“This is their ambassador villa. They apologized since they didn’t have the presidential villa available. Can you believe that?” Kyle pushes the door open, revealing a suite that is so incredible, I can’t keep my mouth closed. “Wow.” He whistles.
“This is unbelievable,” I say. The living room opens into a private pool and spa area. Two bedrooms also have their own private exits onto the veranda. The most spectacular part is the view. “That’s the volcano.”
Kyle places his arm around me as we stare at the volcano in the distance. It doesn’t look like a normal volcano, jutting up high as it once had. It’s dormant and looks like a blob of sunken dirt.
“There was a meadow,” I say, pointing at the sea near the base of the island. Tears form in my eyes. It’s all rock now.
“And that’s where we watched the stars?” he asks.
“Yes.” I wanted to tell him about the forest, the vineyards, and the miles of crops and lush life that once flowed over the now-broken land. The once-beautiful island is now fragmented into several pieces with its bountiful offerings gone. “What have I done?”
“Nothing. The eruption happened thousands of years ago, and it looks amazing now.” Kyle kisses my forehead. “Let’s eat breakfast and get ready for the day, unless you want to get some sleep?”
“I don’t want to eat anything.” I shake my head. That’s the last thing I want now. There’s no way I’ll be able to sleep now. I wipe my tears away and head toward the shower.
“Well, I ordered room service for us, so I guess I’ll have to eat everything.” Kyle grins.
After we both shower and Kyle consumes every morsel on the two plates, we wait out front for Luca to arrive. Standing outside the cobblestone wall, I bend down and dig into the dirt with both hands.
The energy erupts around me as the familiar feeling of the earth flows through me. I connect with all the terrain of the island and then move further down into the sea, stretching out to the other nearby islands and the volcano. It remembers me, our memories trapped in every cell pulsing through the streams of spirits coming alive all around us. I’m home.
I feel the heat bubbling below the volcano in its dormant state. I push further, wondering if I can connect with my family so far away. Breathing deeply, I concentrate on my loved ones and get glimpses of Vadoma, Emilian, Dad, and Nadya. They are passing snippets of their faces, but I know they live.
The rumble of an engine approaches, and I feel others with gifts, or rather, the earth senses them near me. I pull my hands away and watch the car pull to a stop.
“I don’t trust him,” Kyle says. “Oh great, he brought a friend.”
“Can you please be nice? It sounds like you’re jealous of Luca,” I say.
Someone in Luca’s front seat passenger swats at him as he tries to help her out of the car. “I can get out of the damned car myself.” A little old lady pulls out a cane and threatens Luca with it. He backs away and lets her get out slowly.
“She’s very cranky in her old age,” Luca gives me a half smile. “She insisted on coming with me, and I couldn’t talk her out of it.”
She comes around the car, hunched over. It makes her appear a lot shorter than she is. She looks up at me and then at Kyle. Pieces of her white hair jut out of the handkerchief covering her head. Her blue-and-purple colorful skirt doesn’t match her plain burgundy top. She’s so cute I want to tap her on the head, but I’m afraid she’d bludgeon me with her cane.
“My dear.” The old woman grabs my hands. “I’m sorry for your loss. Life is often cruel when we least expect it.”
Chapter 20
“It’s you,” I say. “You’re the seer.” I quiver with the realization. I remember her.
“Nowadays, they call me a psychic. Or, occasionally a witch,” the old woman says. “But my friends call me Tsura.”
“You saved all our people. From the volcano.” Memories of the boats missing and her fleeing with her family swamp me. “It had to be you, because you knew what would happen.”
“Child, I tell the future, not the past,” Tsura says. She heads for the car.
“What are you saying?” Luca asks. His eyes dart from me to Tsura. “My grandmother was here when the volcano erupted?”
“Wait, why did you say you’re sorry for my loss?” I scoot into the backseat, ignoring Luca’s question. Kyle squeezes in beside me. “What did you see?”
