by Seven Steps
“I know. I miss him, too.”
“I should have done something. I should have gone with him.”
“Then both of you would be gone. Joanna, you’re alive. You have to appreciate that. He would want you to be alive and safe. That’s why he did what he did.”
Joanna sniffled. “Will the pain ever go away?”
“It’ll stop hurting one day,” Terra said. “But you’ll never forget him. I promise you that.”
“Oh, Terra. I want him back.”
“Me, too, Joanna. But he’ll always be there in our hearts.” Terra hugged her friend tighter. “Come on. Let’s get back,” she said.
Joanna quickly finished soaping up, and dunked in the water a few times to rinse before climbing out of the pond. She helped Terra limp back to the group, where Nic was hanging their wet clothes up to dry. A large fire burned in the night, and they all sat around it.
Joanna felt weak, and she leaned back against a log and closed her eyes. Deanna nestled next to her, her wet hair drying to a frizz on her head, her large brown eyes wide, her arms around Joanna’s belly. Touched, Joanna sniffled again and put an arm around the little girl.
“Where’s Marshall?” Terra asked.
They heard a shot echo in the forest, followed by a second, then a third.
“He said something about dinner,” Nic replied.
“I’m hungry,” Danny complained, sitting only inches from Nic.
“In a little while we’ll eat,” Nic said.
Marshall came back through the forest, a big grin on his face.
“Dinner is served,” he said, laying the rabbits on a log and beginning to skin it. After ten minutes of skinning, washing, and gutting, he finally put the rabbits on three spits across the fire and began to turn them.
“Is this how you eat out here?” Nic asked, on the verge of disgust.
“Yup. Fresh rabbit. It’s delicious.”
“I’ll bet.” He cleared his throat. “Don’t you have any fruit or vegetables?”
“What are you complaining about? You’ve been eating this stuff for days.”
“What are you talking about?”
“What do you think was in that stew? It was meat and vegetables.”
“Terra, you said that it was just vegetables,” Deanna said from across the fire.
“I didn’t know,” Terra replied. “How could we have known?”
“I don’t think that we should be eating this,” Nic said. “We may get sick or something.”
“You say that now. Wait until it gets going.” Marshall said with a smile.
They watched the animals turn on the spits in silence.
“So, where are you going from here, Marshall?” Terra asked.
“I’ll keep moving north. I won’t be going back to New York for a while. Maybe it’s for the best.” He turned the spits again and looked at the group. “So when are you going back to India?” he asked.
The group looked at each other. Terra looked at Marshall, her eyes glowing in the fire.
“Marshall, you’ve done so much for us that there’s something we should tell you.”
“What?”
“We’re not from India. We don’t know where we came from, but we do know how we got here.”
“How’d you get here? Train? Ship?”
“A ship.”
“What kind of ship?”
“A big one,” Terra replied.
“How is that possible? We’re far away from the sea ports.”
“It isn’t a ship that floats on water. It’s a ship that flies through the air.”
“They haven’t made a ship that flies through the air. Flight is impossible, unless you’re a bird.”
“We promise you that we’re telling you the truth. That’s where we’re going. We have to get back to our ship.”
“And go where?” Marshall asked. “To the moon?”
Terra looked at her friends. “We don’t know. We won’t know until we get back there.”
Marshall sighed.
“Well, I guess that I’ll escort you to your flying ship, and then I’ll be on my way.”
“Thank you, Marshall,” Nic said. “For everything.”
Marshall nodded, and took one of the rabbits off the spit. He began to cut pieces off and hand it around. Terra looked at the piece of meat. It smelled good. That much she knew. She looked over at Nic.
“Go for it,” he said.
The group looked at her, waiting for her to taste the first piece. She made a face before she eased it into her mouth. She moved her jaw, chewing cautiously. Then, her face turned to one of pure ecstasy.
“That is one of the best things that I’ve ever eaten,” she said, taking another piece from Marshall and popping it into her mouth. It was as delicious as the first. She took another piece.
“This is great,” Joanna said.
“Can I have a piece?” Danny asked.
“What’s it called again?” Deanna asked.
“Rabbit,” Marshall replied.
“I want to eat rabbit every day,” Deanna said.
They ate the rabbit until only the bones were left, and sat back on the ground, one last piece in their hands.
“That was great,” Terra said. “You know who would have loved this? Roland. He loved trying new things.”
Joanna smiled as she remembered him.
“He was adventurous,” Nic said. “Remember when he gave his speech? You know, I don’t think he’s ever given a speech in his life, but he got up there, and he did amazing!”
“He did excellent,” Terra replied. “I loved that speech.”
Marshall smiled. “Hey. Remember when there was that fight in boarding house?”
“Yeah,” Nic said.
“Roland was the first one to walk over there. I was about to run out with the girls.” Marshall laughed.
“Some soldier,” Terra replied.
“But Roland said, 'We have to help him. We have to help him’. He had such a sense of loyalty to you guys. I had to go over.”
“Were you going to fight?” Nic asked.
“Well, I sure was glad when Kennedy walked in.” He laughed.
They sighed.
