Ky’s two biggest fears? Antiques and reptiles.
She wakes up, one day, to the sound of wind chimes, and finds herself in an unfamiliar bed. It’s a large, exceedingly comfortable, bed adorned with tropical linens. There’s a huge open window on the opposite side of the room leading to a balcony with a vast blue-green ocean-view. Beautiful and clean, her temporary residence is a one-room hut resting on stilts above the water. Ky rubs her eyes. Trying to rid herself of disorientation. But then something clicks. The wedding. Yes, that’s it. The wedding. Her younger sister, Tyra, and Tyra’s very rich and very old fiancé, Rhys, decided on a destination wedding. When Ky said she wouldn’t be able to attend because she didn’t have a passport, Tyra flew out for a few days to personally handle the matter; acquiring and filling out the necessary paperwork, taking Ky to get her standard-issued photo, and paying all of the necessary fees to a despondent, frizzy-haired postal worker (the middle-man in this bureaucratic process). Of course, Ky could’ve done all of this herself. But why bother? Am I right? 4 weeks later, the passport arrived in the mail.
Tyra, perhaps with the help of Rhys, covered travel expenses, accommodations, and childcare for Leo (Ky’s son), who remained at home. No children allowed at this shindig. A distant cousin of theirs was enlisted to handle babysitting duties. The amount paid, for the services rendered, alleviated any guilt Tyra might have felt about not inviting this distant cousin to the nuptials. It also offset any offense this distant cousin might have harbored about not being invited. They never got along well anyway.
After much deliberation, Ky gets out of bed, and slowly walks towards a full length mirror positioned near the balcony. Her maid of honor dress hangs off of a chair adjacent. She does a burly-eyed self-assessment. Apart from the lush surroundings and a few mosquito bites on her left arm, everything appears normal. But as she continues to look into the mirror she notices something moving in the reflection. It’s just behind her, near the open window. It’s long-tailed, big-eyed, multi-colored, scaly-skinned, and quickly making its way towards her bed.
The story of Ky and her deafening screams, were the stuff of island legend, as well as a running joke during the reception.
~G
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You had me at antiques and reptiles 😂
😂