Evelyn Ford pushed open the door of the wooden cabin, and the sea breeze rushed to meet her. She spread her arms, stretched lazily, and padded over to the coconut tree in her slippers.

Last night, Evelyn had set a fishing net here. After a full night, the net should be full.

Untying the hemp rope fastened to the coconut tree, Evelyn hauled the net in from the sea. When she saw it was filled with about fifty or sixty pounds of small fish and shrimp, the smile vanished from her face.

"That’s it?"

Ronan Kendrick had gone to plant trees. Evelyn dragged the net aside, took out an apron and a knife, and decided to process the catch right there on the shore.

’They could be made into dried fish, spicy fish fillets, and chili fish tails.’ At that thought, the small fish and shrimp suddenly seemed much more appealing.

Even though they were just small fish and shrimp, Evelyn cleaned them meticulously. She strung them up with fine thread to dry in the sun. The larger fish, she placed in a bucket, planning to make fish balls.

Evelyn also gave Ronan a pound of maple seeds, telling him to plant them evenly around the island’s perimeter. The two of them had a clear division of labor. A week later, the island had transformed. They had cleared out a vegetable patch and a flower garden in the yard, and the pile of fish drying next to the coconut tree grew larger by the day.

Evelyn hadn’t expected that she and Ronan would so easily slip into this pastoral life.

On the island, Evelyn could freely take out her small speaker to play music and use all sorts of tech devices without any concern.

In her spare time, Evelyn took out some fabric, planning to make a few sets of clothes for Ronan. ’Oh, right, his shoes are worn out. I have to make him a few pairs of shoes first.’

Evelyn took the soles off other shoes and pieced together a larger pair. She still had a lot of cowhide left, more than enough to make dozens of pairs of shoes.

Thankfully, the sea had been calm. Since arriving on the island, Evelyn had discovered the drastic temperature difference between day and night. During the day, it could reach 86 degrees Fahrenheit, but in the morning and evening, it dropped to the low forties.

In the backyard, Ronan built a coop. Evelyn planned to raise some chickens—ten would be enough for now, no need for too many.

Although they had no shortage of food in her storage space, just sitting around and waiting to die wasn’t Evelyn’s style.

The killer whales and great white sharks that had chased them across the sea were still watching menacingly, but they couldn’t come ashore. All they could do was roar in the water to vent their fury.

One day, as Evelyn was hauling in the fishing net under the coconut tree, she saw a very young pink dolphin.

Evelyn quickly retreated, dragging the net with her. The dolphin occasionally leaped out of the water, seemingly very interested in her.

But Evelyn wasn’t interested in it. To her, such a large marine animal was nothing but a threat.

Dolphins are highly intelligent. They are not as gentle and good-natured as legends make them out to be. Among marine life, dolphins are also one of the more ferocious species.

Returning to the yard, Evelyn put the small fish and shrimp into a large vat for the time being, then ran to the backyard to find Ronan.

Ronan was digging a pond. After being filtered, the water from it could be used for washing clothes and watering vegetables. The water in her storage space had to be conserved and not wasted.

"Ronan, there’s a dolphin in the sea."

Ronan thought she had been hurt by the dolphin. He dropped his hoe and rushed over to her. "Did you go in the water?"

"No, I’m fine. I was pulling in the fishing net and saw a small dolphin jumping around in the sea, so I ran back."

Ronan breathed a sigh of relief. "Dolphins are not gentle animals."

Ronan recalled some information he’d read. Male dolphins would herd female dolphins, forcing them to mate, and they could even have improper intentions toward humans.

"I’ll haul in the net from now on. You stay here at the cabin."

Evelyn nodded. "Okay. I’ll help you with the pond."

The pond was already five or six meters wide, which Evelyn felt was big enough. She went back to the cabin. Ronan went to the coconut tree to take a look and, sure enough, the dolphin was still there.

They had barbecue for dinner. When it came to their love for barbecue, the two were evenly matched.

"We need to make some more cooked food to put in the storage space. And let’s steam some more buns. This time, I want to prepare a lot of crayfish. Ronan, we can raise some crayfish next to the pond in the backyard."

Ronan had no objections. "We can."

"Ten chicks will be enough. Let’s not raise ducklings, they’re too noisy."

"Whatever you say."

Evelyn chattered on and on about her plans, and Ronan watched her with a smile, occasionally pouring her tea or water.

When it came to animal husbandry, Evelyn was very experienced. The vegetable garden wasn’t just filled with all kinds of vegetables, but also watermelons, cantaloupes...

She planned to plant some more flowers. She had already taken the cactus and camellia plants out of her storage space and placed them outside the cabin. Nourished by the sunlight, the camellias had regained their vitality.

"Our home... what do you think? Hasn’t it changed so much?"

The two words "our home" echoed in Ronan’s mind. When he looked at Evelyn, his gaze was so soft it could have been made of water.

He loved hearing her say it: *our home*.

"Yes, I love it."

"I love it, too. I really hope nothing changes. This little island is pretty nice."

Life on the island passed quickly. Before they knew it, half a month had gone by.

Evelyn even installed colored lights in the bedroom. She never used to like such flashy things, but now—maybe because she was getting older—she found that bright reds and greens were actually quite nice.

Just like right now, Evelyn was wearing a red sweater, a green skirt, and a floral apron, diligently gutting fish with a knife.

’Fish are delicious, but they’re such a pain to clean.’

Evelyn had tied a silk scarf around her head to keep stray hairs from blocking her view, completely disregarding her appearance.

But far from looking dowdy, the style had its own unique charm.

It was just her and Ronan on the island; he was the only one who would see her like this anyway.

She finished cleaning the last fish and handed it to Ronan, who strung it up with the others to dry on a stump. Their task for the day was complete.

"Ronan, have you noticed that the nights on the island are longer than the days? I timed it yesterday. The night was sixteen hours long, and the day was only eight."

This was not normal.

"You’re right. It seems the nights suddenly got longer after we arrived on the island."

"I have a feeling fate is cooking up something nasty again."

But that didn’t stop Evelyn from her work. Even though the fish and shrimp were dealt with, the vegetables in the garden still needed watering, the drying laundry had to be brought in, and the shoes she was making for Ronan only needed a few final stitches. She had to get them done quickly.

At seven o’clock, the sky was already completely dark. Evelyn brought the clothes back into the bedroom, only to find Mina lying in the little nest she had made for him, accompanied by a small, dark-brown squirrel.

For a moment, Evelyn had the distinct feeling of catching her son in the throes of a puppy-love romance.

The little squirrel Mina had brought home was very timid; it scurried away the moment it saw Evelyn. Mina chased after it without a second glance back.

Evelyn couldn’t believe it. She rubbed her eyes as she watched him go. The next day, however, she found Lola in the backyard with a fiery red bird.

"Ronan, we have a problem."