I opened my eyes and saw that it was still dark, but it was that wonderful, fleeting moment when you just know that the sun is going to appear at any second to signal the start of a brand new day and a new opportunity to make the most of life.

The sun was just under the horizon and I wanted to be out on the beach to greet it when it made its first appearance of the day. Adam was sleeping so I left him there. This was something that I wanted to experience alone anyway.

I had slept very little in the last few nights but I was restless again and needed to walk and think. I went for a stroll along the sand around the curved bay. The feeling of wet sand under my wet toes was amazing and it instantly relaxed me. I loved the sensation of sinking into the sand as I walked.

On a whim, I took off the t-shirt and threw it onto the beach. Well, there was absolutely no–one around to see me walking naked along the sand, feeling the joy of the early morning sun on my bare skin. I had done the same thing once in the jungle reserve, walking down to the outdoor shower naked when I knew that everyone else was asleep.

This felt different, though. More thrilling and more like a bold step in my life rather than a moment of madness to liven up my day.

This was the kind of total freedom that I had dreamed of when I had set off on my travels but had never quite managed to feel before now.

The first rays of the sun shone on the beach and I lay on the sand making angels with my arms and legs like I used to do in the snow as a kid. I was now covered all over in wet sand, so I ran into the water to wash it all off before carrying on with my exploration of the island.

This was like having my own private island where I could do whatever I wanted without having to give explanations or conform to other people’s ideas about what I should be like and how I should behave.

Something had clicked in my mind last night. I had convinced myself since leaving home that I had discovered the true meaning of freedom, but I hadn’t until the last few hours spent on the sand with Adam by my side that I had truly felt it.

In fact, for most of my time backpacking and working in the jungle I had been scared, lonely or confused. Of course, it had all been part of the journey towards understanding what freedom really is and appreciating it. I could see now that I couldn’t enjoy this moment without having passed through everything else on the way.

The final part of the process had come last night. While Adam had been apologizing to me I had come to understand that I could finally achieve freedom with him by my side, believing in me and seeing in me the good things that even I struggled to notice at times.

I had always considered being in a relationship as being something that would restrict me and limit my life in some way. Last night I had finally seen that being with Adam could open up a whole new world for me. Not because he was rich, but because he was capable of seeing things that I couldn’t and teaching me about ideas that had never once crossed my mind before now.

While I was lying on my stomach with the water caressing me I saw Adam standing on the shore looking at me. He looked slightly confused and I assumed that he wasn’t sure whether I wanted him to join me or not.

“I hope you’re not getting my t-shirt wet again.” The little smile out of the side of his mouth told me that he had noticed that the t-shirt was lying on the sand far away from where I was splashing around. He was relaxed and his face looked different. He wasn’t trying to pretend to be someone that he wasn’t anymore. This was the real Adam I was meeting at last and I liked him a lot.

“I’m not getting any clothes wet.” I rolled over onto my back and then onto my stomach again so that he could see for himself. “The water’s fantastic, come in and splash around a bit.”

“I always wondered whether I would ever meet a tempting mermaid on a tropical beach but I didn’t expect her to be so gorgeous.”

I felt his hands slide under my body and he then cradled me in his strong arms. I put my arms around him and then caressed him all over. We were both completely naked and very aroused but this was simply a time to enjoy being together in the most natural state possible without doing anything else.

We were together in the water for what could have been 5 minutes or 5 hours, holding each other and enjoying the peace of the moment. My hand was massaging his firm buttocks and he had a hand on my breasts, yet it just felt all so sweet and innocent rather than anything naughty or sordid. This felt like what life as a couple was meant to be like, just the two of us without a single worry or distraction anywhere to be seen.

A big wave hit us out of the blue. We fell to the ground laughing and spitting out water. When we got back up again another hit us, bigger this time. What was happening?

A third wave, bigger than the last one, sending us floundering onto the beach spitting sea water and feeling slightly dazed.

“Is it a tsunami?”

“It’s a ship’s wake.” Adam struggled to his feet and starting waving his hands wildly.

I did the same. If anyone had seen us from the large container ship that passed the island we would have looked really weird, a naked couple desperately waving on the beach.

No-one saw us, though.

I sat down feeling disappointed. Would we ever get out of here and be able to start a normal life together in the real world? At least the passing ship meant that we weren’t completely cut off from civilization but when would the next one pass?

“Hang on, I think it went round to the other side of the island. If we cross those hills we might be able to catch up with it.”

“Do you think there might be a village or town there where it’s going to?”

“There’s only one way to find out.”

With so much going on in our relationship I hadn’t even considered the possibility of going over to the other side of the mountains before now, but it made sense. It would be a tough trek but far from impossible to achieve.

We spent a few minutes gathering together some food and drinking water for the trip. There wasn’t a lot else for us to take away. Having so few possessions felt exhilarating but I wondered how a billionaire who was used to being surrounded by luxury would feel about it.

“Don’t you miss your yacht and all your stuff?”

“No. I think that was what was stopping me from being myself. I was being controlled by my wealth and my belongings rather than being in control of them.”

“That makes sense. Do you think they will be able to salvage the yacht?”

He just shrugged.

“I don’t care. It’s not who I am anymore.”

I picked up a few packets of the food that he had salvaged. There was only enough for one or maybe two meals so we were going to have to find something on the other side of the island or we were in serious trouble.

Strangely, I felt that I was going to miss this isolated little beach. As we started up the hill I took a last look back at the place where my life and way of thinking had changed forever.