I turned the jewelry over in my hand to reveal the tag before dumping it back into her hand.
“I can also look great in something cheaper,” I said as I walked away.
Kasey ran up behind me. “Are you serious? That necklace was gorg, Lailah. You probably will not find anything like that again…considering they are ALL handmade, original pieces.”
“Hence the price, Kase! No way.” I could feel the hole burning in the back of my head from Kasey’s glare without the need to turn around. “I don’t care Kasey. You can glare me to death all you want but I came here to have a good time not go bankrupt. Now come o…”
I spun around as I was about to push open the door that led outside and stopped midsentence realizing that I was talking to myself. My eyes fell upon Kasey who was now across the room at the cashier’s pulling out money; the necklace lying onto of the counter.
I ran over as quickly as I could without knocking any of the other tourists over and placed my hand over the necklace just as the cashier was getting ready to put it in a bag.
“No.” I said firmly. Then turned to my best friend. “No, Kasey. I will not accept this.”
She pushed my hand to the side. “Lailah…you can’t tell me what to do with my money.”
Irritated, I grabbed the necklace in the palm of my hand. The moment my hand closed around the pearl; energy shot through my veins like an electric shock that gathered at the center of my core then scattered throughout my nerve-endings like lightening. I dropped the necklace and jumped back trying to get as far away from it as I could.
Slightly dazed, I backed away from the counter. “No Kasey…I really don’t want it.” But the necklace was already in the bag and Kasey was headed towards the door.
“Come on Lailah! The tour is starting.” She stuffed the bag into my hand and walked away.
I followed her outside right into the heat smacking me in my face the moment I walked pass the threshold.
A group of people were gathering around a figure when I spotted Kasey standing on the outside of the group pulling her sunglasses off the top of her head and over her eyes. Feeling a tad bit dizzy, I sat down on the nearby stoop and waited for the spell to clear.
“Why are you not with your friend?”
I heard a familiar voice beside me, startling me. My head jerked up to look at the person standing next to me and once again, I found my eyes blinded by the sun due to the height of the intruder. Standing up, I shielded the sun with my hand to stare into the face of the handsome stranger I had met earlier that morning. His onyx colored eyes glared into mine.
“She’s right over there.” I pointed to Kasey standing by the tour guide. “I just needed to sit down.”
He took a step closer to peer down at me invading that personal boundary of space again. “You do not look well.”
I moved away from his thorough scrutiny. “I’m ok. The sun is sapping what’s left of my energy.”
He laughed, loudly and very clearly.
What the hell did he find amusing? I asked silently becoming annoyed.
“Your use of words is very confusing little one. The sun is a source of energy. It does not take away. Maybe you have not basked in its rays long enough.” He said which sounded awfully like a come on.
Scrunching up my face in distaste, I waved my hand. “If you say so…”
“I do say so.” The confused looked on his face made me crack a smile but quickly vanished when he began to look me over like he did earlier.
“You know…you have this nasty habit of violating my personal space and quite frankly, it’s irritating. What are you staring at?”
His arms crossed over his chest, drawing my eyes to gape at the muscles bulging up the length of his arms. “Your hair…”
Well he sure didn’t hesitate on answering. My insecurities about my hair resurfaced and I ran my hand through my short curls nervously.
“You are a woman. Why do you insist on looking like a boy?”
Both hands flew to my hips.
“Why do you insist on being an asshole? First you mock my speech and now you insult my hair.” I pointed to his long hair. “So, if mine makes me look like a boy what does your hair say about you?”
I could feel the heat of my anger rising. I knew my ears and my face were bright red and it had nothing to do with the sun. His eyes narrowed.
Good! I’ve made him mad!
“Indian man’s hair is an extension of themselves…their lifeline. To cut my hair is akin to cutting my spirit.”
Rolling my eyes, I started walking away towards the group of people that started filing behind the tour guide. Holding my hand up in a peace sign, I turned to him. “I have to go.” I said bluntly.
“You are forgetting your…atsanvdo.” I heard his deep timbre behind me.
I spun around. “My what?”
I saw him looking inside the bag containing the necklace Kasey had just purchased.
“Your atsanvdo…you call it a necklace.”
“Oh.” I said making my way back to him, my hand outstretched. “Thank you.”
He reached his hand inside the bag pulling the piece of jewelry out.
“This belongs around your neck.” His tone serious.
“Ok…thank you. I will do that.” I went to grab for the necklace, but he pulled it away.
What the hell! The look I gave him should have dropped him on the spot, but his gaze was just as ominous. A large hand gripped my shoulder spinning me around until I was facing away from him. I felt the weight of the necklace pressed against my throat as he fastened it around my neck. Spinning me back around, he glared at me. The never ending, black abyss that was his eyes swirled with specks of grey mist like the old woman she met on the first day she arrived. Fascinated, I stepped closer falling into their murky depth.
“It is for your protection. It never leaves you. Do you understand Ama?”
I snapped out of my trance. “What did you call me?”
“Lailah, your guide is leaving.” He quickly replied.
I turned to see Kasey waving.