Luca laughs. “Don’t bother.” He starts the engine and takes off down the street.
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“Grandmother never tells anyone what she sees. She merely tells us what to do and we do it,” Luca says.
“Where are we going?” Kyle asks.
“Tsura, I need to know what you saw. If I’m able to control…” myself. “I mean, if I knew what was going to happen, then I could stop it. The last time you said that to me, well, let’s say it didn’t turn out so well.”
“You’re wasting your time,” Luca says. “We are going to the excavation site.”
“Tsura?”
“Girl, I don’t reveal what I see. Too often when someone knows what their outcome will be, they often choose a different path that does the exact opposite of what they need to be doing. Thereby, they disrupt the lessons they need to learn and the path they were supposed to follow. It even affects other’s lives along the way.” She looks out her window. “No. A true psychic doesn’t reveal the futures she sees.”
“But you’ll tell others what to do?” I ask. Anger boils inside me, and the wind picks up outside. “Aren’t you being a hypocrite?”
“Call me what you will, but there’s a reason I have my gift as you do yours. I tell people what to do which makes my visions come true,” Tsura says.
A sign reading ‘Prehistoric Town of Akrotiri” shows the way. We pull into a lot where several vehicles and one bus are parked. A tour is about to start, but I don’t need to be a part of it. I run inside and see what most people seem to be fascinated with, but I see only destruction. They preserved several buildings, in different states of ruin. Some murals and artifacts survived through the years, dug up by the archeologists. They chipped away the ash, trying to bring it back to life.
Emotions flood me, and it starts pouring outside. I hear the people screaming and see them fleeing before they burn to death. I see the buildings crumble before me. Flashes of the child clinging to me right before…I cry.
The memories linger all around me, coming to the surface. The earth shows them to me. It remembers my anger. It remembers my rage. It remembers my heartache.
Kyle finds me and scoops me off the ground. He carries me outside and brings me to the car where Luca and Tsura sit remaining dry from the rain.
When we get into the car, Tsura passes back a towel.
“Why did you bring me here?” I ask. “To cause me more pain?”
“I didn’t think it was supposed to rain today.” Luca clicks the wipers on.
Tsura slaps him upside the head.
“What?” He raises his hands into the air.
“Take them back to their hotel,” Tsura says. “She needs to rest.”
“No! I need to get to the volcano area,” I say. “That’s why I came here.”
“Do you know how to stop the curse?” Tsura asks.
I don’t. The sound of the rain pelting the car becomes the only sound for several seconds. “Is that why you brought me here? To try to find a way to break the curse?” I ask.
“You needed to come here. I don’t always know the reasons why,” Tsura says.
“You’re the worst damn psychic,” I say. Frustration fuels my words.
“That almost hurt my feelings.” Tsura giggles.
Kyle mouths ‘be nice’ to me and smiles.
Suddenly, a soothing sensation overcomes me. The rain stops, and I lean into Kyle, allowing him to wrap his arms around me. “I know what you’re doing, Luca.”
“What is he doing?” Kyle asks.
“Do you
feel more relaxed?” I ask.
Kyle nods.
“He’s doing that.” I point to Luca.
The car stops in front of the hotel.
“Go inside and rest tonight. Luca will bring you to the volcano site tomorrow,” Tsura says. “Enjoy each other.” She studies Kyle.
“Gee, thanks.” I scowl. “Thanks for nothing.”
“I’ll be here at eight in the morning again, then?” Luca asks.
“That’s fine,” Kyle responds. He doesn’t let go of my hand as I scoot over and exit the same door he does.
“Elysia,” Tsura says. “Enjoy the evening with your friend. Sometimes the best things happen during times of misfortune.”
They drive away before I have a chance to respond. “Thanks, Yoda.”
Kyle laughs. I glare at him.
“That was the weirdest encounter I’ve ever had,” Kyle says. “But you can’t argue with a psychic, right?”
