Time Cursed

  * * *

  Cole had checked in for his security job. He was working the night shift and the sun had set less than an hour before. He felt the pull for Arlana so strong that his heart felt like it just might push out of his chest. At this point all he could do was follow his instincts. He was hardly paying attention to what was going on around him. He heard some yelling in the distance, a man's voice and he knew he should probably see what was going on. Luckily it was the direction he was being drawn to. He saw a man pulling a woman towards him, the woman's back was facing him, her hair was a beautiful golden red color, running down her back in ringlets.

  “That hair, that beautiful hair, just like Arlana's.”

  He heard the woman scream. “Get your hands off of me, I don't want to kiss you, we're not together anymore! Get your hands off of me!”

  He would recognize that voice anywhere, “Arlana!” he shouted towards her.

  She looked towards his voice. For a moment their eyes met, he felt his heart continue to hammer in his chest. He ran towards her with fierce velocity.

  “Who is that?” Derek shouted. “Did you meet some other guy? And here you were on your high horse about Jillian and I and you've been two timing me this whole time. Look at me when I'm talking to you!” Derek gripped Arlana's face and pulled it roughly towards him.

  Cole ran into Derek like a torpedo. He knocked him to the ground with the force of the impact and then dropped down and punched him in the jaw. “You never touch her like that! You never touch her!” He felt such anger radiating out of him that he wasn't sure if he could control himself. Then he heard her voice.

  “It's you, you from my dreams, you're here.”

  Her voice brought him back to reality and he remembered what was really important. He stepped close to her, not hesitating a second but wrapping her up in his arms. Her hands reached into his hair. He sealed her into him, he wanted to press her so close that they would be one, he never wanted to lose her again. Their lips met in a desperate passion, like they needed to be close in order to breath, in order to survive. His heart beat began to slow as tingles flowed throughout his body. A peace radiated inside of him as he lost himself in a world that was only her, his only love.

  Could this really be happening, Arlana wondered as this man who was the image of her dream man pulled her to him and kissed her with an intensity that overwhelmed her senses. This was what a kiss was supposed to be like she realized. As she returned his kiss with an equal amount of desire and passion she felt a warmth flood through her, not just her body but deeper into her whole being. At that moment all that existed was this man and herself and nothing else and yet in the distance she heard someone calling out to her, but it was not her name and yet it was her name. As her confusion increased she slowly pulled away from the man who saved her. She looked into his eyes and knew he was her protector. He was Cole, not her dream man but her soul mate. How long had they been lost to each other? She felt someone grab her arm and pull her from Cole. Although it was a small distance she felt a chill.

  She turned and looked at the young man who seemed equally angry and concerned. The girl next to him had wide eyes and a mischievous grin. Their names came back to her. “Luke? Karyn? Um, Cole?” She looked back to Cole and felt lost in his eyes. He gazed at her with a look of relief and happiness. Her vision grew fuzzy and his look turned to concern he started to speak but she didn’t hear him because the world went dark.

  Arlana wandered in the dark for a long time. She called out “hello? Is anyone there?” so many times she was sure she should be hoarse by now but she wasn’t. In the distance there was a light in the darkness. She ran towards it and came to a waterfall. It was such a peaceful area. “There you are my dear” said a voice that belonged to a beautiful woman sitting on a rock by the pool. “Come sit with me” she said as she patted the space next to her on the rock.

  Arlana stared at the woman. She had a familiar face and as Arlana wracked her brain trying to remember who this woman was she gasped. “Momma?” she asked timidly. The woman laughed gently and smiled. “Yes my daughter. I am your Mother. Please sit down with me for a little while.”

  Arlana ran over to the woman and hugged her. She sat down and stared in awe at her Mother. “Is this a dream?” Arlana asked.

  “Hmmm. Technically? I suppose it would be the easiest thing to call it. It is more complicated than that. You see my sweet daughter, you are very special. You have many special abilities because you are the eighth generation of the eighth child. Your father was the seventh generation of the eighth child and he is powerful but you will be more powerful than any other of your father’s people. That is why we can talk even though I have moved on to the afterlife.”

