Atlantis

by Lisa Graves

  “You are a tad vertically challenged Lil, but nope I can’t find bottom.”

  I waded out into the center, treading water to stay afloat. “I’m going to see if I can touch it.” I took a deep breath in, shut my eyes, and swam down into the darkness. I don’t think I got very far, ten feet maybe, when my lungs started to ache for fresh air. Reluctantly, I turned my body around and swam back to the surface.

  “Did you touch it?”

  I combed my wet hair back with my fingers. “Nope. You want to try?”

  “Try nothing. I’ll be the bottom master!” Nicholas swam out and swapped places with me. He waited to make sure I was safely clinging to the rock before he winked at me, took in a deep breath, and went under.

  At first I took this moment of solitude to let myself take in the beauty of this secret place. I couldn’t let Nicholas know how fond I was of it. And how could I not be? This rocky hideaway appealed to me on so many levels. It was secretive. And it was surrounded by nature, the elements. Earth, air, water, and the firelight of the oil lamps made the scene complete.

  Listening to the sounds of the splashing water, a dark cynicism seemed to blossom within me. Perhaps it was a mix of the darkness and black water around me, but my mind craved the unknown. My thoughts kept drifting back to Italy and the underground.

  Like an addict needing another fix, I needed Elliott. Elliott who was ephemeral as shadow, but holding within those shadows the keys to light. A light that was my happiness.

  Just as I really started to let my guard down, thinking of Elliott’s smile, Nicholas’s head popped out of the water. “Wow! This thing is deep Lil!”

  “Did you touch?”

  He was breathing deep. I hadn’t noticed how long he’d been under. Whoops. Once again, I’d gotten distracted.

  He swam over and purposely brushed up against me as he found a hold on the rock. I realized almost to late that he had positioned himself for a kiss, he was so close. I quickly ducked down under the water and got to the center of the little pool. The waterfall splashed me as I popped back above the water. As I wiped the water from my eyes I could see that my dodge had hurt his feelings. Nicholas tried not to show it, but I could see it in his eyes. Rather than explain to him for the hundredth time why we weren’t ever going to be together, I turned chicken and dove back down for the bottom.

  I didn’t get as deep a breath as last time, but I was more determined now. I didn’t want to face Nicholas before it was absolutely necessary. I kicked hard as I dove deeper and deeper. My hands felt out for the floor. I had to be getting close, I was much further down than before. I was about out of breath and ready to turn back when I heard his voice scream my name.

  “Lilly!” It was a scared sound, like Elliott had lost me in a crowd.

  My eyes opened and the water instantly burned them. “Where are you?” I yelled back before I thought better of it. Frantically I searched around with my blurred vision. Then, almost simultaneously, my lungs started to ache and my heart raced. I looked up and my eyes bulged as my bubbles were beating me to the surface. I thrashed my arms and kicked my legs as I vied for more precious oxygen. I could see flickers of light from the lamps above me as I scrambled violently against the water in vain. I was so close but I knew I wasn’t going to make it. With one last kick I pushed up as far as I could. My fingertips broke the surface. Then the light dimmed.

  A frenzied voice made its way through the darkness. “Breath! Come on Lilly! Breath!” Something pounded on my chest.

  Next thing I knew I was lying on the rough rock of the cave floor next to the water’s edge, looking up into the face of Nicholas who had his mouth on mine. I coughed water all over him as it spewed from my lungs. I tried to breath in but water kept coming out. After several minutes of doing an involuntary impression of Old Faithful, air was finally able to enter my lungs. And as sweet as the sensation was, it hurt.

  Nicholas held me as I tried to remember the normal in and out motions of breathing. All my body wanted to do was bring air in after not having it for even a short time.

  “Are you okay Lilly?”

  I was too frantic to even answer. The tears started to stream down my already wet face and I began to have body convulsions as breathing fought against the sobs.

  “Lilly, are you okay?” Nicholas rocked me back and forth in his arms.

