It All Started in Paradise

Preamble:

A mature husband and wife couple books a private island holiday in Thailand. The wife cancels at late notice. The husband's sister takes her place. The host is a family of mother, son and daughter.

The siblings explore their sexuality with the incidental help of the host family.

There is simmering teasing nudity, exhibitionism, voyeurism and taboo frisson tension in this story, amid countryside serenity. If you are looking for caterwauling and torrenting sex, this is not for you.

***

Chapter 1: Best Laid Plans

Chapter 2: Change

Chapter 3: O & O

Chapter 4: Arrival

Chapter 5: Who is Olivia?

Chapter 6: Brave Nude Dawn

Chapter 7: Couples Massage 1

Chapter 8: Movie Night

Chapter 9: Couples Massage 2

Chapter 10: Haircut With Benefits

Chapter 11: Couples Massage 3

Chapter 12: Sail

Chapter 13: Parting Is So Hard

Epilogue

***

Chapter 1

Best Laid Plans

It all begins one day in the twenty-first century when an elated Oliver calls his wife.

Enthusing, "Mia, it's arranged. Heaven without the inconvenience of dying. A fortnight. Ko Maeo. Private island bobbing in the Andaman. Rustic traditional Thai bungalow on clifftop fitted up with modern creature comforts. Wine cellar. An overhang of infinity pool. Cliff path down to pristine beach. Miles of sand as far as the eye can see. Yacht at our disposal. A resident caretaker minder family catering to every domestic need."

Mia jocularly, "Is that all, Ollie?"

Ollie apologetically, "Yes, Spartan. But, you're strong. We'll survive the ordeal."

Mia philosophically echoing Nietzsche, "What doesn't kill us makes us stronger."

Mia approvingly, "Lovely. Simply lovely! Can't wait."

They hang up.

Scenes of Leonardo DiCaprio's "The Beach" movie play in the video of Mia's mind. She instinctively google maps "Ko Maeo". It returns a "Not found". For the first time in her internet life, she is pleased with this screen message. She coos to herself, "Perfect! Just Perfect!"

***

Chapter 2

Change

Mia has a career-defining work contingency three days before the departure. Her company wins a multimillion dollar deal. Shit happens! But, it's a happy problem.

Ollie calls the travel agent. He learns that he can't cancel at such late notice.

Mia is insistent that Ollie should go ahead with the holiday because she will be on a flurry of business travel anyway. Mia knows all too well the custom method-to-the-madness whenever a mega deal is won. In corporate speak, FSNP. Forming, storming, norming, performing. The flurry of tumult that eventually settles down to slick execution machinery.

The holiday package is for two pax. Everything is priced for two. Airfare to halfway around the world. Transfers land, sea and air. F&B. Ollie is unable to claw back any partial refund, however small, for Mia.

Ollie often teases his wife. Mia. M-I-A. Missing In Action. This time, it's for real. And not in the least funny. Ollie jots down a list of potential replacements for Mia. His closest mates, particularly the insufferably companionable ones. Relatives. All express ooohs and ahs about the holiday offering, but can't get out of their work, family and social entanglements at such short notice.

An epiphany zaps Ollie. His sis, Olivia. She is a homemaker. Her husband is a bigwig in the government Foreign Office. He is on work travel a good seventy percent of the time.

Ollie calls his sis. Bingo! True to form, Sir Nigel is away for a month on Her Majesty's Service. She is bored stiff at home. She has a collection of hours to spend.

Olivia squeals in rapturous delight.

***

Chapter 3

O & O

This is a good time to describe Ollie and Olivia. "O and O" was what their parents called them fondly in their childhood. That label has stuck.

Ollie is the younger sibling. He is fifty, but can credibly pass off as mid-forties. Five feet eight inches tall. Blue eyes, a blend of Mediterranean and Arctic sky. Brown haired. He has his measured share of soft contours apt for his age range. A good-looking man with a determined jaw. His aquiline attributes contrast complementingly with the mellowed features of his body form to project an Adonis hunk shaped by lived experience.

Ollie married university sweetheart, Mia, right after they started working life, at twenty-two.

Ollie and Olivia were raised in a conservative religious family. Not quite cowering under the wrath of a vigilant god, but unwaveringly straight and narrow. Their parents were shining exemplars of the protestant work ethic. Ollie and Olivia continue to hold many of these values by instinctive custom.

