Allyson however, showed no sign of discomfort and quickly pulled down her shorts revealing a pair of bright yellow bikini bottoms. Her shirt came off while Joe was trying not to gawk at her legs, and much to his relief…and disappointment, she had on a matching bikini top.
“Swim in your underwear,” she told him and then took three quick steps to the edge of the deck and dove headfirst over the side. It was a beautiful dive and Joe rushed forward to look down into the water. She was still submerged when he reached the edge but the water was very clear and he could see her lissome body gliding away from the pier.
She broke the surface a few seconds later and flashed him a glorious smile.
“Well come on,” she insisted eagerly.
Joe paused for just an instant. Nobody but his parents had seen him in his underwear, but thankfully he’d switched to boxers a few years back…they were pretty much like trunks. So without further delay he stripped down and stepped forward. He’d always been afraid of heights, but somehow with Allyson watching over him he knew nothing bad would happen. He moved boldly to the wooden edge of the pier, surprised by his own daring. Allyson giggled playfully at the sight of his plaid underwear, but he ignored her and quickly dove headfirst out into space. Time slowed as he plummeted down toward the water, and just before he hit he had a vision of another girl…a dark skinned, black haired beauty.
‘Akhila,’ the name came unbidden but he forgot it a moment later as the shock of hitting cold water drove everything from his mind. He even forgot the fact that boxers were not quite like swimming trunks in one very important aspect…the drawstrings. He cut neatly through the water and slipped completely out of his boxers before he realized what was happening. His boxers remained floating on the surface as he panicked near the bottom of the swimming hole.
He remembered just how clear the water was as he broke the surface, and tried to remain afloat with one hand while covering his private area with the other. He ignored Allyson for the moment and swiveled about, searching desperately for his underwear, but they were nowhere to be found. Joe felt the blood rush to his face as he envisioned his boxers floating lazily down the creek, heading back toward his new home.
He groaned, his mind racing to come up with a dignified solution to his predicament. Suddenly Allyson burst out in that surprisingly raucous laughter of hers.
“Looking for these?” She asked coyly and held up a pair of soaking wet, plaid undershorts.
Joe was suddenly awash with a mixture of relief and dread.
“Please,” he replied and held up his hands, hoping that she would show some mercy and throw the boxers to him.
Allyson shook her head and laughed again, her eyes instinctively darting to the surface of the water…and below. Joe’s right hand shot downward and he cursed the clear water once more.
Allyson’s laughter actually increased in volume, though she couldn’t actually see anything with the sunlight reflecting off the surface.
“Allyson please!” Joe begged as she twirled his underwear over her head.
“Call me Al,” she told him, “everyone does.”
“Please Al?” He asked, feeling a bit funny about the name.
“Come and get them,” she teased.
“Please!” Joe insisted, still covering himself with one hand, while he struggled to tread water with the other.
“Oh here you big baby,” Allyson relented with a grin. She threw the boxers to him. “I couldn’t see anything anyway,” she added, and Joe was slightly mollified by the disappointment he heard in her voice.
He snatched the underwear out of the air and took a moment to find the back tag. He shot a quick glance at Allyson and then bashfully turned his back to her. His head went under on his first attempt; dressing while treading water was much harder than he anticipated. Finally he realized the only way to accomplish the job was to sink under as he worked, so he relaxed and concentrated on slipping his feet into his shorts, and when his head dipped below the surface so did Allyson’s.
Joe managed to get his right foot through the leg-hole easily enough, but his left was a bit of a challenge. Eventually he succeeded however, and surfaced, turning to find Al. She was not in sight, and as Joe swiveled about in the water searching for her his shorts were rudely pulled down to his knees.
“Aaahhh,” he yelled, and in his panic accidently gulped a mouthful of water.
Al broke the surface not far away, laughing again as he jerked his shorts back up.
“Funny eh?” Joe asked but couldn’t help but smile at his own undignified reaction. He advanced menacingly on the smaller girl, moving slowly.
Al squealed when she realized his intentions, though inwardly she was pleased. Even so she turned and swam away as quickly as she could. Joe, being larger and stronger, quickly caught up with her and grabbed her narrow, slippery waist just as she made it to the shallows and was able to stand on the rocky bottom of the swimming hole. Allyson spun quickly in order to fight him off, half wanting him to try to take off her bottoms, curious to see if he actually could. Joe however, had no intention of trying to remove either piece of her suit; instead he just wanted to hold her lithe young body and perhaps dunk her as punishment.
However, once she was close and in his arms, they both froze, caught in the very same premonition.
‘I know her.’
‘I know him.’
