Letters About K

Mum,

I know you were worried about me taking this trip so soon after the divorce was finalised and I know how much you and dad love and care for me. That's why I wanted to write to you, so you don't need to worry.

Over the last few years, I've felt like a burden on you both. You've had to shoulder a lot and I know you do it because you love me, but I just needed to spend some time in my own skin. Things ending with Craig really shook me. He was the man I thought I was going to spend my forever with.

Though he claimed it was as much my fault as his, you and dad always had my back. You were fair to him, but you know how much work I put in making things work with that asshole.

Anyway, enough about that.

I will include some pictures with my next letter. This place is amazing. So serene, and tranquil and you should definitely get dad to take you here for your 50th anniversary. Lots of lovely palm trees. It's exactly what you would imagine an island retreat would look like. Like it was taken from a postcard or some mural.

As I know you too well, I know you're wondering if there are any men here. I can tell you that there is absolutely no one I'm interested in. I've barely spoken to anyone human, apart from the concierge team at the resort.

Give Mr Tickles a kiss and a belly rub from me.

love you both so much

Diane

XOX

Mum,

Just another quick letter. I know I can send you emails (I am impressed that you of all people are lecturing me on the convenience of electronic mail, which by the way, no one has called email for the last 20 years), but I am trying to stay away from my email and digital life - too many bad memories and I haven't cleared or decided even if I am going to clear all the damning emails that led to me finding out the truth about what Josh has been doing for the latter half of our married life. I really want to say I miss him, but really if I saw his face again, I'd want to punch it.

Anyway, I got sidetracked there when really I wanted to tell you something...interesting. I am not even sure how I tell you. I have met...someone. Well, someone is not perhaps the best way to describe K. K is not his name, but that's what I will refer to him by from now when speaking to you or writing to you. The beaches here, are fantastic, my skin has a nice glow and it's only been what...two weeks or so. Mum, I really needed this break. It's been a soul-searching adventure and I think I may have found my soulmate. K and I really got off on the wrong foot. Well, he kinda...stood on my foot while I was blissfully worshipping the sun like the lazy bitch I am. this led to a fight. He was so arrogant. So sure of himself. I accused him of being a bully and a typical guy - it was obviously my fault that I was lying there and not his fault that he walked over my foot. Luckily, there was no real damage. I got a shock more than anything if I am honest.

I swore that if I ever saw K again while I was on the island, I'd scream. The next time I saw him, I did scream! Like Drew Barrymore at the start of Scream. Remember when we watched that and for weeks after it, Dad kept phoning us both up asking if we wanted to "play a game" and if we "liked scary movies". Although we hated it at the time, it's those memories I am clinging to more than anything. Everything that happened with Josh really numbed me to everything. Since being here, being surrounded by all this natural beauty - I realise that while I would rather my marriage had worked, I still have so much to be thankful for. Silly things like Dad pulling those annoying pranks are what I reminisce about when I lie down with the sun shining over me and the sound of the waves crashing in the distance.

I have you, dad, my health and now K.

Before you start worrying, don't. It really isn't what you think. K and I are not a rehash of Josh and me. K and I are a completely different thing and...I never thought I'd say this, but I truly love K not for what I want him to be or what I think he could be, but for what he is. And I am pretty sure he feels the same way. Ever since our first meeting and then the time I screamed when I saw him eating his lunch in one of the many tree-laden parts of the island, we have put aside our differences. He can come off as being incredibly brutish and arrogant - way more than Josh ever was. But, being those beady eyes and that tough skin, there's a really beautiful soul.

I am going to go in a little bit, I am meeting K to watch the sunset.

I think you will both like him. He's sweet and kind to me and protective - things that you have always wanted for me. And he loves hunting - something he and Dad can bond over.

Tell Mr Tickles that if he doesn't behave for you while I am gone, he is not getting a treat! But also give him a kiss and a belly rub from me, please.

Love you both so much

Diane

XOX

Mum,

I am starting to get a little concerned, as I have not heard back from you in so long. The sun is still beaming down so brightly and so warmly. I guess this time I should be a bit more open about who...or what K actually is. For the last time, though, he's not a lover. We've never even discussed that...thing. He's what I would call my best friend. I don't want you to be alarmed, because when I tell you what he is, I know you will freak out. I guess anyone might do the same in your situation. Hell, if someone had told me a few weeks ago that I would befriend a thing like K, I would have told them they were crazy. I pinched myself to make sure I wasn't the crazy one. I laid off the mimosas too, just to make sure he was a real thing.

K is not a clever and cool singular-letter name. I just didn't want to tell you that...well, K is a Komodo Dragon. See! You've probably fainted now, and dad has probably come in and roused you by shaking your shoulders. But calm down, please. He's not...like any normal Komodo Dragon. Not that I have much experience with them. But, he is a lot more human in many ways than Josh ever was. I do sound crazy, don't I?

He is still scaly, with a very darkened green kinda tone to his skin. However, he has not once tried to eat me, yet!

