Earth, Air, Water, Light

by C L Lassila

  They lay there, side by side, for a while longer until the chill of the night began to set in. Calix helped Adelaide to her feet and pulled her into an embrace. She felt the heat of arousal rush through her body. Calix kissed her and then took her by the hand and led her over to the fire, to the spot that would serve as their bed for the night. Adelaide lay in his arms and watched the flames dancing in the darkness. She fought to keep her eyes open, wanting to make the night last, wanting to savor every possible moment of this magical night with Calix, a magical night that came at the end of an equally magical day. Finally, wrapped in his arms, her body resting close to his, unable to fight it off any longer, she slept.

  It was there that she awoke, in Calix’s arms, her head resting on his shoulder. The sun’s progress above the horizon had just begun to lighten the sky. The birds, just beginning their day too, had begun singing in the trees, greeting the morning.

  “Good morning,” Calix said, leaning over to kiss her. “Did you sleep well?”

  “Very well,” Adelaide answered. “I like sleeping outside.”

  Calix got up and revived the glowing embers in the camp fire until there was a small blaze.

  “Just to warm us up,” he said.

  Adelaide roused herself and went to sit with Calix by the fire. They ate the little bit of food that they had left over from yesterday and watched as the fall colors came alive again and the sky turned increasingly blue.

  “Another glorious day,” Adelaide remarked.

  “Another day with you,” Calix replied.

  All too soon it was time to hike back down to the house. Before they left they stood hand in hand for a time, at the edge of the rocky overhang, looking out over the view.

  “Thank you again for showing me this,” Adelaide said.

  “You’re welcome. I am glad that I was able to,” Calix said. “And remember to thank Ten Crows. He showed it to me.”

  The two took their time walking back down, reluctant to leave this adventure behind them. They stopped from time to time, Adelaide collecting colorful leaves and Calix identifying the type of tree that they came from. By midafternoon they had made it back to the farm. Once home, Adelaide checked on the chickens, while Calix drew some water from the well so that they could freshen up after their long walk.

  Calix brought a basin from inside and filled it with water on the back porch. He called to Adelaide and she came to join him. Kneeling in front of her, he untied the laces on her boots and she raised her feet one by one so that he could remove them. He then reached up and undid her belt as she looked down at him, brushing her fingers through his hair. Sliding her pants down her slim legs, his fingers brushed over the back of her thighs. With her pants off, he directed her to sit down and he placed her feet in the cool, soothing water. Calix gently washed her feet and then ran his wet fingers up and down her calves. Cupping water in his palm, he ran a trail of the cold liquid along the length of her upper leg. Adelaide closed her eyes and felt the water run over her bare skin. Calix then ran his wet hands slowly from her knees up to the top of her thighs. She sighed, unable to contain her excitement. Calix licked the water from her skin and softly kissed the inside of her thighs before burying his face in her lap. She pulled him up from between her legs and kissed him. She could taste herself on his mouth.

  Adelaide clumsily hurried to remove Calix’s pants. Freeing him, she wrapped her leg around him and felt him enter her. The desire of the past thirty six hours, finally realized, was intense. She clung to him as he thrust deeply into her.

  Their passion only partially sated, Calix led Adelaide into the bedroom. They made love until the sun set.

  Eventually, hunger moved them into the kitchen. Both of them were aware that their time together would be over far too soon. They sat together and talked about unimportant things. Adelaide held herself back from asking what she really wanted to know; how long was Calix going to be in the area or, if leaving soon, when would he be coming back? The night passed quickly, as tends to be the case with situations that you want to last. They fell asleep in each other’s arms and started the new day making love to each other.

  Knowing that they would have to part soon, they made an effort to treat it like an ordinary day. While Adelaide made breakfast, Calix went outdoors to plant the bush that he had brought for her. She brought coffee and biscuits outside and sat bare foot, cross legged on the ground, near where he was working.

