Loud ringing, sounds of something sparking. Nothing was adding up. Every time she opened her eyes, it was blurry, blurry and everything was moving. She let out a groan, her hand reaching up to hold her head, trying not to focus on the pain she was feeling. It was everywhere. Her waist hurt incredibly, and it felt almost as if she was hanging. When she opened her eyes, she frowned at the sight, closing them and opening them again slowly. Her eyes slowly focused on everything around her.
“Dongie?”
She turned her head to the familiar voice, seeing at least one familiar face.
“Where am I?” Dong whispered.
“I don’t know…” Bora frowned while taking a few steps toward her. She was limping, and she looked like she had been through hell. “I… I’ll figure out how to get you down…” She muttered.
Dong frowned as she looked down at her hands, her entire body looked the same as Bora’s. Covered in both dirt and what she hoped was just something other than blood. Her clothes looked like they had been ripped in certain areas, and she really didn’t want to know anything more.
She turned her head, seeing a lifeless body strapped into the seat next to her, frowning when she recognized them. The stranger that refused to swap seats with Bora in the first place…
It was coming to Dong now. They were on a plane to their honeymoon and their first flight was cancelled due to a storm, and the second one was reassigned… Which was why Bora didn’t get to sit next to her in the first place… And he was being incredibly rude, refusing to switch seats since Bora had an aisle seat where she was.
Now she was grateful he was stubborn… Bora was alive and if she was seated there, then… Dong didn’t want to think about that… She didn’t want to think about the fact that Bora could’ve been the lifeless body next to her.
She saw just how high up she was, not too far up, but she definitely had no idea how she was going to get down. She was beginning to worry for Bora, wondering what was taking her so long until she heard footsteps, then saw her wife come back into her view.
“Um… I-I can climb up behind you… But… I don’t know how to get you out…”
She sounded so terrified, so scared. Uncertain. Nothing like the Bora from the day before. So confident and sure of herself.
“Can you just come up here anyway?” Dong frowned, watching her nod her head.
“Y-Yeah… Just… Give me some time…” Bora muttered.
She wasn’t sure how long it took, but after a while, she heard someone carefully stepping behind her and then felt the seat push slightly. She looked up, seeing her wife leaning into the seat, looking down at the small drop.
“I’m starting to lose feeling in my toes…” Dong frowned.
“That’s not good…” Bora whispered. “Can you move your arms back?” She asked. “Hold onto the seat and hold on tight…” She reached around after Dong secured her arms and flipped the switch for the seatbelt to come undone.
Almost immediately it unlocked, and Dong had to quickly adjust herself before falling off the seat. It was a bit of work, but she managed to climb over her own seat, seeing Bora kneeling on the floor of the crashed plane.
“We should… Get kind of far from here… In case it blows up…” Dong frowned.
“What about the people who are alive?” Bora whispered. “Who needs help?”
“Bora… We don’t know how to help people… We need to take care of ourselves right now…” Dong whispered. “Now… Can we get out of here?” She frowned.
The couple made their way out of the broken part of the plane, walking through the lush forest area and seeing more and more of the plane. They made their way to the beach, frowning when they saw the black smoke coming from two different areas leading up the mountain that was behind them.
Bora took a few steps forward, frowning at the sight before hearing a gasp behind her.
“Bora, your leg…” Dong gasped when she saw the deep gash in her wife’s leg, the blood that stained her pants, everything. “Baby you don’t feel that?”
Bora looked down at her leg, frowning when she saw the giant gash that was still actively bleeding. She shook her head, shivering slightly now.
“Lets… Let’s sit down…” Dong ushered her to a rock, having her sit and letting her process everything. “I’ll… I’ll be right back.”
Dong hurried back to the crash site, frowning when she heard someone crying. She tried her best to avoid the sound, not wanting to be seen by someone else and having to deal with the burden and guilt of telling someone she couldn’t help them.
At least until she saw who was crying.
A little girl sat on the floor next to another part of the plane, next to a woman who was slumped over in the seat, holding a little bundle. It killed Dong to see that image. The kid looked perfectly fine, at least with no physical problems… She knew the entire sight alone was just emotionally and mentally traumatizing. Not to mention any kind of psychological damage that would be done after everything sinks in.