Mia is the first and only feminine inspiration in Ollie's life. And the lone star in Ollie's sexual universe too. He often wonders about the biodiversity teeming over yonder, but has never worked up the motivation. Ollie and Mia have a daughter and a son, in their twenties.

Ollie majored in Literature, with a minor in Philosophy. He is a creative writer. He has published with moderate success. He is sourcing the inspiration for his elusive magnum opus.

Ollie loves the outdoors, particularly the calming solitude in communing with nature. Ollie and Olivia grew up on the idyllic English south coast. They had a modest family daysailer yacht. They crewed for their parents during their family sails. Ollie is moved by the poetry of sailing, which feeds into his writing inspiration.

***

Elder sibling, Olivia is an attractive woman. She is fifty-two, though she looks late forties. A compact five feet four inches tall.

Her most striking features are her short fair hair lightened with some silver streaks, though the roots hint at a darker natural colour; penetrating brown eyes; high cheekbones; a light dusting of freckles beneath her eyes, and a lovely smile. These combine to compose a most appealing face.

There is a touch of maturity in her figure. She is nicely rounded, but firm. Neither overweight nor skinny. She displays signs of taking care of herself without being obsessive over it.

Her breasts, from what a casual admirer can discern beneath her braless t-shirt or blouse if she is so clothed, are on the modest if not small side, appearing naturally well-formed and plump, with a hint of sag.

Her light dusting of freckles continues on her upper chest and arms.

In a word, comely, in the English rose mould.

Olivia majored in Philosophy, with a minor in Literature. The reverse of Ollie. After uni, she worked in the Foreign Office in an administrative position, where she caught the roving eye of Sir Nigel. He is a good fifteen years older than she. He sent her forests of roses daily till she eventually noticed and acknowledged his interest.

The rest is linear matrimonial history. Olivia left the Foreign Office shortly after her marriage and never worked since.

In the early days, Olivia used to follow Sir Nigel dutifully on his work travel, if only to stock up on her postcards. A wifely Sancho Panza at the strident heels of Don Quixote. But, she has grown tired of these whirlwind airport-hotel-airport carousel spins. And the numbing conversations with the social mountaineer wives of her husband's foreign work counterparts, on the Olivia of England, and the England of Olivia.

Olivia writes and publishes short stories, and anthologies of poetry in her spare time. It keeps the creative kernel of her constitution ebbing and alive. It earns her convenient supplemental loose change income too. Not a life of high adventure and episodal escapades for sure, but a good life of almond and honey. In this milieu, she has developed a high tolerance for pleasure. People who live charmed lives and say awfully clever things.

Olivia was a feisty twenty year old. She is now over fifty years old, and still very much Olivia.

Olivia and Ollie are not particularly close as siblings, notwithstanding their many shared experiences. They share a normal childhood and teenhood, no more closer or distant than other siblings. After that, boarding school, uni, career and marriage invariably kept them apart.

Like Ollie, Olivia holds firm to the values imparted by her parents. While she is no prude, and it is hard to imagine that she can be one from her cheeky effervescent demeanor, Sir Nigel constitutes her entire male experience. That experience did not yield any offsprings.

Like her brother, Olivia often wonders what is out there. Knowns and unknowns. There are known knowns, known unknowns, unknown knowns, unknown unknowns. Rumsfeld Matrix.

Sir Nigel is a "known known": Something Olivia is aware of and understands.

So, what of what-is-out-there? An "unknown known". Something Olivia understands, but is not aware of.

All this highfalutin philosophical logic is fine, but it does nothing for Olivia.

Unbeknownst to Olivia, the expanding universe is coming her way soon. And Ollie's.

***

Chapter 4

Arrival

An odyssey.

Transfer to airport. Transcontinental flight. Transit. International flight. Domestic flight to the main island.

And here they are.

Sitting on the dock of the bay. Sitting in the morning sun. Watching the tide roll away.

Watching the ships roll in.

And watch them roll away again.

The yachts bob at the marina, hull to hull. Their owners are captive in faraway high rise offices earning the money to pay the mooring fees. But today, the seagulls own the boats.

A young Thai man beaming a sunshine smile looks up at them from a yacht.

A curious blend of Hawaiian casual American, and local accent emanates from the lad. "You must be Mr and Mrs Oliver. I hope you had a good flight. I'm Anurak. My mother, sister and me are your hosts."

"Very pleased to meet you, Anurak. And this is Olivia."

