It had been two weeks since my trip to camp. Richard had said he'd be back in a few days but there had been no sign of him. I was worried something had happened but then I would have probably heard about anything serious going on. I was tempted to ask Ben whether he would be seeing him anytime soon, but didn't want Ben to suspect anything, and neither did I particularly want to have to talk to Ben anyway.

I gloomily went through the motions each day, and my only real enjoyment was when I took my daily stroll to the farm. Each day I thought to myself how tempting it would be to just take myself off on an adventure on my own. I knew I would get in trouble though and even more off putting was that I knew Richard would be cross.

If i'd known it would be this long before he was back i'd have probably faked an illness to get sent over to Hydra Island to spend time with the girls over there for a few days.

Another day was starting as my sleep came to an abrupt halt, when there was a knock at my door. Assuming it was David come to give me instructions for the day, I dragged myself over to the door unenthusiastically and pulled it open. But there he was, looking fresh and smart and immaculate as he always did. My face immediately broke into a huge smile, and he beamed back.

"Think you can get the day off work?" He asked. My heart leapt. This was starting out to be the best day ever.

"I'm sure I can, i'll just have to go and check with David."

I'll be waiting, Richard grinned.

I ran over to David's house in double quick time and knocked impatiently. Eventually he appeared looking cross at being disturbed in such a way, but I put on my most pleading face and asked in my nicest voice for the day off. He didn't ask why and I didn't offer it to him, but luckily he agreed. I'd worked so hard lately and hadn't had a day off in ages so it was only fair that he let me anyway.

I hurried back. Richard was sitting on our porch reading a book.

"He gave me the day off." I blurted out happily.

"Good!" replied Richard. "I've just got to put a few things together, be ready in 20 minutes?"

"Where are we going?" I asked. Excited that it would be something new and we were not just going to sit on the porch like we always did (though I did love doing that too).

"It's a surprise." was his only reply.

I hurried back inside, showered, and pulled on some clean shorts, a vest top, and my hiking boots. Hiking boots were the staple footwear for everyone on the island as pretty much everywhere you went involved trekking through the jungle at some point.

A few minutes later we were on our way. We took a different route out of the barracks to where I went when I walked to the farm. I recognised it as the path I had come up when I entered for the first time, the day I cam to the island. We walked for a good 2 miles until the trees started to thin out and ahead we saw...the sea. I was so happy. Over two months I had been on the island and not once had I actually got the chance to visit the beach, walk along the sand or swim in the sea.

I ran onto the pure white sand and pulled my boots and socks off, revelling in the feeling of it between my toes. Richard followed behind, laughing at my eagerness.

I had no bathing suit, so just ran into the see in my shorts and vest. I figured it was hot enough that they would dry quickly anyway.

Richard didn't want to swim, but instead took his boots off, rolled up his trousers and paddled. He seemed to be using a stick to try and catch a fish. Good luck to him with that.

After a refreshing bathe I made my way up the beach to where Richard had settled himself. Impressively he had managed to catch two good sized fish, and was filleting them with a knife. He lit a fire out of driftwood, and set the fish over it. Clearly he had done this many times before. He peeled a mango, and we sat eating the makeshift meal while gazing out to the ocean.

Afterwards, we lay back on the sand under the shade of a palm tree and relaxed. I rested my head on his shoulder and he curled his arm around me, holding me close. I imagined we were just a regular couple, on the beach in Mexico, taking a break before hitting the town later. I wondered what Richard liked to do socially, like when he was in LA. This made me think of my strange conversation with Juliette yesterday.

"Hold old are you?" I asked.

"You've asked me that before. I'm 37." He answered casually.

"How long have you been 37?" I tried.

I felt his body tense up and he was quiet. I couldn't see his face from the position I was in, but I guessed I had thrown him a bit. It freaked me out a bit. Could there be any truth in that absurd story? Finally he spoke.

"Thats a strange question to ask." He observed. I decided to be honest.

"I had a weird conversation with Juliette yesterday. She told me she'd heard something about you. Something that couldn't possibly be true. It was just strange thats all." Richard was silent. "She said...you don't age...which is madness right?" After another long pause Richard finally spoke.

"If you find it hard to believe, how do you think I feel? I have to live with it."

I looked up at him startled. Was he joking with me or being serious? If by any chance it was true I wanted to appear cool about it. I didn't want him to think I thought he was some kind of freak. So I asked him outright.

"Is it true?"

"Would it change things if it was?" He asked.

"No!" I replied. And I was being honest. If he did have this thing, whatever it may be, I wouldn't be able to just stop loving him because of it. And yes, by now I was in love with him.

"Jacob made me this way. I don't know how it works, but after being like it for nearly 130 years, i've just come to accept it. It's a hard thing for me to talk about. I've never really talked to anyone about it before. Everyone on the island knows - it's no big secret, but they know I don't really like questions."

I leaned over and lay my ear to his chest.

"Yes of course my heard beats." He said chuckling. "I'm very much alive, I just don't change in any way or get old. I never get sick, and I can't kill myself. If someone or something else was to kill me though then I don't know what would happen."

I asked the question that had been bugging me since I first found out.

"Where does that leave you with relationships and things. Isn't it hard watching everyone around you get old and die?"

"Yes!." He nodded. "That parts really hard, and it's why I tend to shy away from relationships, or close friendships. I tend to keep everyone at arms length. It's easier that way."

This was certainly not what I wanted to hear.

"So you've never been in a relationship?" I queried.

"I have a long, long time ago, before I came to the island, but since i've been this way then no. Ive learned to live without them."

Richard finally opened up and told me about his past. He was from the Canary Islands and was married to a woman named Isabella. She tragically died of TB in 1867, and after unintentionally getting into a fight with a doctor, who was killed as a result, he was arrested and sent on a slave ship to America, though it became shipwrecked and crashed onto the island, where he met Jacob.

It was a lot to take in. Despite everything he told me, the only thing that was really playing on my mind was the fact that he didn't have relationships. Was it set in stone? If so then I was rather cross that he couldn't have been straight with me in the first place. He must have known how I felt. He sensed my unease.

"Tell me what you're thinking." he asked.

"If you really want the truth...i'm gutted!" I admitted reluctantly. "I'm gutted that you don't want me. You must know how I feel about you. There's something between us, you must be able to feel it too. I wish you'd been honest with me from the outset, rather than let me believe that we could be together."

I was getting quite worked up now and was near to tears. I really didn't want to cry in front of him but was finding it hard to stop myself.

He stood in front of me and stroked my cheek, wiping away a single tear that had escaped.

"I do and I feel the same." He whispered.

"But you just said you couldn't have a relationship." I challenged.

"I said I hadn't had them, not that I couldn't." He smiled. "You're special though, and I think i'm going to have to just make an exception with you. It's certainly taken me by surprise I must say. I wasn't expecting to feel like this about someone. I have completely fallen in love with you. You must have bewitched me. This feels completely new to me and i'm not sure how to handle it. "

I was in heaven. Richard loved me, and inside I was screaming with glee and happiness. He rested his forehead against mine, and our lips met in a slow lingering kiss.