Chocolate Rewards: The Sweetness of Two Worlds Colliding Together

by Burns, Rachel

Amber wanted to say something, but then she snapped her mouth shut. Millions of questions went through her head. When had the doctor checked her? Could they even be certain this soon? What was going to happen next?

  All the questions that she had were questions that she wanted to ask her mom about. Now she was going to have a child and she couldn't share it with her parents. Her mom couldn't tell her how it was when she had been expecting her. This was a time when a girl needed to talk to her mom.

  Amber covered her face and bawled into her hands. She wanted to call her parents and tell them the news, or even better she wanted to go home and announce that a baby was on the way, one that had been made with lots of love. She couldn't share this with them. They were out of reach.

  Rokai hugged her and told that everything was going to be all right. She wasn't saying anything. No explanation came, telling him why she was crying.

  “Are you worried about giving birth?”

  That made Amber cry all the more. What would giving birth be like? Did they have painkillers for that here?

  “Amber, tell me what's wrong.”

  “I want my mom.”

  Rokai was relieved that it was only a tiny problem, one that could be easily fixed. “Then we will leave immediately. I'll tell Zufu to pack our things. I just have to tell Jamko and ask him what he needs for his plantation. We'll leave tomorrow.”

  Amber stopped crying and wiped her eyes. “Do you mean that?”

  “Yes. I told you that we would visit them. If you want to go now then we will. Tomorrow we will leave after you are dressed. Does that make everything better now?”

  “I guess so.” Amber was very uncertain. This just didn't seem real.

  “Why did you cry?”

  “The first thing I thought about was talking to my mom and asking her how things were when she was pregnant with me. I wanted her to be able to give me advice, and I wanted her to say that I would make a good mother.” Amber buried her face in his chest and sobbed on.

  Rokai sighed relieved. “That is a simple wish. I can easily grant it. I will take you to your mother. The baby will be born on Earth and then we will come back here. Emil and Zufu can take care of everything for us here.”

  His Majesty, King Aideyoung and Queen Melissa's Ship

  The next day Amber found herself in the King's throne room again. Rokai and brought some chocolate along for the Queen and her children. The King wished them a safe flight.

  They were just about to leave when Queen Melissa spoke to her husband. “Tell them that they should bring back chocolates with caramel in them. Amber will know what I mean.”

  The King repeated her words and Amber agreed to bring back a large supply.

  On the spacecraft Amber sat next to Rokai and they talked about the things they wanted to bring back.

  Rokai had told her that baby would be born soon. He explained about accelerated pregnancies.

  Amber sworn that the second she had laid her hands on her tummy and said hello to the baby that it grew and her tummy rounded out.

  She was now ecstatic about the baby. There was a glow to her that suited her better than any piece of clothing could. “How long until we reach Earth?”

  “Two days.”

  “I can hardly wait. I think we should make a list of the things we need. The top of the list will of course be the chocolates for the Queen.”

  “What is at the top of the list for you?” Rokai asked her.

  “I want baby furniture and baby clothes. I'll get some toys too. Zufu didn't know what they were. She told me that the baby would never be alone. Someone would hold it all the time.”

  “It's important that the baby feels loved. I plan to hold our child a lot.” Rokai had noticed that Amber always worried about others first. She was a good person.

  “Me too. I'm so excited about everything.”

  Amber excused herself to take a nap. She wanted to be well rested when they arrived. She feared that her parents wouldn't accept Rokai. It was a lot to ask of them.

  ________

  Earth Hilo, Hawaii

  Amber felt weird standing in front of her childhood home. She looked up at Rokai. It was clear that he didn't understand why she was hesitating. Amber wasn't sure if she should ring the bell or if she should just walk in.

  Her parents could be sick in bed, or they could be eating. Her real worry was that they would think that they were seeing a ghost. She didn't want to be responsible if her father had a heart attack.

  “I think we should ring the bell.”

  Rokai nodded at her. His fingers went to his throat. From everything Amber had all told him he might have to defend himself. He wasn't allowed to hurt anyone on this planet. He would have to restrain her father if need be, but one thing was very clear. When he left he would be leaving with his wife and the child within her.

  Amber reached out and rang the bell; its familiar sound reminded her of being inside and hearing it. It had usually been for her. Her friends had rung the bell to call her out to play.

  The door opened and she was standing face to face with her father.

  “Hello, Dad.” She had to bite her lip. She felt very guilty about what had happened. He had worried. His face looked older.

  “Amber?”

  “Yes, Daddy.”

  He took a step back and then he stepped forward again. A second later, her father wrapped his arms around her. “I thought I would never see you again.” He broke down, crying on her shoulders. His hands clasped together behind her back, holding her in place.

  Amber held onto her father. “I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to worry you so.”

  “Just never leave again. You have to stay by us.”

  “Oh Daddy,” Amber sobbed.

  Rokai had a terrible feeling in his stomach. He was starting to realize what a horrific thing he had done.

  “We are here for a visit. The first of many.” He felt that words were clear. They would see her again, but she wouldn't be staying.

