– Let’s walk to the sea, she said. I want to float out on my back. You’ll put me in the water and push me out and I’ll be carried out with the tide. We left the bar and walked to the sea. It was a hot night. We took off all our clothes and put them by a breadfruit tree. – Fish don’t float on their backs, I said, when we were in the water. – They do when they are dead, she said. She was naked and her pubic hairs reflected in the moonlight. I was holding her up. I dipped my head under the water and came up between her legs and began to kiss her but she started to sink. – I want to float out, she said. She started swimming out. I waited and watched her. I heard people laughing on shore and walked back, got dressed and went back to the bar. I told someone she was in the sea and probably dead but I was still drunk and the whole thing seemed romantic. A half hour later she came back. – What happened? I asked. – I had a coughing fit and almost drowned, she said. I bought her a rum and pineapple juice. Later we walked back to the rented villa and she said goodnight and shut the door to her bedroom. I tried to sleep on the couch but I couldn’t. I opened the door to her room. – Are you awake? I asked. – No, she said, I’m asleep. – Can I sleep in your bed? – Yes, she said. But I’m floating like a dead fish. You can’t touch me. When I lay down I felt a surge of water lift me up and carry me out. – Oh God, do you feel that, I said.

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