I stared at her hard not knowing what to say. Eventually, she spoke for me.
“You want to know if the ghost we’re seeing is really him, don’t you?”
I nodded, yes. “Am I going crazy?”
She laughed wildly and slapped the table with her hand. It startled me for a second.
“He told me you’d ask me that!” she announced.
“But how? It’s impossible.”
“Ha! Impossible! Coming from the boy who can start fires with his touch, that’s funny!” She reached out and grabbed my free hand. “Still no ignition, huh?”
Pulling back my hand in a warm fist, I sulked, “Nope.” She watched me for a moment and folded her arms at the table.
“Don’t worry, I’ll help you find your fires again.”
Her words scared me a little. “How?”
She reached out and swiped the piece of paper with Sam’s message on it. “You just need the right spark,” she winked. Looking down at Sam’s handwriting my heart skipped a beat.
“Sam,” I whispered. “She’s leaving. Moving to Seattle with Kai.”
“Ouch! Why the hell would you move to Seattle and leave this paradise?” she asked, jokingly.
“To get away from me…I guess…”
“Why’s that?”
Snatching the piece of paper from her fingers and crumbling the note in my fist, I grumbled, “I’m dangerous.”
“Is that so?” she asked, with a new smile. “Well, I’ve got some advice for you, Max.”
Pausing for a moment, I quietly spoke, “Shoot.”
“It’s only dangerous if you really love her. True love is the most dangerous thing in the world. It always has been,” she smirked.
“I don’t want to hurt her anymore,” I mumbled into the wind.
“Does she love you?”
Without hesitation, I said, “Yes.”
“Then fight for her.” Her words cut like a blade. For a split-second she sounded just like my uncle.
“I can’t.”
“Max, if you let her leave, it will hurt her more than anything you’ve ever done in the past,” she said, absolute.
As her advice began to sink in I glanced out over the horizon. The storm clouds that usually painted the landscape were fading away to dark blue skies. Quickly, I looked down at my cell phone screen. My finger traced the lines of the digital clock. It was barely 1:30 p.m. Kris watched me with determination.
“What time does her flight leave?” she asked, staring down at the numbers.
“Tonight,” I whispered.
“That gives you plenty of time to stop her.” She winked. A weary smile crept up on my lips. She slapped the table again and stood up in a fit.
“Come on, I’ll drive.”
She rushed me to her vehicle and we sped out of her neighborhood in a matter of seconds. Ten minutes from Sam’s house the nerves really started to wreak havoc on my stomach. What would I say? How would I say it? As we pulled into Sam’s driveway Kris turned to me and smiled, excited.
“What do I say?” I asked, flustered.
“Don’t ask her a damn thing! Just kiss her, Valentine!” she ordered. With a new fire in the pit of my stomach, I jumped from the truck and ran up to her door. I inhaled a deep breath and knocked with reserved panic. No one answered. Determined to see Sam before she left, I knocked again. Finally, the doorknob rolled over and the door opened up.
Sam’s disapproving mother stepped from the door. “Max, what are you doing here?”
“Rebecca, I’m here for Sam,” I almost shouted.
“Max…” she started to say, but I cut her off, quickly.
“I have to talk to her. Please don’t try and stop me.” I began to push past her when she firmly caught me by my arm.
“Samantha isn’t here.”
Standing still and confused, I asked, “What? Where is she? Her flight doesn’t leave for at least four hours…”
“I’m sorry, Max, she’s gone already. They left twenty-minutes ago,” her mother said almost glad to share the information with me.
“What?”
“She didn’t tell you? They were able to get an earlier flight.” She smiled.
“No, she didn’t mention that,” I said, with dread. I turned back toward Kris and her truck.
Rebecca tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Let them go, Max. It’s best for Madison, you know that.”
Feeling the depths of sorrow choke me, I walked away from her. “You’re wrong,” I yelled over my shoulder. With another look at the time on my cell phone I realized there was still time to stop her. I slid into the passenger’s seat with a flicker of new hope.
