Cliff chuckled. “Sorry, but I can’t accept that.”
“But it’s a real diamond!” Gem protested.
“That’s why I can’t take it,” Cliff said, laughing. “I’m selling the sculpture for just five bucks, actually. Your necklace must be worth, what? A thousand bucks? Or maybe even more.”
Gem looked surprised. “Oh, I thought this kind of sculpture would be worth that much. You should price it higher, definitely. It’s so detailed and well-crafted.”
“Thanks, I’m flattered,” Cliff said, his brown eyes twinkling in amusement. “But if I do that, I’ll never be able to sell it to the few tourists who come over.”
“Well, okay,” Gem finally conceded. “But I can’t let you give it away for free. You’re even letting me stay here for free. You’ve been so kind, so I must pay you back in some way.”
“Sure, no problem,” Cliff answered. “We would certainly appreciate help in the kitchen. Can you cook?”
Gem’s eyes lit up. She was actually a chef. That was her profession on Mars. It would be awesome to come up with new, delicious concoctions made out of ingredients on Earth.
Cliff was gazing into her eyes. “You have… unique… eyes… I’ve never seen anything quite like them!”
“Uh, yeah,” Gem said, afraid he might suddenly doubt that she’s human like him. She quickly changed back the subject to cooking. “You know, I’m actually a chef. That’s my job.”
“Wow, really?” Cliff said, sounding excited. “Just my luck! You see, we run a little bed and breakfast here and we want to jack it up for tourists, give them something more special, you know.”
“Bed and breakfast?” Gem repeated, trying to recall her lessons about Earth.
“Like a small hotel or inn,” he explained. If he found it weird that she did not know what it was, he did not show it.
“I see,” Gem said in a surprised tone of voice. “I thought you were a fisherman.”
“Well, I go fishing sometimes too,” he said with a grin. He motioned to the sack of fish he was carrying. “What’s the point of living near the sea if you can’t catch, eat, and sell fish, right?”
Gem grinned back, beginning to feel very much at ease with him. “Right,” she agreed. “So… lead me to the kitchen and let me show you what I can do!”
Gem took a deep breath, hoping that her Martian body would still give her the extraordinary speed she had experienced earlier. She went to work immediately. To her great joy, she was able to come up with three different dishes in less than an hour. They were all made of fish. She’d even included a salad and a soup. As she was preparing the meal, she thought this was definitely a great opportunity for her to enjoy her adventure on Earth and have a job while she tried to find a way to get back to her world.
She had just finished setting up the mini feast on the blue-painted wooden table in the dining area when she smelled something fresh and fragrant. She looked up to see Cliff who seemed to have just come out of the shower. He was drying his dark hair with a towel and was clad only in a pair of shorts. His exposed torso and chest made her stop and stare.
“Cliffy!” a girl’s voice screamed. They both turned toward the door, where a pretty blonde-haired woman was standing with her arms outstretched. “I’m back!”
Cliff’s face broke into a huge smile. He went to her and took her in his arms. She embraced him tightly, which he returned. They seemed to have missed each other a lot.
Gem frowned as she watched them. She wasn’t excited to present her dishes anymore. Instead, she felt like she wanted to get out of there… fast.
*****
Attraction. The word came to Gem as she was deciding whether to slip away or not. It was something that she had learned was a common feeling among humans. It was one of the things that a lot of Martians did not understand nor want to acknowledge. Their people had been brought up in a society where physical attraction was very rare and it was considered a sign of weakness.
On her world, relationships between men and women were purely business. Couples came together for specific purposes and never because there was attraction. Love was even more taboo, and was never discussed or understood.
Take control of your feelings, Gem, she told herself silently. She closed her eyes and tried to calm her racing heart. She hated the fact that she’d only been on Earth a few hours and she was already succumbing to weakness.
