Five. That's the number of days I have been on this boat. Four for Edward. Five for me. Five days since the ship sank. Five days of not knowing what happened to Alice or Jacob. Did Alice's boat flip over like mine? If it did was she lucky like me to get back on a boat. Maybe her boat didn't flip and she's standing on a crowded boat. Did Jacob even make it on a boat at all? So many questions. Not a single answer.

Four days have gone by on the boat with Edward. While a part of me is glad not to be alone, another part of me thinks I might as well be alone. He doesn't talk much. Then again there's not much to talk about. There's not much to do either. We end up finding two paperback books in a suitcase, a deck of cards in another, but even that doesn't keep us entertained for long. In the mornings he wakes up earlier then I do. I think he is more sensitive to the light then I am. He spends the mornings trying to fish with a makeshift fishing device he made. He hasn't caught anything but eventually I'm sure he will. His skin has been peeling from the sunburnt he got from drifting in the water that first day. It looks painful but he doesn't talk about it. He just reads the books. When he finishes one he switches to the other. He's probably read both of them four times now. I wonder if their even any good. I don't ask. I just sit there playing solitaire. Over and over again.

Everything we do in this boat we do in silence. He handles the food. Everyday three times a day he hands me two packages of crackers and a can of water. I'm so sick of those crackers. We take turns bathing in the morning. We each wash ourselves with a tiny amount of soap and the spare water we collect and a t shirt we cut into two rags. I spend time every morning brushing my hair slowly and braiding it tightly just to kill time. I even plucked my eyebrows yesterday. I apply sunscreen thoroughly multiple times a day and so does he.

A part of me wants to go for a swim in the water but it makes me a little nervous. Swimming here is different there's no ground it seems endless and it makes me a little nervous to try it alone. Edward spent a lot of time in the water that first day and he doesn't seem to be interested in getting back in there anytime soon. I haven't asked. Ever since that first day it's like a wall went up between us, and neither of us has had the courage to get past it. He doesn't break the silence so I don't either. So we don't talk. The silence kills me. But it feels wrong to break it.

Today I'm sitting at the front of the boat. Sitting right at the tip with my legs dangling over the water. Edward is laying on one of the benches sprawled out reading one of the books for the millionth time. This is the first time I have sat like this. I'm thinking from now on it will be my spot. The little waves splash against the sides. The water sprinkles up getting my leg slightly wet. The boat is drifting softly today. And for once the gentle sway of the boat seems relaxing. The water is fairly calm. It's almost inviting. The sky is clear and the sun is hot. It's very hot actually. I'm in a pair of khaki shorts and a sleeveless shirt and there's sweat forming on my forehead and the back of my neck. The breeze today is minimal.

I have been sitting here for what feels like forever. Staring at the cold water. My heart is begging me to get in but my mind is afraid. It's just so hot. And I'm so bored. I am beginning to feel like I can't take it anymore. Any of it. The heat. The boat. The crackers. The silence. I'm sick of my thoughts for days they have been all I have had. I don't even realize the moment I push myself off the boat until my legs are slipping into the cold water. My body slips into the water cutting off my thoughts. The water feels clean and fresh. By the time I come up for air I feel like I have washed away everything.

"Are you okay? Did you fall?" Edward calls from the side of the boat as he leans over looking worried. I grin up at him treading water.

"I'm fine now! In fact I'm great! The water is perfect. You should give it a try!" I call out to him before turning around and swimming away from the boat. I swim just a few feet away from the boat before flipping onto my back and floating with my eyes closed. I lay there with my eyes closed for only moment before I hear a splash. I flip around to find Edwards head popping out of the water pushing his long hair out of his face.

"You were right." He says. "The water is perfect."

We both are floating on our backs for a while. Between the hot sun and cold water I feel so at peace I could almost fall asleep. I don't think about anything other than the fact that I want to feel this way my whole life.

"Why didn't we think of this before?" I say to him. Finally breaking the silence.

"The day is so beautiful." He says after a while of not answering. I don't reply. Partly because I don't know what to say, and partly because I don't feel the need to answer. He has already said it all.

"I'm sorry." He says after another while has passed. I open my eyes and face him going back to treading water. "I shouldn't have told you what I did." He continues facing me as well.

"It's okay. You had to tell me. I'm glad you did. It just wasn't something I wanted to hear."

"I know. I wish I didn't even know. I didn't realize it would take away your hope. I should have thought first."

We drift through the water for a while longer. Sometimes swimming around sometimes just floating. I don't know when it happens but we eventually begin holding hands when we are floating so that we don't drift away from each other. After slipping into such peacefulness I'm not even sure which one of us made the move.

"Should we go get some food? I'm starving now." He says. I open my eyes and notice the sun is on the other side of the sky now. Now that he mentions it I am starving. We have floated away from the boat but not very far.

"I'll race you there." I say. I don't waste any time and start swimming towards the boat. We both reach it at the same time. Neither of us really tries all that hard. It takes us a moment to find a way to pull ourselves up. But when we do our clothes starts to form a puddle. He heads to the back of the boat and I head to the front where we have somehow decided to separate our stuff. We have gotten used to changing with our backs to each other but this is the first time we both change at the same time. I slip into another pair of shorts that are longer and reach my knees and a camisole.

"Is it safe to look?" I call when I'm done.

"It is." He says and we both turn around. He's switched into a white t shirt and khaki shorts. His hair is slicked back away from his face that is beginning to stubble. I unbraid my hair as he grabs our food. We both eat in the middle of the boat and though we don't say anything this time it feels okay. It's not uncomfortable like it was before. It's just that feeling where nothing needs to be said. Every now and then our gazes meet mid chew and we smile. And it's nice. All this time together and this is the first time I am reminded of his striking green eyes. The way they seem to have all the answers. When we finish he makes a grab for one of the books.

