I fail to notice that I have fallen bottom first on a rock with my legs stretching out; the shock is immense. I sit in a daze while Jessica Galton and Fizz look at me.

After a minute of silence, Jessica Galton smiles at me and says, “I’m sorry for the unexpected surprise; this is a shock for you, I’m sure.”

I remain in a stupor while my brain struggles to make sense of this. I feel extreme stress crawling back into me for the first time since my day at the spa.

This is where Jessica Galton, the journalist who reported my case and helped me My inspiration and hero, now lives like a laid-back castaway on a private island. She seems so happy and calm… wasn’t she content as a journalist? 

Jessica said she loves her job; then suddenly leaves everything she’s ever known behind. She thinks she can pack up and run away in a heartbeat; doesn’t she know people want to look for her, including me? What does she want me for? How did she find me again, and why? Why?

My thoughts disappear after I feel my left shoulder being rocked by Jessica’s gentle hand. I look up and see her face under the sun’s beams. Tears well up in my eyes. I don’t know whether to hug Miss Galton or smack her in the face. Either decision would not do anything for me.

Miss Galton stands up and says, “You look thirsty, Tamara, come, and follow Fizzy and me to my house on the top of the hill so we can have iced tea and pasteles. We can catch up afterward; I have so much to tell you.”

She extends her hand and helps me up from the rock. Still, in a slight daze, I’m led up the path towards her house, with Fizz the flamingo trailing behind us.