by Kealohilani
They had to give up trying to stop her from jumping in the pool on hot days— sometimes right off the little bridge or off of the five-foot-tall waterfall. Every so often she would just lounge on one of the many natural-looking rock shelves that made up the waterfall— basking in the sun behind, and sometimes under, the cascading water. Thankfully, Portia loved baths so much that she was always very clean before she even got into the pool. Loving water and baths were also good qualities for when they had to rinse the chlorine out of her fur afterwards.
Portia also loved keeping Lani’s dad company in their vegetable garden in the backyard. One day she pounced on one of the over-ripe tomatoes that he threw over his shoulder to till back into the ground. To everyone’s surprise, Portia happily lapped up the juices from the squashed red fruit and even ate some of the tomato meat. Tomatoes became one of her favorite foods from that day forward.
Lani sometimes wondered if Portia really was a cat— or if she was actually an animagus sent to watch over her and her family.
Lani smiled at the memories and went back to the task before her. She packed a modest, simple-yet-still-stunning, black evening dress and another modestly-cut and equally-stunning fuchsia satin one— with two matching pairs of heels— in case they went to a nice restaurant.
Various items of jewelry, assorted hair accessories, and other necessities came next, followed by the assorted toiletries she would need on her trip. However, there was relatively no makeup packed. She loved doing dramatic makeup when she dressed up in costumes for Halloween or midnight movie premieres and the like. However, as far as the everyday went, she preferred showing people the real her to simply displaying her artistic ability on her face.
Additionally, she had her dad’s lips and makeup took too much time to trouble with. So, with the exception of some college dances— when she knew the flash from the cameras might wash her out and ruin the professional pictures of her and her date— she usually didn’t bother. Even when Lani did her makeup for photos, she only put on just enough so that after the flash washed her out a little in the photo, she would still just look like she naturally did in person.
Most importantly, she packed a notebook and a pen so that she could write down her thoughts if anything she saw inspired her. Maybe this trip was just what she needed to kick out the small bit of writer’s block she had been experiencing.
“What in the monkey are you doing?”
Lani jumped and nearly knocked her suitcase onto the floor. Tyler stood in the doorway surveying the chaos in front of him.
“Tyler, you scared me! Oh, right, I forgot to tell you. I’m going to Disney World tomorrow for a week with Raoul, Justin, his mom, and his sister.”
“TOMORROW? I didn’t even know Justin was back!”
“I know, right?! I just found out when he called me like five minutes ago. He’s been home like less than an hour! Wow, that jet lag is gonna kill him. No, wait a minute— it’s Justin. He’ll be more awake than Raoul and I will be!”
“That’s for sure. Man! I’m so jealous! But you deserve it.”
“Why don’t you come with me? I have some money saved up. I can pay for your airplane ticket and park entry— and I’m sure Justin and Raoul wouldn’t mind you bunking with them. You’d just have to be okay with hanging out with Jezzy and Mrs. Iremia a bunch because Justin wants a lot of Three-Musketeer time— but I’m sure we’d do a few things all together too. The Three Musketeers do need a d’Artagnan every now and again.”
“Really?!”
“Absolutely! I would love to have you come with!”
Tyler rushed Lani and gave her a great big bear-hug.
“ ‘Sassy can’t breathe,’ honey,” Lani said in a teasing breathless voice.
“Sorry, haha.” Tyler let go of her and Lani laughed.
“No problem. I’ll text Justin to get the flight number so I can book a flight for you on the same plane if it’s not already full.”
“Wait! Dang it! The thing! I mean, not dang it because of the thing— but dang it!”
“English please,” Lani smiled at her brother.
“I can’t go.”
“Why?!”
“Some of Michelle’s out-of-the-country relatives are visiting here on July eighth, and that’s right in the middle of your trip.”
“Oh, Ty-Ty… Sorry to get your hopes up. I didn’t know.”