“What are you doing here anyway?” I asked, curious. “Aren’t you a long way off from the resort?”
He laughed his teeth stark white against his reddish-brown skin.
“Yes, the resort is my home and where I teach curious tourists like you about my culture, but I am not confined like a prisoner to it. My sister’s son wanted to swim near the falls, so I am accompanying him for the day.”
“LEE-LEEEEE!!!” I heard my name screamed. I turned and started in Kasey’s direction.
“Ok… well, have fun… Gawonii.”
His beautiful eyes pierced through me sending a wave of chills up and down my spine.
“…and you as well Lailah. You have fun… for this moment.”
I stopped walking not understanding what he meant but quickly shrugged off his cryptic words and walked away catching up to Kasey.
“Finally! I thought I had to send out another search party for you again.” She lowered her sunglasses to look at the ornament hanging around my neck. “Oh! You’re wearing it. No thanks are necessary.”
“Our landlord Gawonii practically held me down and put it on.” I mumbled as we continued down the path.
Glasses around her eyes again, Kasey looked straight forward. “Did he now? That ought to have given you a charge. So, what’s wrong?” She asked still leading the way.
I lifted my shoulders up to a shrug. “Nothing. He’s just… He’s just…”
“Gawonii.” I heard Kasey finish then pick up the pace, moving further away from me. “I mean, he’s kind of on the, ‘I am man and you do as I say,’ side… isn’t he?” She finished.
I nodded. “Yeah, but anyway, I have it on.”
We walked up the wooded path through some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever laid my eyes on. My mood went from bad to excited viewing the amazing view around me. I never thought I would have had a chance to see any of this with my conditio
n, but I was here…thanks to Kasey.
The roar of a waterfall could be heard a little up the ways and my heart began to beat faster at the anticipation of seeing a waterfall up close. We rounded a corner stepping onto a wooden bridge and the roar became deafening…and there it was.
The guide stopped on the man-made bridge and people gathered at the railing to view the magnificent site of pure power and strength the waterfall displayed.
Taking my eyes up the watery beast, I cringed at the drop any poor soul would have to endure if they ever found themselves caught up in the powerful current and was sent over the falls. But in all of its’ massive forte, the real beauty was exposed when the falls cascaded into a pool of clear blue water where you can see a few lone bodies enjoying their day swimming.
“Ok guys! This is where we are going to go off the path so you can get a chance to view the falls a bit closer. Please do not throw anything into the pool and that includes yourselves.”
The group chuckled at the guide’s attempt to make a joke. “You got it!”
There were a few head nods and scattered ‘yeses’ in the group. “Ok! Let’s go. Please be careful. The slope can be slippery due to the mist coming from the falls.”
The guide wasn’t kidding. I practically slid all the way down the slope until I touched level ground. Kasey had already made it down before me and anyone else. She conquered that slope like she had done it hundreds of times before.
People milled around the falls taking pictures but were careful not to get too close. There was another drop off that helped maintain the distance from the pool and the swimmers occupying the water. Wobbling around the drop off to get a better look at the falls, I got as close as I could to get a picture.
“God, that’s beautiful.” I muttered getting as close as I could feel the mist spray my face. Through the thin veil of precipitation, there bloomed a cluster of yellow flowers that scaled up the thick foliage to disappear over the top of the cliff. I leaned back, shielding my eyes at the distance of the precipice. It was massively beautiful, and I needed to get a good shot of it.
Returning my focus back to the flowers, I began taking snap shots and filming. This would be a great article for the magazine back at home.
Lowering the camera to review the pictures I had taken, there suddenly was a scream from overhead. My head tilted upwards and what I saw nearly had me dropping my camera into the pool below. Another scream erupted. My heart slammed against my chest seeing a child, his back facing me as he backed away from something that obviously was terrifying him.
“Help!” He yelled, causing a raucous to break out in the crowd.
Panicked tourists scattered. Some returning to the wooden bridge, others stared above in fear while a few brave men got closer trying to find a way to the child.
Getting a better look, I noticed that it was a boy that continued backing up from whatever the hell it was scaring him. He grabbed onto a low hanging branch of a tree to pull himself around to the part of the tree that hung over the cliff.
I couldn’t watch any longer! Frantically looking around for some way to get up the wall, I sat my bag down to go back to the side of the rock and run my hands along the thick brush. As soon as my hand touched the cool rock, it felt as if the brush thickened around my hand. I took a good hold and pulled checking if my weight would be supported, but there was really only one way to find out. Taking a deep breath, I pulled myself up, placing my foot on a protruding rock along the rocky wall. Inching my way up the cliff wasn’t as hard as I first thought it would have been since the adrenaline pumped, heavily, through my veins as I kept my focus on the child.
I heard yelling below, but I refused to look down knowing that once I did, I would lose all nerve and probably freeze or worst…fall. Instead, I trained my eyes on the boy clinging for dear life on the trunk of a tree. Continuing to scale up the cliff, my hands connected with the sharp edge of the overhang and pulled myself up. I rolled my body onto flat solid ground taking in deep breaths, silently saying a prayer.