I wish I was just making this up and it was some elaborate prank or tease to get dad back for all those times he would jump out from the crawlspace. Anyway, I might leave you with that bombshell. K is due to come and see me today. He's apparently going to show me a secret waterfall.

He's definitely more sensitive than I'd expect a Komodo Dragon to be.

Tell Mr Tickles that I miss him and wish he was here with me. In fact, I wish you were all here with me. I know I wanted to get away and escape and do something on my own, but I miss you all terribly.

Love you all so much

Diane

XOX

Diane looked back over her writings. She always made a copy of each letter, just as a document. She wanted to make a scrapbook of everything that she did. This was her time to move on with her life. She didn't need Josh anymore. She didn't hate men anymore. She had the best parents in the world.

She looked up at the sun but had a painful ringing in her ear and a sharp bolt from one side of her face to the other and held her head in her hands. Something felt off. For the first time in a long time, since meeting K, she felt a familiar pain, distress she had forgotten about.

"Are you okay Diane?" came a voice...it sounded familiar, but she couldn't think from where. She daren't open her eyes because the pain was slowly easing off. "I...I have a ringing in my ears and a nasty headache starting"

"That's okay Diane, we'll get you some pills. Have you been writing about K again?" the voice was feminine, slightly patronising but there was definitely kindness in her soft tone.

"Erm...I'm writing to my mum...who are you?" Diane asked a little confused. She felt so uncomfortable. Maybe it was the heat. Maybe she had overdone it today, K was always telling her to be careful.

"Sure, you are dear. I don't want to stress you because you look like you're in a lot of pain..." the woman stopped short of what she was saying, as Diane interrupted.

"Wh...What do you mean? I am writing to my mum. I will hopefully go home in a few weeks to visit her" Diane insisted.

"Diane, where do you think you are?" the woman asked with an incredibly soft, almost whispery tone...there was a definite element of concern to the tone.

"I am staying on the Galapagos Islands..." Diane replied, with more than a little annoyance but slight uneasiness.

"the Galapagos? We've discussed this before, Diane...Do you remember?" the woman enquired.

"I...don't know...my head is just...so. Where is K?" Diane had not felt like this in a long time. She was rubbing her temples and rocking back and forth, still keeping her eyes shut. She didn't want to face anything.

"Diane...I am sorry..." the woman placed her warm and comforting hands on Diane's hands and held them, not applying too much pressure.

"K...is not real" it didn't matter how many times the woman had said that in the past. It still hurt. For both of them.

"No... no...you're lying. You just...you're lying" Diane sobbed, feeling even more familiar emotions and internal pains and confusion coming back.

"I am truly sorry Diane. I wish I was lying. You make K sound like such a beautiful creature...but...he's just in here" she softly replied tapping gently on Diane's head.

"That can't be right. It felt so real. You're lying...I... I want K. K will back me up." Diane became more and more frantic as she felt a horrible emptiness inside. A strange realisation that the woman might be right.

"I am sorry. I truly am. I need you to open your eyes. When you open your eyes, it will all make sense. Remember, my name is Francine. I am the nurse assigned to you. If you open your eyes, it will all make sense." Francine hated this part of her job. She hated bursting people's bubbles, but ultimately knew it was not healthy or productive or in any way, shape or form conducive to improving their situation or condition.

"I don't want to. I want to stay on the island. I want K." she sobbed now uncontrollably, like a small child who had just been told Santa was not real or who was told they were not allowed to go on the Helter-Skelter slide for the twentieth time.

"Please, Diane. Listen to me. It's all going to be okay. Trust me" Francine was trying to hold back her own tears. She had become fond of Diane. She had such a beautiful personality underneath all that torture and pain she was experiencing. She had good days and then she had days like today.

"I... can’t. Please don't make me." Diane sucked the mucus back up her nose that was gently trickling down as she continued to wail, keeping her eyes firmly closed. She knew Francine was right. But sometimes something being right doesn't mean it's nice or good.

"I am not going to force you to open your eyes, Diane. But it will help your progress. Facing this part of your life will help. I am here for you." Francine continued to reassure Diane.

As Diane opened her eyes, the beaming light above was almost blinding her and she looked to the wall and it all came back...the island mural on the wall...

"I feel so lost" was all she said as Francine sat beside her and just held her tightly.

"It's coming back, isn't it, Diane?" Francine could tell. They had gone through the same series of events and realisations.

"Yes..." Diane replied downheartedly, dropping her shoulders as all that bubbliness, all that joy seem to drain out of her.

"it's going to be okay, Diane. You...are going to be okay" Francine really genuinely believed that. Diane was not entirely sure she did but felt reassured and annoyed at the same time with Francine's positivity.

They just sat there. For what seemed like an age, before Diane curled up on her bed and Francine watched over her, stroking her hair before leaving the room and closing the door. Diane briefly opened her eyes to see that on the interior side of the door was a K and beside it, a little Komodo dragon and it said Kindness in bold lettering.

*

Thank you for reading my first entry into the Improbable Paradise Challenge.

I hope you enjoyed it and don't hate me too much for poor Diane's lot in life. If you did enjoy it, all feedback and interaction are appreciated. You can even subscribe.

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