  “What kind of bush is it?” Adelaide asked.

  “Wild rose,” Calix responded. “Get Jonas to hang a hammock close to it. When it blooms next summer you can have a place to lie down outside and enjoy their perfume, and the scent of the milkweed blossoms.”

  “I cleared a large space to plant the milkweed seeds. The cuttings that I planted seem to be doing well. I hope that they like it here and blossom next year,” Adelaide said. “It would be paradise to fall asleep at night smelling their fragrance.”

  Calix finished planting the rose bush. He sat down beside her and then reached for a cup of coffee and a biscuit.

  The family of crows were vocalizing from the various places that they were roosting. Adelaide crumbled a biscuit and tossed it out onto the grass. She laughed and said, as the inky birds flew down, “They scold me when I don’t give them something.”

  The crows landed on the grass and warily assessed the situation before hopping over to eat. They quickly picked up the pieces before flying off.

  “They always take their time. They don’t trust that there is no trick involved. I guess that is a good practice to adopt when dealing with people,” she continued. “Do you know how Ten Crows got his name?”

  “He can tell the story better than I can,” Calix replied. “I believe that when he was born, they counted ten crows in camp. At the moment he entered the world, all of the crows began to talk. They felt the presence of his spirit. And so he was named Ten Crows.”

  “I like that,” Adelaide said.

  She got up and went into the house, saying that she would be right back. She returned with a shiny black feather in her hand which she handed to Calix.

  “A memento for this time together,” she said.

  Calix ran one finger along the edge of the feather.

  “Remarkable, aren’t they?” he said.

  “Will the crows stay through the winter?” Adelaide asked.

  “Now that you are here they most likely will,” Calix answered. He leaned over and kissed her. “Lucky birds,” he added.

  That morning, like the previous night, went by all too quickly and too soon it was time for Calix to leave, the crow’s feather stowed away in his bag. They said their goodbyes on the back porch, the place where they had first made love, out of sight of anyone passing on the road.

  Tears welled up in Adelaide’s eyes as they kissed each other goodbye.

  She held him and whispered in his ear, “I loved these days with you.”

  Calix embraced her tightly and said, “I loved this time too.”

  As he walked away he turned around to face her, a broad smile brightening his face.

  “Stay on your feet,” he said.

  And then he was gone.

  Adelaide watched as he disappeared around the side of the house. She rushed to the front porch and stood, tears running down her face and watched as Calix walked away, not knowing when she might see him again.

  She knew that she could either surrender to the sadness caused by his leaving or distract herself by keeping busy. The last few days had provided a welcome break from housekeeping, but now she threw herself into making the house nice for Jonas’ return. After that was done she would tend to the garden.

  While in the yard she caught sight of what she had thought was a lost friend. One of the hens left by Mrs. Greenfield had gone missing a couple of weeks ago. A pretty, rust colored bird, Adelaide had assumed that she had been taken by a predator, although she had found no evidence of an attack. Much to her delight, following along behind the chicken, were a n
umber of newly hatched chicks. Adelaide walked closer, wanting a better view so that she could count them. There were six in all, tiny, yellow, fluffy babies, already pecking at the ground like the adult chickens. She watched in delight as the tiny birds would venture a short distance away from the family and then go scampering back, peeping for their mother. She was happy and excited about the new additions to the farm. Wanting to welcome the previously missing bird back, she went and got a cupful of feed and tossed it down near them.

  “Congratulations, hen,” she said. “You have lovely babies.”

  For a while, all thoughts of Calix left her mind as she sat on the ground watching the chicks, just recently out of their eggs, explore their new world. Caught up in her observations, the time passed quickly. Adelaide remembered that she had laundry to wash and dinner to prepare and reluctantly pulled herself away. She wondered how such little creatures would fare with so many predators around. But it would be cruel to confine them in order to protect them. The world was theirs too.

