He sighs and runs his fingers through his hair. Then he takes out his map and starts studying it. After a few minutes, he shows me a route.
“Here,” he said, pointing to a plot. “If we go east along the banks, we eliminate the need to cut across the river. From there, we walk up north. Alexa’s grave is only a mile more. It’s definitely a much safer course.”
I groan. “Jules, that’s gonna take us another two hours where if we just cross this timber, we will reach the gravesite in forty-five minutes tops.”
“Jo,” he said, taking hold of my arms. “The risks are not worth the shortcut. That log could act as a strainer. If you fall upstream, you could get dragged down and pinned underneath.”
I purse my lips. Then, I walk over to the riverside. The wood is huge and long, reaching the edge of the opposite bank. “It’s sturdy, Jules, and dry. This is a sequoia tree. We’ll be fine.”
Julian looks out into the water. He creases his forehead, deep in thought. Then he sighs. “Alright. I hope you’re right.”
I take my backpack and tighten the straps across my chest as I follow him to the log. Glancing at him, I wonder if I irritated him with my insistence. But we’re exhausted and running out of time. I just want to end this journey and crossing this hurdle will give him relief at being closer to the finish line.
He steps on the tree with one foot to make sure of its sturdiness. Once he feels satisfied, he pulls himself up and stands on both feet. I walk over to him and grab the hand he offers. In an instant, he and I are standing together on the fallen timber with the river flowing beneath us.
He faces me and cups his warm hands on my cheeks. “Follow where my feet land, ok? Stay focused, keep your balance and be careful.”
I nod. Then he turns away and we begin our journey. The tree is wide enough to make a sturdy natural bridge, and my core strength is keeping me balanced while I walk. I see Julian’s shoulders relax and I smile. We’re halfway through, and I applaud myself for being persistent.
As we continue to cross, I look ahead and gaze at the infinite bleakness that swallows nature’s beauty beyond the visible line of trees. I shiver as I imagine the forest devouring me upon my arrival. Shaking my head to dismiss my thought, I concentrate on our progress. Julian is reaching the end of the log, and I quicken my pace.
But something in my peripheral vision catches my eye. My eyesight is blurry from the sweat that had drenched my lashes, but in the distance, I see a figure between the trees. I squint, hoping that it’ll focus the image better. There’s someone on the other side watching us. But I can’t make out if it’s a lurking spirit or an actual person. I lean over and step forward while keeping my eyes on this mysterious character. Suddenly, my foot slips. In a nanosecond, my opposite leg gives way, and my knee drops on the wood. I stepped on a slippery moss lining because that unknown entity distracted me. I wince at the excruciating pain, but my heart quickens as I lose my balance.
It happened so fast. I hear Julian scream my name, and then I’m slipping and falling into the icy water.
Chapter 45
Josephine
The surging current crushes my chest, making it difficult to swim up to the surface. My panic swells as it pushes me against a jumble of branches that are slicing my skin while I fall to the depths of the river. I grope through the water to find a sturdy branch to help me climb out of this death trap. My futile efforts keep me underwater as every branch breaks at my touch. In the meantime, I fight not to inhale water, but this task proves impossible when the swollen current keeps knocking me down multiple times.
I’m running out of air, and I’m getting exhausted. I look up towards the surface of the water as my body slips deeper to the bottom. I notice the moon for the first time since I embarked on this journey. The light shines through the water, illuminating everything around me. It’s the most beautiful image I’ve ever seen, and I’m left with the most undeniable peace. I contemplate on the last things spirits see before they die. If this vision is to be my last, I’m happy it’s an image of such immeasurable beauty. I reach out my arms, as if grabbing the moon with my hands.
Then a flash of light engulfs me and it vanishes, replacing it with a vision of a man with wild curly black hair. He has brown skin and brown eyes, and he floats and graces me with his ethereal beauty. Is this my angel coming for me? He swims towards me and takes my face in his hands. I hear his voice in my head. “It’s not your time.” Then the light fades and the mysterious man disappears.
But I’m not alone. I see someone swimming towards me. It’s Julian, and he’s coming for me in remarkable speed. Within seconds, he’s in front of me with his hands on my stomach. He unclasps my backpack strap next, relieving me of the heavy load. It drops below me until the darkness swallows it. Then, I’m swimming with the help of his powerful arms around my waist, propelling me upwards to the surface. My head pops out of the water, and I gasp for air. I’m free and alive. And looking straight into Julian’s grief-stricken face.
My eyes sting upon seeing him, but I don’t get the chance to thank him as he is already moving. He positions his body behind me, then slides an arm under my armpits, so he can grab me by my shoulder.