Dong couldn’t leave her.
“Hey… Kid,” Dong called out to her, watching her flinch at the new voice. “Are you okay?” She frowned while stepping closer to her. She watched her shake her head, holding the woman’s arm loosely. “Is… Is that your mom?” She frowned, watching her nod her head. “Are you hurt? Bleeding?” She asked before kneeling in front of the little girl. She watched her shake her head, looking back at her mother. “Just sad and scared?” She asked quietly, watching her nod her head. “Me too…” Dong whispered before looking at the woman. “I’m looking for a first aid kit… And something that can help my wife… Do you think you can help me?” She asked.
The little girl was hesitant, clearly not wanting to leave her dead mother.
“Okay…” She sniffed.
“I’ll take very good care of her,” Dong whispered to the mother before standing up.
With an extra set of eyes, Dong was able to locate the first aid kit and grabbed a few other things that she figured they would need for a while. The kid followed closely, trailing after Dong as she ran back to the beach where she left Bora.
“Who… Who’s that?” Bora frowned.
“I found her crying next to her mom… Her mom’s gone…” Dong whispered before unzipping the duffle bag.
“That… That’s big…” The little girl gasped when she saw the gash on Bora’s leg.
“She’ll be okay, right?” Dong looked up at her wife, seeing the uncertainty in her eyes.
“Y-Yeah…” Bora whispered. She wasn’t sure either, but she wasn’t going to tell the kid that.
Dong was screaming in her head as she looked through everything. She needed alcohol. Something to clean the wound and hopefully some kind of topical to numb the area. She had basic first aid training, but nothing like Bora’s training. She was trying to remember everything Bora rambled off about, but it was impossible to remember with the pain in the back of her head.
She eventually found a cleaning solution, thanking the heavens before turning to her wife and looking at her. She was slowly starting to settle her mind, the adrenaline slowly wearing off and she could see the pain forming in her face.
“Give it to me,” Bora said through gritted teeth.
Dong handed off the bottle, watching her rip her pants further, and then opened the bottle. She wasn’t sure what flipped in her wife’s brain, but now she almost looked like she was in full work mode, pouring the bottle onto her skin and screaming out in pain the second the solution made contact with the cut.
Bora fired off rapid instructions, having Dong get her everything she needed before attempting to stitch the gash shut herself. Dong watched in horror as her wife made careful stitches into her own body, watching her slowly nod off but start to shake it off.
After an hour, Bora was leaning against Dong in the sand, her gash somewhat stitched with a lot of gauze holding it shut. She was woozy and unsure about a lot of things now. The kid sat with them, watching the ocean in front of them while she cried. It seemed as if there wasn’t anything else this kid did. She only seemed to cry a lot.
“What’s your name?” Bora whispered.
“Gahyeon,” The kid answered.
“Well… Gahyeon-ah… Do you think you can sit with me?” She frowned. The kid moved closer, letting the older woman lean against her.
“Okay… I’m going to go do a quick search again… Get her out of these clothes and hopefully find some kind of food… Can you watch her?” Dong asked, watching the kid nod her head.
It didn’t take long to see different suitcases scattered, she started dragging them closer to the beach and eventually found the cabinet where the food was being stored for the flight. She let out a happy sound as she grabbed a few things, eventually figuring out that it was a cart and was able to unlock it and drag it with her.
“Luck don’t fail me now!” Dong chuckled as she dragged it back to their little area.
It was harder than she thought, and by the time she made it to the outskirts of the area, she was already exhausted and needed to rest. She saw Bora leaning more on the kid, and she couldn’t let that happen. So she unlocked the doors that she could on the cart, grabbing the few bags of snacks before grabbing a water bottle for them to split and a soda as well. Just to help Bora regain her energy.
“I found the cart, but it’s really heavy,” Dong explained while handing the bag of pretzels to Gahyeon and Bora. She sat on the opposite side of her wife, pulling her off of the little kid and letting her move to sit directly in front of them.
They were silent as they ate, sharing the bottle of water between the three of them. Gahyeon let out a few tears every so often, clearly remembering what happened and just how terrible everything was going to be.
