“I’ve got an awesomely crazy idea!” I burst into his bedroom early in the morning.
“Spit it out!” Snake replied enthusiastically, setting his laptop aside and inviting me under the blanket.
“Be my first!”
“I’ll never believe you’re a virgin!” he laughed, immediately earning a pillow to the face.
“It’s not about virginity, silly,” I said. “It’s about the fact that, by creating the right conditions, you can rewrite any experience in the subconscious. I never had an ideal first time. It was confusing, frightening, painful—anything but ideal. And I want to consciously relive my first time. With you.”
“I love experiments,” Snake said, winking playfully.
“Amaaazing!” Like a bouncy ball, I joyfully jumped on the bed, kissed him on the nose, and ran to my room to get ready for the trip we had planned for that day.
…
“Shall we take my bike today?” my companion suggested, loading our things into the trunk of his scooter.
“Why not! It’s more fun together—and I can shoot videos along the way.”
“Then hop on, Kitty-Cat. Let’s go!”
It was almost the first time in six months that we rode on one scooter together. The road from our house to the destination stretched across half the island—several hours that flew by unnoticed, yet left an indelible mark in memory. We laughed so hard we had to stop just to catch our breath—and to admire the breathtaking views.
Bali is a magical island. Not only because it’s an incredible place of power, but also because, having explored it far and wide, you’ll still inevitably stumble upon a place unlike anything you’ve seen before. Dense jungles, mountains and volcanoes, sheer cliffs plunging into a raging ocean, deserted plains that feel godforsaken, and mystical parks you almost fear to approach, lest you disturb the spirits that dwell within.
We were heading to just such a park—utterly fearless, confident that a secure energetic dome protected us. We reached it in one breath, but inside, the atmosphere shifted completely. Absolute off-road terrain. Monkeys darting out of the forest, glaring at us menacingly, ready to attack at any moment. The camera stabilizer gave up and shut off; our phones were dying despite being fully charged before leaving. The deeper we went, the scarier—and at the same time more intriguing—it became. We were together, and that meant we could laugh in the face of any danger and walk boldly toward adventure. Honestly, we no longer cared what threats awaited us beyond the rabid monkeys, so we stubbornly pressed on, shattering the oppressive emptiness with our ringing laughter.
Suddenly, a deserted beach with snow-white sand opened before us. Like kids who finally found the treasure marked with an X on a map, we jumped off the bike and ran toward the water. I took off my clothes and splashed around in the water, fighting off biting insects, while Snake enthusiastically filmed the whole spectacle on his film camera.
“Spit it out!” Snake replied enthusiastically, setting his laptop aside and inviting me under the blanket.
“Be my first!”
“I’ll never believe you’re a virgin!” he laughed, immediately earning a pillow to the face.
“It’s not about virginity, silly,” I said. “It’s about the fact that, by creating the right conditions, you can rewrite any experience in the subconscious. I never had an ideal first time. It was confusing, frightening, painful—anything but ideal. And I want to consciously relive my first time. With you.”
“I love experiments,” Snake said, winking playfully.
“Amaaazing!” Like a bouncy ball, I joyfully jumped on the bed, kissed him on the nose, and ran to my room to get ready for the trip we had planned for that day.
…
“Shall we take my bike today?” my companion suggested, loading our things into the trunk of his scooter.
“Why not! It’s more fun together—and I can shoot videos along the way.”
“Then hop on, Kitty-Cat. Let’s go!”
It was almost the first time in six months that we rode on one scooter together. The road from our house to the destination stretched across half the island—several hours that flew by unnoticed, yet left an indelible mark in memory. We laughed so hard we had to stop just to catch our breath—and to admire the breathtaking views.
Bali is a magical island. Not only because it’s an incredible place of power, but also because, having explored it far and wide, you’ll still inevitably stumble upon a place unlike anything you’ve seen before. Dense jungles, mountains and volcanoes, sheer cliffs plunging into a raging ocean, deserted plains that feel godforsaken, and mystical parks you almost fear to approach, lest you disturb the spirits that dwell within.