"You can't honestly still find that interesting." I say watching him. He looks up surprised for a split second.

"It's not but it's slightly better than staring at the same blue ocean." He replies.

"That's true." I say. "How about a game of poker or something instead." I say holding up the deck. "I don't think I can handle another game of solitaire." He chuckles at that but moves to sit next to me.

"Alright you're going to have to teach me to play." I say placing the cards in front of him. He laughs again.

We go on to discover I'm quite good at poker. He claims it's nothing but beginners luck but I think I really do have a talent. Maybe I wasted all this time in school when I should have went straight to Vegas. We joke around easily all afternoon. We don't talk about anything but the game and it seems to take a load off. When the sky is nearly dark we pack up our cards and go through our night routine. By now I have sewn together three blankets worth of clothes. One that's made of sweaters we use to lay on and a sheet made of button up shirts and another sweater blanket. While they are all hideous they make it a lot easier to keep warm without the night breeze blowing it off. They are both big enough to tuck ourselves fully under. Though I'm getting sick of sleeping on my side with my legs tucked in but we don't have the room to sleep any other way.

"Do you mind switching sides tonight? My shoulder is killing me from sleeping on it every night." He asks as we are laying down our sheets.

"I thought you would never ask." I say before scooting to the other side. I lay on his side and he lays on mine and although it feels strange to be on this side I am grateful my shoulder can get some rest. It really is uncomfortable sleeping in the exact same position every night.

"Goodnight." I say.

"Goodnight."

The next morning I awake to the sound of a splash. I peel my eyes open to see Edward trying to fish. I sit up slowly taking in the same blue sly and Blue Ocean I have been looking at for what feels like forever.

"Morning." He says as he notices me sitting up.

"Morning" I smile at him.

I get up and begin folding up our sheets so that I can tuck them into the waterproof suitcase we keep them in. I notice Edward is freshly shaven and in different clothes. Despite the fact that his hair is looking longer he does his best to look clean and tidy. I pick out my clothes and begin to get ready. Edward notices me doing so and automatically turns his back to me. I quickly wash my body with the rag before getting dressed. Today I slip on a blue bikini beneath my clothes. The bikini is a bit more revealing then I would have liked but it's the only one that would fit. After I'm dressed I let Edward know I'm done and he grabs our breakfast as I brush my teeth. I meet him in the middle of the boat.

"Do you think todays going to be your lucky day?" I ask.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean will we be feasting on something other than Styrofoam tonight?" I say and he chuckles.

"God I hope so don't want to complain because I have every right to be grateful but these things are awful." He says examining it before taking another bite.

"That's why I picked you up. I thought you would be my fisherman. You better start bringing home the bacon or I'm going to have to fire you and find someone else." I tease. We grin at each other for a moment before finishing off our breakfast. When we are done he heads to the back to check the line before recasting it and hooking it to the side of the boat. When he's done he sits to flip through his book. We hadn't found any suitcases in the last three days. It's safe to assume that what we have now is all we will be getting. I slip to my new favorite spot to brush and braid my hair. When I'm done I reapply sunscreen. Once I can't think of another thing that needs to be done the sun is set high in the sky and burning hot. I decide to go for another swim today. I slip off my clothes and this time lower myself slowly into the water. It's warmer today then yesterday. I decide on doing some laps. Maybe some exercise will do me good. I figure the only way to keep track of my distance is to time myself so I swim twenty seconds away from the boat before turning around and swimming twenty seconds back. I do this few times before taking a little break to catch my breath. I suppose sitting around on a boat doesn't exactly get you into shape. I repeat this process over and over until my shoulders and legs start feeling tired. When I'm done I head back to the boat. Edward looks up at me as I climb on.

"How's the water?"

"Warm." I say squeezing the water out of my braids before undoing them. I slip on a blue oversized t shirt and spread out on a bench to dry under the sun. After a while Edward comes over and he teaches me how to play blackjack. We eat as we play. I don't do as well on this one and it gets old pretty fast. We both get sick of it and he moves to the back and I move to the front. He begins rummaging through his suitcases while I rebraid my hair. When I'm done I lay back down on the bench and stare up at the clear blue sky. Not a cloud insight. When suddenly something flies through the air and hits me in the stomach. I sit up and look around for the object that hit me. When I find it I hear Edward give a low chuckle. It's a shirt balled up and tied with string to make a makeshift ball. I hold it up looking at his face surprised.

"Did you make this just so you can have something to throw at me?" I say trying to fight the laugh. I throw the ball at him and he catches it easily. And that's how it begins we throw the ball back and forth each one of us trying to make it harder for the other to catch it. We end up fishing it out of the water a couple times, each time making it heavier and heavier. The whole time we are just laughing and jumping around making the boat sway and rock. Little by little the game calms down to the point where we are sitting on our opposite sides tossing the ball back and forth. That's when we hear it. At first it comes so softly we look at each other. Both of us asking the same question in our eyes. "Did you hear that too?'

Then it comes again a little louder and we both scramble to get up. He jumps to the front of the boat while I scramble for the binoculars I had so stupidly put away. When I get them I rush to the front,

"Do you see anything?" I ask handing him the binoculars. He's searching the sky.

"It sounded like a bird didn't it?"

"I think so." I mutter just as we hear the squawk again.

"THERE IT IS IT'S A BIRD!" he yells excitedly he hands me the binoculars but I don't need them to see it now. It's coming right at us. Squawking proudly.

"It's a Goodman bird!" I laugh unbelievingly.

A bird is everything. A bird means nearby land.

Hey guys sorry for the long wait but here it is! I know it's shorter but I will have the next one out asap. Hope you enjoyed!

~with love Marilyn