Immortal Beauty

by Thomas McDermott

  He was standing on the vast plains again with the wind whipping all around. He was in a circle with a group of Indians he knew very well. They were his people, his family and they were all connected and gathering their collective power. Their lips were moving as they chanted incantations over and over again. They were trying to make it rain. Little by little the vision became more clear and he could feel the raindrops begin to land on his head and the back of his hands. Thunder rolled in the distance and his concentration became even more focused. He directed all his energy upwards and felt it surging though his body to the clouds above. Lighting began to strike which broke the concentration of some of the men but it only spurned him on more. He wanted to direct the fire from the sky and focused on a tree al little off to the left. After a minute or two a strong blast of white heat struck the tree with a loud crack and the e tree split in two. He felt elated but only saw fear and anger in the faces of his peers. They had all stopped chanting now and watched him in awe as he kept his eyes rolled upwards toward the heavens. They were pleading with him to stop. He had gone too far and was abusing the power of the rain gods. Many bad things would happen to the tribe. Many bad things would happen to the land for such arrogance. They were wiser than the young warrior with his special gifts. He was harnessing power that belonged only to the higher beings and this was taboo. He begrudgingly backed off and let the surging power leave his body. He felt small and empty and looking around at the sadness and disappointment he knew that his days as a Shaman were over. He had surpassed his teachers and now they were afraid of him. He would make it easy for his beloved people and make leave himself without any fuss. He had felt the urge to leave for some years now and this opportunity was the perfect way for him to leave everything he ever knew for something far stronger than himself. He called it ‘the thirst’ and it dominated his every waking thought. Something inside him was dying of thirst and he couldn’t find anything to make it go away. He knew that the answer to his horrible condition lie in the land of the sunrise where the white men spread like flies cutting their towns out of the belly of the Mother. It was beyond even the white men and far beyond the water which brought them from a faraway land called Europe. The stories were becoming more and more common as more and more of them departed from their great wooden ships bringing with them strange beasts and flowers and superior weapons. He wanted to see these weapons and wonder if he could direct the sky fire onto such a small target. He did not know where he had to go but inside him was a compass that told him when he was heading in the right direction. For a little while the spiritual thirst disappeared and he listened to hear the faint hum of something no one else could ever hear. He had dreamed of the destination of this long journey ever since he was a boy. It was a long sweeping hill that led down to a big and glorious river. He had to find this hill and he knew that he would also find there the woman who haunted him. She was white skinned like his enemies but her lovely eyes looked upon him with adoration in these ghostly visitations. She loved him and was waiting for his return. He would never stop looking for her.

  Taylor sat up in the bed with a start. The woman was Sasha. These visions were definitely more like memories that had been long hidden in his mind. Reincarnation did not seem so far fetched to him now. In his dream and in this latest vision he had the ability to create thunderstorms. Maybe it was time for a little experiment. He got up and went to the window and opened the old windows outward onto the lively street below. The sky was dotted with a few clouds but looked fairly clear. He closed his eyes and held his hands out in some sort of awkward supplication. He focused. Moments passed and he began to feel a surge of energy and for a second thought maybe he was being electrocuted somehow. The feeling began to build up from his feet and rush to the top of his head and upward. He rolled his eyes back in his head and imagined the energy flying high into the Paris night. Then he heard it, the sound of thunder was everywhere. It rippled in the sky which was beginning to darken and his heart was beating faster now as the excitement was rising within him. Now for the lightning. He looked to the top of the building across the street and saw an old metal chimney that dotted the buildings of Paris. He felt electricity in his limbs and for a second he almost stopped but was far too curious to turn back now. He let the electricity go and the blast from the lighting knocked him across the room where his back hit the wall with a sounding thud. He couldn’t believe it. He had done it! He got up and looked across the street to see the chimney was smoking from the blast of power that had just hit it. He couldn’t even begin to think about what he had just done. He could control the lighting. This was definitely new in his experience. He suddenly felt exhausted and crawled back to the bed and listened to the sound of the rain while he waited for Sasha to return. He had no idea how he was going to tell her this new development without sounding absolutely mad. He was just going to have to demonstrate this new found ability because nobody would believe it without seeing it. He smiled at himself despite everything. It should have been shocking and weird but the weirdest thing of all was that it all felt so right. It felt like something he should have been able to do all along like skipping stones across the surface of a pond. The strangest thing was that is wasn’t strange at all. He fell asleep presently and dreamed of riding his horse across great distances to get to the woman he had never met but loved with all of his heart.