“We should find somewhere to sleep tonight… out of the elements…” Dong whispered.
“Elements?” Gahyeon frowned.
“The world,” Bora mumbled. “Safe from the world.”
“Is the plane safe?” The kid whispered.
“No… It really isn’t…” Dong sighed. She looked up at the sky, not seeing a cloud, but she couldn’t be sure. “How about… We at least move back… further from the ocean, the better.”
Gahyeon helped Dong move Bora, all three of them keeping away from the direct coastline before Dong went off to get more supplies. Gahyeon saw the sun above them, squinting when she saw that it was very much daytime still.
“Gahyeon-ah?” Bora whispered. “Get dry sticks.” She instructed.
“Why?” Gahyeon frowned.
“I have a feeling it’s going to get cold here at night… We’ll need a fire,” She mumbled.
“O-Oh… Okay…” Gahyeon whispered before standing up.
“And dried leaves. If you can find dried palm leaves, even better,” Bora continued to speak, watching the kid nod her head slowly.
Gahyeon didn’t stray too far from Bora, picking up various sticks and large leaves she found. She would make frequent trips back and forth, dropping everything near Bora before going back for more. The kid felt sick and her legs ached, but Bora didn’t tell her to stop yet which meant she needed a lot more.
Dong came back a while later, seeing Gahyeon walking back with an armload of sticks, and couldn’t help but smile at her. There was a pretty large pile of sticks and dried leaves next to Bora, and she held her hand up the second the new sticks were dropped.
“That should be enough…” Dong chuckled.
“She didn’t say stop…” Gahyeon frowned.
“She fell asleep,” Dong knelt down next to her wife, nudging her back awake before seeing her eyes open again. “We have firewood now,” She smiled.
“Oh, good,” Bora smiled.
“And I found sunblock… Not that… It’s entirely necessary, but… If we’re going to be out here…” She frowned while pulling Gahyeon close to her. “If we can avoid sunburns, that would be great,” She chuckled while applying the sunscreen to the kid’s face and arms.
By sunset, Bora had started a fire and was much more awake as she tended to the fire. Gahyeon sat in between her and Dong, knees to her chest as she stared at the flames while Dong looked out at the sunset on the water.
The sounds that filled all of their ears should’ve been peaceful. But it was daunting. The crackling fire was the only thing that allowed them to feel some kind of peace. Some kind of hope that everything was going to be okay for the night.
The ocean waves crashing against the sand and the sounds of tropical birds should’ve been peaceful and relaxing. Not terrifying. Nothing like this.
It wasn’t long before Dong and Gahyeon fell asleep, leaving Bora alone with her thoughts. She glanced at the two of them, seeing Dong holding the kid tightly as they both slept against a rock. It couldn’t have been comfortable, but it was certainly something for now.
Bora couldn’t help but think. It was all she had to do. If she hadn’t pushed Dong all those months ago to agree to go on a destination honeymoon, none of this would’ve happened. They would be in their shared apartment, happier than anyone else… Safe… They would’ve been safe.
But what about Gahyeon? Bora had no idea why the kid was there, and if everything had still played out the way it had without them… She would’ve been alone. She would probably still be sitting next to her mother crying her eyes out… She wouldn’t have… She would’ve… She shook her head at the thought, not wanting to think about what would’ve happened to Gahyeon if her wife hadn’t found her.
She chewed her bottom lip, thinking about everything. No doubt in her mind, the pilots were able to at least call for some kind of help. She wasn’t even sure how anything happened. She just remembered a loud bang and then everything going to shit. Surely they had to call for help. Even the airport they were supposed to make a connection to had to know the plane disappeared off course and they had to have some kind of protocol for everything. It wasn’t like the black smoke was invisible… Someone somewhere could’ve seen it… But then again… Humans weren’t as reliable as they hoped.
People were selfish… or just not thinking. Assuming someone would’ve called it in, assuming it was already being taken care of… She hated that about people. But she didn’t want to hold a grudge against the human race at that moment…
She ran a hand through her hair, letting out a sigh. Her leg was throbbing, her head was aching, her whole body was aching actually… She knew it was from just the crash itself and nothing else. The adrenaline spike maybe, but nothing else. They had water… She wasn’t sure how much, but they had supplies until they could start to really focus on surviving longer than a few days. If the plane stood up long enough… They would be able to steal from it and keep themselves alive until help came…
Whenever that was.