  “Is this the man who kidnapped you?” He stepped forward placing his daughter behind him.

  “Daddy, this is my husband. He was kind enough to bring me home for a visit.” Amber wanted to calm everyone down, but she didn't think it would work.

  “Amber, baby, it's you!” Amber's mother came to see what was going on at the door. She couldn't believe her eyes.

  “Mom!” Amber opened her arms out wide.

  Rokai was pleased to see that Amber's parents loved her so. The two tiny women were clinging to one another. His eyes moved back to Amber's father.

  “What have you done to my daughter?”

  “I married her. We are very much in love. She is carrying a child that we made with our love for another.”

  Amber's parents both looked back at her. “It's true. We are going to have a baby.” Amber beamed as she lovingly placed her hand over her tummy.

  Both of her parents looked at her waist. A round bump could be seen.

  “Everyone in the house,” her father declared.

  Amber went to Rokai and took hold of his hand. She led him into the house, straight to the kitchen table. He helped her with her chair before he sat down next to her. He eyes looked around the room, wanting to see everything that she had seen as a child growing up. All the while he kept his eye on her father. He wasn't pleased with him. He wasn't thankful that he had brought his daughter here for a visit. This must be the reason why a clean break was normal.

  “Are you all right?” Her mother sat down next to her daughter, moving her chair as close to her as possible.

  “I'm fine. Rokai has been taking very good care of me. This is Rokai, my husband.” She looked at him and smiled.

  Both of her parents saw her face glow as she looked at him. Even Rokai couldn't resist the look she was giving her. He had to smile back at her.

  “Who kidnapped you? Was it him, baby?” Her father worried that she was suffering from some sort of disillusion, thinking that she loved him when he was just using
her.

  “Don't get mad. Just listen to me. Rokai comes from a different world.” She didn't want to come out and say that she lived with an alien. They wouldn't believe her anyway.

  “In his world it is okay to claim a woman, and then said woman is theirs to love for the rest of their lives. You see the thing is, in his world there are very few women. That's why they have different rules than we do. At first, I was very upset with him, but he was very nice to me. He was thankful to have me. A woman is considered something very precious. He loves me. And I love him. When he goes back home, I will go with him.”

  Both of her parents were shocked speechless. They looked their daughter and at each other.

  “It's true. I love your daughter. I have been taking care of her, making sure that she is fed, and that she had lots of clothes to wear.” He had to smirk as he said those words. “I make sure that she wants for nothing.”

  Amber was glad that he was heeding her warning about talking so openly about sex. She knew exactly what he meant when he talked about seeing to her needs. That really was something that he took very seriously. He didn't leave her wanting.

  “His world?” Kulani finally found his tongue.

  “Yes.” Amber just stared at her father.

  “Does his world have a name?”

  “I'm sure it does. But we don't live there. We have a plantation where we grow cocoa plants. We are the largest supplier of chocolates in the universe.”

  “This is too much information all at once,” her mother sobbed. “I'm just so happy that you area alive. I had given up hope. I was staring to forget what your smile looked like. We were never able to catch it just right on a picture.” She laid her head down on her daughters arm. “I'm so glad that you are alright. I cry myself to sleep every night.”

  Amber looked over at Rokai and gave him a look that said 'I told you so'.

  Rokai was once again feeling guilty that he had caused her parents such pain. “In my world, it is normal that a man one day claims an available woman and takes her home with him. Parents expect it. I didn't know the rules here. I would have done things differently if I had. I apologize.”

  Amber looked at her father to see how he would react. “You apologize and think that everything is okay? You're wrong. One day the police are standing at my door. They tell me that a tall red man took off with my daughter. He got into a – spaceship, which took off into the sky and disappeared. Months go by, you mourn your daughter thinking that she is dead. And then the person who caused you so much pain sits across from you, at tells you that that is how things are done in his world and that he's sorry. Would you just forgive someone like that?”

  “I'm not in your position. I grew up seeing things a different way. I cannot guess how you are feeling or predict how you will react.”

  Those weren't the words that a father wanted to hear. Kulani asked himself what words the odd man could have said that would make him forgive. Such words didn't exist. Nothing could heal a father's wounds over the loss of a child.

  “If Rokai isn't welcome here we will leave, both of us.” Amber knew just the words that her parents needed to hear to get them to be nice to him.

  Her mother raised her head up from Amber's arm and looked her daughter in the eyes. When she saw that her daughter would turn heels and leave with this man, she looked at her husband. With her eyes she begged him to welcome the odd looking man.

  “I think it would be best if you stayed in a hotel.” Kulani thought it would be best if he called the police. If they could just get their daughter away from him than they could help her see that he was just using her.

  Amber rose to her feet. She looked at Rokai. “We can go now.” She could hardly say the words through her tears.

  Rokai stood and wrapped his arms around her.

  “Kulani, you can see that they love each other. Let them stay, both of them, for as long as they can.”

  “Amber will always be welcome here but not him.”