“Jo, stay calm and keep your head tilted away from the water,” he says. “Lean into me, but don’t grab me or you’ll drag me down. Just relax, ok? I got you.”
I nod. Then our bodies move, his firm body carrying me as he swims backwards towards the bank. I keep my eyes closed, praying for the both of us. Then dirt brushes my feet, signaling to me that we’ve reached shallow water. A few minutes later, I’m standing, and he’s turning me to face the embankment. Taking my arm and placing it around his shoulders, he walks me towards the bank. I lean into him for support as I find myself weakened by my near-death experience. As soon as we step onto solid ground, I stumble to the grassy earth. My legs have given way from the exhaustion.
“We have to get you further up, babe,” he says, his body curving over my kneeling form. “Just a few more feet.”
I push up from the ground, but my arms have gone flaccid, keeping me on the damp grass. I shake my head at the realization that I’m just too fatigued. His arms wrap around me, and I whimper as he lifts me off the ground. Julian, taking pity on me, is now carrying me in his arms and taking me further away from the river. I lean my body close to him for gratitude and for relief from the cold. As we move, my teeth chatter, making me fear of biting my tongue off my mouth. Finally, he lays me on the ground.
“I’m so tired,” I said.
Working fast, he takes my wool vest off my chest. “I have to get you out of your wet clothes, Jo,” he said. “We have to get you warm.”
I want to nod, but my fatigue is sinking me. Now that I’m no longer drowning, another threat is looming. The water has exposed me to the cold and hypothermia is taking over my body. I try to remove my sweater, but my fingers are fumbling, making them useless. But Julian is, again, taking control, pulling my sweater over my head and then my thermal. Next he’s removing my pants and my undergarments.
“Hang in there, Jo,” he says. “Stay with me.”
Julian’s voice echoes, and he looks blurry. And now I’m having shallow breathing. But before my body crashes, he pulls me to a sitting position. Then he wraps me in a blanket and places a heat pack around my neck. The warmth feels wonderful. I turn my head to track Julian. He’s in front of me now, lighting piled up twigs with a lighter. A few seconds later, he has a fire going, adding more heat to my frozen body. Then, he takes his own clothes off, and I gasp as I realize that because he had plunged into the icy water to retrieve me, he’s also vulnerable to hypothermia. I bite my lip, trying not to cry from the horrible guilt of putting him in danger for my recklessness.
After placing our wet clothes near the fire to dry, he walks over. I open the blanket so he can sit and share it with me. We snuggle skin to skin, warming each other with our body heat. By this time, my strength is returning, though still fatigued. I lean my head
on his shoulders. “I’m sorry, Jules. I should’ve listened to you and taken that safer route. I put you in danger. What I did was stupid and careless.”
He says nothing.
“You saved me twice,” I continue. “I owe you my life.”
He stirs and shakes his head. “You don’t owe me anything.” He keeps his eyes on the flames. “You know I would do anything to keep you safe.”
I turn my gaze towards the bonfire and watch the burning tinders. In the night’s stillness, Julian’s voice sounds even deeper and robust, but it’s his words that catch my attention. I’ve always wondered why he takes a protective role with me, but tonight, I’m not questioning his attachment. I wouldn’t be sitting here without his devotion.
“I thought I lost you,” he said. “I thought I was too late until I found you a few feet down. The current trapped you underwater, and it only takes minutes for anyone to lose consciousness and drown. I don’t know how you survived that long.”
The image of the man with the wild curly hair flashes in my head. “I guess it’s just not my time.”
Julian nods and throws a small stick towards the fire. We say nothing as we allow ourselves to enjoy the dancing flames.
“Jo,” he said. “Why did you leave me? What did I do to make you hate me?”
I turn to him. “Jules, I never hated you.”
“So, why did you leave me?” he asks again.
I sigh. I guess it’s time to talk. He’s suffered long enough. “Jules, the night you kissed me, we were not alone.”
His brows furrow. “What do you mean?”
“My mother was in the living room. She saw everything.”
Julian curses under his breath. “What happened after we went our separate ways?”
I blink several times as if my eyes have dried itself of tears. That moment I’ve tried to bury for years. Some memories are better left forgotten, but Julian watches me with pleading eyes, making my heart tug. I relent and begin my story in that fateful summer in July.
***
I watch Julian walk his bike onto his porch while I place my finger on my lips. I can’t believe I had gotten my first kiss. I turn around and enter our home. As I step inside, unease enters me, making me gaze ahead. My mother’s slender frame is standing a few feet from the door, and I gasp. I shiver when she steps out of the shadows, revealing all of her, wrapped in her floral robe with her smooth black hair in a tight bun.
