The bright light of the sun made Sam open his eyes. Still very sleepy, he sat up and reached for his phone. He was too used to doing that first thing in the morning, even in his situation. He was surprised to find that there was a message on the screen: his Google calendar just told him that today was Easter. I have to tell Tom, he thought. He got up quickly and rushed to the beach, screaming his friend’s name.

He met Tom on the spring Equinox cruise. It was a trip organized to celebrate the moment when the days become just as long as the nights. It was a tropical cruise, however, so the seasons here did not change all year long. Tom was a priest and loved to play poker. Sam met Tom during a game in the casino on the ship. They spent many evenings playing together with other guests of the Equinox cruise.

One night, Tom and Sam bet more money than they had and they lost the game. This caused a big argument and when the winner of the game was chasing Tom and Sam around the ship, they had no option but to jump in the water and swim to land. But they were unlucky, no-one was living on the island they swam to. “Tom, Tom! Today is Easter!”, Sam screamed, running up to his friend.

Tom was sitting on the beach and playing with the sand. When he got closer, Sam noticed that Tom was praying.

“Oh, sorry. I should’ve known you would remember.”
“What?” Asked Tom, confused. “No, I’ve been saying a prayer every day since we got here.”
“Oh! What are you praying for?” Asked Sam.
“That they don’t find us here,” Tom answered.
“Good idea. But don’t you want to celebrate Easter in some way? You’re a priest!”

Tom didn’t say anything. He seemed to be in a bad mood.
Sam had an idea. He went to the big rock on the beach, where a bird had its nest. He picked up a big stick and ran at the bird, yelling. The bird flew away scared. Sam took the eggs from the nest and brought them back to Tom on the beach. “What do you think? Do you want to dye some Easter eggs and decorate them?”

Tom looked at him, still not very happy. “Dye them with what? We don’t have any dye,” he said.

“But we do have a beet!” Sam went back to the tent and brought the vegetable to his friend.

Together, they dyed the eggs with the beet juice. They came out pink. This made Tom a little happier. “Tom, can you say mass? Then our celebration would be more official,” asked Sam.

Tom agreed and he said mass for Sam and the crabs on the beach. The crabs did not pray, but Sam did. Then they sat down to eat Easter breakfast – the pink Easter eggs. “You know, this is very traditional,” Tom said. “Is it really?” Asked Sam. “Yes. We’ve been fasting for a long time now,” said Tom. “Oh, that’s right!” “Many people don’t do the fast before Easter now,” Tom continued, “but at least we kept up the tradition. We celebrated Easter the right way.”

They ate their Easter eggs in silence and then shared a crab for dessert. “There is one thing missing, though,” said Tom.
“What is it?” Asked Sam.
“In church, there would always be a scene representing Jesus’ empty tomb. After mass, people would stop by the tomb and pray.”
“We can do that! No problem!” Sam exclaimed.

He got to work quickly: he picked up some seashells, some wet sand, and the shell of the crab that they just ate. He made a sandcastle in the shape of a cave, with the crab’s shell as the open door to the empty tomb. Tom seemed happy. “This is the best Easter I have had in a while,” he said.

They enjoyed the rest of their Easter morning talking about their families’ Easter traditions and how they celebrated it every year. Suddenly, Tom jumped up and pointed at the sea. Sam looked and saw a ship coming towards them. It was the Equinox cruise. “Oh no! We’re done for, now!” Sam cried.

They stood there in silence, they didn’t even think to hide. But as the ship came closer, its name on the side became clear. It was not the Equinox. This ship’s name was Santa Maria. The two friends looked at each other and yelled at the same time: “it’s a miracle! We’re saved!”.