Rose was the first to rise.
She didn't speak. She just walked toward him, fully nude, her hair cascading down her back like a curtain of midnight. Her skin glowed golden in the morning sun, and her smile was soft, familiar, achingly perfect.
He opened his arms and she came into them, melting against him like she was always meant to be there.
Then the others followed. One by one, they came to him - Sophie, Lucy, Layla, Zoey, Emma, Grace, Natalie, Susan, Stella, Scarlet, and finally, quiet little Serena. Each kissed him. Each whispered something soft - an "I'm yours," a "we're ready," a "forever."
Together, they made their way back toward the camp, no longer needing clothes, no longer bound by shame or modesty. Their bodies were part of the island now, just as much as the trees, the river, the stones.
And the island welcomed them.