“Roland was a great person. He saved us all,” Terra said.
Marshall raised one of the last pieces of meat in the air. The others followed.
“This is to Roland,” he said. “He’s my hero. He cared about people. Especially his friends. He was one of the best men I’ve ever known. To Roland!”
“To Roland!” they said, finishing off the rabbit.
They heard a sniffle and looked at Joanna. She had tears in her eyes.
“Thank you,” she croaked. “Thank you all.”
“Joanna, we all miss him, and he deserves to be honored,” Terra said. “He was a brave man. One of the bravest men that I’ve ever known, and that’s how we’ll remember him.”
“Thank you,” Joanna replied.
There was a stretch of silence. Then, Terra patted her belly. “Well,” she yawned. “Let’s go.”
“What’s the rush?” Marshall asked.
“We have to leave, Marshall,” she said, standing up on her good leg and painfully hobbling over to where her dress was hanging. Nic jumped up and helped her. “We have to get back to the ship.”
She slipped on her dress, and Nic buttoned her up, before helping her back to the fire. He began to dress the children, whose eyes were drowsy with sleep.
“Can’t we take a nap first?” Marshall asked, cuddling up to a log.
“No. We have to make it back to the ship tonight,” Terra replied firmly.
“Why?”
“We don’t know. We just have to.”
She leaned on the log and waited for the others to rouse themselves.
“Where will you go?” Marshall asked.
“We don’t know.”
Nic had finished redressing the children and was holding Deanna in his arms, while Danny walked beside him. Joann
a helped Terra hobble in the direction of the ship. When they were nearly hidden by the forest, Marshall roused himself and ran after them.
“Wait up! I’m coming,” he cried, following them through the forest.
Joanna looked up at the stars through the canopy of the forest. They glowed brightly. The moon was large, round, and full. She saw a glowing red star that captivated her. She couldn’t help but stare as she walked. Something about that star. It called to her. She didn’t know why, and she didn’t feel like asking. She choked up again.
It feels like this is the last time I’m going to see the stars. It feels like I’m going away, and that I’ll never come back. Why do I feel like that?
“How much farther?” Marshall asked.
“Not too far,” Terra replied. “Just beyond that hill.”
“How’d you end up all the way out here?” Marshall asked.
“We don’t know,” Nic replied.
“You know, all night you’ve been saying you don’t remember things. What do you remember?” Marshall demanded.
“We remember landing. We remember walking, and meeting you, and everything after that,” Nic replied.
“And before?” Marshall asked.
“Before that is a mystery.”
They climbed to the top of the hill and looked over. Laying on the flat land was the ship, glowing with its purple sheen in the moon light.
They heard Marshall gasp.
“What is that thing?”
“That’s our ship,” Terra said, somewhat proudly.
“That’s your ship? It doesn’t look like any ship that I’ve ever seen.”
“That’s because it’s special,” Danny said.
“It has to be to look like that. How does it work?”
“We don’t know.”
“Well, how does it drive?”
“We don’t know.”
“So how are you going to use it?”
“We don’t know.”
“Goodness, what do you people know?”
“We know that we’re getting on that ship,” Terra said, beginning to hobble forward.
They slowly made their way down the hill, maneuvering around the jagged rocks and steep face. As they made their way down the hill, dust shook and fell, sending a soft warning before them. They got to the bottom and looked back up. The hill was at least fifty feet high, and looked daunting from that angle.
They turned back toward the ship. Joanna’s shoulder began to rise and fall again with her tears. She remembered looking at Roland in the daylight when they first arrived. She remembered how she felt around him then.
How different from how I feel about him now. How can someone’s feelings change over the course of only three days? How can I go from almost despising someone, to loving them from my head to my heart in only three days? How could he leave me like this? I loved him. I loved him so much and now he’s gone. I don’t think that I’ll ever love again. And this was all we had. Everything we had was back in that burning town of New York. Maybe I should stay here. This is all we have left.
“Joanna, you’ll be all right. You will be all right,” Terra whispered. “You’re all right. You’re okay.”
“Oh, Terra. I remember when I saw him standing in the light for the first time. I remember thinking how mad I was at him for something. I can’t even remember for what now. I wish that I hadn’t wasted so much time. I wish that I could go back.”
“Joanna, you can’t go back. Roland loved you. It doesn’t matter what happened in the past. Roland loved you. You have to remember that.”
“I know he did. But, I was thinking. What if I stayed here?”
Terra looked at her. “Joanna, why would you want to stay here?”
“Well, all we really had was back in New York. Maybe I should stay. His memory is there.”
“That place killed him.”
“But it made him live, too.”
Terra sighed. “Joanna, we have to stick together.”
Joanna sighed, too. “I know,” she said. “I was just thinking,” Joanna said, turning around the side of the ship.
She gasped.
Roland laid sleeping there, leaning against the side of the ship, his knees tucked into his chest. She dropped Terra’s hand and screamed, her heart beating out of her chest, her breathing coming in quick and hard gasps. She, step by step, retreated toward the hill, keeping her eyes on Roland’s snoozing body.
It’s happened. I’ve lost my mind.
