The plane lands in the sea. No it doesn’t. It’s merely world’s shortest landing strip.

I’m at a tropical island somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean, meeting up with a familiar face. The first friend from back home that I’ll see in over eleven months.

A greeting, a cup of coffee and a ten minute walk to the hotel. There’s a swimming pool on the rooftop, air conditioning comforting us everywhere we go and the mattresses are made out of pure heaven. A magnificent foundation in between hours at the beach and other island adventures.

The weather forecast promises a week full of rain showers. An empty promise, since we spend nearly every waking minute parking our behinds on a towel at the beach.

On the blue towel sits a man with a clean body, free of chest hair and ink. On the white towel sits a man with a hairy body, partially decorated with symbolical drawings. One mind amazed by the new world it discovered, one mind reminding itself to appreciate all it obtained.

We speak, read, tan and enjoy the Windows screensaver that is our daily view. There are no endless conversations, there never have been. We both cherish the moment, making sure not to waste any of it. Everything that is not now remains in the distance.

How tremendous a friendship can be once you let go of the ideal image you pictured in your mind. Value all that is there and nullify the other’s flaws with your own. The remainder might just be something beautiful.

We toast with the beer cans that accompany us in the sand and take a sip.

What we exactly get up to remains between the two of us. Anecdotes that will be preserved until we are grey and old, attempting to be wise. Sitting in our rocking chairs, reminiscing. Laughing about the stupid things we got up to, thankful that we did it. A bunch of grown up kids.

Another sip, another decision that makes for a decent story and then the week ends. He heads back to the normal life and I get caught up in yet another adventure I never expected to be a part of.

I ascend once more and smile. Grateful to have a friend.

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