They silently gazed at one another for a very long time, Allyson unconsciously moving closer until their bodies were less than an inch apart. Her boyfriend never entered her mind. She wanted Joe to kiss her…wanted it desperately, and she could tell he wanted to kiss her. Slowly, as if afraid she might spook him; Allyson reached up and looped her hands around his neck. She pulled gently, and just as his head and lips began to obey her subtle commands, a great crash of thunder rolled ominously across the sky.
They jumped together and looked upward. There was nothing but blue sky overhead, but through the canopy of the surrounding oaks Allyson caught a glimpse of the towering cumulonimbus clouds building in the west.
“We should probably get out of the water,” Allyson remarked, but remained where she was, reluctant to leave his arms. Another clap of thunder sounded in the distance however, and motivated them to move.
They climbed the wooden stairs that led up the high bank and gathered their strewn clothes from the pier before moving back to the horses. Marcie was growing skittish but Grif stood calmly near the corn field, nibbling on the long succulent grasses. The clouds towered above them like white, dangerous mountains, and promised a good soaking or worse.
“We better get moving,” Allyson said and moved to fetch Grif. She led him back over to where Joe was tugging his shirt over his chest.
“Thanks,” Joe added and took the reins, very conscious that he was still standing in his wet underwear. He patted Grif and started to pull on his jeans when suddenly Allyson took his head in her small hands and planted a kiss firmly on his lips. Joe dropped his pants and without thinking pulled the girl closer.
‘How do I know her?’ His mind asked as she moved boldly against him, pushing him back against the horse. Grif snorted, but did not move as the young people kissed ardently next to him.
‘I know him!’ Allyson thought. ‘Why do I know him?’
Their minds puzzled over the question together as the kiss grew deeper and more intimate. Suddenly lightning slashed from the looming clouds and struck the oak restraining Marcie. The small horse screamed as electricity flooded its body. Grif also shivered as the current passed through him and into the two would be lovers. The energy, while diminished, was still strong enough to fling the two away from the horse and toward the steep bank of the creek.
Joe landed face first in the dirt, stunned and fighting to stay conscious as Allyson tumbled over the edge and into the water below.
After a long moment, Joe groggily shook his head and pushed up to his knees, looking about for Akhi…Allyson, but she was not in sight. Joe scrambled to his feet,
stumbled and then had to yank his pants up. Once dressed, he rushed to the edge of the bank and looked down. He groaned as he spotted Allyson lying face down in the water below.
‘Oh, Akhila! Not again!’ He thought mindlessly and ran toward the steps.
‘I know who she is! I know who she is! I know who she is!’ his mind droned loudly in time with his descent. He hit the edge and dove back into the water despite the mounting storm. He pulled Allyson’s head out of the water less than a minute after the initial lightning strike.
At first he feared she was dead, that they’d be pulled apart as they’d been so many times before, but then she coughed, spewing water all over his face and Joe cried out in relief and crushed her to his chest.
“Al!” He exclaimed, suddenly filled with indescribable joy, but her eyes only fluttered for an instant.
Fear once again engulfed him and he resisted the urge to shake the girl hard.
“Al!” He repeated loudly as a litany of names marched through his head. ‘Akhila…Leilani…Chisuzu…Harriet.’
“Al!” He yelled again and then waded to the edge, carrying the girl in his arms.
‘I know who she is! I know who she is!’ his mind repeatedly insisted. ‘Not again…please not again!’
Later Joe did not remember carrying the girl up the stairs, or forcing her up and across Grif’s back. In a daze he rode back to the house, actually cajoling the big horse into an easy gallop, leaving the smoking body of Marcie far behind.
♀
Allyson was unconscious for two full days, plenty of time for her boyfriend Matt to return from Iowa City and sit uncomfortably with Joe all through visiting hours. Despite Debbie’s insistence, Joe refused to leave, confusing Allyson’s parents, Kathy and Ron.
Of course they remembered Joe’s mother, which was why they decided to rent to her sight unseen. Kathy and Debbie had attended school together, though they were never truly friends. While the Webb’s were touched by Joe’s obvious concern for their daughter, they found his sudden devotion mystifying; after all the two had just met.
Naturally they were grateful to Joe for getting their daughter to the hospital, and no longer questioned his story. The dead horse by the swimming hole confirmed the lightning strike, and Joe’s and Allyson’s subsequent examination were found to be consistent with such an event. Still, it hardly explained the boy’s adamant refusal to leave. They were so grateful to him however, that they didn’t insist.
The hospital staff did however, after all he was not family, but even then Debbie had to beg. Joe eventually did leave, although very reluctantly, and his mother wondered if maybe some misplaced guilt was involved. Joe however, was barely talking and said little other than lightning had hit near them, and that he’d pulled Allyson from the water.
Each morning however, Joe was up bright and early, demanding to be taken back to the hospital.
“The family might want some time alone with their daughter,” Debbie suggested hesitantly on the third day.