  The afternoon disappeared, evening arrived, and still Jonas had not come home. She was not yet worried. He did not have a definite schedule. She found herself irritated that she had lost a night with Calix. But she was not going to take a risk that could result in Jonas being hurt.

  Before it had gotten too dark, she went out to check on the chicken family. She was happy to find the babies gathered near their mother inside of the chicken coup where they would have a bit of shelter.

  As it grew later, Adelaide came to the realization that Jonas would not be returning home that night. She fell asleep waiting for one man but wanting another.

  Chapter 8

  Adelaide woke to a very dark morning. The clear sky of last night had been transformed into a threatening one. Low, dark, storm clouds blocked out the sun. She immediately thought of Jonas and hoped that he had not yet left the island. Lightening flashed, followed by its companion thunder, and the wind started to pick up. She ran outside quickly and managed to chase the chickens into the barn. Two of the chicks scattered but she managed to catch them and get them back with the others. One of the two seemed to move a bit oddly. When she held the downy, little chick in her hands she noticed that it had two extra, not fully formed legs, behind its two normal legs. Its head was perfectly formed, its eyes bright and alert, so other than the extra appendages the little bird seemed to be fine.

  “There you go,” she said as she placed it in the barn. “Join your family.”

  Another one of nature’s mysteries, she thought, as she closed the barn door just as torrential rain began to fall.

  She thought of the bodies scattered on the beach in the Sault, and she pictured the faces of the dead men that she had sketched. But she pushed the thoughts out of her head. There was no point in imagining a catastrophe when Jonas could very well be safely out on the island.

  She went and picked out one of Mrs. Greenfield’s books and sat down to read in the hope of distracting herself and direct her thoughts away from storms and shipwrecks. And so she found herself immersed in someone else’s adventures through a book titled ‘Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life’ by Herman Melville.

  The bad weather persisted for two days with either fierce rainstorms or strong winds or both. Neither Jonas nor Calix had arrived at her door. Finally, on the third day, the sun managed to work its way through the obstinate clouds. By midday, blue sky was prevalent, although the wind was still blowing strong.

  It was Adelaide’s day to visit Nathan Pope, who was still residing at the Whitehouse Hotel while awaiting word from back home. Usually indifferent or even reluctant about going into town, today she was anxious. She wanted to inquire about boats from Isle Royale and she also hoped to see Calix, thinking that perhaps the bad weather had prevented his leaving.

  She expected to find Mary waiting for her but the girl was not around. Mr. Pope’s condition was greatly improved. His eyes still bandaged, he was seated in a chair and stood to greet her when Adelaide entered.

  “How are you today, Nathan?” Adelaide asked. “You look so much better.”

  “I am grateful for some company,” he said, extending his hand to her.

  She took his hand in hers and squeezed it warmly.

  “Is there any news from England?” she said.

  “Nothing yet,” he answered. “Maybe they don’t want to be burdened with a blind man.”

  “Nonsense,” Adelaide replied. “That’s no way to think. Sit down and eat. I brought a different book to read to you today. Do you know where Polynesia is?”

  “No,” Nathan said.

  “It’s far, far away. Farther away than England is,” Adelaide said.

  Adelaide sat and read to him until the next volunteer arrived. She then went down to the docks, keeping her eyes open for Calix. All of her inquiries met with the same response; due to the high winds boats had not been traveling on the lake in their usual numbers. So she walked back home without news of Jonas or an encounter with Calix.

  The next morning Adelaide decided to walk down to the lake. The rain had brought with it much cooler weather and although it was not yet the equinox, there was the feeling of fall in the air. The sky was a clear blue and while the wind and rain had brought down some of the leaves, Adelaide found the landscape around her still abundantly colorful. In sharp contrast to the previous few days, today only small waves lapped gently on the shoreline. She walked along the lake’s edge where the beach was a mixture of sand and pebbles. Driftwood lay stranded on the sand. There were places where rock outcroppings met the water and she had to leave the beach to make her way around them. A flock of Canada geese out on the lake bobbed up and down on the waves. Further down the beach she saw another dark object bobbing up and down on the water. At first she thought that it was another Canada goose or a piece of wood, but as she walked in the direction of the object it became more defined. She tried desperately to remember what color shirt Jonas was wearing when she last saw him, as she began running down the beach toward the figure, certain now that it was a man.