“Don’t be sorry. At least I know I have the best sister in the world!”
“You would have done it for me,” Lani asserted, blushing slightly. “Which relatives? The French side or the Mexican side?”
“Mexican.”
“The ones who just bought like their fifteenth private island?”
“Those would be the ones. And I think it was their sixteenth or seventeenth— first one in Greece though. I’m nervous as heck. She’s planning to introduce me to everyone! I don’t know how to act around rich people. Especially not majorly-high-class-might-as-well-be-royalty-old-money-rich people!”
“Just be your wonderful self, Ty-Ty. They will see that Michelle is more than lucky to have you because of your heart and the way you treat her.”
“Thank you, Sis. I might have to google a few quick etiquette lessons too though— just to be safe.”
Lani laughed. “You’re adorable!”
“You take that back!” Tyler smiled.
“Sorry. Can’t.”
“Thank you again for almost taking me to Disney World! I wish I could have gone with you guys…”
“Maybe next time!” Lani gave Tyler another hug.
“You’re still coming to the Fourth of July celebration with us tonight, right?”
“Of course!”
“Awesome! Well I’ll let you get back to packing so you can finish before we head out. Let me know if you need any help.”
“Actually, I do. Can you go get mom for me so I can tell her? Oh, and can you grab my laptop please? I think I left it outside under the tree!”
“Sure thing, Sis! MOM!”
Lani laughed as Tyler ran screaming from the room. She was sad that he couldn’t come with her now, even though her family was planning to go to Disney World and on the Disney Cruise this coming Christmas.
They both loved Disneyland so much that they had annual passes and never got tired of it— and he had been such a rock for her lately. Thank goodness Tyler didn’t resent her going with Justin and Raoul so she would still have the time of her life, without feeling guilty. One more reason she adored her little brother.
And she and Tyler could still look forward to going with their parents soon. Maybe Jenna and Jonathon would even be able to meet them there for Christmas as well.
This current trip would be the first time that she, Raoul, and Justin would be able to spend more than a day together since they had graduated from high school. Lani was grateful for the fateful twist in Raoul’s life that had occurred the day that he was held back in elementary school. That, coupled with the fact that she had skipped a grade, had put all three of them in the same grade level rather than being separated into three completely different ones.
She didn’t believe in coincidence and was sure that the Universe had arranged things to bring them together. They met in ninth grade and had been inseparable from that day on. Even within their larger group of friends, Raoul, Justin, and Lani had always been the very best of friends, referring to themselves as “The Three Musketeers.”
Justin and Lani had always shared the additional bond of both being adopted children. Like Lani, Justin had never taken up the crusade to find his biological parents— but not quite for the same reasons.
He was very happy with his mom and although he could have passed on his dad, Justin figured it was too much work to track down parents he didn’t have names for. He didn’t even know what race he was for sure. But since Lani and many others had always told him he looked like Will Smith and Tiger Woods had a cousin, he figured he had to be at least part African-American.
Howev
er, Justin also thought there was a strong possibility he was the same mix of races as his stunning younger sister— who was his adoptive parents’ biological child— because the resemblance between them was uncanny. Right down to the gorgeous eyes and lashes that gave other girls fits of jealousy when they looked at her.
His adoptive mother was half-Japanese and half-Caucasian, and his adoptive father was from Fiji. Justin had decided early on to roll with it, and had made up his own name for the mix of cultures he was guessing flowed through his veins— Fijapacasian.
Raoul didn’t want to be rude or hurt anyone’s feelings so he never told Lani or Justin or anyone else whom he knew had been adopted— but he was very happy that he was not adopted. He thought not knowing his bloodline or his heritage would have been an awful feeling.
He was the youngest of eight children and looked as if he were at least part Mexican to people who did not know his family. His mother was from Japan and had a bit of Filipina blood. His father was of Danish and French ancestry.
