NaturaLawes

Return to Paradise, Part II: Chapter 8

8

The next morning, Alexis sat on a log in the kitchen watching the breakfast preparations. Karen, Drew, Cyrus and Jazmin were in charge.

“At home, Mom just orders us food pellets and when I think about it, or she reminds me, I swallow them.” Alexis was telling the 19-year-old black-haired beauty named Jazmin. “Here you guys spend a lot of time cooking and eating,” she said. “And growing it in the garden too. Wynn showed me his garden. He didn’t eat pellets either, said they weren’t healthy.” They smiled at the mention of their friend.

“I bet he said that,” Karen laughed. “He always tells it like it is. And you’re sure making me feel my age,” Karen told Alexis. “But I have to say, sometimes the old ways are the best. As you can see, here food does take some time. But so what Lexy!? It’s all worth it. It’s easy, and it’s a gift from our maker,” Karen said.

“I think you’ll like this whole food/eating thing if you just give it a chance. You’ll feel better, look better,” said Cyrus, who at 17, had never experienced pellets. “You’ll wonder how you ever survived swallowing pills.”

“Okay Cyrus,” Alexis agreed, grinning at her new friend. “I’ll have to believe you, but this seems a little weird,” she said, looking at the breadfruit that Drew set in front of her. She supposed she’d adjust. Nobody was popping pellets here.

She tried some clear liquid called water. Not too much taste, but it was refreshing. Lexy sat and watched quietly while Drew blew in the fire, causing the flame to grow. By the time the sun was warming up the earth, the kitchen was aflutter with activity. Lexy felt okay. She wasn’t scared, but was relieved because she realized she had been right in feeling that something was wrong with her world. It was missing something. But here on the island, with these people she hardly knew, she felt safe and alive and full of a joy she had never known.