  I couldn’t even look at Nicholas. I buried my head into his bare chest as I tried to calm down. But my heart wouldn’t slow down since it got kick started. The pounding I felt in my chest was almost painful. “I’mmm okaaaay,” I finally muttered out. The water kept pouring from my eyes. I don’t think I was very convincing.

  Nicholas cupped his hand under my chin and tilted my face up to his so he could get a good look at me. “What happened Lil? I wanted to lock lips with you tonight, but not like that!” He let my face drop and hugged me tighter. “You really scared me honey.”

  “Sorry,” I whispered.

  “Its okay. You’re alright now. I love you.”

  The waterfall continued to pound away in the background. I hugged him back, but I didn’t respond.

  Nicholas held me tight as he carried me further into the shelter of his secret cavern. Knowing I was tucked safely in Nicholas’s arms, my body succumbed to exhaustion. Involuntarily, my eyes closed and my body went limp.

  Almost as soon as I invited the darkness, a familiar falling sensation engulfed me. But this time I welcomed it. I knew as the wind whipped my face where I was going. I knew in a moment I would see Elliott again.

  Chapter 14. Gardenias

  The meadow was the same as the last time I was there astrally, but different also. The same scent of lavender still filled the air. The sky was still full of impossibly close-up planets and swirling galaxies. And energy still radiated off every living particle. But I couldn’t see Elliott. I could sense him, feel his energy was close, but I could not see him.

  Also, his aura felt different. Sad somehow. I looked around this magical place until I spotted him with his head in his knees in our cove. As I walked closer towards him, I could more easily feel his energy field as it radiated out from him and combined with my own. I could read his aura. He was sad.

  I reached down to run my fingers through his chocolate hair. As my fingertips made contact with him, the energy sensation was intensified. Electricity flowed through my hand as he looked up. His green eyes were as spectacular as the first time we’d met. I don’t think I’d ever get over looking into the moonlit jade hue of his irises. Except this time his eyes were wet. A solitary teardrop escaped and ran down his cheek. I didn’t have time to enjoy the magnetic pull of his soul for mine.

  “Elliott!” I fell to my knees, and frantically looked him over for injuries. “Are you okay?”

  He gently took my face and held it in his hands, not breaking eye contact with me for what felt like an eternity. With a very serious tone he finally spoke. “Are you okay Lilly? That’s all that matters.”

  “I’m fine,” my voice cracked. Strange. I realized I was dry here. “Why? What are you talking about? And come to think of it, why did you yell out for me? I nearly drowned.” My voice should’ve sounded more uneven. I should have been shaking from almost dying. But I was with Elliott now, and none of that mattered.

  “You almost drowned?” he said in a angry and stern voice that was directed inward. Like he was blaming himself for my stupidity.

  “The key word is almost. I’m fine.” Actually I was more than fine. I was so utterly happy to be here with him. To touch him. To see him. And he was ruining what little time I had being melancholy. I was getting pissed. “I didn’t drown, obviously.” I didn’t mean to be snappy with Elliott. But he was spoiling it for me.

  I sat back on my knees in the energy field of grass, leaves, trees, stars, and Elliott, and put my head down. “I’m sorry.”

  Not seconds later, I felt the electricity of Elliott pulse through my body as he wrapped his arms around me in the most sensual hug in h
istory. “No, I’m sorry Miele. I just can’t bear the thought of losing you again. It completely incapacitates me. Scusami.”

  I couldn’t help but breath him in. He smelled like the gardenias Nicholas had given me. It was amazing. I was surprised I didn’t realize it when Nicholas gave me the flowers. I was probably too busy being annoyed with Nicholas to notice.

  It felt like it had been so long since I had Elliott’s arms around me. I whispered, “I love you” in his ear. His fingertips brushed my cheek and a new, more delicate wave of energy danced on my skin.

  “Te amo Miele.”

  After a long, but not long enough (...never long enough), embrace, we lay back on the grass and gazed up at the magnificent starry sky above. Our hands clasped tight together and his thumb caressed my knuckle. I could feel in his touch that he needed me just as badly as I needed him. It was as though we were two halves of the same being. Now that I had a minute, I let myself enjoy the flow of energy between us. It seemed to feed my soul. It wasn’t until I had him with me that I realized how very much I needed Elliott. How very much I had missed him. I glanced over at his perfectly chiseled face from the corner of my eye, and noticed he was sneaking a peak at me too.