“They left already, but I think there’s still time to stop them. How quickly can you get me to the airport?” I asked Kris.
“That’s the spirit!” she hollered, and slammed the vehicle into drive. She peeled out in Sam’s driveway, and hollered, “Hold on, Valentine!”
We made it to the airport in record time. It didn’t hurt that Kris was a branch of the Maui law, so a dozen or so speeding violations were broken on the way. I jumped from the truck before it had even come to a stop in the almost empty parking lot. As I ran past the handful of vehicles I realized that it was a slow day here. Not good. That would mean there wouldn’t be much of a wait to load up the plane. The thought made me run even faster. Kris made her way just yards behind me as we burst through the airport’s doors and dashed for the nearest information counter.
As I slammed into the large desk I was aiming for, a half dozen colorful leis flew in every direction as their display took the brunt of my collision. The woman behind the desk jumped with a small shriek as I easily startled her.
Heroically, I grabbed one of the stray leis and slid it along the desktop until it rested before her surprised face. “Aloha.”
“May I help you, sir?” she said, shaking her head.
“What terminal is leaving for Seattle?” I asked in a fit.
“Do you need a ticket, sir?”
“No, I just need to know what terminal,” I begged.
“Only passengers with the right information may board flight 214,” she argued, politely.
“Look, lady, I need to know which terminal so I can stop the girl I love from disappearing out of my life!” As I pleaded my case I felt a soft tugging at the edge of my sleeve. I ignored it and continued, “Please, I’m begging you. I can’t lose her…”
“Max,” Kris interrupted me. I spun around annoyed.
“Help me get through to this woman, Kris,” I asked, upset. Her eyes fell from mine and she held up her hand and pointed past me.
“It’s too late,” she said, softly.
Spinning toward the direction of her finger, I felt the floor pull from under me. Gliding along the large windows of the airport was a midsize jet with the words, Maui Air 214, painted across its tail fin.
“No, Sam…” I breathlessly spoke. My soul retreated and I fell silent and still. With my hands at my sides and my head down, I turned and walked back outside. Kris followed close behind, but I didn’t care anymore. I was done. Finished.
“Max, wait up!” Kris called to me. “Max!” she yelled again as I ignored her and continued walking out of the parking lot and down the road. She finally gave up and returned to her truck. I disappeared into the thick brush along the street and walked like a zombie for hours.
On my journey I tried to call Sam knowing I wouldn’t get a response, but I tried anyways. After the third attempt I dialed a new number…Asia. The line rang over and over before finally sending me to her voicemail. When it did, I hung up and continued walking in shock.
7:33 p.m.
When I finally made it to the peer on the island, the sun had started to settle behind the large mountain in the distance. The colors were magnificent, but all I saw was gray. The sound of the restless ocean was everywhere around me. Washing against the wooden peer, cradling the half-dozen boats that were tied up and peaceful. Every ship sway
ed up and down in a mesmerizing movement. All of them except Asia’s. Her yacht was the largest, most luxurious of them all…and it was gone.
Numbness slammed into me and I turned to go back home when a strange old man waved to me from the other end of the peer. He waddled up to me with a small piece of paper sticking from his fist.
“Excuse me, are you Max?” he asked, winded.
“Umm…yes. Do I know you?”
“No, no, no…I’m Mr. Sellars, I own the little fishing boat at the end of the peer,” he said, but I didn’t want to talk to him. Not now. Not while my world was imploding.
“Oh, nice to meet you,” I said, and began to walk away. He reached out and handed me the piece of paper.
“She told me to give you this.”
“Who did?” I asked, in a huff.
“The pretty girl with the bright eyes and long legs,” he grinned, and raised his eyebrows. I quickly read the note. It had only one word written on it…LOOKOUT.
“Thanks,” I hollered, and ran past him in a full sprint.
