Two Sides

Oh. It's just lovely here, I think to myself as I walk along, my feet sinking into the softness of the white sand as if they are melting into it and every once and awhile they are scratched by a shell. The scent of salt is strong and the sounds of the waves splashing against the shore are beats of music. The beautiful turquoise painting reflects the sun's light as it shines down from up above. I look across to the other side of the bay and notice the luscious green hills, the top of each of them are upside down smiles; this is paradise. The fresh fish being caught are grilled so perfectly with natural seasoning. The fresh fruits with bright juices oozing out as I bite into one like lava flowing out of a volcano, allow a burst of explosive new flavors to travel through my mouth. The feeling of the warm salt water, as warm as a bath, cleaning my skin, is pleasurable. I take joy in watching the pelicans swoop down to catch their prey; I would never understand- how did they see the fish from so far up? The water is just so clear, I guess. The caribbean steel drums play and every other tourist gets up out of their chairs to dance around to the incredible melodies being formed as if they have never heard music before. There is no labor here. No hard work. Everyone is free. Life is a vacation. Tall palm trees holding juicy coconuts stand tall as the wind fails to blow. They are the dictators of this land. A man with a machete is attached to one of the palm trees with the use of a harness and he chops away at the coconuts. I sip from a straw, the natural juice held inside the coconut and it’s refreshing; it feels like I am diving into a fresh, clean water river. In the distance, people on kayaks and paddle boats. I can hear their vibrant laughs from the shore. The colourful sailboats do not move far as the wind still fails to blow. I am at peace. I am happy.

 

The tourist walks along the beach of a resort. She smiles as she looks at the blue water and the green hills. She watches the men chop up the fish like a child watching their favorite tv show and she gets excited to explore the taste of one. She bites into a mango like a lion bites into its prey and closes her eyes, as if she travels to a whole new world. She listens to the dings and dongs coming from the steel drums and she even gets up and dances. She smiles at the man who gives her a coconut. She watches her surroundings and sits down on a chair. She looks happy. She forgets that there is more as she fails to travel to the other side. Where there is no salty smell nor sounds of the ocean waves. There is the smell of sewage and garbage and the smells of homeless men. There are no hills, there are small shacks used as houses. They are next to each other but all are different colours. There is no fresh fish; maybe there is fresh fruit but not to be eaten- to be sold to people like her. There is not enough water to take pleasure in the feeling of being clean. The beats of men yelling at each other in an accent she would not understand; want a likkle piece of dis ting? You hear dis man fooly...why ya cyant tink tru before you go off and make a blood clart problem. Ya mudda nah raise you right?, are the melodies they dance to. Sometimes they dance to the sounds of guns and the screams of young girls. One thing that is the same is the laughter and smiles. While she sees people laughing and smiling enjoying their time in paradise, she does not get to see the many laughing and smiling with each other, outside on their patios, enjoying their moments together even though they are in the same clothes they have worn all week, have not eaten since the morning, and are being eaten alive by mosquitos. They do not have proper light in their home so they stay outside, using the moons light until they are tired enough to sleep. As the tourist feels relaxed and thinks there is nothing wrong in this world, she forgets that the island is bigger. She forgets to view the other scenes on the island. She forgets to travel to the other side. She diminishes the fact that there is beauty but with that comes an ugliness. As she sips from her coconut juice, she forgets about that ugliness.