Chapter 14
I kicked off my flip-flops, unzipped my denim cut-offs and waded straight into the ocean. The water was smooth, hardly a ripple. The sun, still not quite risen, had painted stripes of pink, orange and blue in the sky.
The pictures in the brochure I’d been shown at uni had not done this place justice at all.
Our accommodation was right on the beach.
I had never been anywhere so beautiful, seen skies as blue, or waters so clear.
I was twenty-two years old, high on sunshine, giddy with the freedom that lay ahead.
All the part-time jobs I’d had over the last few years to pay for this had been worth it.
For a whole month, I’d be based here, in a coastal village in southern Bali, fulfilling a long list of dreams, volunteering on a turtle conservation project.
I dived, taking long strokes along the ocean bed. Then with my lungs screaming for air, I powered my way back up to the surface, sweeping my hair back from my face.
I turned onto my back and floated like a starfish, relishing the sensation of warm water on my skin.
The last time I’d been in the sea had been swimming off the rocks in Wales with Kat, my dad sitting morosely on a towel fully dressed, an umbrella over his head while we swam in the rain.
It had been our last family holiday. Mum had refused to leave the caravan, sulking because she’d wanted a week in Greece.
I’d lasted approximately ten minutes before hypothermia had begun to set in.
Mum still hadn’t been to Greece. Dad had kept the caravan when they split but never invited Kat and me to stay in it with him again.
Anyway, I had a whole month away from home and I wasn’t going to waste a single second dwelling on my parents.
Instead I closed my eyes and let the sun warm my face.
‘Paradise,’ I said aloud.
It was my first day and I’d woken early.
The other three girls in my dormitory were still sleeping, but I had been too excited to wait for them.
By the time I’d arrived last night, tired and sticky from my long journey, the daylight had all but faded.
And once we’d been shown our rooms, and I’d been allocated a bunk, the view had been all navy sea and sky and a million pinpricks of starlight.
Very lovely, but hard to get my bearings.
‘Cool, huh?’
Startled, I spun around, planting my feet on the ocean bed to see who’d spoken.
There was a boy wading towards me, brown eyes twinkling and a friendly smile revealing white teeth. His body was lean and toned, the waistband of his boxer shorts visible above the top of his shorts. He was beautiful.
‘Very cool,’ I squeaked. I mean, literally squeaked.
He dipped below the water and bounced back up again, shaking droplets of water from his hair. ‘D’you arrive last night?’
I nodded. ‘And I’m in love already.’
‘Is that right?’ He flexed an eyebrow and grinned.
‘With Bali? Yes, of course.’ If he was trying to embarrass me, he’d got the wrong girl – I’d happily match him for boldness. I ducked down into the water, kicking my legs to move away from him. ‘I’ve never been this far from home.’
He swam after me. ‘Australian?’
‘With this complexion?’ I indicated my pale skin. ‘British.’
He pressed his hand to his forehead. ‘I get that wrong all the damn time. I’m Jackson from the US.’
His accent was gorgeous.
‘Maggie. Pleased to meet you. And seeing as you asked nicely,’ I teased, ‘you may join me for a swim.’
His eyes danced. ‘Why, thank you, but I’ve been sent to tell you that you’re not allowed in the water by yourself. It might seem like paradise, but the current is very strong; even the locals can get into trouble. You never swim alone, and you always make sure someone knows where you are.’
‘Oh. Right,’ I replied, slightly crushed and failing to hide it, as the current dragged me away from him. ‘Thanks.’
‘Hey, no problem.’ He held out a hand, which I grasped, and he tugged me towards him. ‘Anyway, it’s breakfast time. Are you hungry?’
‘Absolutely starving,’ I said with relief. ‘I could eat a horse.’
He looked down at me and grinned. ‘Anyone ever tell you you’re cute?’
‘All the damn time, Jackson,’ I said, cheekily, mimicking his voice. ‘All the damn time.’
That evening it was our induction to the turtle conservation project, and I waited with six other new volunteers beside the turtle hatchery on the beach.
Underfoot, the sand was still warm, and I watched in awe as a giant sun slid below the horizon, sending flames of crimson and gold out into the sky.
Light shimmered on the water and children splashed and played in the shallows nearby.
I’d spent the day swimming, exploring the village and getting to know the other volunteers. My hair was wavy and wild from the salt water, my skin tender from the unaccustomed sun. I already felt sunkissed and blissfully happy.
The man in charge of our turtle induction was called Utt. He was short and squat with bulging biceps and scars on his forearms. He gestured to us to gather closer.
‘Listen up! The rules of turtle hatchery. No talking. No smoking. No torches,’ he barked.
‘No problem, we’ll be utterly silent,’ someone at the back sniggered.