Two days had gone by, and the snack cart was still thriving but Dong didn’t want to take any chances. She was in the middle of searching through the front of the plane, looking through the area before finding more things she could take. She found her own bag and emptied it of the nonsense items and kept the more important things like her passport and broken phone. If they ever made it back to civilization, she would be able to still have that.
Really she only wanted the photos on it.
Gahyeon searched through carry-on bags, finding a bunch of different things, and was on a hunt to find anything they could use. Blankets and pillows were stolen from what was left of first class and Dong filled her bag with different things, little bottles of alcohol, and other snacks and food that were hidden away in locked cabinets.
“Jackpot!” Gahyeon smiled while holding up another blanket.
“Good job,” Dong smiled at her. “That makes three now,” She chuckled. “How many pillows do you have?” She asked.
“Uh… Four?” Gahyeon checked her backpack, shoving the blanket in it before looking back at Dong.
“Try and find two more. If not, we’ll just start stealing neck pillows…” She muttered while breaking into another locked cabinet.
Bora stood on her good leg, using shoelaces to tie fallen logs together to give them some kind of shelter from the sun. Some kind of shade they can relax in and not get heat stroke, sun poisoning, sunburns, heat exhaustion… the list was endless really.
She only had the framework done, using rocks to keep logs steady before she tied it all together, happy with her own work before she sat back on the sand, getting to work with tying palm leaves together. She loved that Gahyeon was with them, mainly because the kid was fearless when it came to climbing the trees. Bora gave her a piece of scrap metal that was rather sharp and had her cut the leaves down, giving them things to work with.
“We found blankets and pillows!” Gahyeon’s voice hit Bora’s ears, allowing her to look over and give the kid a tired smile. She saw her wife behind her, dragging more suitcases toward them.
“Wow… You’ve been busy,” Dong muttered.
“We need something… Especially if it starts to rain soon,” She frowned.
They had gotten lucky so far. No rain, but extreme heat. They were able to wash up in the ocean, cleaning their hands and faces as much as they could before they rummaged through someone’s luggage and found soap. They didn’t even care if the soap smelled nice or not, they just wanted it to be really clean.
“Can I help?” Gahyeon asked while sitting next to the woman.
“Of course,” Bora whispered.
They spent a while making the roof, Dong would place the finished bits on top of them, slowly creating shade as they went along. By the time the sun was highest in the sky, their little canopy was made, and Bora let out a sigh of relief before falling back into the still-warm sand.
“Finally,” She whispered.
“It’s still hot… But I’m happy to be out of the sun,” Gahyeon smiled.
“Gahyeon-ah… how old are you?” Dong asked. It was a question that neither had asked her before now.
“I’m ten,” Gahyeon answered.
“So young…” Bora mumbled.
The rest of their day was organizing their little canopy area while Bora continued to put together more palm leaves to create walls for the canopy area. Dong promised to drag more logs over so Bora could tie them together and make the space bigger, in case they needed to stay longer.
The fire was crackling just outside of their little space, blankets set up and pillows already set so they could sleep whenever they were ready. Bora leaned against the rock behind her, her back was already scratched up from leaning on it all day, but she didn’t care. It was nothing compared to the throbbing pain she was feeling in her leg. She was honestly afraid of checking it. She knew the gauze had to come off so she could replace them, but the gauze was warm to the touch, and it wasn’t from staying in the sun all day.
She stayed up longer, watching Dong hold onto Gahyeon again as she slept. Bora was exhausted, only getting a few hours of sleep at night. But she couldn’t sleep. Every time she closed her eyes she would see everything from the plane crash all over again and it would startle her awake. She wasn’t sure how the other two were able to sleep, but then again they were doing physical work… more than she was.
She peeled the gauze back, frowning when she saw how red her skin was, nothing was healing and she really didn’t know what to do. She was keeping the area clean… But she couldn’t do much more than that… the first aid kit only had so much and it wasn’t like she could hope that antibiotics were locked somewhere in the busted-up plane.