  Arlana felt tears welling up in her eyes. “If that is true than why am I only just seeing you now?”

  “Your father’s curse took affect prior to your coming in to the dream walking power. I couldn’t break through. Only those you were very close to and unfortunately I died when you were young so I was not at the forefront of your mind. Cole and then Avalynn were there because they were your world prior to your father’s curse. They bled through the curse but I couldn’t. Oh, I have missed you so much my sweet child. I am sorry you have suffered so much. I was not able to protect you from that evil woman.”

  “Oh Momma, I have missed and needed you so much! I am sorry you were not always on my mind. It was easier to not think of you. I am really really sorry.” Arlana cried as she hugged her mother tightly.

  Sophia pulled back and looked at Arlana with a tenderness only a mother could have. Arlana felt warmed by the attention and smiled. “Arlana my sweet child. I can’t stay but I needed to push through to warn you. You are in grave danger. Your stepmother will do everything in her power to destroy you. I am so sorry for her. She is a jealous woman. Your father and I fell deeply in love which was not what either of us expected. She feared that your father would make me immortal. She turned your father against me with lies and then had me eliminated. Your image reminds them of me. I caused nothing but sadness for you because I could not fight Marika. I am so sorry for failing you my sweet daughter.”

  “It is not your fault that she is cruel and jealous mother.”

  “No matter, Marika is not your only danger. Your father’s mother is aware of your presence. As you well know your father is not human nor of this world. His kind must never know you exist. From what I can see your grandmother will protect you but if she learned of your existence others may know too. You must be careful who you trust. Perhaps your father’s curse is a partial blessing. The less they see you connected to him the less they will think you are his daughter. You must not go back to Mikoko Moyo. The mangroves only protect from human eyes not from his people. Now I must go, you are about to wake up. Be brave my darling. Trust your instincts. Your protector will lay down his life for you.”

  “Momma? I remember now that I am not Aria but will I forget that life? Will Luke and Karyn not remember me?”

  Sophia smiled sadly. “I don’t know how the curse works. I would think that you are unforgettable. All of your lives will come back to you though. Perhaps you can look into the past and see if you disappeared from history. Be safe my love. Now it is time to wake up.”

  Arlana opened her eyes. At first everything was blurry and bright but as her eyes began to focus all she saw was beautiful hazel eyes that were filled with concern and fear. “Arlana? Is it you my love?”

  “Dude! Step back! Her name is Aria and she is no love of yours!” Arlana heard a male voice say angrily.

  Arlana felt that she should turn to see who said that but she felt lost in a sea of hazel. These were the eyes of her dream. Slowly she visually took in the face that went with those eyes. Solid strong features. Her gaze drifted to his lips and she remembered the kiss. As she looked back into his eyes she realized he saw where she was looking and she blushed. Embarrassed she tried to sit up and realized that he was holding her in his arms. “Um, I, um
, I’m ok. Just a little dizzy.” She looked in his eyes again and felt at peace. “Is it really you? How long has it been? It feels as though an eternity may have passed.”

  “Not an eternity but it truly felt that way. I’m sorry it took me a year to break the curse. I was so close so many times but, well, times can be tough. Finally we are in an era where there were less challenges. I love you my sweet Arlana, I can’t believe you finally remember me.”

  Arlana felt so happy to hear him say he loved her. She smiled. As she looked around them she saw two people watching her. A boy and girl. They were familiar to her. As she tried to place their names her head began to ache. She closed her eyes and their names came to her. Her life here in this time came back to her and as overwhelming as it was she managed to smile at them. “Um, Luke, Karyn, I, uh, don’t know what to say. Um my name is Arlana and this is my, uh, friend, Cole. We were cursed and um…” Arlana looked at Cole praying he could help her explain this without sounding like a complete mental case.

