High Value woman
1075 Words
Nicho leaned against the trunk of a fallen coconut tree, his eyes never leaving the woman standing before him. Her face was pale, her lips dry, but the fire of anger still burned in her eyes.
Her body was exhausted, but she was doing everything she could to hold her dignity upright.
“So?” Eric broke the silence, his voice flat but firm.
The woman hissed.
“You really want this coconut?” He casually rolled one of the coconuts in his hand over the sand.
She gritted her teeth, her heart pounding in her chest.
“I’ll buy it from you. I don’t want to take something without paying for it,” she replied sharply, her voice laced with anger.
Nicho chuckled quietly.
“Pay? We don’t have money here, Adora. On this island, the only thing that’s worth anything is what you can offer.” He shrugged with a devilish smile, appearing nonchalant.
Confusion and disgust mixed on the woman’s face.
“So, what do you want from me? Are you asking for… something… inappropriate?” Her words trembled, disbelief evident in her voice as she looked at him.
Nicho paused for a moment, assessing the woman with a sharp gaze.
A thin smile curved on his lips, but there was sadness hidden beneath it.
“Humm... Women are always like this,” he muttered to himself.
“You’ve misunderstood! I just want one thing.”
The woman furrowed her brow, cautious now.
“What is it?” she asked quietly, wary.
“Your name,” Nicho replied briefly.
She was taken aback.
“We’ve been here for two days, but I don’t even know your name.”
The girl looked at him, tapping her forehead, squinting her eyes, uncertain if she had heard correctly.
“What?”
“Why? Are you disappointed? Should I have asked for what you were thinking just now?” Nicho teased.
She let out a nervous laugh.
Nicho straightened up, locking eyes with her.
“I just want to know who you are. Your real name. That’s it.”
The woman stood still, gazing into his eyes. Her breath hitched for a moment.
“You just want to know… my name?” she murmured, still in disbelief.
“Yeah. Or would you rather I asked for something else?”
“Hhh... No! Don’t. Alright. I’ll introduce myself.”
Nicho nodded slightly, his smile growing once again.
“My name is Azzura.”
The more she tried to look for hidden meaning behind his words, the more she felt that he was being sincere. After a few moments, she took a deep breath and looked back at Nicho.
“And I’m Nicho.”
He extended his hand for a shake.
“Yeah, I know. I can see it on your life jacket,” he said with a grin.
“Azzura,” he repeated softly, almost as if whispering it.
“Yes, my name is Azzura.”
Nicho nodded in satisfaction with her answer. Lightly, he took the coconut and handed it to her.
“Two coconuts for one name,” he said casually. “I think that’s a fair exchange.”
Hearing that, Azzura laughed lightly, sipping the fresh coconut water.
She held the coconut tightly, her hands trembling. As she began to crack it open with a sharp stone, her thirst overpowered any sense of embarrassment. She drank greedily, letting the liquid flow over her lips.
Nicho watched her quietly, silently feeling a small shift within himself. Azzura, with all the pride and stubbornness she had shown, now seemed more human—fragile, yet strong in a different way.
After a while, Nicho stood up and began to move. He gathered dry branches, then carefully struck a fire using some stones he had picked up by the shore. The flame began to grow, casting a warm light that danced across the sand.
He opened the oysters and sea urchins he had just caught, placing them over the fire. The savory smell began to fill the air. Nicho’s stomach growled loudly, a sign of his long hunger. But it turned out, he wasn’t the only one feeling it.
Azzura, who had been sitting at the edge of the beach with an empty coconut shell in her hands, began to smell the enticing aroma. She turned, her eyes fixated on the oysters being roasted. Her body reacted faster than her mind, and before she knew it, she was staring at the food with longing.
Nicho noticed her gaze, but pretended not to care. Instead, he sat back, casually flipping the oysters with a long stick, savoring the cooking process. After a while, he spoke without turning his head.
“Hungry?”
Azzura was startled, not expecting Nicho to speak first. She tried to hide her hunger, but her stomach betrayed her with a loud growl.
Nicho smiled faintly, then lifted one of the cooked oysters.
“This is enough for the both of us. But I won’t just give it to you. You have to be honest with me.”
Azzura furrowed her brow.
“Honest about what?”
“Why are you so stubborn?” Nicho asked, his eyes locking with hers.
“You act like all of this isn’t real, like you can rely on your pride to survive. But the truth is, we need each other, Azzura.”
Azzura opened her mouth to retort, but no words came out. She simply looked down, her gaze fixed on the sand beneath her feet.
“I don’t trust you easily.”
After a brief silence, she sighed softly, then spoke in a low voice.
Nicho was quiet, slightly taken aback by her confession. After a few moments, he extended the cooked oyster toward her.
“Well then, eat. Surviving doesn’t make you weak, Azzura. Be grateful you’re stranded with a guy like me. I’m not a bad person. So, you’re safe.”
Azzura took the oyster cautiously, her eyes a little teary. She didn’t say anything, but as she bit into it, the warm, salty flavor flooded her mouth, almost bringing her to tears. Azzura felt that her future would be bleak.
“Do you know how long we can survive here?”
Nicho looked at her, shaking his head slightly.
“I don’t know.”
For the first time, Nicho saw the hard, defiant woman who valued her pride, rare to find in a woman nowadays.
- Writer