Bora put the bandages back on, letting out a shaky sigh. She knew what happened when things like this got infected.
A week had gone by. A week of nothing. A week of struggling and dealing with the trials that came with everything.
“Hold still,” Bora frowned while pouring hot water on Gahyeon’s leg. “It’ll take away the stinging, I promise,” She whispered.
Gahyeon had gone into the sea for a quick swim, wanting to cool off from the heat, only to get stung by a jellyfish in the process. She let out a cry, holding onto Dong’s hands as tight as she could.
“Okay… We just have to keep it clean…” Bora sighed before glancing at the jelly blob that was now on the beach. “And don’t go near that… Even when it’s dead it can still hurt… okay?” She explained, watching Gahyeon nod her head.
It was getting easier. Easier to manage. Dong would walk out to the shore and stab fish that crossed her path with a makeshift spear, sometimes even showing up with crabs that she would get. Gahyeon made sure to stay near the shoreline, extremely hesitant to get back into the water after her jellyfish incident, but was cautious when she was with Dong.
By the second week, Bora couldn’t walk properly.
She would stay seated, slowly working on the canopy that now had an extension to it and some walls. It had rained a few nights prior, and they collected as much rainwater as they could with the empty water bottles and cups they found.
Bora knew her gash was infected but there was nothing she could do with it. No medicines to take. She couldn’t take normal painkillers since the painkillers in the first aid kit didn’t reduce fevers. She knew she had one, shivering as if she was freezing in the heat. But she wasn’t going to let her wife know. Her wife needed to keep believing she was fine. Needed to keep going without worrying.
She tied the last bit of palm leaves together, letting out a sigh as she leaned back against the suitcase chair they made under the canopy. At least she was out of the sun. That was all that really mattered at that moment.
Dong walked along the shoreline with Gahyeon behind her, listening to the kid talk about the bird she saw that morning when she woke up to pee. The older woman would hum, just to keep the kid talking about anything but the clear obvious as to why no one was finding them yet. She couldn’t help but look up at the mountain, seeing the smoke had officially stopped which meant no clear signal to civilization that a plane crashed. Besides the obvious giant bits of the plane that could be seen on the island if they flew low enough.
“Unnie… Are we ever going to be rescued?” Gahyeon asked while watching two birds fly overhead.
“Soon,” Dong whispered.
She didn’t want to say she didn’t know. She didn’t want to make this kid’s brain filled with uncertainty. So far they had made shelter, kept her fed, and made sure she was safe.
It was all they could do really…
As the days passed, Bora declined and Dong had taken a nasty fall after another rainstorm. She slid down a patch, hitting her head and getting a pretty decent gash up her back from a large rock.
Gahyeon would do her best to take care of them despite not knowing exactly what she was doing. She listened to Bora’s tired words as she explained how to clean Dong’s wound, keeping it clean and covered while they both rested.
The ten-year-old couldn’t help but cry as she tried to catch dinner, using the same spear Dong used to get fish, only for every single one to escape before she gave up and just stabbed a crab instead. Tears fell down her face as she walked back, ashamed of not being able to get more before showing Dong.
“Don’t cry… It takes time…” Dong reassured her. “You eat it… Don’t worry about us okay?”
Gahyeon nodded, watching Dong place it near the fire on a stone, turning it every so often so they made sure it was entirely cooked.
The couple gave up a lot of food to make sure Gahyeon ate. Gave up a lot of things just to make sure Gahyeon was okay. They didn’t even know this kid beforehand and now they were doing their best to keep her safe and healthy. As much as they possibly could at least.
By the fourth week, Gahyeon woke up on her own, the fire was slowly going out, and she knew she couldn’t let it. She hurried over, placing more dried leaves on it, and placed the larger logs over it just like Bora taught her. She went out to the ocean, seeing the sun was barely up and everything still had the slightest hint of chill. She splashed some of the water on her face, shaking off the excess before walking back, seeing Dong and Bora laying down together in the canopy.
She was happy they were resting. They had been taking turns staying up and taking care of her even though they were clearly in pain and exhausted. She sat by the fire, watching it slowly come back to life before looking back at the couple. She wondered if they would wake up soon, and thought it would be a good idea to maybe wake them up so she could go find some kind of breakfast.
