my life is actually so much more blessed than a lot of other people's. I should spread those extra blessings around- it's only right and it's only fair. If I despair, then I'm really not much of a human because there are those in worse situations who still walked with their heads up high."

"Don't be too hard on yourself. You are brave. It takes courage to want to live a fulfilling life." Frank's voice was no more than a whisper but she caught it loud and clear.

"I know. But I'm so glad I made the choice. Look… here I am. Happy and living a piece of heaven in my heart- Grace." Holly placed a palm over her chest. The smile on her face as soothingly serene as the shimmering sea when gazed upon with faraway eyes.