Lily's Mirage (Hell Yeah! )

by Sable Hunter

  Lily and Blade stood at the starboard railing as deckhands jumped off the boat to drag the heavy ropes from the tie pins and three whistle blasts signaled their departure. Smoke billowed from the stack as the paddle wheels began to turn and a Dixieland band began to play When The Saints Go Marching In.

  They stood and waved to tourists on the shore who were taking photos of the boat as it passed them by. “Hungry?” Lily asked. “There’s a buffet set up in the lounge with tables piled high with meats and cheese, cakes and pastries, rich New Orleans coffee, and plenty of wine.”

  “Not really. I’d rather wait like you said.” Blade pointed to a man who was coming down stairs from an upper deck with a mug in his hand. “How about a drink?”

  “Sounds good, I think there’s a bar up on the Texas Deck.”

  “Why do they call in the Texas Deck if the boat is used in Louisiana?” Blade asked as he stole a kiss before leaving her to get the drinks.

  “Most steamboats named their rooms and decks after states. At the time the Princess was built, Texas was the biggest state, hence the name was given to the biggest deck,” she explained, seeing that he was more interested in getting another kiss than he was in her tourist guide type explanation. “Go on, I’ll be here when you get back.”

  “You’d better.” He gave her a wicked smile. As he moved away, she took note of the other passengers who seemed to have just discovered there was a celebrity in their midst. Several were pointing at Blade’s retreating figure and taking a few sly cell phone shots. Lily turned her back on them and waited, staring at the rush of water cascading over the paddle wheel.

  Soon Blade returned with a mint julep in each hand. “I know you’re a margarita girl, but this seemed fitting.” Blade was enchanted by her beauty, captured in a romantic spell. When he looked into her eyes, he could tune out the rest of the world.

  “Perfect.” She took the drink and sipped the cool concoction as they moved to the teakwood railings to watch the Crescent City go by. As he stood behind her, his big body blanketing her back, his arms came around her waist and she held onto the rippling muscles of his forearms, feeling as if nothing could harm her here.

  The Delta Princess steamed up the Mississippi with majestic grace, a gracious, stately icon of the past leisurely moving through the ancient waters. Emerald green levees framed the winding course of the river as it flowed around curves sharp enough that the Mississippi sometimes seemed intent upon changing the direction of its course. At some points, trees grew near the banks – cypress, cottonwoods, sycamores – most draped with the mysterious symbol of the South, Spanish moss. Beyond the boundary of trees, they could see vast fields of cotton and sugar cane. A flock of egrets lifted and flew overhead and a heron could be seen, its white body standing out stark against the shadows of the undergrowth on the edge of the river.

  “Everything’s so beautiful, thanks for coming with me.” Lily gazed up at Blade, her heart skipping a beat.

  “You’re welcome, treasure. I told you that we’re going to do many things together, this is just the beginning.” His eyes were pools of shimmering midnight blue and they were focused solely on her lips. Everything seemed to come to a standstill, all the concerns and regrets, even their heartbeat and breath seemed to fade to obscurity as his hands settled on her shoulders and he bent his head low near hers. At the warm touch of his mouth, she melted, loving how his hands molded her body to him, knowing his oak-solid strength was there for her to lean upon. After a few moments, the hunger of his kiss gentled, although his firm, sensual lips continued to play with hers, their breaths mingling.

  “How far upriver does the boat go?” Blade spoke up so she could hear him over the water roaring as it cascaded into a waterfall created by the paddle wheel, churning the river and turning it to foam.

  She pointed to one of the channel markers. “Not too much farther. We turn around at one of the plantations. I guess we should’ve stayed with the others, you could’ve heard the tour guide’s spiel.”

  He moved a damp strand of hair from her brow. The gentleness of the misty spray that clouded up from the agitated water tickled the skin of their faces. “Nah, I’d rather woo you. I can always read a guide book.” The scent of honeysuckle drifted to them from the tangle of white and yellow vines growing on either side of the river.

  “Are you wooing me?” Lily couldn’t hide the joy that spread over her face.