The family resemblance was so strong between Raoul and his brothers that some people thought he and his brother Koji— who was just a couple years older than he was— were twins. Everyone who lived in the community would always ask Raoul, “Are you one of the Evans kids?” He beamed with happiness and pride every time he was asked that question, as he answered that he was.
Lani’s cell phone rang again. This time the screen told her that it was Raoul— along with his ringtone, which was from one of his favorite YouTube videos— originally created by Erwin Beekveld— called They’re Taking The Hobbits To Isengard.
“Hey Raoul, perfect timing! I was just thinking about you!”
“Lani, are you sitting down?” Raoul asked in a low hushed voice.
“Yes, Raoul, I’m sitting down.”
Lani had seated herself on her bed in order to answer him honestly and was biting her lip to keep from laughing. Raoul’s tone was so serious and she already knew why he was calling.
“I know that this is not much notice… And I know you like notice. So I hope this won’t upset you too much.”
Lani decided to play this out with a worried tone and go with whatever he said. Partly for entertainment, but also to spare his feelings and allow him to report what he felt he needed to report to her. She was barely able to contain herself as she answered him with concern in her voice.
“What is it, Raoul?”
“We have to leave tomorrow.”
“Leave?!”
“Yes. Tomorrow.”
“Whatever for?” Lani asked, biting her lip harder and pulling one of her throw pillows to her face to muffle any unintended sounds.
“Justin’s dad is making him go to Florida.”
“Oh no! But we just barely got all of us back here again!”
“I know, I know… it’s quite sudden. I knew that might be upsetting to you so I wanted to be the one to tell you. I want you to know it will be okay, Lani. He says we can go with him. So don’t worry. He has tickets for all of us tomorrow and he’ll pick us up.”
“Yay! This is gonna be so fun! I better let you go so we can pack. I know you don’t want to forget anything.”
“Oh yeah! I have to pack! Bye, Lani!” Raoul exclaimed in a panicked voice.
He didn’t even wait for her to say goodbye. He was gone. Lani laughed until there were tears in her eyes. Her mind flashed back to the three years in high school it had taken her to be able to get Raoul to do something as simple as going to the beach at a moment’s notice.
Before she and Justin had worked on him for all that time, he would just stand in the doorway, with his body blocking the space between the partially-opened door and the doorframe— looking like a deer caught in the headlights for up to half an hour, trying to decide what to do— unsure of how he could possibly deal with the spontaneity before him— even if his schedule was completely free.
He and Justin couldn’t be less alike. Come to think of it, the three of them were all completely different from each other. And yet as friends they were perfect together.
After high school, all three of them had gone on to attend UCSD, but both of the boys had taken two years out to dedicate to service abroad. Raoul had gone off to serve with the Peace Corps in Indonesia, teaching English and building schools— while Justin had gone off to Japan to teach children English and music, as a volunteer.
Lani missed them terribly while they were gone, but she was tremendously proud of them for being willing to serve others. And now that they were back, she couldn’t wait for morning to come!
Jharate jumped slightly as he came out of his musing state. He had not been asleep. However, he had been so deep in thought that he had almost forgotten where he truly was.
He had just seen a maiden— a beautiful young maiden with long flowing hair. She was not in the forest with him. She was in his mind.
Her surroundings were strange to him. She stood outside on a narrow and unusually-smooth cream-colored pathway. A strange nearly-rectangular box sat on the ground behind her. It looked as though it might be made of cloth, despite its shape.
Standing on the pathway, she looked out at what must be a road. Pitch black and— again— unusually smooth, it was like no road Jharate had ever seen.
Strange carriages rushed past her on the unfamiliar ebony surface. No animals drew them forward and they appeared to be forged from metal. The carriages had been fashioned into diverse shapes, sizes, and colors. They seemed to have eyes that gleamed brighter than torches as they illuminated the way ahead of them through the darkness, which felt like the darkness just before sunrise.
