DAY TWENTY NINE
(Of Magic and Alligators)

GRETA

It was cold. Not only was it cold, but the covers were gone as well. Shivering a little, and rolling over, Greta discovered Youssef had stolen all the blankets. Yanking some away from him, and covering herself as best as she could Greta snuggled against his back. She felt tired, and a bit achy. If she caught his cold, she was going to drown him, but she was happy he wasn't so hot anymore.

Laying there for awhile, she decided she had better get up and see what was going on. As quick as she could, she threw on some clothes and ran for the bathroom. Insulation was what this place needed. After a quick shower, she saw Youssef at the table. On a quick whim, she gave him a kiss and went skipping out the door. Nothing in the mail thank goodness, the last bill had been over $600. Not bad considering what they had done, but still. Bills like that every week would drain their savings badly.

Going down to the water, Greta checked the temperature. Nope, not on your life. Guess it was gardening and alchemy today. Up on the roof, Greta saw some of her plants almost ready to bloom, they sure did look strange. Wait, what was that? Weeds? Greta spent most of her morning pulling weeds.

After a quick lunch of soup, she went downstairs to practice her alchemy. She could see Youssef outside fishing. Well, if he enjoyed it why not? After a few hours Greta's head was hurting and she was feeling a bit sick. Deciding to stop for the night she was just outside their bedroom when Youssef came up behind her and hugged her. Whispering in her ear sweetly, he turned her around and kissed her. Now this was the man she had married in Egypt. Kissing him back, she wrapped her arms around his neck.

It was a very good night.

YOUSSEF

Youssef awoke from what felt like a really long nightmare. He felt sluggish but fine. Wow, that had been a doozy of a cold! He went to roll over when something at his back shifted. Greta was sleeping still, he could hear her breathing. Smiling, he remembered all the times she had come to sit with him yesterday. What a considerable woman, so unlike the women in Egypt.

He felt Greta get up a short while later. He waited a few minutes enjoying the relative coolness on his back. She was like a heater! Dragging himself out of bed, he went to open the door. Wait door? Looking around him, he saw all the changes. This was incredible! Greta had told him this would happen, but he had had no idea. Smiling like an idiot, he suddenly froze. Wait, he had just woken up to this, that means they came in the night. That really was creepy, now he knew why Greta always had this haunted look on her face when they talked about the company.

Going downstairs (there was an elevator! How cool was that!?) he had breakfast. Just as he was finishing, Greta came out of the bathroom. He put down his spoon and was about to ask her about the plan for the day when she leaned over him, and gave him a kiss. Shocked into stillness, he watched her skip out the door.

Chuckling, he cleaned his bowl and went outside. It was frigid! No snorkeling today. He decided to take a small walk around the island. Five minutes later he was back where he started. It had been a VERY SMALL walk. But, he had been mildly surprised. There were flowers on the island. Just two small daisies, but still. Wondering if Greta liked those, he had been about to go in when he noticed the fish jumping. Mm, fish. He had done a lot of that in Egypt. Mind you, the alligators had to be watched for. Sometimes they ate half your catch, sometimes they ate half of you.

He remembered his first fishing trip with a friend and his father. They had gone down to a nearby oasis, and were learning to fish, but they had grown bored. So they played by the waterline. They could hear Farids father talking, telling them all about different things to with fish, when they heard him shout. Frightened they had looked towards him, to see him running in their direction and waving his hands like a mad man. Farids had screamed and clutched at him. Turning his head, he saw the alligator bearing down on them. He was too scared to move. Just as the alligator would have snapped him up its jaws, he felt himself being pushed away. Farid's father had shoved him out of the way. The alligator had a hold of his arm, and was dragging him into the water. Too stunned to do anything but watch in horror with Farid screaming in terror beside him, he watched as Farid's father took the machete he carried in his belt out, and cut off his own arm. The alligator went under the water with a piece of his prize. Farid's father had staggered over to them, and made sure they were alright. After calming them down, he took them back to the village. He survived, but after that, Farid had to take over working to support their family. They didn't play like they used to. Farid's father, still took them fishing from time to time, and taught them what they needed to know. He had been a kind man. He always taught the boys in the village to fish. One time, he took two boys out, and only one had returned. Screaming and hysterical, they found out that there had been two alligators. One had snapped the one boy off the shore, Farid's father had run to help, and the other alligator had gotten him. It had been a sad day.

Smiling at the bittersweet memories, Youssef ran inside and got some fishing gear. He spent most of his day on the shore, catching fish. Finally, shivering a bit, he looked up. Night had descended. He went inside and put away part of his catch, selling the rest as Greta had taught him to do. Then he went in search of his wife.

He found her outside their room. She looked tired, but happy. Happy, and feeling a bit frisky, he wrapped his arms around her from behind and whispered wickedly in her ear. She turned after a few moments, and smiling, kissed him again. Yes, this he could get used to. Picking her up and carrying her into their room, he had an adventure of his own that night.