Utt scowled as we all laughed. ‘Hahaha. New joke. Very funny. Everyone inside.’
‘He hates us,’ said a voice behind me, breath soft in my ear.
Jackson. Where had he appeared from? I felt something tighten inside me, and realised I’d been hoping to bump into him again.
‘ Utter hatred,’ I replied with a grin.
I followed the others up the steps and into a low-ceilinged, ramshackle hut built from mismatched planks of wood.
The space was almost entirely taken up with a raised wooden bed. It looked like a children’s homemade sandpit on stilts.
There were rows of little flags poking out of the sand with a date and a number on each one.
‘We collect turtle eggs from beach at night and bring in here to bury them again,’ Utt said, delivering his lines flatly.
‘We mark where we bury with a label. You can see when they were collected and how many eggs in each clutch. When they hatch we release them back into water at night. Until then we do not dig up, we do not disturb. Any questions?’
Hands shot up.
‘Yes?’ Utt pointed at a girl I’d met earlier, Hannah from Canada.
‘Why do you collect up the eggs instead of leaving them where they’re laid?’ she asked.
‘To protect them, of course,’ he replied, looking at her as if she was an idiot. ‘From predators, from humans, from tourists who won’t leave them alone.’
‘Sorry, sorry, sorry, I’m late. Had to call home, my grandma is ill.’ One of the tallest boys I’d ever seen came thumping up the stairs, out of breath.
‘Careful, Hugo!’ someone yelled.
‘Arghh!’ The latecomer hit his head on the ceiling at the top of the steps, lost his balance and lurched forward. He crashed into the turtle bed, snapping the wooden edge and causing sand and a clutch of eggs to pour onto the floor.
There was a beat of horrified silence.
‘Oh my God,’ I whispered under my breath. ‘This is turtle extermination not conservation.’
‘Utter nightmare,’ Jackson muttered.
‘Out!’ Utt screamed. ‘Get out, all of you.’
He pushed his way around to the broken side of the bed, saying something in his own language which I guessed was not polite.
‘Sorry, everyone,’ said the tall boy, rubbing his head. ‘Did I miss anything?’
‘No,’ said Jackson, offering his hand to help him up. ‘Unfortunately not.’
Everyone trooped out quietly, some biting their lips to keep in their laughter, but I hung back.
‘Utt, can I stay and help you mend the turtle bed?’ I asked.
‘No, no.’ He waved me away but then a corner of his mouth lifted. ‘But thank you, miss.’
‘Call me Maggie.’
Unwilling to leave until I’d convinced him that we weren’t all bad, I watched him for a moment rescuing the eggs that had dropped to the floor.
‘Rich kids. Come to Bali for a holiday. Not interested in preserving our wildlife, only want to party,’ he muttered.
‘I’m sorry. I’m not a rich kid.’ I’d saved up for this trip, waitressed and worked the night shift at a supermarket twice a week all through this year at uni while my friends went out clubbing.
He laughed, shaking his head. ‘You fly on aeroplane, you a rich kid.’
‘I’m sorry,’ I said again, although this time I wasn’t sure what I was sorry for.
I didn’t feel rich, but it was all relative, I guessed.
All Utt saw was a young adult who had the time and means to play at looking after turtles.
He wasn’t to know how much effort it had taken for me to get here. I said goodbye and left him to it.
Outside on the beach the other volunteers were making plans to go to a bar. In the last few minutes, the sun had vanished, and the evening had turned to night.
‘Are you coming?’ Hannah asked me.
I nodded. A beer sounded great. I hadn’t showered or done my hair and I was still in the bikini and shorts I’d worn all day. But it didn’t matter here. Nobody cared.
‘See you around,’ said Jackson, touching my arm.
‘Are you not joining us?’ I said, disappointed.
He shook his head. ‘Got stuff to do.’
In the next second, huge raindrops started to fall from the sky. Slow at first and then torrential. Everyone started to yell and scream.
‘My hair!’ yelled Hannah, racing for cover.
‘Run!’
‘See you at the bar.’
‘First one there grab a table.’
But Jackson and I didn’t move. The rain was warm and soothing to my salty skin. I could feel raindrops on my eyelashes, and I blinked them away.
‘How is that even possible?’ I held my hands out. ‘The sky was perfect a few minutes ago.’
‘It’s still perfect,’ said Jackson, tilting his face upwards.
‘For the fish maybe,’ I scoffed.
‘For me.’ He looked me in the eye. ‘Because now I’ve got you to myself.’
The compliment took me unawares and I felt a pulse of excitement. ‘Looks that way. What about your stuff?’
‘So, do you like puppies?’
I laughed. ‘What sort of question is that?’