Olivia can't help but ascertain the young man. This is her first trip east. Everything has an exotic sheen. A boy-man of five feet eight inches, about the height of Ollie, but appears taller because of his lithe athletic build. Likely no more than twenty-one or twenty-two. Longish, but not long, black hair, irreverent, but not scruffy. Anurak looks like a surfer dude who has just stepped off a movie screen to engage the audience. In particular, Olivia's attention interest unconsciously drifts to his hands for some reason - strong and capable.

"Anurak, we appreciate your waiting for us. Pleased to meet you."

They exchange the rest of the social pleasantries.

Ollie is about to add that Olivia is his sister. He casts a fleeting look at Olivia. Her eyes seem to instinctively suggest that it may be best to let their hosts think that they are husband and wife, per the original holiday booking details, as the travel package has been customised to host a couple.

Anurak loads their luggage below deck. He is surprised that it is a single backpack. "I will fetch the rest from the resort club house."

"Oh no! This is it! We figured that we'll dress lite since it's a private island. Swimsuits and leisure wear don't consume much space."

Shortly, they are ready to depart for the island.

"I understand from your booking profile information that you're experienced sailors. This makes it easy, and also a pleasure, for us sailors to communicate."

"Yes, we've been sailing since we were kids in my family's sailboat."

They can feel the beginnings of a bond forming.

"This is a German-made 'Hanse 315'. I think they call this class a pocket cruiser. Although not a big yacht, it has all the automated features for singlehanded sailing. The main automation features are the self-tacking foresail system and the autohelm. Once we get underway, I'll show you around the boat. The sheets, controls, instruments, and so on."

Anurak enquires, "Ko Maeo is ten nautical miles away. Would you like to motor or sail there? The wind is a bit weak now."

The sailor in Ollie assesses the wind strength. Ollie advises, "We're quite tired from our travel. Better we motor. We'll enjoy the sailing when we've settled down."

"Cool!"

Anurak quips, "And when you do sail, you've the option of sailing on your own, or with me helming the boat so that you can focus on doing nothing."

He winks, "Or, doing whatever."

Ollie looks at his sis. Olivia allows herself a hint of a conspiratorial smile. For some inexplicable reason, Ollie bends down, kisses her neck, and stands back to look at her. This spontaneity surprises Olivia. They are not a touchy-feely family. But, she is pleased. The detail of this nuanced affection moment did not elude Anurak.

Olivia curiously. "Anurak, does your name have a meaning in Thai?"

Sheepishly, "Male angel."

Olivia quips, "Divine providence! We're in good hands."

Laughter.

"And, how did you learn your English?"

Anurak deadpans, "Youtube"

Good natured laughter erupts all round.

So lightened up, an insouciant Anurak quips, "Please don't ask me how I learned sailing."

Anurak playfully zigzags the boat on a drunken course. More laughter.

After bantering awhile, Ollie and Olivia go foredeck. The yacht skims the brilliant skin of sea, striding the deep. Sea sprays bounce off the hull like diamonds in the sunlight. The wind rushes against their faces heightening the sensation of speed. They experience the lap, and sense the whisper of the sea. They are both in their teens all over again. They are pleasantly giddy from a mixture of fatigue and excitement.

***

The yacht noses toward a ramshackle jetty. The cliff towers above the jetty. Anurak secures the yacht. It goes into a static gallop in the lapping waves. Ollie wonders if the jetty can hang on to the yacht in a tempest. The island is near the epicentre of the 2004 tsunami.

***

A young woman, presumably Anurak's sister, and an older woman, presumably the mum, are at the jetty to welcome the guests, and to lend a hand.

Introductions and pleasantries are enthusiastically exchanged.

Nin, twenty, is Anurak's younger sibling. She is in a t-shirt and shorts. Her t-shirt reads "Same Same", as does Anurak's. A female clone of Anurak. The classic lithe surfer babe. Athletic, lissome. A gazelle. She is casually pretty in the way that Anurak is effortlessly good-looking. Just a little shorter than her brother. And where you expect to see a complementary adornment of pert A-cups, fulsome, almost plump C's hang. On her willowy form, her breasts appear much bigger and heavier than they actually are.

Nin has the olive Mediterranean skin that seems to retain the glow of the sun long after it has set. Her eyes are dark, her smile bright. Nin means sapphire in Thai. She is precisely that.

Nin speaks English much like her brother. But, more musical. Words coalesce into succeeding words, but still retaining their individual clarity. There is a deeper overlay of local accent.