  “I am, didn’t you notice?” Blade took off his sunglasses and put them in the front pocket of his jeans. He didn’t give her time to reply, he couldn’t let this moment pass. “You are so beautiful,” he looked at her face in wonder. There was a bloom of health to her cheeks, a sparkle in her eye, and her lips were so kissable, he couldn’t resist. Once he’d tasted her sweet lips, Blade Jensen dropped to one knee.

  Behind them, there was a collective gasp from onlookers, but Lily saw no one but him. Every muscle in her body clenched up. “Oh, Blade…”

  He placed one finger over her lips. “This is my part, I’ve got these lines memorized. Don’t blow it for me.” The words he’d just said settled on his ears and his mouth turned up in a quirky grin. “You can blow me later.”

  “Blade…” she began, but when she looked into his eyes, the love shining out from them was amazing.

  “Lily Bastien, my beautiful Lily, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife? Would you marry me?” He took her hand in one of his and with the other, he held up an amethyst ring, the one from the shop they’d just passed.

  She didn’t know what to say. With her uncertain future, how could she marry him? How could she hurt him? There was no doubt in her mind that he loved her, not a trace – not a smidgen. She trusted Blade Jensen with every fiber of her being. Knowing they had an audience, she didn’t dare do anything that could embarrass him. Lily held out her hand and let him slip the ring on, then she bent to wrap him in a close embrace, sinking down into his arms as applause exploded all over the deck. “Being your wife would be the epitome of all my dreams. I’ll keep your ring safe…”

  “Yes!” Blade didn’t let her finish the sentence, he kissed the ring on her finger. “Just keep my heart safe, because I want to be tied to you, Lily. I want to be bound and sealed to you for all eternity, not just for whatever time we have left here on this earth.” Rising to his full six-foot four, he took Lily’s hand in his, rubbing her ring finger and ring softly. “I’ve staked my claim, you’re wearing my ring. You’ve just made me the happiest man on earth.”

  His words were the most beautiful things in the world to her. Seeing the love on his face and the hope in his eyes, she couldn’t say no. “I love you, Blade.” Soon, she would know one way or the other. Dr. Fields had told her they would do another brain scan and MRI in a few weeks. If the news was bad, Blade would see the futility of planning a future with her. “Being asked to be your wife and being loved by a man like you is so much more than I ever dared hope for. You have made me the happiest woman on earth.”

  Her words seemed to satisfy Blade and Lily didn’t think he even noticed that she’d never really said yes to his proposal.

  As they made their way through Jackson Square, heading back to Royal Street, Blade’s gait was jaunty and his countenance was resplendent with happiness. Lily couldn’t help but share his delight, banking down the guilt she felt at burdening the man she loved with her seemingly hopeless future.

  “Now, where do you want to eat?” she asked him. “Brennan’s? That’s just a few doors down from the gallery.”

  “Sounds good, but let’s stop here first.” He pointed to a tea room featuring psychic readings.

  Lily almost blanched with fear. “I don’t know…I don’t want to know…”

  “You don’t have to,” he assured her, but for some strange reason he did. “I want to do it, you can just watch and drink tea.” He winked at her. “Okay?”

  Lily knew Blade didn’t realize how she’d studiously, faithfully, meticulously avoided any contact with anyone who co
uld or would read her future. Doctors had plenty to say, she didn’t need a clairvoyant confirming their diagnoses and prognosis. Now that she had a glimmer of hope with this procedure, she didn’t want a fortune teller or a tea reader to unceremoniously bash her frail expectations. Even if the worst were to happen, she wanted to hang on to this daydream and her unlikely engagement for just a few more weeks. “Won’t your reading reveal mine?”

  Blade looked at her pale face. He had no intention of hurting her. There was just something pulling him here and he couldn’t explain it. “I’ll ask her not to reveal anything about you. In fact, you don’t have to be anywhere near when she gets to anything about my life with you.” Seeing the quizzical expression in her eyes, he grabbed onto a straw that he knew would convince her. “I want to ask about Katy and the trial.”