  ATTACK

  Sasha left the hotel on the Champs Elysees with Taylor’s bags. It was amazing how lightly he had packed for this journey. Every time she saw him he was dressed impeccably in a different outfit. He probably did some shopping here in the city. She found it almost too easy to gain access to his room and get his things. She was suddenly suspicious that she was being followed and decided to take a long and seemingly random walk to where Taylor was now staying. She headed away from the madness that was the Champs Elysees and zigzagged down toward the Seine and strolled leisurely while checking to see if she were being followed. She realized after a while that she had gone farther than she intended and found herself in Passy. She would have to cross the river soon to get back to the Left Bank or she would have to find a metro or a taxi. She rarely came to this neighborhood and forgot how trendy and chic it was. There were the cutest little stores dotted all along the sidewalk with cafes and bars filled with noisy people exhausted from shopping. It was getting late now and Sasha had a lot of ground to cover. She thought she remembered the whereabouts of the Passy Metro station and headed in that direction. She walked quickly past all of the many distractions and one shoe store in particular held her fascination for a good five minutes before she was able to tear herself away. She finally walked away after debating about a darling pair of pink pumps that would go perfectly with her silver dress she bought a few weeks ago. She could always come back. She had to remind herself that she was currently involved in something far bigger than shoe shopping and tried to focus on getting back. She walked a little faster when she realized she had no idea where she was anymore. She turned left thinking that she had gone down too far and didn’t think she should be that close to the water yet. This street definitely looked familiar and it was much less crowded as it lead her away from the shopping district. The houses and apartments were very nice in this part of town. Maybe someday she would be able to afford to live here but for now she could dream. She continued on her way absolutely sure that she had been here before and that the metro must just be another block or two away. She came upon a large wide stairway made of stone leading down the vast hill. This was definitely something she remembered. She walked down the stairs and stopped in the middle to take in the view. It was beautiful there was no doubt about it. She could see into the back of many of the large houses on the street and her eyes rested upon a magnificent garden in the middle of Paris. It was gorgeous with its neatly lined paths and it looked like there was a small forest of trees as the park moved closer to the river. Out of the blue she had the sense that she knew this garden well. Of course! It was like the garden in h
er dream. It was remarkably similar and she felt a sense of relief as she must have seen this garden when she first moved to Paris in those crazy months and it had found its way into her subconscious. She wanted to stay longer but had to get back to Taylor. An image flashed in her mind. It was the house, grand and impossible with a pink marble staircase descending into the heart of the home. She wondered if this garden had such a beautiful house attached to it. She glanced around from side to side sensing that someone was watching her. A single figure was coming down the stairs from the top of the hill. He was in a dark suit that was obviously expensive and cut to reveal a fine physique underneath and he had dark hair to match. The setting sun was sending rays that shielded his face. Sasha felt a tug at the center of her chest. It was a warning and she had the distinct feeling that this man represented danger. She turned to continue her walk and find a more populated spot. For now it was just her and this stranger and she did not like it. Dizziness swept over her and her feet seemed unable to move as if she were suffering from stage fright. She recovered quickly as her flight instinct threw her heels into running mode. She was gliding down the stairs her brown hair waving chaotically all around her face. Once at the bottom she looked around her before picking up the pace again. There was a small magasin and café on the corner of the Rue Rivoli. There would be lights and people and wonderful, powerful coffee which would shake off the weirdness and the visions and the strong feeling that the house of her dreams was calling to her. She looked up into the trees. They were lined with enormous black birds. They stared at her and unexpectedly one began to caw loudly casing Sasha’s heart to slam against the front of her ribcage.

