Journey: Paradise

Yup, paradise.

"This is gonna be a long trip if I can't get at least one picture of you."

If Vulcans sighed, she would have. Instead, T'Pol returned her attention to the vast rain forest that waited to reclaim the ancient site. Archeological efforts had long ago uncovered the city of Guayabo, but the great rain forest of Costa Rica stood ready to hide it from history once again.

The camera clicked, and Trip swore he did hear a sigh. He wasn't going to be choosey, but he didn't want a picture of her back either. A profile would be just fine.

They walked along the ancient streets and aquifers. "What does the guidebook say?"

T'Pol tapped the screen and read the entry, "This society lived here between 1000 B.C. and A.D. 1400. Follow the Trail to marker 2C. From the lookout point, you can surmise the layout of the pre-Columbian village, built between two rivers. To the south, a wide cobbled pavement leads past ancient stone entrance gates and up a slight gradient to the village center, which at its peak housed an estimated 1,000 people. The cobbled pavement (calzada) is in perfect alignment with the cone of Volcán Turrialba."

They stood at the edge of a stone plaza and a marker labeled 2B. Petroglyphs decorated some of the stone pillars. "Amazing to see what these people were able to accomplish considering the tools they had." Trip, hands on his hips, looked around in appreciation of the civil engineering before him.

"Indeed. Humans have a tendency to perform seemingly impossible feats, and then boggle historians by not leaving detailed records of how they accomplished them."

Trip's tongue rolled in his cheek, "I'll take that as a compliment."

They continued their exploration of the city. Circular stone foundations traced patterns along the cobble pathway. A spider monkey jumped from tree to tree, but Trip was only able to capture a reddish blur. "Ah well, I can pick up some post-cards in the gift shop."

From the overlook they could clearly see the system of aquifers that fed the city. The foundations, pathways and walls formed geometric shapes on the hillside. “There is an ancient city not unlike this one in the Nhimu province.” Trip turned to listen to T’Pol’s story. “From all appearances it was a prosperous city, well designed and engineered like this one. But there is no record of any people ever having lived there. No pottery fragments, no traces of cooking, none.”

“A city no one lived in?”

It was a rhetorical question; she didn’t answer it. “The guidebook says that this city was abandoned before the Spanish explorers arrived. They have yet to uncover a reason for its abandonment.”

“There’s a fair number of mysteries like this in Human history. Easter Island is one of the more well known ones. After all this time we still haven’t figured out how all those sculptures got out there.”

They moved on and found a quiet piece of lawn to spread out the picnic blanket. Trip unpacked their lunch of salad and crackers. T'Pol adjusted her sun hat, which provided shade but also kept her ears covered. Opinions had improved on Earth, but all it took was one person to ruin their vacation. While they ate, a family came by. A little girl, about 6 or 7, ran about in the field chasing butterflies as her parents watched from a bench. Her giggling floated over the grass.

As Trip watched he couldn't help but remember his little sister doing the same so long ago. Wistful thoughts led him to wonder if his other Elizabeth would have chased butterflies in the field or if she would have sat and logically observed their flight.

"Perhaps some of both."

The pain they shared no longer cut quite as deep; hope for the future gave them respite. Trip offered her a soft smile, "Perhaps."

They packed up their picnic and continued their tour.

The couple snuggled together in the hammock swing chair that hung over the deck of the beach house. The sun set behind them to the west, coloring the sky in front of them deep crimson and indigo.

They sipped at cool drinks Trip would have called Pina Coladas if they actually had rum in them. As it was, the coconut/pineapple-flavored slushy drinks were fitting to the tropical setting.

As the sky darkened, the moon glow left a soft light hanging on the fringe of the forest. The tree frog chorus was beginning; other than their song and the gentle surf, there was no other sound. The bondmates did not speak, physically or mentally.

They simply communed with the beautiful setting before them; a gentle hum warming their bond. It was as close to meditating as Trip ever got.

They had another day and night here in Costa Rica before their journey took them further South. But this was a good way to start; a chance to be together, spend some quality time bonding physically and mentally with a little sightseeing thrown in. The Earth–Romulan War had drained them both. Trip was tired. Tired of fighting. Tired of sending kids to die. He always figured he'd be a lot older before retiring from Starfleet; dragged out kicking and screaming was more like it. But in the last five years he'd had his fill; it was time for something else.

Trip kissed the top of T'Pol's head and breathed in her scent. It didn't get much better than this.

Yup, paradise.

End

Costa Rica Visitor’s Information

See Trip and T’Pol’s vacation photos