Standing in the exact same spot I had just days before, I stared out to the darkening sea. Dangling from a black silk ribbon on the lowest branch of the cherry blossom tree was a single red rose. It gently rocked inside its simple hammock. My body covered itself in a bone chattering chill. Asia had left Maui too. She had tried to contact me but I was too busy to talk. Now, as I stood here, devastated and alone, I fell to my knees.
“Asia…” I whispered to the ocean. I tried her number again with the same results. With a shiver running along my body I tossed my mobile phone over the edge and into the water below. It disappeared into the depths just like my inferno. Painful tears cut down my face as I forced myself to accept the unbelievable truth. No more masquerades, no more safety nets. I was alone and I had no one to blame but myself.
“Say goodbye, Max.”
TWENTY: PARADISE LOST
~ Don’t Look Back In Anger: Oasis ~
ONE YEAR LATER…
Dusk - 5:57 p.m. - February 23rd
The thirteen months since I had left Maui were the hardest of my life. My exiled heart was now numb to all things that had do to with love. Losing every person who I cared for in the span of twelve hours was more than I could take. The only thing I knew to do, was run. Leave the island, and never look back. My mother didn’t support the decision at all, but she let me go without much of a fuss. She needed to get back home to the states anyways. She had put her other family on hold for long enough. Even she could see that my fires were almost completely gone. The only spark left inside was for my faithful, but weary travel companion, Oz. The first couple months of our new nomad life he was all yips and tail wags, but he quickly grew tired of the gypsy lifestyle. I think he missed his bed…my bed.
The first three weeks we spent in the small deserted town,Punta Allen, on the coast of Mexico. It was the same place Asia and I had spent together years before. She discovered the hidden town when she ran away from the island after the events that left me dead when I was eighteen. Thankfully, my death was not permanent and I hunted her across the globe to that spot. I found that she had spent her time there mourning me. So, with Oz and my guitar, I returned to the haunted beaches of Mexico to mourn my breaking heart. It didn’t help much. Part of me hoped maybe Asia would show up one day and ease my pain. The idea was silly at best, and Oz and I moved on for better days and new beginnings.
Next, we spent six months on the road in an old pickup truck, seeing most of the states. Spending only a few days in each new city, we made good time across the country. That was until we hit the small town of Dunedin, Florida. Once there, Oz managed to jump from the passenger side window as he tried to chase a wild crocodile from the middle of the road. My furry little hero broke both his front paws in the process, and forced us to hold up in a hotel until he healed enough to travel again. It was a tough time for both of us. I had sworn off almost all human connection and he seemed to blame me for not being able to heal him anymore. We watched a lot of bad TV and ate too much microwave food.
The last couple of months had been better, not good by any means, but manageable. Oz was all healed up, but his aging body now got along with a limp and the start of wiener dog arthritis. We travelled the back roads of the North, circling back toward Colorado. Once there, we looked up my mother and her other family in the scenic town of Ouray. When we finally made it to her house in the beginning stages of Spring, she wasn’t home. We waited two days for her to return home, but she never did, no one ever showed up. I figured she and her family were on vacation, or moved. It was impossible to know anymore. I didn’t have a current phone number for her. She must have changed it. So, with a sigh of relief I scribbled her a quick letter and tucked it at the foot of her front door. Basically, I told her I was doing great and leaving the island was the best thing I had ever done. I lied.
Oz and I returned to the road and drove down into Northern Arizona, finding our way to the top of the Grand Canyon. My old truck had seen better days and barely made it to our newest destination. As we rolled up to the first available motel, its engine died just outside its parking lot.
“Shit.”
Just as my vehicle coughed its last breath, the radio rang out in an old familiar song that reminded me of Sam. I reached out to shut the sound off, but caught the radio DJ’s first few comments. He mentioned the band and the year the song was released. Then, he commented on the day’s date and it occurred to me that it was Sam’s birthday. If there ever was a sign, this was it. Sam’s song, Sam’s day, Sam’s revenge.