  “So, on a happy note Lilly. How did you get here?”

  I had been so happy and consumed with that feeling that I didn’t even realize that I had been having a problem projecting. It was all too simple when I actually did it right. My eyes rolled up as though I was trying to see the answer in my thoughts. I came up blank. “I’m not sure.”

  “Hmm,” Elliott pondered. He knew more about this projecting thing than I did, and it seemed to bother him that I couldn’t get control of it yet.

  “What?” I chewed on my lip.

  “I’m not sure.”

  “I’m here now.” I smiled.

  Elliott smiled back. “Yes. That’s true. But how do I keep you here?”

  “Hey! Why were you already here? You usually show up shortly after me.”

  Elliott squeezed my hand and turned and looked me in the eyes. “I’ve been here a lot lately, hoping you’ll show up. And waiting.” He was quiet. Contemplating. “What has taken you so long? There isn’t someone stealing away my attention is there?” He was trying to be casual, but I could hear the worry in his words. To think of Elliott being jealous of Nicholas was absurd. It would be like the Mona Lisa being jealous of a finger painting.

  “I’ve been trying. I can’t figure it out.”

  “I guess it hasn’t been that long mia amore. It feels like eternity, though.”

  “I know what you mean.”

  “Wait a minute!” Elliott quickly sat up. “How come you can’t project when you try but when you don’t try you do brilliantly?”

  I shrugged my shoulders. “You’re the expert.” I winked playfully at him. “ Non so.”

  Elliott smiled at my flirting, but I could tell that the question of my inconsistent projecting was bothering him. He tried to hide it. “Let’s go for a walk Lillianna. Tell me about your attempts. Maybe I can help. I miss you when we’re not together.”

  How did I get so lucky? I didn’t feel worthy of such an admiring love. Yet as the electricity flowed through our locked hands, I was grateful to have it.

  Elliott stood up and pulled me to my feet. We strolled slowly around the astral meadow. I was absorbing the sensations of the various energy fields and how they felt as I got closer and further away. The lavender and the grass intensified as we walked from the leaves and the trees. The wind, the smell of the bark, the scent of the lavender blossoms, the rustling of the emerald leaves sounded like wind chimes, it went on and on. The interaction of the sights, smells, sounds, and touch sensations were nearly overwhelming. It was like opening your eyes for the first time, and really seeing, appreciating, all the beauty the world has to offer.

  Elliott was quiet on our first pass around the meadow. He kept playing with my ring. I wasn’t sure if he was thinking, or letting me take in and adjust to this sensory world. Maybe both? I couldn’t be sure. But after we’d made it around once, his honey textured voice broke through the music the wind had created as it rubbed the grass, flowers, and leaves together. Only his voice could break up that beautiful melody with a more pleasing sound.

  “What have you been doing to project? What were you doing when you made it here this time? Tell me everything.”

  “I do what you told me,” I started. “I find a place where I’m alone and sure I won’t be disturbed. I’ve tried my room. My meadow. I even tried to project while in the bathtub. I just can’t seem to do it!” I was letting myself get frustrated. I took a few deep breaths of the floral scented air and continued. “I take the time to fully relax every muscle in my body. And then I try to let go. By the way, I could use a little more direction on that last instruction. I can’t seem to figure it out.”

  He swung our hands back and forth. “Obviously you have.” He slowly parted his lips and touched them softly to mine. He ended up breaking our kiss with a whisper, “You’re here.”

  I had to take a moment to breath. “Without trying? Elliott. Is that the key?”

  He looked through me as he chose his words carefully. “I don’t think so Miele. But you can be sure I’m trying to figure it out.”

  My head fell. I was more than a little disappointed and I couldn’t hide it. Not trying seemed like an obviously simple solution, especially since I wasn’t yet consciously projecting. So far, I’d always done it on accident. Elliott and I continued to hold hands, but I hadn’t realized we’d stopped walking. I was too distracted feeling disappointed and confused. How do I get back here?

