DAY TWENTY SIX
(Nowhere to Go, and Still Happy)

GRETA

Greta woke up, face down on the beach. She was home again, it felt good to be here. Getting up, she realized her bag was full still. Looking into it she found all her treasures from her vacation. Her head snapping up, she quickly turned looking for the mummy, but it was nowhere to be found. Thank goodness. Oh no! Youssef! Did he come with her? Where was he? Oh please, oh please, oh please! Rounding the far side of her house, there he was face down in the water. Letting out a breath she didn't realize she was holding, she went and started dragging him a little further up the beach.

After Youssef woke up, he naturally had a lot of questions. She tried answering them as best as she could. Let's face it, she didn't know how things worked any better than he did. Standing and dusting herself off, she offered him a tour of their home. Well, it wouldn't be much of one, there wasn't much to see. Was it her, or did he look a little disappointed?

She took him to the coop and showed him the chickens, of course Charles made an appearance. Man, he was nasty. Youssef seemed to find him a little bit funny. Downstairs, she showed him what she had managed to accumulate so far. He seemed impressed. Then she left him alone for a bit. Best to let him figure out a place here for himself.

Greta started going through her pack, putting things where they were supposed to go, and slotting things for sale. She had made an amazing haul. They would be able to do a lot with this.

Going outside to harvest the eggs one last time, Greta smiled. Things were going to be ok from now on. Back inside, she made herself a quick meal (it was late in the evening after all,) and then read one of the books she had purchased.

A little while later, Youssef came down and found her. They talked quietly for a bit, and then cuddled together on the bed until they fell asleep. Tomorrow was another day.

YOUSSEF

Hot, wet and cold! Those were his first sensations upon waking up. He opened his eyes to the blazing light, and found himself reaching for nothing. No! Not nothing. Greta. He called out her name, and she leaned over into his line of sight. Oh good, she was safe. Smiling he reached up and touched her face.

A short while later he was sitting on the beach, listening to Greta talk about how she ended up on this island. It truly was a wondrous tale. No wonder she had been so skilled in the tombs, it had been like second nature to her. She was an amazing woman, far better than he had taken her for in the beginning. As he sat pondering this, Greta got up and offered him a tour of their home. He supposed he should see it, but it didn't look as though there was much to see.

The chicken coop was fantastic. At least there was fresh eggs, and Charles! What a funny little rooster, and yes Greta was right; he did look a bit feminine for a rooster. There wasn't much to see inside the living space, it was minimalist at best, but he was used to that. Living in the desert you get used to living that way. She had a few nice pieces. Overtime, this would probably feel like a mansion. As he thought about things, Greta wandered away. He was thankful for the privacy, he needed time to think about things, not that it really mattered much in reality.

Now what was to become of him? He thought of many different scenarios of wandering off the island, getting to a city somewhere and then making his way home, but what of Greta? She could come if she wanted, but somehow the thought of her joining him angered him. She hadn't told him about any of this when they met, no she waits until he had no choice, and then she tells him. If he had known about this beforehand he would have...he would have what? Forgotten about her? Not wanted her so badly? Who was he kidding, he probably would have done things exactly the same way. Sighing to himself, he got up and started heading inside to find Greta. They needed to talk.

He found her sitting on the bed. Their bed he guessed. He sat beside her and unloaded his worries, his frustrations, and his feelings of anger and betrayal. She listened quietly at first. She seemed to know instinctively that he needed to do this. Then she offered up some comments and thoughts of her own.

Feeling better, he thought of it from her point of view. How lonely it must have been here for her. He wouldn't be like that, at least they had each other now. Fears slightly assuaged, they slipped into bed and cuddled for a bit. He knew when Greta fell asleep, her breathing evened out, and her body relaxed. It was a while longer before he finally fell asleep.