  “Oh, okay.” She gave him a weak smile. “I could do with a cup of tea.” But just tea, no supernatural revelations. Ghosts she could handle, gazing at her pitiful future in a crystal ball was another matter.

  As they drew near the tea room, Lily’s gaze landed on the sign over the shop, painted a pale purple in the shape of a cup and saucer. She’d never been inside, not even for tea. However, she was familiar with the place by reputation. The proprietor and the women in her employ were the real deal, ladies with a power to see into the future, to delve into the past, and to peer behind the veil.

  “After you, my sweet fiancée.” Blade held the door for her to enter first. Even the tinkle of the bell signaling their entry gave her chill bumps. Early on in Lily’s association with Bliss, she’d made her wishes known not to know the future. Bliss and Dinah had both assured her that their powers did not lie in that direction. Over the years, she’d also diligently avoided any circumstances where she’d be around Nana Fontenot, Nanette Beaureguarde, or Cady Renaud if they were doing any types of readings for friends or family in a social type setting. Escaping this type of thing wasn’t easy in New Orleans, but all her personal acquaintances and friends knew how she felt and respected it.

  “Welcome, please come in.” They were greeted by a young black woman wearing a long flowing dress and a floor length robe. Both the garments were brightly colored, made of cotton, and reminded Lily of the clothing the Gullah women wore. She wondered if there was a connection.

  “Hello, thank you, I love your dress.” Lily’s whole body was dancing with frissons of nervousness.

  “Oh, I appreciate you saying so, we have some in the gift shop if you’d like to take a look.” She glanced at Lily, then at Blade. “My name is Renata. Are you here for a reading?”

  “I am,” Blade said, nodding with a smile. “Although, I’m sure you already knew that.”

  Lily and the woman both laughed at his exuberant response. “No,” Renata answered, “unfortunately, I am not blessed with the ability. My gift is one of hospitality.”

  “Well, I’ll have tea and a beignet, if you have it,” Lily requested, very conscious of Blade’s protective hand on her lower back.

  “I’ll have the same, sounds delicious,” Blade said as Renata led them to a sectioned off area behind a beaded curtain.

  “Wonderful. If you’ll take a seat right over there.” She pointed to table in the corner next to a window. “I’ll have someone bring your refreshments and I’ll have one of our ladies come to assist you in your quest, Mr. Jensen.”

  “Ah, I’ve been made,” he whispered after Renata had departed. “I’ll have to filter out her psychic abilities from her penchant for reading gossip rags.”

  “I assure you, Mr. Jensen, what I will tell you won’t come from a tabloid.”

  Blade jumped a bit at the voice suddenly sounding so close behind him. He whirled around. “Where did you come from?”

  The small, wizened old woman just laughed. “Oh, I’m light on my feet, despite my rotundness.” She playfully indicated her size. “My name is Yuri and your name is Lily, is it not?”

  Lily followed the small Asian woman with trepidation. “Yes, but I’d rather you not reveal anything about me.”

  “Ah, okay.” She gestured for Blade and Lily to sit with their back to the wall and Yuri took a seat in front of them. “All right, tell me why you’re here.” She looked straight at Blade. “The real reason.”

  Lily cut her eyes at Blade to see what he’d do.

  Blade met Lily’s gaze and she could tell he intended to get his money’s worth.

  “Well, this is my first trip to New Orleans and a visit like this seems to be in order. I’ve become very interested in ghosts and the supernatural.”

  Yuri nodded. “Ah, yes, you once were a skeptic. Recently, you’ve experienced something that has changed your mind?”

  “Well, yes, I’ve witnessed something I couldn’t explain.”

  Yuri smiled, but didn’t give Blade a chance to expound. “I’m old, I have lived through many things, seen many things. I do not argue whether ghosts exist or not, they do. I’ve met a few face to face. What I can’t tell you is what they are. Souls of those who once lived? Powerful memories of those long gone? Remnants? Stains on the planes of existence?” She shrugged, then leaned forward, penning Blade with a stare. “When the United States dropped atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima in 1945, my village was just past the blast zone. I remember it like yesterday.”