  His free hand cupped my chin, a moment before Elliott’s lips touched mine. I didn’t have a thought in my head from the second the kiss began. Not one worry. All thoughts were on the present. More accurately, all thoughts were on him.

  I tried to memorize every detail of how this felt. I might need the memory if I couldn’t get back quickly enough. Besides enjoying the kiss, I realized how our auras combined in a swirling whirlwind around us. It was as if our tongues twisting stirred the energies of the universe. Like the elements encouraged our union. The magnetic pull I felt only seemed to strengthen the closer we were. I couldn’t be close enough. And the smell of the gardenias that radiated from his skin was better than any other smell on earth. Oddly, the smell pulled at some dormant memory I couldn’t seem to recall. It was as if the DVD was right in front of me, but the PLAY button was broken.

  As was becoming signature of Elliott’s kisses, he gave my bottom lip a nibble before slowly pulling away completely. He then tugged me forward as we resumed our stroll.

  “Sounds like you’re doing everything right. What were you doing right before you got here? You mentioned something about drowning?” There was only the slightest influx in his tone as he mentioned me and drowning, but it gave him away. He was really worried about me.

  I stopped walking. “Can we sit?” I asked.

  “Si,” Elliott said wary. How did he look at me like that? His penetrating eyes were careful as they took in my body language and the words I didn’t want to say.

  We ended up sitting on some of the timeworn tombstones that were scattered among the lavender field. I sat looking out towards the starry sky. Elliott sat looking at me. “What is it?”

  “I was hanging out with Nicholas tonight.”

  His hand caressed my knee. “You two are close, aren’t you?”

  “Yes.” Why did I feel so dirty? Like I had done something wrong.

  “You can have friends Lilly. Even if they are male.” Elliott’s voice cracked on the word male. “Just so long as this,” he gave me a peck on the lips, “is all mine.”

  “CPR doesn’t count against that, right?” It better not.

  “Huh?” His eyes looked me over, confused.

  “Nicholas had to give me CPR tonight.” I tried to let my words trail off in a nice, non-suspicious sort of way. It didn’t work.

  �
�What were you two doing?”

  Not that I was intentionally keeping secrets from Elliott, I just didn’t feel right about my non-date with Nicholas. Elliott’s simple question was all it took to unleash all of the nights goings on. “According to Nicholas we were on a date. But I told him it wasn’t a date. But he did bring me flowers. He brought me to a secret waterfall and made us sandwiches. Then he asked me if I would go out with him, and again I said no. We ended up swimming in the waterfall, and on one of my attempts to find out how deep the water was, something happened,” I paused momentarily at the memory, “and I almost drowned.”

  I couldn’t read the expression on Elliott’s face, so I continued.

  “Nicholas gave me mouth to mouth. No kissing I swear. I even spit water up all over him. The last thing I can remember before I got here was Nicholas wrapping me in a blanket.” Whew! It felt good to get that off my chest.

  Slowly, I looked up at his eyes. I half expected Elliott to look angry at me, but his expression was somewhere between confused and worried. Neither of us said anything. The ever growing silence was making me anxious. Perhaps it had taken him a few minutes to realize that the CPR was Nicholas’s equivalent of kissing.

  “Are you mad at me?” I asked in a hushed whisper, the silence was suffocating.

  Elliott pulled me onto his lap and wrapped his arms around me. He stroked my back as he spoke. “No. I’m not mad.” He paused and took a deep breath. “I’m sad.”

  I breathed a deep sigh of relief. Elliott, my soul mate, wasn’t mad at me. I still felt a little guilty about the date, but I also felt better that there were no secrets between us.

  An intense feeling of worry filled me. “Am I making you sad?”

  “Not intentionally.”

  That’s not a no. Crap! “What did I do?” As if I didn’t know. He is probably sad about the kiss.

  “You haven’t done anything wrong Lilly.” He gave me the look that pierced my soul. “Nothing at all. I on the other hand...” he trailed off.