evening lights

The evening lights lull the air travellers. The cabin darkens to rest the eyes which tomorrow will marvel at forests of guava, the sun reflected on the sand of invigorating waters, giant waves where their bodies will fall laughing.

For now, everyone is absorbed by their screen. They feed on stories that they will not live. One prepares to buy a house where he will settle, one writes ideas that one day she might share, one plays with virtual bricks that he won’t stack.
Some are returning home, others are visiting for the first time, and a few still have no idea of the humid atmosphere, scorching with early morning heat, that will await them as they exit their flying box. They are still unaware of the port smell of the ocean that will welcome them, the sweet taste of crushed ice with macadamia nuts, the melting sensation of a loco moco at noon, the captivating music of the rooster and the birds in town at dawn. , the peace of mind watching the sun at the beginning, and at the end of its daily cycle, the caress of the sand on the feet while talking with other passers-by.

In their faux leather seats, sitting asleep forgetting that they enjoy the greatest marvels of technology of their century – flying!, they do not yet know the force of the wind on the island ridges, nor the combined fear to the adrenaline of climbing a cliff with bare hands – or sometimes even with ropes of an unknown age, this energy that takes over the whole body at each start of a hike.

The unlucky who have prepared their trip too much will deny themselves the surprise of discovering two turtles waking up from their birthday on the beach, a new love built in the mud, waterfalls and natural views defying the most expensive places on the island, a visit to a tree-house where the real children of Peter Pan live, the observation of their first moonrise over mountains of silver, a second impromptu trip with a friend who has barely met.

They will leave with no scars on their legs, no new friends, no stories to tell – just, maybe, a few pictures to show.

April 28, 2021