We were heading to just such a park—utterly fearless, confident that a secure energetic dome protected us. We reached it in one breath, but inside, the atmosphere shifted completely. Absolute off-road terrain. Monkeys darting out of the forest, glaring at us menacingly, ready to attack at any moment. The camera stabilizer gave up and shut off; our phones were dying despite being fully charged before leaving. The deeper we went, the scarier—and at the same time more intriguing—it became. We were together, and that meant we could laugh in the face of any danger and walk boldly toward adventure. Honestly, we no longer cared what threats awaited us beyond the rabid monkeys, so we stubbornly pressed on, shattering the oppressive emptiness with our ringing laughter.
Suddenly, a deserted beach with snow-white sand opened before us. Like kids who finally found the treasure marked with an X on a map, we jumped off the bike and ran toward the water. I took off my clothes and splashed around in the water, fighting off biting insects, while Snake enthusiastically filmed the whole spectacle on his film camera.
“Oh, just look at that black cloud! It’s about to block the sun…”
“And catch us in the middle of the forest with angry monkeys?”
“Leaving us no chance of getting out ‘dry’…”
“Well then, toward adventure?”
“Yoo-hoo…” I sang uncertainly, fully aware of what a Balinese downpour in rainy season is like, already imagining us dragging a broken bike through the forest after it slid into a muddy ditch, fending off monkeys stealing valuables from our backpacks.
“Don’t worry, babe, I’ll get you home safe and sound!”
“Forward, my captain!”
And off we raced through the forest, outrunning the rain, loudly singing a song my grandfather used to sing in my childhood:
“Captain Brave, Captain Brave, give a smile, Sir,
For a smile is like a flag of a ship.
Captain Brave, Captain Brave, cheer up now.
Only a stout man can capture seas and shores.”
It was probably the first time in my life I sang without shame or fear of judgment. We shattered our voices, bouncing over bumps, mangling the lyrics beyond recognition. We were like children. And yet those moments became priceless in our adult lives.
Hugging, laughing, and crying, we emerged victorious from the dense forest and sped along the highway toward home—though the rain eventually caught us.
It was furious. Each raindrop hitting the face felt like it pierced right to the bone. Soaked through, despite the raincoats, we waded through lakes that had spilled onto the asphalt. We desperately wanted to get home, so we brazenly bypassed traffic, vainly trying not to splash anyone with waves from dirty puddles.
“Captain Brave, Captain Brave, give a smile, Sir,”
“For a smile is like a flag of a ship.”
“Captain Brave, Captain Brave, cheer up now.”
“Only a stout man can capture seas and shoooores!”
Once inside the house, we immediately scattered to our bathrooms—to warm up and wash away beach sand, forest dust, and highway grime. Standing under the shower, I smiled and burst into laughter now and then, replaying the day’s adventures.
“What are you laughing about?” came his voice from the balcony.
“Thinking about you!”
“Ugh, I hope you remembered one of my brilliant jokes, not how I looked in that pink raincoat.”
“Exactly that!” I laughed, picturing his “pregnant” silhouette in a pink cover pulled over the backpack turned toward his belly so I could hold onto him comfortably.
“Come up here, Cat! It’s sooo sooooomething!”
I threw on a light linen robe and rubbed a drop of aphrodisiac between my wrists.
“Hurry, or you’ll miss it all!” he shouted, leaning over the balcony railing.
“And I’m already here…” I whispered in his ear, gently wrapping my arms around his torso. “The Creator is spoiling us!”
“Come here,” he said, embracing me from behind.
And we froze, unable to put into words the beauty unfolding before us. The rain had eased, the clouds had parted, and a breathtaking sunset spilled every color of the rainbow across the sky. We stood in silence, watching the heavens transform minute by minute, as if mirroring our inner light.
“Thank you for the best day of my life.”
“It’s not over yet…”
Snake pressed closer and began slowly swaying his hips to the music playing. My light robe slid down my back and fell to the floor, leaving me standing completely naked before the the blushing face of the setting sun.
“How beautiful…” he whispered, admiring the textured play of light and shadow along the curves of my body.
Then he slowly turned me to face him and drew me into a long, sensual kiss. Smoothly dancing, we drifted from the veranda into the bedroom.
I wanted to undress him—to be even closer…
…and that was when I understood what was happening.