“Stop thinking about her,” I scolded myself, and concentrated on the task at hand. Smoke roared from the corners of the hood and I stepped from the truck. Oz whined from his seat as he watched me rip the hood open in a fit, still wrestling with thoughts of green eyed blondes. Chunky white clouds with gray curls spun all around me as I swiped my arms through the air in a useless attempt to clear it out.
“Looks like she’s had it,” I groaned at Oz, and peeked around the hood of the truck. I smiled at the motel sign in the distance that flickered with the neon letters, VACANCY.
“Hey, Oz, looks like we’re home,” I teased. He barked once at me and I walked over and let him out of the truck. He bounced down to the graveled dirt and stretched his legs as best he could. I leaned over and ran my hand through the scruff of his fur.
From behind us came a voice, “Sorry, but you can’t park that here.”
Turning to find a man with a smile and a polite handshake, I said, “It’s okay, I’m not parking this here.” I grabbed his hand and shook it firmly. “I’m burying it here,” I said, with a soft laugh. The man was at least ten years older than I was and in decent shape. His eyes were hidden behind thin eyeglasses and his hair was nowhere to be found. The sun playfully bounced along the barren skin. He surveyed the situation quickly and smiled bigger.
“This a ’78…’79?”
Scratching my head, “Umm, I have no idea. I just liked her smile, so I bought her last year,” I said, removing a dead bug from the trucks grill.
“Oh, okay,” he laughed. “I’m Lewis.”
“Max,” I nodded, politely. Oz barked from behind one of my legs. He puffed out his chest and stood as tall as physically possible. My little bodyguard. “And this is Ozzy.”
“Nice to meet both of you.” Lewis seemed to be a genuine nice guy. I found the walls I had put up with most people these days, lowered a bit. Quickly, he said, “I guess I can get a tow service out here in the morning.”
“That would be fantastic.” I smiled.
“Looks like you need a place to stay the night,” he hinted, and pointed his thumb over his shoulder toward the motel.
Laughing softly, “Looks like it.” He motioned with his other hand to follow him and he escorted us toward the front office.
“I take it this is your motel,” I said, as we walked through the glass door and a bell chimed as we passed through the doorframe.
“Nah
, but I am close with the owner.” He winked. “Play your cards right and I might be able to hook you up with a discount.”
“Sounds good,” I said. Just then an older woman strolled up to the front desk with a smile and enormous glasses. She had neatly styled silver hair and a flowery dress.
“Lewis, you brought me some guests,” she announced, with a sweet but raspy voice.
“You know it. This is Max and his sidekick, Ozzy. They’ve run into a bit of automotive trouble outside and need a place to stay for the night.” He smiled our way.
“Just one night?” she asked.
“Yes,” I agreed.
“I promised them you would treat them right. Best room in the joint! Money is no object!” he joked.
She glared up at him and frowned. “Lewis, settle yourself. Stop showing off for your new friend,” she said, bluntly.
Lewis adjusted his glasses in embarrassment and shrugged my way. “Sorry, Mom.”
“Enough of that.” She tossed him a set of keys. “Room 13, best one we got,” she said, cheerfully.
I reached out and placed a wad of money on the counter, enough to pay for at least two weeks in this place and she nodded politely and walked away.
“Tonight is on me,” she announced before disappearing around a corner.
I looked over at Lewis and he just watched me curiously. Quickly, I scooped up the cash and slid it in the front pocket of his shirt.
“Make sure she gets this,” I said.
He looked at me surprised. “Are you sure?”
Scooping Oz into my arms, I said, “Completely.”
Lewis walked us to our room and handed us the key. “Here ya go, Max.”
“Right on.” Oz and I made our way inside the room and examined our temporary home. It was cozy and clean with a small bed and a table with two chairs. Old western wallpaper covered the walls and it smelled like one of those scented candles. Peach, I think. I fell on the bed, letting the long week finally catch up with me. Oz joined me in a huff of exhaustion. His torso curled up underneath one of my arms. Lewis excused himself and closed the door. I quickly jumped back up and jerked the door back open.