“Joanna!” Terra called, but it was too late.
Joanna had taken up running back toward the hill, screaming. She began to claw her way up, before she felt a hand around her waist.
“Joanna! Joanna, it’s me!” she heard Roland shout.
His hands. Oh goodness. I feel his hands on me.
“No! No. You’re dead! You’re dead!”
“I’m not dead. Joanna, I’m not dead!”
“Yes. You are. You’re dead. Let go of me! Somebody help me!”
“Joanna, I’m here!”
“I see Roland, and he’s talking to me. I’m going crazy! Oh goodness. I’m going crazy! Somebody help me!”
“Joanna, calm down!” With a burst of strength, Roland grabbed Joanna’s waist and turned her around, pressing her hot tears into his shoulder. He shushed her as she sobbed, screamed, and half-heartedly fought. “I’m alive. I’m alive!”
“No. I saw you. I saw you,” she sobbed.
“I’m here. I’m here.”
She pressed herself to him, grabbing every inch that she could.
I don’t care if he’s dead. I don’t care if I’m crazy anymore. I’ll be crazy forever if I can see him and touch him. I want to stay with him.
“Oh, Roland. I don’t care if you’re dead, and I don’t care if I’ve lost my mind. I don’t care. I missed you so much.” She put her head on his shoulder as he rocked her softly.
“Joanna, I’m not dead. I’m not dead, and I’m not a figment of your imagination. You can see me and touch me. I’m alive.” He pulled back and placed her hands on his cheek. “I’m alive.”
Her eyes searched his face in wonderment. He looked like the man she loved. He sounded like the man she loved. He even smelled like the man she loved.
Who knew delusions could be so real?
“Joanna, he’s alive. Roland is alive,” she heard Marshall say.
She looked at him through tear soaked eyes.
Is this more of my delusions?
“You see him, too?” Joanna asked.
“Yes. Everybody sees him.”
“Are you sure? You’re not trying to trick me?”
“Joanna, he’s alive. He’s here.”
Joanna’s eyes grew wide in surprise and delight.
I’m not crazy? I’m not crazy! Roland is alive, and I’m not crazy!
She screamed a scream of joy and squeezed Roland to her. She wanted to absorb him.
I never want to let him go. Never never never!
Her heart felt as if it was going to explode out of her chest. It was beating hard and fast, making her dizzy. Her happiness ran from her head to her toes, and she screamed again.
“You’re alive! You’re alive!”
“I am. I am. I am.” Roland laughed.
She kissed him all over, wanting to touch every inch of him and reassure herself that he was actually there.
“I missed you so much, and it hurt so much when I thought you were dead. Don’t ever leave me again.”
“I won’t. I promise,” he replied.
She kissed him hard on the lips, him returning the favor with equal pressure. She wanted to stay that way forever, him and her locked in an eternal embrace. She hugged him again.
“I love you so much,” she whispered. “I love you so much.”
“I love you, too.”
“How’d you get away from the mob?” Marshall asked.
“They wanted to lynch me,” Roland said as he stood up, Joanna still clinging to him although
her sobbing had ceased. “But I got away. I was running for my life and they almost got me, but I tripped over this guy named Phil, and him and his neighbors saved me and drove the mob away. After that, some guy named Charlie loaded me in his wagon and brought me here.”
“You really had a long day,” Marshall said.
“Yeah,” Roland said with a laugh. “I guess I have.”
He walked up to the rest of the group.
“Good to have you back,” Nic said, patting Roland on the back.
“Come and give me a hug,” Terra said from the side of the ship. Roland walked over and bent down to hug her, Joanna never leaving his side. “I’m so happy to see you alive.”
“I didn’t know if I was going to make it. But I knew that I had to get back here.”
“Does it hurt to die?” Danny asked.
“I didn’t die,” Roland said. “But I came close.”
“Were you scared?”
“Very scared.”
“I was scared when I saw you walk out the building. But I had a feeling that you wouldn’t let them catch you cause you’re quick.”
Roland ran his fingers through Danny’s hair and smiled.
“Thanks, Danny.”
“Roland, I want you to make me a promise,” Joanna whispered.
“Anything,” he replied, looking in to her blood shot eyes in the bright moon light. With her rosy tears, red lips, and moist eyes, she looked beautiful.
“Promise me that you’ll never scare me like that again.”
“I promise,” he replied. He cocked his head to one side and kissed her, softly at first, then harder and deeper until all he could do was gasp for breath.
She felt complete, blissful, nearly euphoric.
Nothing can touch me now.
“I love you so much, Roland.”
“I love you, too, Joanna.”
“And I love everybody!” Marshall cried, throwing his arms around them both.
Nic smiled. “Hey. We should get going or else we’ll never leave.”
Marshall released them and looked over the group.
“So you’re not from India, and you don’t know where you’re going, or where you’ve been.” He smiled. “But you know what happened between Saturday and today. Did I get it all?”
“Yes; you did,” Terra said, Nic helping her up with his free arm.
“I’ll never forget you guys,” he said.
“We’ll never forget you, Marshall,” Terra said.