  Emily stood and laid a hand on her daughter's shoulder. She flashed her eyes on her husband. “How often,” Emily yelled. “How often have you told me that you would give anything for just one more minute with her, anything. Well, anything is letting him stay with us. It is worth it to have time with her. Don't ruin this for me or for yourself.”

  Kulani knew that she was right. If Amber walked out of the door and he never saw her again, he would regret it, forever. It would be the last thing he would have thought about before he died.

  “He can stay,” he muttered.

  Amber let go of Rokai and threw herself at her father. “Thank you. Trust me you grow to like him very much. We have a surprise for you. With his kind a pregnancy goes very fast. We won't be leaving until the baby is born. You will get to hold your grandchild in your arms.”

  “That's great. When is the baby due?” Her mother asked. “Rokai thinks that it will be five more days tops. In ten days we have to be back home.”

  “That baby is going to need more than five days to finish up.”

  “I wasn't pregnant month,” she informed her mother.

  Emily looked at her daughter's stomach. “But you have to be five or six months along.” She was thinking that the two must have been dating before they ran off together.

  “Things are different where he comes from.” Amber just shrugged her shoulder, figuring that they would need to see to believe, just like she had.

  Kulani watched his daughter. She was explaining things to him. What different things were good for. What she wanted to do while she was at home, what she wanted to take with her.

  Rokai was especially interested in the mailbox. He liked the idea of organized mail.

  Kulani also watched the red man with his daughter. Rokai shoved food into her mouth and saw to it that she was comfortable. He placed pillows around her and rubbed her feet while she babbled at him about anything that popped into her mind.

  His daughter was happy. She was a glowing mother. He had never seen a woman who was that happy.

  When her mood changed and she had to cry he would hold her on his lap and kiss her. He appeared to be the best son-in-law imaginable, but Kulani didn't trust the situation.

  When Amber fell asleep on the sofa Kulani called Rokai outside for a man-to-man talk. “What are you?”

  “I came from far away.” Rokai answered him.

  “My daughter is very pregnant. It is all happening so quickly. I don't understand.”

  “Where I come from this is normal. In fact, I think this planet is slowly her down. I thought the baby would be here by now. She is being very brave.”

  “What has all happened to her since I have seen her last? I need to know.”

  Rokai thought about what he should say. In the end he decided on the truth. “I met her at the hotel that I was staying at. She didn't like me. She had plans for shopping that I ruined. I wanted her and then I took her along with me. She didn't believe me; she kept saying she was dreaming and that I wasn't allowed to claim her.

  “Then I registered her at court. The King's wife is also from Earth. They king was pleased with my work. He gave my friend and I a planet where we could grow cocoa beans. I had never been to that planet. I didn't know much about it.

  “Amber tried to run away. She was scared and she didn't look where she was going. She got bit by a wetu. They're poisonous creatures. I thought I was going to lose her. I held her most of the time. Her fever broke and she was able to talk to me. By then our heartbeats were connected. Now that they have joined they can't be separated again. It pains me to be away from her. I need her closeness and she needs mine. Even right now she is starting to get restless. Her heart misses mine.” Rokai was watching her sleep through the sliding glass door. She was tossing and turning.

  “What are you going to do with her once you leave here?” Kulani asked.

  “I'm going to take her home. Our workers will be glad to see the baby. They will love it. We will live on our planet together. Perhaps we w
ill have another child. She still has to go through labor. She may decide that one child is enough.”

  “You would let her decide something like that?”

  “Yes, of course. I don't know how I will endure the sight of her being in pain. I may not be able to go through it again.”

  “I understand. I almost lost Emily when she was giving birth to Amber. I couldn't bare to lose her. She's my soul mate. I felt it the second I saw her. I was at the beach with my friends when I noticed her sitting on a green towel. She was reading a book and her blond hair was in an adorable ponytail. Women like her don't fall for men like me. They marry the richest best-looking men. My Emily could have had anyone she wanted.

  “I tried not to look at her, but I couldn't look away. I felt a pull towards her. She just read in her book. I never saw her looking my way.

  “My friends and I had been playing soccer. The ball rolled close to the water. I hurried to get it so it wouldn't get wet. Then I saw something in the sand. I threw the ball back to the other guys and picked it up. My mother had taken me amber hunting when I was child, as a means to bring in a little extra money. I recognized what it was right away. It was a large one, one that would pay my rent for the month. I saw the stone and I looked at Emily. I felt that they just belonged together. The ocean had given forth this treasure just for her to have.

  “I sat down next to her and explained about the stone. I told her that it needed to be sanded and polished and then it would be a thing f beauty. She listened and didn't chase me away. We talked for a long time and when it started to get dark I invited her out to dinner with me. She said yes in a heartbeat. We have been together ever since. Like I said, soul mates.”

  Rokai nodded. He felt the same way about Amber. “That's why you named her Amber?”

  “Yes. The stone I found is hanging around her neck. We thought that it would be fitting for her to have it because she is the greatest proof of our love. The stone is said to be magical. It eases pain and helps reduce fever. She will need it when she gives birth to your baby.” Kulani looked at his large son-in-law and feared for his daughter.