As conscious reality made its way into my foggy senses so did something else. I sat up abruptly as I looked around at the other scattered out survivors along the beach and cried out, "Koke?"
"He's not here."
I swung back around to the big man behind me. There was no cocky arrogance about him as there had been last night. Genuine sympathy shown from his gray eyes in a level of empathetic emotion I wouldn't have expected from him.
"He's not in the plane either. I saw him get up to go to the bathroom, but they were all full so he headed to the ones at the back of the plane. It couldn't have been, but a couple of minutes later when that freak storm crashed into us."
I stared at him not really seeing him as tears washed down my face. My head sunk down as I sobbed out on a keening wail, "I've killed my brother! It's all my fault! If I……"
A big hand rubbed over my back as several fingers brought my chin up, "Hey now! You're jumping to conclusions about your brother being dead! If he was in the tail section of the plane he stood just as good a chance of surviving as we did. I saw the tail section across from us on the other side of the whirlpool. Your brother could be very much alive!"
I looked at him closely, but I could discern no lie in his eyes or voice. I searched inside myself in the way that twins have a way of doing and I felt no corresponding sense of loss. Koke was alive.
Oh God I hoped so! I'd never forgive myself if something happened to him.
In a tone of concern the man asked, "What's wrong with your eyes?"
"My contacts are all messed up." I said, as I pressed my fingers to my burning eyes to stop the pain.
His tone was decidedly grim as he said, "You wear contacts. Please tell me you have a pair of glasses somewhere?"
"In my bag on the plane, if they're not busted."
I'd no sooner said the words than I heard him get up off the sand. Opening my eyes I saw a blurry image of him wading into the sea apparently to fetch my glasses for me. Chivalry wasn't dead after all.
I closed my eyes as it hurt too much to keep them open. Wiping my fingers free of sand I went ahead and took the contacts out. My eyes felt better immediately, but the sad fact of the matter was that I was something of a bat without my prescription eyewear.