500 Word Short Story
Lost in Paradise
Scott A. Gese
500 Word Short Story
Nathan Orland was a confirmed bachelor. He answered to no one and he liked it that way.
Earlier in life he thought he would follow in the footsteps of his family and friends. They all found the loves of their lives, got married and settled down. Many of these “forever loves” ended in divorce.
Nathan had a change of heart as he watched the train wrecks pile up. He would rather not make the commitment. He did have his share of romances, but he was never willing to slip on the ring and settle down. He loved his life the way it was. For now, he had no plans to change a thing.
In his late twenties, Nathan got the itch to travel. He spent hours on his computer reading and watching video's of others who were traveling in paradise. Nathan wanted to find his piece of paradise. He was a decent writer and like his father, a good photographer. His father specialized in night sky photos. He enjoyed landscapes. He knew he could earn what he needed blogging and photographing his travels. He figured if others could do it, so could he.
In October of 2010, Nathan sold his belongings, said his good-by's to family and friends, then boarded a plane to Costa Rica.
He started blogging from day one. Anyone who wanted to know what Nathan Orland was up to could check his blog, see some recent photo's and read the latest news. Over a two year period, Nathan had developed quite a following. Thousands of people were reading his blog and purchasing the books he had written about his adventures.
One day, without notice, the writing stopped. No more blog posts. No more photos. His family started to worry. They had always been able to get in touch with him by phone. Now there was only a prerecorded message that said “Don't worry, I'm fine.” It's as if Nathan had fallen off the face of the earth.
His father traveled to his last known whereabouts. He had no luck locating his son and eventually returned home.
One month later his family received a photograph. Hand delivered by an employee of a company called anonymous whereabouts. They specialized in delivering information for people who didn't want their whereabouts to be known. Apparently Nathan didn't want to be found.
The photograph was of the night sky. On the back was a note. I've found my paradise. I'm happy. It was signed Nathan.
Two weeks later, Nathan's father knocked on the door of a room at a Buddhist monastery in New Zealand. Nathan answered. He smiled when he saw his father. They talked for hours. His father soon realized that Nathan had found his piece of paradise. He reluctantly accepted Nathan's choice.
“How did you find me?” Asked Nathan.
“The photo of the night sky. I had someone determine the ground coordinates according to the stars in the photo. It led me to the courtyard outside your room.
© Copyright 2019 by Scott A. Gese All Rights Reserved.