Jharate marveled as one of the carriages stopped— he walked around it, looking at it from every angle. It was black and had no roof. It bore the image of a horse crafted in silver on the front of it. However, the carriage could not hold his attention for long. He immediately returned his focus to the maiden.
The two men inside the carriage stepped out to help the mysterious maiden to her seat in the front. They picked up her box and put it inside a hidden compartment in the back. Although it was dark outside, some light came from inordinately-tall metal posts, which allowed Jharate to vaguely see strange dwellings that stood close together— and then he could see no more.
Jharate was grateful for this blissful reprieve from the horrific visions that had been plaguing him since he fled the castle. While he had been walking through the foreign surroundings, he had been removed from his own reality— he had felt no pain.
Still, he wondered what it all meant. Truly hers was a strange land. Could such a place exist? Does such a maiden exist?
He could not be sure. It seemed real. It felt like a vision. Was it? It was nothing akin to anything he had ever seen prior to this instance. Perhaps it was merely his imagination.
Still, he could not divest himself of the feeling that it had been a vision— nor could he remove her face from his mind. She was uncommonly alluring and he felt a burning desire to meet her, emanating from his very soul, if only he could find her.
He suddenly became aware of how heavy his eyelids were and decided that it would be wise to attempt to rest before the sun came up, which would not be long now. He lay back down, thinking of the fair maiden, and pictured her gentle face until he finally drifted off to sleep.
And a Little Bit of Pixie Dust…
Chapter Seven
"Thank you for choosing to fly with us today on flight 245 to Orlando. We hope you had an enjoyable flight and will choose us the next time you travel. Please wait until the captain turns off the fasten-your-seatbelt sign before un-fastening your seatbelts.”
“Ding!” Justin intoned loudly, in flawless imitation— ten seconds before the fasten-your-seatbelt light actually went off with a ding.
In response to Justin’s mimicked tone, the clickety-clack of hundreds of people undoing their seatbelts sounded like a thousand mousetraps going off at once. A few more went off ten seconds later when the captain hit the button
for real this time.
“Lani,” Justin began. “Laaani… Wake up!”
Justin nudged Lani awake in an unceremonious manner and she sat bolt upright. Blinking slowly, she sleepily surveyed her surroundings.
Seeing his mischief was complete with Lani, Justin stood up, quietly unscrewed the cap of his water bottle, and proceeded to dump the contents onto Raoul’s head.
“HEY!”
“Rise and shine, peeps! We’re here!”
“I’m wet! How am I supposed to go on vacation now?”
“Reeeeelax will yah, Raoul? You’re not a mogwai! Sheesh!”
“Grow up, Justin,” Jeschelle scolded, shoving Justin so hard that he almost fell on top of Lani as she and her mom passed by to go get their carry-ons out of the overhead bins, taking her long black curly hair out of a bun as she walked.
“Grow up, Justin,” Justin mimicked under his breath.
“I was having a great dream!” Raoul complained. “There was pixie dust coming out of the plane engines and trailing behind us.”
“Wow, Raoul. I had no idea… I’m so sorry to wake you from such a magical dream FOR THE REAL MAGIC OF DISNEY WORLD!”
“I’m still wet! I can’t go on vacation wet!”
“I can’t even with you right now, man.”
Lani watched all that was happening around her in a half-amused-half-dazed state. Justin’s impolite manner of waking her had thrown her off.
She hadn’t known she was asleep. She had been in an unfamiliar forest looking for someone. She remembered the feeling most of all— wanting, no, needing to find that person. But she had no idea who she was searching for.
It had been so real. It was unusually dark… maybe nighttime… and she was alone. Stumbling upon a campsite, she had seen someone sitting up in the darkness.
He was a well-muscled man with brown skin, but she could not see his face. She had been startled at first, but felt no fear in venturing forward to determine his identity.
It was at this moment that Justin had chosen to rip her from her dream and back to reality. The odd thing was… the dream still felt like it was reality.