“I’ll walk,” Joe barked back, and in her anger Debbie wondered if he was just enjoying the drama and attention. It was an unworthy thought, but she just couldn’t comprehend why Joe was so adamant.
Still there was no denying the anguish the young man was feeling. Joe was clearly not sleeping, and at least while he was in the hospital, not eating. His actions were all out of proportion when compared to Allyson’s boyfriend’s distress, for though Matt was clearly worried, the big football player ate and slept each and every day.
Of course Matt was concerned; he just could not fathom anything truly bad happening to Al. Bad things didn’t happen to him or anyone he knew. In his limited experience, life was not like that.
Joe now knew very differently however, and prayed to so many gods that it would have shocked the others had they learned of it.
Finally, on the morning of the third day, Allyson groaned and opened her eyes. Her parents and Matt rushed forward together, while Joe hung back, suddenly hesitant. Debbie slipped her arm around her son, a wave of pride bringing tears to her eyes.
Joe however, had eyes only for Allyson, as she slowly regained her wits. At the moment she was hidden by her family as they crowded around her. Her father and mother kissed her repeatedly on the forehead, both filled with unbridled relief, but Matt kissed her on the lips, causing Joe to frown.
Everyone was talking and smiling at once, asking question Allyson couldn’t hope to answer; she was still unsure why she was in the hospital.
“Al, you were struck by lightning,” her mother explained, a touch of awe in her voice, and then she glanced back at Joe.
“Joe pulled you out of the swimming hole, carried you up the stairs and rode back to the old house,” her father added, and finally Allyson’s eyes found his for the first time since the accident.
Joe held his breath, hoping against hope that the lightning strike had worked the same miracle on her, and that she would know who he was…who he truly was. However, before he could move forward, a wave of nurses and orderlies burst into the room, followed shortly by a lone doctor. The orderlies gently pushed the family aside so the doctor could look Allyson over.
Joe waited impatiently in the background, able to remain still only because Allyson’s eyes remained glued on him, despite Matt’s continued presence. Finally the doctor appeared satisfied, but before leaving he declared that Allyson would have to remain in the hospital one more day for observation. The nurses and orderlies soon followed him out and everything went quiet.
Everyone in the room was aware of the Allyson’s strange behavior. She was completely ignoring her parents and her boyfriend, her attention now riveted solely on Joe. Matt started forward; bristling with jealousy, but Ron, who was a big, strong farmer, reached out pulled him to a stop.
Joe slowly walked forward, oblivious to everyone else around him. A mixture of anxiety and anticipation threatened to overwhelm him as he reached out and touched the side of the bed. Allyson’s large eyes never left him as she struggled to a sitting position. She reached out and took his hand when he was finally close enough. She squeezed it tightly and he squeezed back.
“You remember?” Joe asked, after finding his courage, his voice choked with emotion. Everyone else misunderstood the question, and watched the events uncomprehendingly…but Allyson did not.
“I remember,” she answered, her expression so filled with adoration that her feelings were clear to everyone in the room.
“I remember you. I remember it all,” she added, a sense of wonder engulfing her. Everyone mistakenly believed she was talking about the day of the lightning strike…everyone but Joe. Then, as if they were completely alone, she lovingly pulled Joe closer. She smiled, and then shockingly proclaimed in a voice loud enough for them all to hear.
“I remember you Akintunde,” she happily admitted in Akkadian. Allyson’s parents gaped…the language unrecognizable.
“I remember you Ke’alohi,” she added in the Polynesian language of her tribe.
“I remember you Katashi,” spoken in perfect Japanese.
“I remember you Donghai” she admitted in a lilting British accent, confusing everyone but Joe.
“And I remember you Joe,” she added in perfect Midwestern English as the rest of the room looked on in bewilderment.
“I also remember what you owe me,” she continued. “Joe…Tunde, will you finally give me the one life you well and truly promised?” she asked.
Stunned, everyone in the room turned to Joe, who broke into a vast grin. “Gladly,” he replied joyfully, and then bent and pressed his lips to hers.
The kiss was firm, ardent and long, and though the touch was sublimely sweet, it would take many, many more to erase the frustrations built up over a dozen lifetimes.It was a task however, that they both would gladly perform again and again during the life that was promised so long ago.
The End
Also by Richard D. Parker
The Temple Island Series:
The
Black Horseman
Assassin of the Heart
Elsewhere
The Best of all Possible Worlds
Also by Richard D. Parker
The Temporal Knights
For more information please visit my website at http://www.richarddparker.net/
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[1] Rāwiri Taonui. 'Ranginui – the sky - Ranginui – the sky father', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 22-Sep-12
URL: http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/ranginui-the-sky/page-1
One Life Well and Truly Promised Page 32