“Gemini,” Cliff said, walking over to her. The blonde woman stood beside him with a big, friendly smile on her face. “I’d like you to meet my sister Chelsea. She just came back from a week-long trip to the city.”
“Sister?” Gem said awkwardly, feeling stupid.
“Hi, Gemini!” Chelsea said brightly. “I don’t know how Cliff here found you, but just the smell of the food tells me you’re a real gem!”
That made Gem laugh. Chelsea seemed to be a nice person like her brother. Suddenly, she wasn’t a threat anymore. She was someone Gem looked forward to knowing better and perhaps being friends with. “People back home actually call me Gem,” she said.
“See? I knew it!” Chelsea exclaimed.
Cliff laughed, pulling back chairs for the two women. “Shall we eat then, ladies?”
“Definitely,” Chelsea said, putting down her bags. “I’m famished!”
As the three of them enjoyed lunch, Gem found out that they had grown up in that village, but their parents had died a few years ago. They had started the bed and breakfast to add more income to what they already earned from their artworks in the shop. The cozy, artsy cottage was actually popular among tourists.
After the sumptuous lunch, they welcomed Gem as their official cook. “That was totally amazing!” Chelsea gushed. “Where’d you learn to cook like that?”
“My mom taught me,” Gem said. Suddenly, she thought of how worried her mother might be about her. The old woman was one of those female Martians who were considered weak because of how much she cared about her family. Although she didn’t really care much about their father who had already moved on to another stage of his life, she believed that the human in her allowed her to love her children the way she did.
Maybe that’s why I’ve got this tendency to succumb to such emotions too, Gem thought. I got it from my mother.
Chelsea was light and bubbly, chatting about her recent trip. She brought Gem to her room where there were two single beds. Gem glanced at Cliff before following Chelsea, and that was when she saw that he was gazing at her too.
He smiled when their eyes met. Gem flushed, but she smiled back too. He pointed at his sister and then gave a helpless shrug. It’s okay, Gem mouthed to him. He gave her a thumbs up sign before disappearing into his own room. In that instant, she felt a bond developing between them even though they had not yet spent much time together.
Gem was glad for the warm shower and change of clothes. Chelsea, who was now fast asleep, had let her borrow a shirt and a pair of denim cutoffs. She felt so Terran wearing them, as she fluffed the soft natural curls of her waist-long hair. In the mirror, she could see the different twinkle in her eyes. The silver specks were brighter than usual, standing out against the purple swirls. And she knew this effect had something to do not just with being on Earth, but with the human being whom she couldn’t shake from her mind all day.
The sun was setting when she went out to the beach. She had put on a straw hat so that the other villagers wouldn’t notice her as much. She ran to the area where she had woken up earlier, with the intention of trying to look for any clue that would help her return to Mars. With her sharp mind and memory, she couldn’t believe she did not remember what was in that package the strange woman had left for her in the palace bedroom.
As she was digging in the sand, she noticed that the surroundings were somehow darkening. She took off her hat then, and that was when she saw the breathtaking vista of the sky. The vast space above her was swirling with pinks, oranges, and purples that perfectly blended into a beautiful sight. The blazing sun wa
s slowly disappearing down the horizon while the calm waters of the sea were soaked in the same colors that had painted the sky.
“Wow…” she whispered, sitting down on the sand and hugging her knees to her chest. She’d forgotten about her objective in going there.
She was so mesmerized that she hardly noticed someone creeping up next to her.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” a voice asked from beside her.
She turned to the voice, startled. It was Cliff. “Yes,” she whispered, turning back to the view. “There’s nothing like it.”
They sat there side by side in comfortable silence, enjoying the moment together. After a few minutes, everything was dark around them.
“First time to see the sunset up close, huh?” Cliff asked.
Gem nodded. She yearned to share with him what sunsets were like on Mars, but of course she couldn’t do that.
“So what are you doing out here? Just watching the sunset?” she asked him.
