Is this destiny?

~ Island, somewhere in Pacific Ocean ~

Aiden checked time on the bedside digital clock, it was just past midnight.

"It's time… dress up." His excitement was obvious.

Sarah checked the time and looked at him with an unreadable expression. "After midnight? Bats? Vampires?" It was obvious that she was not very interested in going out at this hour. Not when there is a jungle behind them… and she was tired. 'Can't it wait until morning?'

"You have a strange imagination… and your lack of enthusiasm is not appreciated." He gave her a reprimanding look.

She realized that he has something planned. That is why he got his t-shirt and cargo shorts on half an hour ago.

Aiden noticed that her resistance subsided. "Now go dress up, or we will miss it." He ushered her to the closet.

Two minutes later, Sarah walked out in shorts and a t-shirt, style and colors matching his.

He took her hand and led the way outside.

His cheerful attitude improved her mood as well.

They reached the beach, and there was one large lounging chair waiting for them, close to the water.

Aiden sat on the chair and pulled Sarah to sit between his legs while her back leaned on his chest.

"We are waiting for something?", she wanted to confirm.

"Yes… few minutes…", he kissed her temple and fidgeted for a bit.

Sarah looked up and admired billions of stars which speckled the dark moonless sky. She was trying to guess what they are waiting for. 'Fireworks?' She saw a shooting star. 'Meteor shower?'

"Did you make a wish?", he saw the same shooting star that she did.

She shook her head. "If a space debris which burns as it enters Earth's atmosphere can make wishes come true, there would be a lot of rich and famous people, and polygamy would be legal across the globe."

He chuckled and knocked her head lightly. "Can't you play along nicely?"

"Oh, OK…" She thought for a second. "But still, I didn't make a wish."

"If you find something that can make your wish come true, any wish, what would you wish for?", he continued probing.

She was silently contemplating for some time before answering, "Nothing. I have everything I want, and what I don't have yet, I will get it myself… What would you wish for?"

"That we stay like this, together… forever.", he responded.

Sarah straightened her back and turned to face him. His words touched her heart, but she saw a flaw and she had to point out. "You don't need a wish for that. If you make it, it will be troublesome."

Sarah saw him raising his eyebrows, expecting an explanation. She took a deep breath and continued. "Nothing can separate us, so making a wish that we stay together is… a wasted wish. However, if we ever do end up… splitting up… it means that at least one of us had a change of heart. And at that point, a wish to stay together with someone who is not willing is… troublesome."

He was obviously stunned and not pleased with her explanation. "I understand your logic… but at the same time, it hurts me to hear you talk about us splitting up in such a calm manner."

Sarah saw his pained expression and regretted her choice of words. She had to fix this… that is not what she meant… she spoke with urgency, tinge of panic in her voice: "I was only trying to explain why such a wish will be wasted. I have no intention of breaking up with you, ever. I can't imagine myself without you in my life."

She looked into his dark eyes which hid an endless abyss within and felt his grip on her tighten.

He pulled her body closer to him and they kissed. Slowly. Each kiss was making the world around them disappear in the blur a bit more, until there was nothing left. His arm held back of her head while hiding in her hair, their bodies pressed against each other, and nothing else mattered.

Sarah melted in his arms, gripping his back firmly, making sure that he does not disappear with the rest of the world, and she could only describe the feeling as a total surrender.

He rested his forehead on hers and she could see that he is smiling. And she was smiling as well.

Sarah inched away and looked into Aiden's eyes and stopped breathing. His eyes were glowing! His always dark eyes now had a strong light blue glow! She blinked few times to make sure she is not imagining. 'Yes! He has magic!' All her years of experience playing computer games were put into good use as she analyzed: 'White magic is for snow. Blue magic is for water… Light blue means that he is an ice wizard! But his body is warm… so it's warm ice. Yes, if you imbue ice with magic, it can feel warm... And his eyes are glowing strongly, which means he has a lot of mana! He must be a powerful wizard…'

She saw him glance behind her and his smile widened. And then a wave of disappointment hit her. 'His eyes are not glowing… they are reflecting what is behind me… BEHIND ME?!!'

She turned around and looked toward the ocean… waves brought in with them light blue glow. She remembered reading about this: bioluminescent plankton. Microscopic organisms which glow and are carried by the currents.

Any picture she saw previously didn't do justice to what she is looking at now. It seemed like the ocean has stars on its own. 'Like magic…'

Sarah shook her head and smiled at herself when she remembered how she said that she does not believe in wishing stars and then, for a moment she believed, or hoped, that Aiden is an ice wizard. She turned to look at him. 'Yes, if it's related to him, I will believe in anything. Even magic.'

They held hands while walking to the ocean and admiring the magnificent display of nature. Sarah turned around and saw that their footprints in the sand close to the water are glowing. She observed that waves are washing on the sand plankton and they are not going back in the ocean while currents are making the colony drift away from the shore. Sarah squatted and started collecting and pushing in the water sand mixed with light blue glow.

"What are you doing?", Aiden asked when he observed her actions.

"If they don't go back in water, they will die." Sarah responded without pausing her actions.

"There are too many, you can't save them all…" He wanted to say that this happens every evening, and it's a circle of life for these tiny creatures and pushing few of them back in the water will not make any difference...

"I can save at least some of them.", she stubbornly pushed the sand back in the ocean.

Aiden paused for a moment and then decided to give up on persuading her to stop. He squatted not far from her and started pushing microscopic creatures back in the ocean while scooping them together with sand. He remembered those girls (and boys) in Africa and how she was not able to stay still when she saw them helpless… and he remembered stories from her 'Sigma army', how she helped them when they were in a pinch. He knew that Sarah is inclined to approach people in need of help, and now he saw that she will help even microscopic organisms.

Aiden looked at her and thought how she is the most beautiful girl in the world, inside and out. Before meeting her, he didn't know that someone can be so kind.

It didn't take long for tide to pull the ocean away, the plankton colony was long gone with the current, and light blue glow on the sand dimmed before completely dying away. Only then did Sarah stop her rescue efforts.

He held her close to him as they walked back toward villa. "You know… I thought that the sight of a glowing ocean will impress you. And you transformed it into a rescue operation."

Sarah heard disappointment in his voice. He should not be feeling down… "It was beautiful… and I am impressed by all the effort you put into this. For a moment, I thought you are a wizard."

He liked what he heard. Smug smirk appeared on his face. "What kind of wizard?"

She giggled seeing him switch his mood so quickly. "Ice wizard."

He frowned, not understanding where that came from. There was nothing icy or cold, how can she give him a role of an ice wizard?

"A very powerful one.", she quickly added.

He thought for a second and then smile came back to his face. 'I can be a very powerful ice wizard…'

It's not important from where it came from. As long as she sees him as a very powerful character, nothing else matters.

They showered before going to bed.

Sarah slept off within a minute.

Aiden kissed her forehead gently, taking care not to disturb her sleep and held her tightly. He was happy. First day went well.. With those thoughts he drifted off to sleep.