“Did you not hear us? I argued a lot. She’s the most infuriating person I’ve ever come across,” I say.
He kisses me. “Let’s enjoy the rest of the day and the evening. I have a surprise for you.” His eyes light up, and his smile takes up half of his face.
“What surprise?” I ask. “Besides having one of the most beautiful rooms on the planet?”
We go into the main entrance of the hotel, but Kyle says nothing more. He talks with the lady behind the counter, and I assume he’s trying to arrange a nice dinner for the two of us, which would make me happy, but he takes a package from her and rejoins me.
“What’s that?” I ask.
“It’s surprise number one.” He dangles the white package in front of me.
“You bought me a present?”
“Didn’t you hear the psychic? We have time to enjoy ourselves, so let’s change out of these wet clothes and go to town.” Kyle unlocks the door and doesn’t let me see the present. He’s such a tease.
Once we are changed, another cab shows up and takes us into Fira. We get dropped off and peruse the colorful town. The buildings seem so close together, but several building fronts are painted orange, yellow and blue, while others remain white.
Shopkeepers display their wares openly, and most of the shops have no cool air blowing. The breeze from the sea acts as the natural air conditioning system. I make Kyle try on several hats and finally realize he’s not a hat man. He endures me trying on some cute sundresses and has no problem giving me his opinion. I replace my cheap jeans with a sundress and sandals.
We find a nice restaurant as evening approaches. We each order lobster and sit on a veranda overlooking the caldera. After our meal, Kyle orders some type of custard dessert. The way he speaks to the Greek natives amazes me. He doesn’t know the language, but he always gets his meaning across. We’ve run into so many friendly people here.
“I don’t think I’ve seen a more stunning view,” Kyle says.
“It has its charm.”
“I wasn’t talking about the city.” Kyle smiles. He bends down on one knee next to me.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
He pulls a black velvet box from his back pocket. “I’m enjoying the day, and I hope you are, too. I want to do everything in my power to make sure it’s the best day we’ve had together, and I’m hoping you’ll make it even better by saying yes.” He opens the box to reveal a princess cut diamond ring with sparkling blue sapphires on the sides. “Elysia, will you marry me?”
My heart beats faster, and my hands begin to shake. Although I know there’re people around us, I block them out of my vision and focus on Kyle’s face. His topaz eyes glisten as his brows rise while he awaits my answer. Most people date for years before coming to this point in their relationship, but what would two people do if they knew they’d been in love in another lifetime?
Love is all I see in his face as he looks up at me. In our other lifetime, we were not permitted to date and would never have imagined living together as man and wife. But this is a new lifetime, and we have that ability. I nod. He slips the ring on my finger, and I see sweat beading on his forehead.
Applause erupts all around us, and best wishes come our way in Greek. Smiling people buy us drinks and congratulate us on our engagement.
After dinner, we take a taxi to our hotel. I can’t stop looking at my left hand.
“I’m so glad you said yes.” Kyle kisses me. “Otherwise the other surprises wouldn’t be so much fun.”
“I think no other surprise will be bigger than this.” I hold up my ring. “I’m still in shock. I can’t believe they found this ring for you. It’s so beautiful.”
We walk up the cobblestone streets of the hotel, but Kyle leads me further up the hill.
“We’re not going back to the room?” I ask. Blushing, I add, “Maybe I have a surprise for you.”
We turn the corner to a gazebo with vines of white roses draped over it. Red petals line the entryway, and a man in a nice suit stands waiting under it.
“What’s this?” I stop.
“I thought we’d get married tonight.” Kyle smiles. “It’s more ceremonial than anything, but it’s the meaning behind it that matters.”
One of the hotel employees spots us and walks over. Although she doesn’t speak English, she directs me to a private room and points to another for Kyle.
“I’ll see you at the altar.” Kyle winks at me and goes to the other room.