He showed her a sketch pad he was holding. He opened it to a particular page that showed a beautiful watercolor painting of the sunset. She was awed. “You’re a really good artist,” she said sincerely.
“Thank you,” he said. “Do you draw or paint too?”
“Unfortunately, I don’t,” Gem said, making him chuckle. “It’s just not my cup of tea. My artistry is limited to the kitchen.”
“Well, that’s still a good thing,” Cliff said, smiling. As he shifted in position, their shoulders brushed. Gem’s eyes widened as she felt an electric current shoot up her arm and spread across her body.
She tried to concentrate on his story as he told her about his love for art. But there was a part of her that was very, very bothered by her feelings. Maybe it was just because she was on a strange planet and it was her first time to meet a real live Terran.
The evening went by without any sense of time. Gem found herself opening up to Cliff, sharing stories about her community, family, and other experiences without divulging that she was actually from Mars.
He also talked about his environmental projects, such as cleanup campaigns at the beach with his neighbors and the tree planting activities he facilitated in the forest.
“Wow, you must love your planet a lot,” Gem said admirably.
“Just doing my part to save Mother Earth,” he said. “Look around! What’s not to love?”
“I know,” Gem agreed. That was when something triggered in her memory. She recalled one of her classes in which the instructor had shown them how some parts of the Earth had deteriorated over the years.
“What year is it?” she suddenly asked Cliff, remembering how she’d been thinking earlier that perhaps she had also been transported to the past.
Cliff looked at her strangely. But he answered, “It’s 2016.”
Gem felt the blood drain from her face. It was the year 1131 on Mars when she’d been picked as the new bride. This was equivalent to about 2036 on Earth. She had been transported twenty Earth years into the past.
*****
Chelsea bounded toward the kitchen happily, still wearing her pajamas. “Mmmm… I can smell something yummy!” she exclaimed.
Gem smiled from behind the open kitchen counter where she was preparing plates of bacon and eggs together with French toast.
“So that’s why you’re up early,” Cliff quipped, having just come through the back door.
Chelsea laughed. “Haven’t you noticed? Since Gem has become our cook, I’ve also become a morning person!”
“Just goes to show that your appetite reigns over sleep,” Gem said cheerfully. She was in a very good mood, despite the past week’s adjustments. After all, she’d had to deal with the shock of the truth- that she’d really been magically moved from her planet to this one, and from the year 2036 to the year 2016.
Chelsea took one plate and sat herself on the counter. “So, have you met our new guest?” she asked Gem as she began eating. She sounded excited. “He’s really, really gorgeous!”
“Ssshhh… he might hear you, you know,” Gem warned with a grin. Her shiny brown-orange tresses were piled up in a low, messy bun and as usual, she had almost no makeup on and was simply dressed in a shirt and leggings underneath her apron.
“Speaking of the devil…” Cliff whispered to the ladies in a meaningful tone.
Chelsea almost choked on the bacon she was munching on. She quickly smoothed her hair and turned around with a flirtatious smile.
“Hi, good morning, everyone!” the tall, handsome gentleman greeted with an Italian accent.
“Hello, sir,” Cliff said casually, taking a plate of Gem’s bountiful breakfast and placing it on the dining table that he’d just finished wiping. “Here’s your breakfast- on the house, of course.”
“Looks good,” he said. “Thanks.” Before taking a seat, though, his eyes seemed to linger on Gem first.
“So how was your sleep?” Cliff asked in a friendly manner. “Any plans for today?”
“Sleep was good,” the young Italian replied. “The bed was comfortable enough. And as for today, nah… no plans… maybe just hang out at the beach and explore…”
“Chelsea here is our resident tour guide,” Gem injected. “She can show you around.”
Chelsea gave her a horrified look, turning a little red.
The attractive man smiled at Chelsea, but then turned to Gem and said, “I was actually hoping you could show me around.”
“Uh, me?” Gem said in surprise. “No, I’m not from around here, sorry. I’ve been here for just about a week now.”
