Easter Island Paradise: Part 5 - The Sketchy Scribe

March 27, 2016

Dinner time came and the girls were told that the family was going to be having dinner on the beach next to a huge bonfire. Grandma wrapped the Easter ham up in loads of tin foil and put a meat thermometer through its meaty center. As Kris stacked the wood in the fire pit, Grandma put the ham within the coals of the pit, so the ham could cook thoroughly. The girls were asked to watch the temperature of the ham so it didn’t over cook. The ham needed to get to 160 degrees.

For a while, the girls built sand castles on the beach with Xia and Kyree.

“Purity, Bea, Xia, Kyree – can you come in here a minute…” Mari called. The girls looked at each other wondering what was wrong. They got up slowly and walked into the living room area of the bungalow. On the fireplace was their Easter baskets. The girls were so excited about their island paradise trip, they had forgotten about getting baskets.

The baskets were colorfully wrapped up in Easter egg plastic with orange lily silk flowers and pink ribbon.

As the girls looked closely, they noticed each had a wooden animal attached to the ribbon.

“What are these wooden animals for?” asked Bea.

“They are animal totems,” said Prudy. “I bought each of you one to remind you of the special gifts you have. Purity is like a dolphin: she is fun loving and protective of those she loves. And Bea, yours is the turtle. You must go at your own pace, but you are determined. Your heart doesn’t stop beating easily for someone if you love them. You have a turtle’s heart.”

Bea and Purity wondered what that meant.

The girls looked at the unique gifts for a moment. Then Bea pulled out the Ipad her sister was letting her use and looked up turtle totem animals. Purity looked over Bea’s shoulder as she read:

The turtle totem wisdom teaches us about walking our path in peace and sticking to it with determination and serenity. Slow moving on earth, yet also incredibly fast and agile in water, those who have the turtle as totem may be encouraged to take a break in their busy lives and look around or within themselves for more grounded, long-lasting solutions. Traditionally, the turtle is symbolic of the way of peace, whether it’s inviting us to cultivate peace of mind or a peaceful relationship with our environment.

“That’s cool!” said Bea.

“I think it defines you pretty well,” said Purity smiling. Purity put her dolphin fetish in her jean pocket and they both went back to their Easter baskets. As usual, there was not much candy in their big sister’s gift. But, there was all the goodies a teenage girl could need to feel beautiful: make up, hair jewelry, bath fizzers, and other toiletries which they might need for a longer stay.

“How long are we staying with you?” asked Purity.

“Until you have to go,” replied Prudence. “Ill keep what you don’t use until our next adventure.” She looked at her watch. “I’m starving! When are we going to eat?”

“In just a few minutes,” said Grandma.

“Mari, can you help me with the potatoes?”

“Sure,” said Mari.

The feast on the beach was fantastic. They had fire roasted ham, chicken, scalloped potatoes, yams, broccoli in cheesy sauce, jello salad, and Hawaiian rolls. For dessert, they had cheesecake, oatmeal cookies and S’mores.

It was an odd kind of Easter, but it was lots of fun though. They ate off paper plates with plastic forks or with their fingers. The adults laughed and told stories and so did the kids. The sunset lit up the sky in monochromatic purples, reds oranges and yellows.

The family finished eating all the desserts. They were stuffed. So they just sat and watched the crackling beach bonfire.

“Hey, you gals ok?” Asked a man driving by in his truck.

“Yes, we are ok,” said Purity rolling up the truck’s window.

Purity looked over at Bea. The beach was gone. Kris and Mari were gone. Grandma, Xia and Kyree were gone and so was Prudence. Bea sat next to Purity in the truck. But, Bea was smiling.

“That was a great story,” Pure, said Bea. “We’ll have to remember that one!”

“Yeah, said Purity. Something was jabbing into her hip. She reached into her jean pocket and pulled out her dolphin fetish. Bea pulled out her turtle fetish.

Yes, they still had these momentos of their Easter Island Paradise vacation with their family. They knew they were greatly loved. And they knew they were understood. These momentos proved it.

Purity started the ignition of the truck. They drove home silently. Each thinking of the moments they had spent with the people who loved them. They knew they were surrounded by love. The people they were driving to, loved them also.

Bea turned on the truck radio. It was this song that accompanied them on their way home:

Categories: The Stories