What the hell did I just do! My insides screamed. I have never done anything like that before. Racing heart and light-headedness almost had me forgetting why I did that climb in the first place until I stood on my feet and let out a gasp. A roar bellowed almost causing all of my bodily functions to shut down. I stood immobilized, staring right into the eyes of a large black bear which took that very moment to stand on its back legs to a terrifying height. A scream caught in the back of my throat as the beast bared his sharp fangs… mouth open wide.
I am going to die, I almost screamed!
Trying to bring my breathing back under control, I made out the location of the boy in my peripheral vision and held my hand out to him.
“Take my hand.” I said, my voice shaking. I heard shuffling behind me, but it felt like a lifetime until the boy’s smaller hand grasped my larger one.
Eyes still staring at the feral black globes glaring back, I slowly lowered my body to the ground.
“Ok…I am going to need you to carefully climb onto my back honey,” I directed.
The boy’s hands touched my back, and I could feel his small frame press against me. I was getting ready to wrap my arms around his legs when the beast landed on all fours and charged. I jumped up to push the boy away, but the bear was already on top of us. One gigantic paw rose above the boy and me and swung. A burning sensation shot up my arm and the weight of the blow sent me backwards. The boy screamed behind me and I could hear the screams down below when the boy’s feet had slipped on the slick rock and he was going over the falls. Instinctively, I reached out for the boy and enclosed my body over his as the world turned.
A beautiful sparkling blue shimmered below me and the wind whooshed around our bodies as we fell out of the sky to plummet into the cold azure depths below. The impact was like a two by four ramming into my body knocking the boy out of my protective grip. Crying out, my mouth opened taking in water from the beating my body took when entering the water. Sinking further into the pool; every muscle screamed while chest burned. Turning my head upwards, I could see the sun’s rays beaming through the dense blue giving me hope. Willing all the strength in me, I kicked my legs – arms flailing trying to take the pathway the rays offered me that promised life.
A gurgling scream erupted when something took hold of my foot and yanked me back downward. Unable to see below me, I kicked struggling to reach the top. This time something struck me in the belly propelling me further down. I took in more water watching the surface move further away.
My lungs started to burn, and I inhaled taking in more water causing me to sink lower into the pool. It figures, I haven’t been here, one day, and I was going to die by drowning. Maybe that “office visit” was a dream warning me of the upcoming circumstances, after all.
I could not help the smile that appeared on my lips thinking that I had once beat cancer and the irony thrilled me. Who knew that my greatest fear defeated my worst threat!
Tiny stars blinked around me as heaviness came over me. Taking in one last rush of water into my lungs, a calmness washed over my body and I gave into it – my body slipping towards unconsciousness.
Opening my eyes one last time, I could see the boy floating a few feet above me. I could not let him die. Seeing his lifeless body floating above me set off a determination inside of me that supplied me with enough energy to propel myself upward in one final attempt to save him. I reached out for him surprisingly coming in contact with fabric. In the murk, I made out the writing on his shirt, SK8 BOARDING ROCKS! as the bold white letters shimmered from the sun’s rays reflecting off of them.
The boy in the shop!
I pulled his body into mine and held him as I felt myself beginning to drift away. Closing my eyes, my heart resounded like a staccato drum in my head.
One heartbeat…
Thump…Two
Pause
Thu……
The last heartbeat…Well half of one.
Pict
ures flashed before me and I had my final thoughts.
I was gonna miss Kasey…
Would have like to see that hot Gawonii again…
Damn! Who’s gonna take care of Drama…
Wait! I’m still conscious!
The weight around my neck suddenly felt heavy and began to burn. A burst of brilliant light rushed out of the jewel at the end of the beaded chain and a painful outpouring of heat exploded over my body.
Feeling like I was having an out of body experience, my eyes flew open and I inhaled.
The second that water entered my body my heart jump started practically leaping out of my chest.
Around me the pool came to life! Every wave…every ripple, it breathed life and flowed through me. I sensed life moving all around and it spoke to me in quiet whispers.
Still holding the boy, I took advantage of this gift and kicked my way towards the light again…
But as I was about to break through the surface, the boy was ripped out of my hands.
I turned to see him going back down!
Diving after him, I went to grab for his hand when I was struck, hard, in the chest. Composing myself, I spun to see what was attacking me, but I couldn’t make out anything in the water. Then I was struck again, this time causing actual pain. I glanced up at the surface then back at the disappearing boy, fighting the urge to save myself. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I did not give it all I had to save his.
The decision made I dove after the boy. Seeing his signature shirt come into view, I reached for it, inwardly smiling when I had a fist full of his shirt.
Using all I had, I made my way for the surface. Soon the rays of the sun warmed my skin even before I could reach the surface giving me an extra boost of strength that I needed. Just as I was about to break through, a massive attack immersed me.
Whatever it was, came at me viciously. It felt like it was on all sides.
Clutching the boy, tightly, I fought my way to the surface.
THE AGENI SERIES: AMA ANGENI Page 4