Heaven on Earth

She took me into her arms in a way that felt like home. Immediately, her warm embrace was unparalleled with almost any comfort I’d ever felt.

I was keen to get acquainted right away, so we sat down beachside for a cocktail. I thought I’d be feeling more timid about our first meeting, but I was completely at ease. Sipping on my non-traditional piña colada, and she on her far more impressive kava, with the sun on my back and the wind in my hair, in that moment there was no other place I wanted to be.

Bob Marley propositioned across the salty breeze as I introduced myself the best I could in her native tongue, “Mi kam long Niu Silan”, (I’m from New Zealand.)

Right from first glance, I swear I was in love. The seashells pinned into her braids, tiny ornaments freckled against her sun-kissed skin. If I could have refrained from blinking, so to not take my eyes off her, I would have.

As the minutes turned to hours, she shared with me the delicate intricacies of her culture. The importance of local, homegrown cooking, the beautiful hibiscus flowers, and the history behind the traditional rom dance. She elaborated on how she came to be surrounded by crystal waters teeming with coral, and I felt increasingly drunk on the detail of her life. I could hear the crashing waves, and feel the sand between my toes. Totally hypnotised by her vivid imagery, I'm sure that I could have plucked a turtle right from the air in front of me if I'd tried hard enough.

I remember men hollering out genially to us as they walked by, dressed in green, yellow, red and black, dreadlocks cascading across their shoulders. I noted that their lifestyle was not dissimilar to the latest wellness trends - though I've never once seen them on a magazine cover.

"Probably because their source of happiness won't part you with your disposable income." She rolled her eyes.

We bonded over our fears, too. How rising sea levels threatened to swallow up our future, and with it, our past. How our communities were being regarded as nothing but tiny, less-economically-productive fish in an extraordinarily large global sea.

“Our experiences are not so different, yours and mine, in a way,” I remember reflecting. “Both islands at sea. Connecting with the roots of our soil, cultivating what it means to be us.”

Before she could reply, the laughter of her children washed over me. Instantly, my heart felt as if it could burst. Her children danced into view, tight curls like petals bursting out of the confinement of a flower bud.

“Your children are absolutely gorgeous, they look just like you!”

She clearly glowed with pride.

Laughter and squeals abundant, her children shone a light on the world in a way that was both subtle but profound. Unlike back home, they didn't need the latest gadgets, and forget about screen time. Happy simply with each other, their joy was contagious and burrowed into my heart. With each passing second I could feel their positivity surging through my veins, filling up my whole body with appreciation and awe.

I sank into their contentment.

Barefoot and authentically themselves, I watched on as the imaginations of her children ran wild. Together making games with sticks and local dogs, they created their own intricate worlds mere metres away from me, their lives more full of meaning than I felt in my own. I tucked my overly-expensive while relatively impractical Birkenstock sandals further underneath my stool.

I couldn't tear my eyes away from their smiles, not even for all their mother's earthly beauty. Her children radiated so much happiness it felt tangible, and I wondered if I could somehow bottle its warmth. Could I somehow scoop it up and share it? How I could keep it in my heart for 'tough' days, the ones where you don't want to get out of your comfortable bed and flannel pyjamas?

Too quickly, the trumpeting of a conch shell in the distance brought me back to my senses, solidifying my dread that the time had come to say goodbye. I’d completely forgotten to check the clock during our time together, absorbed by the carefree atmosphere.

“Yu save wet long mi?” (Can you wait for me?) I whispered to her. “I promise I’ll be back before too long.”

I lifted my lei off over my head and slipped it into my duffel bag.

Years have passed now, but I still think about her often. To this day, when I shut my eyes, I can still feel her peace, her love, her sandy reality pressing up against my skin.

She embodies everything that is truly valuable in the world.

She is Heaven on Earth.

She is Vanuatu.

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Author's note:

* Photos were taken with parental consent*