***

Mum is Penchan. Mid to late fifties. Her name means full moon. She is exactly just that. A vintage Nin, mellowed, rounded and curved by marriage, child bearing, age, gravity and glorious lived experience.

Her English is halting, lightly sing song at times, but comprehensible in the main. When Penchan switches from English to Thai, her body changes gear, becoming fluid again.

Ollie's and Olivia's first impressions are that the Thais are a warm generous people, and at the same time, reserved. This is the charm.

***

The party climbs up the winding cliff path which was hewn from the cliff face.

Voila! At the cliff top is a traditional Thai wooden bungalow built in the South East Asian style. It is raised high on stilts to avoid the tropical damp of the ground.

The front of the bungalow stares down the sea. The other three sides are shrouded by a verdant canopy of trees. Random assertive vines creep over parts as if to claim and possess the structure, but without success. It appears like the bungalow grew organically of its own will in the rainforest, rather than was built. This lends it an inclusive warm and cosy, yet surreal quality.

There is a mini archway at the bottom of the staircase, strung with a low-hung wind chime. As the party ascends the stairs, they graze the wind chime causing it to sound. This is presumably a nuanced door bell of sorts to subtly alert the residents in the bungalow that there are visitors a-coming.

At the top, Penchan shows Ollie and Olivia the layout of the bungalow, while Anurak shows them the electronic gizmos.

The bedroom and open patio are sea-facing. There is an overhang of mini infinity pool at the far corner of the patio.

The living room opens up seamlessly to the patio. The living room and bedroom enjoy sea and rainforest views.

The kitchenette, dining area and study room have a rainforest view.

Penchan explains that her family lives in a bungalow a hundred metres behind. There is a connecting path.

All meals are covered in the package. The meals are prepared in Penchan's kitchen, and are carted over and served in the patio in good weather, and the dining area in bad.

The kitchenette is stocked with a selection of soft beverages, alcoholic poisons and snacks. There is a mini wine cellar.

Anurak shows Ollie the messaging system between the two bungalows. It can be used to communicate any desired changes to the scheduled services, or to make any ad hoc requests.

To provide maximum flexibility for the guests, housekeeping is done as and when the guests are outdoors, such as when they are at the beach, hiking or sailing.

Penchan reminds the guests that the package includes three couples massage, of which two have an instructional focus. The schedule is in the hardcopy handout provided.

As they take leave, Anurak says, "Mr and Mrs Oliver, you may like to know that there are just the five of us on this island. The architect designed the bungalow to provide 360 degrees privacy. Enjoy!"

Nin surreptitiously pokes her brother in the ribs, while Penchan quickens her steps.

Ollie looks at Olivia. Her face blends into a shy smile.

***

After an early dinner served by Penchan, Ollie and Olivia go to bed. Although they have to share a bedroom and a bed, there is no awkwardness. Ollie crashes on his side of the big bed, and is out in a blink. So too Olivia.

The last wooden floor board creaks, and the house sleeps.

***

Chapter 5

Who is Olivia?

10 pm.

The siblings are lounging in their patio amongst the scatter cushions. Their bungalow is a smaller, more basic variant of the guest bungalow. They converse in Thai to the accompaniment of a background orchestra of cicadas whirring and chirping away in the embracing rainforest.

Anurak curiously, "What do you make of our guests?"

"What do you mean?"

"There's something I can't quite place. Their mannerisms are eeringly similar. And they're guarded, like polite, in their interactions with each other."

Nin posits sagely, "They're English. English reserve? And at their age, they would've been married a long time. I read that couples go from lovey-dovey, to gutting each other, and then, to impossibly polite. So, maybe this holiday is to make things right again."

Anurak proclaims, "Let the healin' begin!"

"Shush! You'll wake Ma!"

Anurak studies the guest profile provided by the resort management. He searches Ollie's full name on social media. After deftly filtering and inferring this and that, trawling here and there, he reckons he has nailed him.

"Meet Oliver. Or, Ollie as he calls himself. This looks like his family picture with wife and children. He's old enough to be our dad. But, the wife in the picture doesn't look anything like our guest Olivia."

Anurak noses further down the rabbit hole.

"Wife is Mia. Matches the spouse name in our guest record."

Nin piqued, "So, who is Olivia?"

"This looks like an extended clan picture. A celebration event or something. The lady at the far right looks a little like Olivia. The seemingly possessive older gent next to her, by body language, looks like her hubby."