Chelsea was still speechless. But this time, she was frowning at the latest apple of her eye who seemed to be more interested in Gemini.
“What time do you get off?” the man asked. “I’d love to get to get to know you better…”
Gem did not know what to say. But Cliff quickly came to her rescue, saying, “Sorry, sir, but we have a small village festival that we need to prepare for tonight. You might want to drop by and see for yourself how we celebrate things around here…”
“That would be awesome!” he said. “Sure, I will.”
Their guest was quite talkative during breakfast, telling them all about his backpacking adventure around America. He disappeared after finishing the meal, but Gem was kept busy because more guests were coming in, ready to eat the breakfast that came with their stay. And as always, they too were happy with the delicious food.
When Gem finally had the chance to rest, she went out to check Cliff at his art shop. “Hey, how are things here?” she asked.
Cliff looked up from the big block of wood that he was carving. “Hey, there,” he greeted. “Things are great, thanks. The paintings and other stuff have been selling like hotcakes.”
Gem laughed, now feeling very much at ease with him. During her short stay, she had gotten to know him better and they seemed to really “click” a lot.
“What’s that you’re making?” she asked in fascination. She loved to watch him work on his art pieces, with his eyes intense with concentration and his muscles tensing up and showing through his shirt. She loved the way his dark locks would slide down his forehead while beads of sweat formed on the surface. And most of all, she enjoyed conversing with him on just about anything.
“It’s a surprise,” he said without looking up. “I was feeling inspired today, so let’s see how it turns out in a few days.”
“Okay,” Gem said as she walked around the shop to admire more of his work.
“Want to try it?” he suddenly offered, startling her.
She turned to him with an eager grin, like a little girl who was about to get her very first doll.
“I guess that’s a yes,” he said, laughing at the expression on her face.
To her astonishment, he took her hand and guided her toward the stool where he’d been sitting. His sudden touch made her feel warm all over. She tried to ignore the feeling, but every movement he made seemed to affect her entire body. She was highly aware of his cl
oseness, which was making her both nervous and excited.
He leaned over her and put her hand on the chisel, his fingers guiding her on how to hold it properly. His every touch was unnerving and electrifying. She tried hard to focus on what he was teaching her.
Relax, Gem, she told herself repeatedly. She breathed in and out heavily while Cliff explained what she had to do. Hopefully, he didn’t notice how he was affecting her.
She tried to follow his instructions… and succeeded.
“Good! That’s it. You’re doing great, Gem,” he praised.
She turned around and beamed at him. Their faces were only inches apart. For a few seconds, both of them were quiet, merely gazing into each other’s eyes. It was as if everything around them had melted into the ground and faded away.
The sound of running footsteps, accompanied by a loud squeal, broke their momentary spell. It was a little girl who was also staying at their bed and breakfast.
“Essie, no running,” her mom said firmly, going after her and taking her hand. “You might break something in here.”
“But I just wanted to see the pretty cook…” she whined. Then she broke free from her mom and ran toward Gem.
To Gem’s surprise, the little girl literally ran into her arms and gave her a bear hug. It seemed to melt her heart. She was definitely experiencing a lot of new emotions while on Earth.
“Hi!” the girl said. “You’re so pretty! I want to have hair and eyes like yours!”
Gem laughed. “Thank you, but you are much prettier than me.”
“I am?” the girl said in obvious surprise and wonder.
“Yes, I really think so,” Gem told her sincerely.
“Wow! Did you hear that, Mommy?”
Her mom smiled from behind her. “I told you that many times, dear.”
“But it’s different when it comes from you. I thought you were just saying it ‘coz you’re my mom!”
The mother laughed and together they thanked Cliff and Gem before walking back to the direction of the beach. Gem looked after them, suddenly pining away for her own loving mother who never got tired of praising her and making her feel special too.
In the Arms of the Dragon Princes Page 109