“Unnie?” She nudged Bora’s arm, not seeing her wake up right away, she moved to Dong, shaking her arm gently “Unnie…?” She frowned, trying to wake them up a little more forcefully now.
Tears spilled, and a loud sob ripped from her chest as she laid over the two that had taken care of her the entire time. She held onto them tightly, crying for what seemed like an eternity. She wasn’t sure how she fell asleep over them, but when she woke up, nothing had changed. The fire was dying again, and Gahyeon wasn’t sure how to make another. So she hurried with placing more leaves on it, placing more sticks, watching it slowly come back to life before she sat back down.
She wasn’t hungry anymore. She was terrified. Fear was starting to settle in now that she was fully alone. Every little sound that she used to be curious about was now the most terrifying noise she had ever heard.
“Just a little longer…” She sniffed. “A little longer and they’ll come…” She repeated Bora’s words, trying to calm herself while she sat in the sand crying.
She watched the fire until the sun had set, deciding to crawl back to her spot near Dong. She wasn’t sure what else to do. Her entire body shook out of fear, and she would jolt awake at every little sound. She held onto the lifeless hand, trying to find some kind of comfort before she ended up scaring herself to death.
She had to wait just a little bit longer. Just a little bit longer and she would be saved.
By morning, she was exhausted, hungry, and still very upset. Tears were long dried, her body nearly giving up just like theirs. She couldn’t find the strength to go to the ocean and try and find some kind of food, so she stayed seated at the fire, watching it to calm herself.
She closed her eyes, listening to the crackling sound of the embers mixing with the tropical birds and waves crashing against the sand. She was so tired. So, so tired. She wanted to give up. Wanted to slip away in the night as they had.
“Over here! There’s a fire!”
She was certain she was dreaming. She was asleep. She had this dream countless times. Dreaming of a rescue.
“There’s someone!”
Gahyeon opened her eyes, squinting at the bright sun, before looking to see a group of people rushing toward her. She looked out at the ocean, seeing a large boat in the distance and a helicopter taking off from it.
She had to be dreaming.
“She’s awake!” A man shouted.
A few people rushed to her, dropping bags, and were already asking her a million questions. They were touching her arms, checking her eyes, her mouth, everything…
“What is your name sweetie?” A woman asked.
“Gahyeon…” She whispered.
Gahyeon kept her eyes on the woman, watching her. This wasn’t a dream… This was real… Only a day too late…
“No… They’re gone too…” She heard a man’s voice behind her.
“How long?” Another one asked.
“Yesterday,” Gahyeon sniffed, answering the other man’s question. “Unnies took care of me…” She let out a broken sob into her hands, hearing the hushed whispers from the others that were nearby. It was clear they were sympathetic to her.
Within a few hours, she was on the boat getting properly checked. She told the doctors everything and even spoke to the military that was on board and documenting everything. She gave them all the information she knew, mainly her name, where her mother told her they were going, and the names of the people that took care of her the entire month they were on that island.
“Unnies… Han Dong and… Kim Bora…” Gahyeon reached into her backpack, pulled out their passports, and handed them over to the military officer in front of her. She kept their phones away from them, wanting to keep their pictures so she could remember them forever.
“You’re very brave… Even if you were alone for a day,” He spoke.
“I wasn’t brave,” Gahyeon whispered. “Unnies were brave for me,” She sniffed.
She was back at home within a week. In her grandparents' home and completely upset over everything. She had attended four funerals in one week and only two had actual bodies that could be buried. Tears flowed at every single one, and it hurt her that she had lost everything.
She was able to get the phones to work again, pulling certain pictures out and printing them for her own room. Her grandmother questioned them until she recognized the women from the first two funerals. The two women who had taken care of her the entire time.
“I’m sure they’re still looking out for you,” Her grandmother whispered before leaving her room.
“I wished you both waited just a little bit longer… You would be here too…” Gahyeon whispered. “But it’s okay… I’ll live life for you guys… just… Keep me company… Okay?” She looked up at her ceiling, hoping they were looking over her. Just like they did on the beach for so long.