See there’s this story that you used to tell yourself, where Prince Charming rode horses and slew dragons and you waited in your castle for him to rescue you. And in this story, in the end, when the pages grew thin and the illustrated drawings were sketched in pastels, you kissed the boy and the boy kissed you back and happily ever after was just another way of saying that everything would turn out okay.

But somewhere between high school and plane crashes you knew this fairy tale was a dream built from ideals, from the fantasies of a simple and naive mind. These bamboo prisons didn’t serve as castle walls and this ring of jungle brush didn’t fashion into a crown.

But it is here that you a find girl, with hair like rays of sunshine and legs that reach past your waist. And you really can’t picture her riding side saddle or wearing a suit of armor but the dragon thing is still probable considering her temper and she does sometimes seem like she was descended from royalty. Not to mention that one time when she kissed you, she tapped a long finger against your temple and called you princess.

While there still isn’t a tall tower in sight, just long-winded beaches and endless ocean, you’re still pretty sure you can rewrite this fairy tale of yours.