“Mommy, I-I-I,” I said. But I never finished my thought. In a millisecond, she reaches me. Her palm meets my skin as she slaps me across the face. The force sends me reeling, and I hit my head on the door.
Then, she grabs me by the hair, making me cry out in pain. “What were you doing out with that boy?”
“Nothing.” I wince as my tears drop.
“Don’t lie to me!” she said, tightening her hold on my hair. “You were kissing him.”
“Stop!” I yell. “You’re hurting me.”
“Were you having sex with him?”
I gasp in horror. I can’t believe my mother would accuse me of that. I’m only fourteen. “No.”
But she doesn’t believe me. She sneers. “I should’ve known you’d turn up the same way.”
“What are you talking about?” I cry as her nails dig on my scalp. “Please let me go.”
She releases me. “Go to your room. Tomorrow, we’re taking care of this.”
My eyes widen. “I don’t understand.”
“You’re taking a morning-after pill. Damned if you get pregnant and ruin this family.”
“I didn’t have sex with him!”
Yelling at my mother is a big mistake. Another slap stings my cheek. I cover my face and sob.
“The first hit should’ve been a warning to you,” she hisses. Then she grabs me by the elbow. “I think you’re lying. It’s happened before.” Then she lets me go. “Collect yourself and go to your room.”
A strange calm showers over me. I take my hands off my face, and I stop crying. I want to scream how much I hate her, but at this moment I learned the true meaning of silence being golden. So I turn and walk away from her.
***
Julian stares at me in horror, his eyes stormy like a squall in the deep blue sea. He finds his voice. “So your mom forbade you to see me after that night because she thought we were having sex and was afraid I might’ve gotten you pregnant?”
I nod.
“At fourteen?”
“It happens.” I shrug.
“Yeah, but I wasn’t even thinking that when I kissed you that night.”
“I know,” I said. “But my mom doesn’t know that. She has an irrational fear of bringing shame to the family. Mental illness and teen pregnancy are on top of her list of scandals that’ll ruin our name, so she had to nip it in the bud.”
Julian shakes his head in disbelief. Then, he slides his hands down his face as if wiping it clean. This is a habit he picked up when we were kids- a nonverbal expression that he’s feeling distressed. “Jo, I’m so sorry. If I hadn’t kissed you, that wouldn’t have happened. I feel really shitty.”
“Don’t apologize for that.” That kiss redefined our friendship, and I don’t want that stolen from me.
He places his hands on my cheeks. “How many times does she physically hurt you?”
“Not since last year. I’ve learned how not to make her mad. Don’t worry.”
He winces and lays his forehead on mine. “It pisses me off that all this abuse was happening right next door. Why didn’t you come to me?”
“I couldn’t, Jules.” I place my fingers on his wrists. “I know how much you would try to protect me, but I also had to protect you. My mother threatened to call the police, report you for sexual assault and put a TRO on you. She intended to ruin your reputation, and you wouldn’t be this man had she succeeded. I needed to keep you away from me and being mean to you was the best strategy I had to achieve my mission.”
He stares at me, his facial expression a mixture of troubled and angry. “She’d do all of those to ruin me?”
I nod, taking his hands away. “She would stop at nothing to protect our name. She’d rather tarnish yours than risk ruining ours.”
He bristles and returns his attention to the fire. “That’s fucking evil. I’m sorry. I know she’s your mom.”
“No, I feel you.”
Then he chuckles and I look at him in surprise. “And yet here we are now, sitting together buck ass naked.”
I stop as I’ve forgotten our current situation. Then I join him. It’s funny how a brief kiss worried her when here we are as older teens with nothing but bare skin between us. “Maybe we should take a selfie and send it to her. With love from Jo and Julian.”
We laugh at the irony of it all, but then we fall silent as the reality sinks in that we are naked underneath this blanket. I hear him clear his throat, and my face reddens. “Jules, you saw nothing when you were taking my clothes off, did you?”
Julian scoffs at me. “Jo, I was way too focused on saving your life than checking out your naked body. Geez, I know I’m a horny teenager, but I’m not that bad.”
I laugh. “Sorry. I appreciate that. Just for the record, I wasn’t ogling you either.” And it’s true. I was too worried for his survival for that image to even register in my brain.
He laughs. “This doesn’t count for either of us. But in other appropriate circumstances, I certainly wouldn’t mind the ogling.” He wiggles his eyebrows.
I nudge him in the ribs. “You’re so stupid.”
The Night Orchid Page 29