  Cole smiled and looked at Luke and Karyn. “It is complicated. Perhaps we should find a quiet place we can talk.” He said calmly.

  Karyn smiled, “Honey I could listen to you talk all night. It sounds like what you are going to tell us is going to be difficult to believe so let’s head back to the room. I don’t want anyone thinking we are crazy.”

  Arlana smiled at Karyn. She truly was an amazing friend. She wished that she had really known Karyn all her life. She turned to look at Cole and spotted Derek still unconscious out of the corner of her eye. “What should we do about that jerk. Oh my gosh I really did date him. What was I thinking!”

  Cole looked at Arlana sharply. “You dated that jerk? Is that why he wanted you to kiss him. Wait! Did you ever kiss him?”

  Arlana blushed. “Well, not exactly. Aria kissed him but she didn’t like it. I mean seriously Cole I was someone else. Cursed you know.”

  Cole took a deep breath. He never thought about the lives she lived. Logically he knew that she knew nothing about him during these other lives but his pride was hit hard realizing that she did not remember him.

  “I understand. It is just hard to hear. Don’t worry I am not mad. It will take getting used to. The fact someone else might have held your interest.”

  Arlana smiled and hugged him “Never enough to dream about. You were always in my dreams. No matter who I was. You are the only one my heart yearned for.” Arlana said quietly.

  Cole looked at her in shock. She had never been so brave and here she was confessing how she felt. His heart swelled and he pulled her to him and kissed her again. This time tenderly.

  “Ahem! Um, you guys, like gross! Stop it. I am struggling with the fact that Aria is not Aria but her kissing a complete stranger is really too much to grasp.” Karyn whined.

  Arlana pulled back and blushed, “sorry Karyn. Let’s head back to the room.”

  Once they reached the hotel Arlana explained that she and Cole had been cursed by her father. She knew it would be a crime to talk about home so she stayed vague about where she was from. She did mention that she and Cole were immortals and lived outside the human world. She told them she could travel across time and that she had been cursed to live with no memory of who she was and that Cole was the only one to break the curse. At first Luke and Karyn thought she was insane but eventually Cole was able to show that he could not be hurt. He cut his arm and when they saw it heal before their eyes they started to believe his immortality.

  Once there was nothing left to say Arlana and Cole went for a walk along the cliff. They reached a spot with a bench and sat down. Arlana leaned against Cole. His warmth was comforting. She stared off into the distance.

  “Cole?”

  “Hmmm?”

  Arlana lifted her head and looked at Cole, “Don’t you think it is strange that Karyn and Luke are still here and know who I am? I mean, wouldn’t they have gone back to whatever their lives would have been if Diokles hadn’t cursed me?”

  “It did seem strange but I never understood Diokles’ powers.”

  “When you kissed me, um, when you broke the curse, when I passed out…I saw my mother.” Cole looked at her surprised. Arlana blushed. “I don’t think it was a dream. I remember I once saw Avalynn in what I thought was a dream and she said she thought I could dream walk. Mother said that I could too. She said that I had powers. Um, do you think Karyn and Luke haven’t forgotten me because I don’t want them too? Would it be bad if they knew me?”

  Cole stared out into the ocean pensively. “I don’t know.” He said quietly. “If only you could see what their life would have been like without you in it. Most of the lives you lived I think your presence added something important to the people around you, but there was one time that it didn’t.”

  “The witch burning? Yes I remember that. It is weird. I remember it but like a story that was told to me. Or a movie I watched. Yes Christina’s life had to have been better without knowing me. I don’t know how to make them forget me though. I miss everyone I was friends with. I don’t think I could let any of them go.” Arlana said. She felt the tears well up in her eyes as she thought about all the people she met while she was cursed. How could she let any of them go?

  Cole hugged her close to him. “Let’s not worry about that right now. Perhaps we should talk about what we want to do next. We can’t go back to the camp. Where shall we go in this crazy world. 1986 isn’t the worst place to end up.”

  Arlana smiled. “As long as I am with you any place we end up is perfect.”