As I enter the room, I see a gorgeous white gown hanging up against a closet. It’s a long floor-length straight whimsical dress with a sweetheart bodice full of sparkling sequence. The back of it is shaped in a heart with dangling beads. It’s perfect. I slip it on, and the woman puts my hair up, curling the sides so it accents my face. She provides me with some makeup that I try to put on, but my watery eyes don’t want to cooperate.
We emerge from the room, and she hands me a bouquet of white roses. Kyle stands under the gazebo in a black tux. A classical tune I don’t recognize accompanies my walk down the aisle of red rose petals. Kyle beams.
The man speaks English and starts off with a lovely poem before the most important questions form. “Do you, Kyle Moore, take Elysia Lovell as your wedded wife, to love and cherish until death do you part?”
“I do,” Kyle says.
The same woman who helped me dress gives me a wedding band to slip on Kyle’s finger.
“Do you, Elysia Lovell, take Kyle Moore as your wedded husband, to love and cherish until death do you part?”
“I do,” I say.
Kyle removes my engagement ring and slips the band on first and then my engagement ring.
“Greece grants me the right and privilege to announce you are now man and wife.”
Kyle cups my face and kisses me. The orange glow fades as the sun sets.
The congratulations become a blur as I focus on Kyle and his smile. Darkness surrounds us, and outside lights pop on. Kyle thanks everyone for putting this together and then scoops me up in his arms and twirls me.
“Let’s go to our room,” I whisper in his ear.
He sets me down, and we race to our room. He opens the door and sweeps me up and over the threshold, as if this were our home.
I giggle and kiss him before he sets me down. Champagne and strawberries sit on the table.
I strip off my dress and shoes, let down my hair and run into our private pool. He follows me, diving into the deep end. He surfaces in front of me, our naked bodies pressed against each other.
Looking out, a half-moon hangs over the volcano.
“I love you,” I say.
“I love you, too.” My husband kisses me.
This is truly the best day of my life.
Chapter 21
Sometimes you love someone so much, you need to leave him behind. After Tsura’s words haunted me all night, I knew that I needed to keep Kyle far away from whatever’s going to happen today. There’s no way I’m losing him again.
I leave a note next to the off-the-hook phone. T
here’ll be no wake-up call to disturb him as I sneak out the front door. A part of me wants to crawl back into bed and curl up next to him, but I know I need to do this on my own.
Luca waits behind the wheel, and I climb into the backseat.
He moves the car forward and watches me in the rearview mirror.
“You have nothing to say to me this morning?” I ask.
“Grandmother said it would only be you and that I shouldn’t say anything and let you sit in thought,” Luca says. He turns down a windy road that leads to a shore with boats docked.
“What else did your grandmother say?”
“That I’m to stay with you at all times,” he says.
We leave the car and walk onto the dock. Luca undoes the ropes and hops into the boat, helping me in also before it drifts farther away. I sit in the seat next to the captain’s chair. Luca drives the boat to the dirt mound of an island. Docking, I see several tourist boats headed toward the island, and I make it pour hard. I add in some wind gusts that shake their foundations, along with high waves, and see them clinging to the sides. The less people on my island, the better.
“That came out of nowhere.” Luca uses his hat to block the falling raindrops hitting his face. “There’s no cover here.”
His grandmother didn’t tell him about my gift, but I suspect she knows all too well what I can do.
“Let’s keep going,” I say.
“Whatever you say.”
He grabs a backpack I hadn’t seen him put in the boat and leads the way up an incline.
We pass through the rain shield, but it continues to hit the shore.
“That’s the strangest thing I’ve ever seen.” Luca slides his hand under the rain and then out again.
“Keep going.” I pass him and continue walking up the trail. The volcano rim looks like a sunken in sinkhole, but I feel the heat below. The lava river shoots down so far that the volcano would remain dormant for a long time to come. It certainly wouldn’t be a catastrophic one like it had been when I lived here 3600 years ago…like the one I caused.
“Why are we here?” Luca asks. “What are you looking for? And why did you come out crying yesterday at the excavation site?”
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