Zanzibar Tides – Part 2: The Point at Sunset

The rocks at the point were black and warm from the day's sun, sharp-edged in places and smooth in others. Pia climbed them carefully, one hand on Juma's arm, sunscreen smelling of coconut on her skin. He had brought a flask of sweet tea and two battered cups.

"You've been practising your balance," he said.

"I've been practising not falling in front of you," said Pia.

"You fell in front of me four times."

"I'm counting the successes."

They sat side by side on a flat stone, legs stretched out, watching the sea slide in over the reef. The tide was turning. The water was rising and changing colour, from pale green to deep blue, and the sky above them was streaked with apricot and rose.

"Do you go back to London soon?" Juma asked.

"Monday," said Pia. "Or Tuesday. I haven't decided."

"That's not an answer."

"It's the only honest one I've got." She looked out at the water. "The job is waiting. The flat is waiting. Everything's waiting for me to stop being on holiday. And I've started to think that I don't want to go back to being the person who ignores the sunset."

Juma was quiet for a moment, turning his cup in his hands.

"Can I tell you something about my family?" he said.

"Yes."

"My father was a fisherman. He worked this coast for forty years. When I was a boy, he told me the sea doesn't care about our plans. It only asks us to pay attention." He smiled, a little wistfully. "I thought he was just being poetic. Then I learned to kitesurf, and I understood."

"You're saying I should pay attention."

"I'm saying you've been paying attention to the wind all week," said Juma. "And you're very good at it. Maybe there's a job that asks for that, somewhere in London."

Pia turned to look at him. The last light caught his face, warm and open, and something in her chest eased.

"Can I ask you something?" she said.

"Always."

"Would you kiss me? Here, on the rocks, before the sun goes?"

Juma set his cup down carefully on the stone. "Yes," he said. "And if you want me to stop, you say, and I'll wait for you to come back."

"I know you will."

He leaned in slowly, giving her time to change her mind, and then kissed her. It was soft and unhurried, his hand coming up to rest against her cheek, salt and sweet tea on his lips. Pia leaned into it, and the sea sighed against the rocks below, and the whole sky seemed to glow in the fading light.

When they parted, the sun was a red line on the horizon.

"Green?" Juma asked, very low.

"Green," said Pia, and laughed softly. "Juma, I think I'm going to miss the wind."

"Then stay a little longer," he said, "and we'll see what it brings."