  “Jonas! Jonas!” she cried out, her heart racing.

  She ran out, until she was almost waist high in the cold water, to reach the body, which was floating face down, caught on something. She tugged on it, attempting to pull it free, but it was too heavy and stubbornly caught to move. Then Adelaide noticed that the man’s hair was blonde…blonde hair, it was not Jonas. Jonas’ hair was brown. She then tried to lift the man’s face from the water. She raised the head until one unseeing blue eye was above the surface and then let him go. She had seen enough dead men.

  She pulled herself from the water looking for any sign that a boat had gone down. There was nothing manmade on the shore, no sign of debris. Adelaide, suddenly overwhelmed with relief that this was not Jonas’ corpse, began to sob. She sat on the shore, shivering in her wet clothes, and cried. She looked out over a lake which was beyond the control of humans. It would do as it pleased.

  Adelaide stood up and began the long walk back. Jonas was fine, she thought. She went looking for a dead man and a dead man she found. Maybe it was not a good idea to look for death.

  She returned home, disappointed with herself for being on the verge of panic over something that most likely had not even occurred. The following morning she vowed that she would go through the day normally. Just as people have no control over the lake, she had no control over Jonas’ fate.

  While she was sitting on the back porch watching the chicks, which were growing a bit every day, a hawk flew over. The rooster let out a loud call and all of the chickens ran for cover. The little ones took shelter under their mother, who had run to the coop. After several minutes the rooster made another announcement and the chickens all relaxed and went back to their usual activities. In her time observing them she had not witnessed this before. Adelaide decided to learn a lesson from the chickens. She would respond to a situation when it presented itself, not worry about it in advance or dwell on it afterwards.

  The
day was spent concentrating on the task at hand, focusing on her housework. With the less enjoyable indoor work done she returned to the garden to collect potatoes and turnips for dinner. She loved the smell of the soil. It was the smell of life. After she had dug up some potatoes, she took a handful of the freshly exposed earth and held it beneath her nose, breathing in the rich smell. Large, puffy clouds were scattered across the sky which today was a deep, vivid blue. The clouds moved lazily, occasionally blocking out the warm rays of the sun. Adelaide listened to the rattling of a red squirrel and somewhere nearby a woodpecker was busy hunting for a meal. Her eyes searched the trees that bordered the garden hoping to see the woodpecker at work. She looked back toward the house and noticed a figure on the porch. Jonas was home!

  Leaving the potatoes, she hurried up to the house. Jonas was home!

  “You’re back,” she shouted. “Welcome home.”

  “Adi,” Jonas said as she reached the house. “Did things go all right without me?”

  When she reached him, she grabbed him and hugged him tightly.

  “I was afraid that you were out on the lake when the storm hit,” she said.

  “Fortunately we went to explore a new deposit site. It was a bear to reach, slowed us down, otherwise we may have been. I heard that a boat was lost but all of the men made it to shore,” Jonas replied. “Is everything fine here?”

  “Yes, fine…good,” she paused then said with excitement, taking him by the hand, “We have some new additions.”

  Adelaide led him over to the chickens that were scratching and pecking near the barn.

  “Six of them,” Adelaide said. “And the one over there is special. It’s sporting two extra legs.”

  “He seems to be managing well. You didn’t tell me that one of the hens was incubating a clutch,” Jonas said.

  “I didn’t know. Remember the red hen? I told you that I thought that something had taken her. She returned with the little ones in tow,” she responded.

  “Instead of losing one, we gained six,” Jonas added. “That sounds good to me.”