Stars in their Eyes by Adam Rutter

Megan, Rachel and Olivia were rowing in a kayak off the Pembrokeshire Coast, near Tenby. The sea was calm. The sky clear. The view of the coastal town was filled with pastel colours and ruins of a medieval castle on a hill, high above the harbour. A boat, large and wide enough to hold an average of fifteen passengers, cut in front.

‘Watch out,’ screamed Megan.

The girls pulled the oars on one side to steer the kayak to avoid a near head on collision. Their kayak was caught in its wake, rocking from side to side like a pendulum clock. Their hands gripped on the edge of the kayak to stop themselves from capsizing. The large boat ferried tourists to Caldey: an offshore island three miles from mainland Britain.

‘Is it that the island with a monastery on it,’ asked Olivia.

‘A monastery out in the middle of nowhere,’ declared Rachel.

‘At least the monks are close to God there.’

‘There’s one time in my life that I’ve ever been closer to God, and that is when we nearly crashed into that boat,’ said Megan.

‘The closest we will be to God is when we get back to shore,’ said Rachel.

The sun was sloping down the sky  barely touching the top of the castle ruins. Rising above the sea, an orangey red moon was refracted by atmospheric aberrations, making it appear bigger than its normal size.

‘Hey let’s go there,’ said Olivia.

‘You what,’ asked Megan.

‘Let’s kayak there Megan,’ said Rachel.

‘It’ll be getting dark soon,’ said Megan.

‘We can stay on the island for the night,’ said Rachel.

‘Oh yeah. And, where are we going to sleep tonight?’

‘We sleep under the stars,’ said Olivia.

‘The only place that I am going to sleep under, and that is the roof of a hotel,’ said Megan.

‘Oh c’mon Meg. Let’s sleep outdoors for the night. This is our weekend retreat. There’s not a cloud in the sky,’ said Rachel.

‘Besides, we will be closer to nature,’ said Olivia.

‘Right now, I’d rather be closer to the town,’ said Megan.

‘But we are closer to the town,’ said Rachel.

‘We’ve rowed a mile out to sea. We have got to keep rowing for another two miles before we get to the island,’ said Megan.

‘This is what we came here for,’ said Olivia.

‘What? To row another two miles out to sea?’

‘Yeah.’

‘You’re crazy than I thought Olivia.’

‘Why can’t we row out for another two miles? Anyway, this is a new experience. An adventure,’ said Rachel.

‘We’re breathing in the sea air,’ said Olivia.

‘Not only am I breathing in sea air, I can taste it as well,’ said Megan.

‘You what,’ said Rachel.

‘It tastes very salty.’

Rachel an Olivia smiled at each other. They almost burst into laughter while looking the other way.

‘Sea air is healthy,’ said Olivia.

‘Even though it smells and tastes salty,’ asked Megan.

‘Before you came to Wales, you were breathing in air pollution in the city.’

‘Salt air is disgusting.’

‘So is air pollution. In fact, it’s horrible.’

‘The smell of salt air is totally alien to me.’

‘How can that be? You’ve been by the Thames estuary.’

‘I’ve been by the Thames many times.’

‘So how can salt air be alien to you?’

‘It’s been overwhelmed by the air pollution, I guess.’

‘The salt air is too overpowering for you, isn’t it,’ said Rachel.

‘I can feel it tickling my nostrils,’ said Megan.

The sun fell behind the castle, dazzling through the battlements. The sky faded to a darker blue while moonlight was spilling into the sea, spreading its red hue by the waves like a watercolour painting. The girls watched attentively at the sun shining its last glimmer of light sliding behind the ancient fortress. In the west, the first star appeared. Known throughout history as the Evening Star, it was the brightest.

‘So are we going to Caldey or not,’ asked Rachel.

‘How can we? I mean we don’t know whether it has a beach  do we,’ said Megan.

‘Oh yes it does,’ said Olivia.

‘How do you know?’

‘Because I can see it.’

‘Can you?’

‘Yeah.’

‘Where?’

‘Over there,’ said Olivia, pointing at a line of sand on the island’s shore. Megan looked at the beach reluctantly, daunted with the idea of rowing the kayak all the way there.

‘There,’ she asked.

‘Of course,’ said Olivia.

‘Are you saying we’re actually going to spend the night on there,’ asked Megan, looking at Rachel and Olivia, stunned. They both looked at Megan without battering an eyelid; their mouths half open.

‘You’re not serious,’ she said.

Still looking at her with a glum expression, sour disappointment was written all over them.

‘You mean us going there at this time of day,’ she asked.

‘What have we got to lose Meg,’ asked Rachel.

‘We’re losing daylight,’ said Megan.

‘Let’s go there before it gets too dark,’ said Olivia.

‘Let’s go girls,’ said Megan.

They continued rowing for a mile and a half after the kayak was left adrift, floating towards the island. While doing many strokes, the island grew wider, and the beach, longer.

‘Look,’ cried Olivia, pointing at two dorsal fins rising and falling above the water.

‘What,’ said Megan.

‘Did you see that,’ asked Olivia.

‘See what,’ asked Rachel.

‘Those bottle-nosed dolphins.’

‘Where?’

‘There!’

‘Oh how sweet.’

They watched the bottle-nosed dolphins swimming, embarking on a long journey out into the open ocean. The monastery came into view: a white edifice on a hilltop. The monastery slid behind the trees. The sound of the waves was heard lapping onto the shore. The sand was visible through the water, showing furrows created by the waves. Once they had landed on the beach, they climbed out of the kayak, and pulled it onto shore. Tired and exhausted, Rachel and Olivia fell onto the sand. Megan stayed stood, gazing at the lights in Tenby, longing to be in civilization. Her black hair was tied in a bun. Her eyes, as dark as night, never strayed from the view of the town. The blue sky faded into night. Lying on the soft sand, Olivia’s emerald-green eyes, fixed on the stars, she was lost among the thousands dotted across the sky. Her hair was as golden as the sand. She traced the Milky Way: a band of stars stretching from one corner of the heavens to the other. Rachel, lying flat out, watched the moon climb the sky. Its orange red colour was a glint of light in her russet brown eyes. Her chocolate brown hair, tied in a ponytail, hung out from the side of her head.

‘Come to think of it, we’re looking out to the universe from somewhere as insignificant as a tiny island on this blue, fragile planet,’ said Olivia.

Megan looked up at the stars.

‘I have haven’t seen a sky like this,’ she said.

‘Haven’t you,’ said Rachel.

‘Not since I was a child.’

‘Where was that,’ asked Olivia.

‘Outside my Grandparents house, in Berkshire.’

‘The last time I saw a sky like this is when I was on the Great Plains,’ said Rachel.

Is that when you were staying in Kansas,’ asked Megan.

‘No. Iowa.’

‘I don’t know about you girls, but I’m all in,’ said Megan.

‘Goodnight Meg,’ said Olivia.

‘Goodnight Olivia.’

‘Goodnight Rachel.’

‘See you in the morning girls,’ said Megan.