  Lily said nothing, but she – like Blade – hung on the woman’s every word.

  “Those horrific explosions created more than just destruction and death. When the massive amount of energy was unleashed, something both horrifying, and in a strange way, poignant took place. When the victims who died that day were vaporized by the explosion, an eerie image of their bodies were left behind.” Her hands rose in the air, both in a fist, then she extended her fingers all at the same time. “Both cities became instant, massive fireballs, many times hotter than the surface temperature of the sun, and this indefinable heat etched outlines and shadows of the victims into brick, stone, and wood.”

  Blade sat, mesmerized. He’d never heard any of this before.

  “Anyone outside of a building was annihilated where they stood, their last moment of existence forever scorched into the surfaces around them. They became shadow people, a graphic witness to the tragedy of insanity. The minutia of a moment, the last moment of a human life preserved as a testimony to the power of destruction.”

  She smiled, stopping her talk to allow the waitress to serve their tea and beignets.

  “The ghosts I…we saw weren’t shadows,” Blade clarified, looking to Lily for support.

  “Most aren’t.” Yuri nodded. “Ghosts are everywhere, anywhere people have lived or died, spirits exist.” A humorless chuckle passed her lips. “But New Orleans…New Orleans is an entirely other matter. Every nook and cranny of the city is haunted, speak to nine out of ten residents with your sister being the exception…” she glanced at Lily whose eyes bugged with surprise, then she laughed again, “don’t worry, I won’t say more than what you want to hear. But most discussions with New Orleans natives will eventually gravitate toward ghosts. Step into most French Quarter bars and you’ll probably overhear two patrons regaling one another with tales of their own supernatural encounters. If you stay at one of our historical hotels, the staff will share their heads-up about a resident specter. Dine at most local restaurants and over some of the best food in the world and you’ll usually be served a personal ghost story as an appetizer. The dead in New Orleans outnumber the living four to one, at least. Here, the whole city has an atmosphere whereby, even those who have been dead for centuries feel as close as the mention of their names and long-dead hoodoo and voodoo practitioners are referred to only with the greatest of respect, because no one wants to call down on their heads the old ones’ powerful displeasure. Death is always a part of life, but here in New Orleans it’s front and center. The Big Easy is a city hovering between a rich past and a bright future, but it never feels truly grounded in the present. There’s always the feeling of viewing everything around you thro
ugh the shimmer of events long past, like a mirage.”

  Lily almost jumped at the mention of the familiar word. Yuri didn’t seem to notice her reaction.

  “Our city that care forgot is lit by antique gas lamps alongside neon bar signs. Esoteric shops like this one are located across the streets from holy places like the cathedral. NOLA is a place of total opposites – while it is known as a city of sin, it is also a place of great spiritual influence. While we’re well-known for serving the tastiest food in the world, our starred Michelin restaurants are culturally counter-balanced by drive-through Daiquiri joints and food trucks that serve po-boys and muffalettas. Anytime you stroll the Quarter, a million anguished dead souls watch your every move. Most of the time, this spectral audience observes in silence, but sometimes…sometimes when circumstance and conditions are right, they will make themselves known in a way you can’t ignore.”

  “Wait.” Blade shook his head, the spiel he’d been given almost overwhelming. “This isn’t why I came in, but I don’t understand. The list you gave earlier, what are you saying? Is a ghost a shadow of its former self? A stain on time? A traumatic memory? Are they spirits of the dead who don’t know they’re dead? Are they spirits who know they’re gone and are still trying to communicate with the living?”

  “No, this isn’t why you came in,” Yuri said with a sigh, “but it’s something you needed to hear. Truly, I don’t think there is one answer. I think all those things happen. Trying to determine the origin of your personal encounter is the question.”

  As Yuri sipped her tea, they followed suit. The evening sun coming in the window was quite bright, making the spot they sat uncomfortably warm. Blade shifted in his chair, pulling it to one side and out of the direct rays of the sun. Almost as soon as he did, a waft of icy air hit him full force and he shivered - - and cursed. “What the hell was that?” He glanced up but there was no air conditioning vent in sight.