  “Oh no! Not again!” She said aloud to no one as the memory of the swarming wings attacking her just yesterday. Another bird joined in the haunting song and then another. Soon the whole flock was screaming at her or so it seemed. She could feel their eyes on her hair and remembered once someone told her that crows were attracted to bright shiny things. She hurried past them when she heard an enormous rumbling that stopped her in her tracks. The flock left the trees en masse and flew over her head and up into the darkening sky. It was an omen. Something dark and dangerous was coming and she thought of the man on the stairs. Soon enough she was inside the warm soft café and sat at the bar with her coffee clutched in both hands. The French voices around her made her feel safe and happy. For a moment everything was perfect except for one thing. She was alone. She had never before in her life experienced this feeling of being utterly alone in the world and it was new and paralyzing and completely unfamiliar. She didn’t know if she should cry or hoist her shoulders back and be stoic about the whole thing. She realized now that until she met Taylor that loneliness had been her constant companion and friend and she never had the chance to compare it to anyone or anything until now. All her life she wanted to live in Paris and show her family and friends that she had made her way in this tough and relentless world. She left her entire life behind her and now suddenly she had an overwhelming desire to share all of this with people she never once considered writing to or speaking to again. Of course she really wanted to share this old beauty with her mother but it was too late for that. Her mother would never know that her only daughter had made her dreams a reality and was suffering the most intense feeling of isolation because of it. She would appreciate the world Sasha moved in but she would have never felt comfortable here and would find herself aching to get back to the white picket fences and the Fourth of July picnics and the endless chores that waited for her at home. She would smile and tell her that she was so happy for Sasha and then return to her dull ordered life and wish the best for her daughter. Her friends would tell her how wonderful it was that she had made such a success at her life while secretly harboring jealousy as their own children had never amounted to much. Sasha sighed and finished her coffee. She was done with the daydreams of Paris with mother. This was reality and she would have to carve out her own happiness. Only now she knew where to begin to find such a thing and she had only one thought now and that was to get to Taylor. It was now dark and a storm was brewing but the darkness seemed to have left her mind. Too much had been happening lately and she felt that her dizziness may have been the beginning of an anxiety attack. She had never had one before but could imagine that this is what it felt like. She was so lost in her thoughts she continued down the wrong road for quite some time and she was pushed into a narrow little walk too close to the river with cars rushing insanely close to her.

  “Damn!” She cursed out loud. She had to get back to the hotel with Taylor’s things. He would start to worry about her and leave the safety of the small room to come find her. She couldn’t allow that to happen. She heard thunder and saw a sign up ahead for a pedestrian tunnel that would get her out of this traffic and back in the right direction. “Great!” She said to herself and continued walking. The car fumes were beginning to get to her and though she was no fan of these creepy little tunnels she preferred that to the exhaust and the noise and it looked like it was going to rain any second. She entered the doorway to the tunnel and traipsed down the steps quickly like a ballerina and hummed a cheerful song as she went. Thank God the tunnel as well lit with flourescent bulbs running the length of the claustorphobic tube. It was long and there was no one in it except for herself and she felt good. Almost there. Yes, she could see the doorway at the end. She placed her foot on the first step and froze. Coming down the concrete stairs were three young men dressed all in black. Probably some techno punk kids going to a party and she forced herself to smile. She made eye contact with the first one. He had black eyes without any semblence of a soul. She wanted to scream or run back but instead she remained frozen until he smiled at her and muttered:

  “Excusez moi.”

  She smiled back at him but the moment he spoke she could hear the intention in his voice. This is what the birds were warning her about. This was the danger at hand. The birds had been screaming;”Go back! Go back!” only she had been too self absorbed to hear it. It was too late now for she had ignored the warnings to go back to the garden where she would have been safe. She took a deep breath and allowed the men to pass. But they did not pass. The first one was the tallest with sallow yellow skin and those black eyes. The other two looked like brothers with dark skin and olive green eyes. They would have been good looking if they cleaned themselves up a bit and took out half a dozen of the peircings all over their faces. Maybe they were in a band but deep inside she knew they were not. She turned to go and breathed a sigh of relief as her toe reached the first step. And then it happened. A hand reached out and grabbed her hair pulling her backwards. Sasha screamed. She couldn’t help it and the scream echoed down the long corridor. For a moment the lights flickered as if responding to the distress filling the tunnel. Sasha was pulled backwards and then without warning the hand flung her around and smashed her head against the dirty tile. Sasha saw darkness and then a white light and then nothing. Her body slumped to the ground but she was not there at all. A light flickered and Sasha strained to see a candle burning on the ground before her. A vision? No, this was too real to be a dream. She could feel the dirt floor with her bare feet and she could see the figure of the samurai before her. The sword in her hand glimmered with the light of the flame. Sasha screamed again knowing what she had to do and with a leap she cut the candle flame off the wick plunging her and her opponent into obscurity. Then she snapped his neck quickly and with a sense of pride and pierced his heart with her sword. Suddenly she was back in the tunnel and her eyes opened to see the tall one hovering over her body. Her shirt had been torn open but her bra was still in place. He was prying her legs open trying to remove her panties. She looked at him and smiled. She knew what she had to do. She screamed again but this time it wasn’t in fear or anger but avarice. The scream raced down the tube and as it did the lights extinguished themselves one by one until they were surrounded by blackness.