We figured that we would come across a synchronicity here in Aruba, and yes, we certainly have–one connected to an international incident that has received extensive coverage, some would say way too much. You see, we wouldn’t be staying in Aruba if not for the Natalee Holloway case, and that murder story is at the heart of this synchronicity. Here’s our tale.
We were here four years ago, staying at a low-key hotel called the Boardwalk, about a quarter mile from the beach. It’s a comfortable place that caters to windsurfers. At the time, the murder of the young American woman was still fresh on people’s minds, even though the case was a year old. So when Julia, the owner of the Boardwalk, found out that Trish was using the Boardwalk as a setting in her new novel, Kill Time, she became upset. The title disturbed her and Trish changed the name of the Boardwalk.
However, a couple of years after the book was published, we received an e-mail from Julia telling us that she read Kill Time and enjoyed it. She regretted making such a fuss and said it was related to the international coverage of the infamous murder and its effects on Aruba’s image. By then, she’d realized that the book wasn’t a spin-off murder story playing on that case, but was actually an intriguing time travel story. So, as a way of compensating, Julia invited us to a free week’s stay on the island.
We accepted, but because of other commitments twice put off travel dates, finally settling on this week. It coincides with the time that the Natalee Holloway story is back in the news following the arrest of Joran Van der Sloot for the murder of a Peruvian business student, which occurred five years to the day after Natalie Holloway disappeared.
Oddly enough, we didn’t fully comprehend the synchronicity until Julia brought it up to us yesterday after she finished reading The Seven Secrets of Synchronicity, which we’d given to her upon our arrival. She went on to add another synchronicity related to the case.
On Sept. 3, 2005, Van der Sloot and three friends–all suspects in the murder–were released from jail by a judge in spite of the prosecution’s protestations.Their release occurred one day after the collapse of Aruba’s natural bridge, a major tourist attraction. Symbolically, the bridge represented the feared collapse of the island’s image as a highly attractive travel destination. Even now, several people mentioned the murder case to us before we left and asked if we were worried about our daughter’s safety. So, to some extent the island’s image remains tarnished by the case.
There’s one other oddity about our connection with Aruba and this case. When Julia made the offer to us, it wasn’t for a week’s stay at the Boardwalk, but at a cottage she and her husband own, which is located on the edge of a national park on the north end of the island. For a time, the search for Natalee Holloway’s body was centered here.
This is the front porch of our little cottage. The trade winds blow constantly. It sits at the edge of a natural preserve that is incredibly peaceful, beautiful in a desert way. The ocean is visible just over a rise to the north. We walked that area today. It’s desolate, strange, silent. There are a hundred places where Natalie Holloway might be buried.
But now, as the wind blows, as the wind chimes sing, as we move into life here, we understand that the Halloway murder is an aberration. A travesty foreign to this place.
Aruba is a peaceful island. The Aruba license place reads: Aruba- One Happy Island. In fact, today we went shopping in one of the hotels. As Megan and Trish were at the counter to pay for their purchases, this guy came in with a cup of coffee for the female clerk.
“Hey, hon, delivering your coffee, with sugar,” he said.
“Thanks,” she replied.
“Wow, what service,” Trish remarked.
“She’s my ex-wife,” he said.
“Really?” Trish exclaimed.
“Really,” the clerk replied.
“The island’s too small to hold grudges,” he said.
“We work in the same place,” the woman added.
The man laughed. “Yeah, Aruba, one happy island.”
Megan and Trish just looked at each other, then plunked down a bunch of cash for their purchases.One Happy Island, indeed.
We love it here.