"I just took a look around. There are some wild vegetables and mushrooms on the island."

Evelyn Ford’s eyes lit up. "That’s wonderful! I can take the seeds out of my space and plant them. We should especially plant some trees by the shore, or the waves might hit the cabin when the tide comes in."

"Is there any fresh water on the island?"

Ronan Kendrick nodded. "There’s a pond in the back, but it’s likely just seawater that’s seeped through. It’ll need to be filtered."

Evelyn Ford had another idea. "We could also extract some sea salt."

Once Evelyn Ford’s hair was dry, Ronan Kendrick took his clothes and went into the bathroom to wash up. They had a mountain of laundry from their time on the move. Evelyn strung a clothesline in front of the cabin and took out her washing machine and generator. She planned to wash all the dirty clothes they’d accumulated. Since the seawater hadn’t been filtered yet, she had to use water from her space for now.

Suddenly, the quiet, deserted island was home not only to a wooden cabin, but also to the hum of a generator and a washing machine. Evelyn took out a sickle and started cutting the weeds in the yard. She was the type who could never sit still, especially when she was excited. She had to keep working to calm herself down.

Back on solid ground after so long, Evelyn Ford felt light on her feet. She had been worried that floating on the water for so long would make her forget how to walk. Thankfully, fate had been kind.

Evelyn Ford looked at the coconut tree, thinking it was a shame. If there were another one next to it, she could make a swing.

Remembering what Ronan Kendrick had said about wild vegetables and mushrooms, Evelyn Ford grabbed a bamboo basket and cheerfully headed for the woods behind the cabin.

Seeing the clusters of termite mushrooms in the woods, Evelyn couldn’t wipe the grin off her face. To avoid breaking the roots, she took out a hoe and dug deep, carefully excavating the mushrooms whole.

’So many recipes were already popping into her head: hot pot, deep-fried, stir-fried...’

When Ronan Kendrick found her, Evelyn Ford was crouched on the ground, carefully digging up termite mushrooms.

"Are we going to dig all of these up?"

Evelyn Ford looked up at him, her eyes filled with excitement. "Ronan, we’ve struck it rich!"

Ronan Kendrick’s lips curved into a smile. He squatted down and began picking up the mushrooms on the ground, placing them in the basket.

"This is all it takes to make you happy?"

Ronan Kendrick had changed into the red sweater Evelyn had crocheted for him. His hair was getting a bit long, just enough to fall into his eyes. Despite their long journey, his skin hadn’t tanned or coarsened in the slightest. He was still shockingly fair, without a single blemish on his face. For someone who never bothered with skincare, his complexion was enviably perfect.

’Few men could look so good in red.’ Evelyn found she couldn’t tear her eyes away.

"Mhm. Just finding an island and getting back on land was enough to make me happy. And now there are all these mushrooms and wild vegetables, too."

Evelyn Ford suddenly leaned closer to him. "We can also go out fishing. If only this island were in that stretch of sea we passed earlier."

Ronan Kendrick stared into her eyes, then his gaze drifted downward, finally settling on her endlessly moving red lips.

"Ronan, I also want to plant some bamboo here. What do you think? Oh, and we can set up a vegetable garden! There’s plenty of sun on the island, so we can take out the solar panels and save a lot of gasoline."

Ronan Kendrick remained completely still. Evelyn had to call his name twice before he blinked.

"Hm?"

"What’s wrong with you?"

Ronan Kendrick gave a cryptic smile. "It’s getting dark."

"Yeah. Let’s just dig up this last cluster and head back to the cabin. Are you hungry?"

Ronan Kendrick’s throat bobbed. "Starving."

The two of them returned to the cabin with the mushrooms and wild vegetables. As dusk fell, the air grew chilly, the temperature plummeting to ten degrees Celsius.

Evelyn Ford hung a small bell on a post in front of the cabin. She shook it gently twice, and Mina and Lola came running back.

Opening the cabin door, Evelyn took out a battery pack and a lamp, and the cabin was instantly flooded with light.

"I still need to hang the clothes from the washing machine. I’ll go take care of it." 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

"I’ll get it. You rest for a bit." Ronan Kendrick rolled up his sleeves and walked out of the cabin.

"Where did you two little rascals run off to?"

Evelyn put down the bamboo basket and gave them some food and water. Mina leaped into her arms, chattering "SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK" for ages. Evelyn couldn’t understand any of it, so she just patted its tail before setting it down.

Tonight, they would have the termite mushrooms and wild vegetables in a hot pot. Evelyn deftly took out an induction cooker and a dual-sided hot pot. After connecting them to the battery pack, she poured in the broth and turned to wash the mushrooms in the kitchen.

When Ronan Kendrick came back inside, Evelyn peeked her head out. "Do you want fish or something else?"

"Fish."

Evelyn made an ’OK’ sign with her hand. "You got it! Please have a seat, sir. Your meal will be served shortly."

A smile touched Ronan Kendrick’s lips. After sitting down, his eyes remained fixed on the kitchen.

The wooden bed he had built still stood next to the fireplace, though it was no longer needed. Ronan’s ears turned slightly red. He nonchalantly poured himself a glass of water, but couldn’t stop his eyes from darting toward the bedroom.

"Alright, the fish is all sliced! We’ll cook the meat in the spicy broth and the termite mushrooms and vegetables in the mild broth."

Evelyn took out two bottled cocktails. They were only 3.5% alcohol, but given her low tolerance and her behavior when drunk, it was probably for the best.

"A toast to surviving against all odds and finding this island! Cheers!"

Ronan Kendrick raised his glass and clinked it against hers.

Evelyn downed her drink in one go and poured another. "This one’s for the others. I hope they found the kayaks and life preservers and that they find an island even sooner than we did. And I hope that one day, we can all meet again."

Her eyes grew misty as she spoke.

"We will," Ronan said, clinking his glass with hers again. "By the time we see them again, those kids will be all grown up." Evelyn smiled through her tears.

"We’ll definitely see them again."

The night sea breeze carried a salty tang. To Evelyn’s surprise, Ronan had built a swing set in the yard.

"When did you build this?"

"You kept looking at that coconut tree today. I figured out what you were thinking."

’Is this what they call being perfectly in sync?’

The two of them sat on the swing, gazing out at the endless ocean. Evelyn started to feel sleepy and rested her head on Ronan’s shoulder.

"Ronan."

"Mhm."

"Thank you for always being here."

---

The next day, Evelyn woke up and opened her eyes to the sight of Ronan’s perfect jawline. Only then did she realize she was in his arms.

"Awake?"

"It’s morning." Evelyn started to get up to check on things outside, but Ronan held her tightly.

"It’s still early."

Evelyn looked at him, puzzled. "You never sleep in. What’s with you today?"

Ronan looked up at Evelyn, his ears slowly turning red. "What do you think?"

Evelyn...

"Ahem. Well, you can sleep in a little longer. I’m going to check today’s temperature and feed Mina and Lola."

"I can’t sleep by myself."

Ronan didn’t let go, leaving Evelyn both exasperated and amused.

"You’re being a little shameless today."

"Am I?" Ronan refused to let go of her hand, his expression clearly saying, ’So what if I am? What are you going to do about it?’

Evelyn reached out and ruffled his hair. "You really are... just like a puppy."

Ronan: ???