I took the path where it had veered to the right and discovered that for the next several yards, there were stairs placed at three-foot intervals. This created small dirt stairs that led me deeper and higher into the jungle, but all the while holding the jungle at bay. The birds, none of which I’d seen so far, called out all the more noisily as I found myself moving deeper into their world. A small rodent, somewhere between the size of a mouse and a rat, darted across the path in front of me. It was too fast for me to determine what it actually was.
I continued onward, cautiously looking for the presence of anyone who might be offended by a trespasser. For the time being, I decided to keep with the assumption that I was still on Earth despite that enormous planet looming on the horizon. And keeping with this belief, I’d have to assume that the only creatures on this island who would build a bonfire and use binoculars would be human. I wouldn’t give any heed to that secret fear that kept insisting that I’d find dangerous aliens lurking in the jungle here.
I had to have climbed about fifteen or twenty stairs and followed the twisting path for about two hundred yards before I discovered a bright green clearing up ahead. I remained in the shadows of the jungle path as I cautiously approached what I could only imagine to be a grassy meadow. I paused with every step, wondering how the jungle could just stop so abruptly and give way to a grassy field. The lay of the land was fairly flat up ahead, but then rose again in the distance where the dense foliage appeared to pick right back up where it left off.
I was still fearful that once I left the protection of the shadows, whomever this island belonged to would see me and shoot me for invading their private space. And it didn’t help matters much that I was wearing a uniform that was quite military in nature. What if this island belonged to an enemy of the very same military that I supposedly represented?
I crept closer to the edge of the finely trimmed lawn and could see now that the field was circular in nature, at least from what I could see on my left. The jungle’s edge curved immediately to the left of this path and arced all the way over to the opposite side of the field. But to my right… now that was where it got interesting.
I found myself exiting the jungle almost directly beside a large barn-like wooden shed. The back of the shed was pressed right up against the edge of the jungle and the left side near me was merely six or eight feet from the entrance of the path to the beach. The structure was painted red and was shaped like a barn but was only large enough to probably serve as a one-car garage if needed.
A bird called out from the top of the shed, drawing my attention to it. We both looked at each other with a good amount of curiosity. It was a blue parrot with a small bill. I didn’t recognize such a creature but that didn’t mean it wasn’t indigenous to Earth. I simply wasn’t familiar with parrots, assuming that my memory could be trusted in that regard. I obviously was familiar with barns, sheds, binoculars, and bonfires.
The bird called out again and then flew away. I returned my gaze to the shed and then approached it. I used it as cover as I pressed myself against it and peered around the front of it. It was there that I discovered something even more extraordinary.
The field extended beyond this barn nearly fifty yards where it led me to a beautiful two-story white house with an enormous three-level back deck. A rainbow-colored patio umbrella rose from a table on the upper portion of the deck. On the middle of the three decks, I could see evidence of a swimming pool sunken into it. The lower deck closest to me was home to some deck and lawn chairs.
I noticed a steady wisp of grey smoke rising from a wide chimney in the roof, in spite of the fact that it was still quite warm outside. Someone was home. Someone human was in their very human house on a quite ordinary Earth. No aliens here.
So now the question was whether I would be welcome enough here to get some medical attention for whatever happened inside my skull. Perhaps they had a way I could contact whoever it was that would know me. Would Petty Officer First Class Zane be…
Petty Officer?
What was that? Where did that come from?
I spoke a name that I only knew because I had discovered it stitched on my shirt, but now I just gave that name a title that I never heard of before.
Petty Officer First Class?
Wasn’t that a Navy enlisted rank?
Navy? How would I even know Navy ranks?
Enlisted? Where was I getting these terms?
I looked down at the patch on my shoulder that suggested I flew in a spacecraft or perhaps I at least orbited the Earth. That patch definitely suggested something space-related. Yet the other patch was definitely the marking of a US Navy Petty Officer First Class.
What? How did I know that?
But I definitely did know…
I knew that the black bird and the three chevrons were the marks of a First Class Petty Officer. I definitely knew this. I knew that if there was an arc above the three chevrons, I would be a Chief Petty Officer. If there was a star above that eagle, I’d be a Senior Chief. And if there were two stars, I’d be a Master Chief. I knew these things. I knew something beyond what I knew earlier!
This was progress. I tested my own name on my lips again, but it still didn’t sound familiar. I said the name with the title attached and it still didn’t offer any familiarity. Nothing about my name seemed right, even if I was familiar with Navy ranks.
I finally decided to make my way around the shed and toward the distant house. I noticed along the way that the jungle indeed wrapped around this property in a large circle whose border was so chiseled that it might as well have been two completely separate worlds.
The only evidence that the sun still existed beyond the high hills or mountains to the left were the brilliant oranges and yellows highlighting the bottoms of the clouds in that direction. It gave the whole world an orange hue.
I was startled suddenly by the metallic sound of a screen door groaning on its hinges. I turned my attention from the clouds to the house and immediately discovered the most beautiful woman in the world looking down upon me from the upper portion of the wooden deck. Besides being impossibly beautiful, the first thing I noticed was that her expression wasn’t one of anger, fear, or even curiosity. As a matter of fact, it appeared as though she were expecting me.
“I can’t do this anymore,” she called to me.
I halted my progress suddenly, wondering if I heard her correctly. I was still several yards away from the stairs on the bottom deck. Each deck was only slightly lower than the other by about three or four steps, so this meant that that woman was looking down at me from a height of only about five or six feet. Our distance from each other wasn’t so great that I could have misunderstood her.
“Ma’am, do you have a way to contact someone for me?” I asked, taking two cautious steps toward her.
The woman in the long white sun dress leaned against the railing and shook her head. Curiously, the gesture didn’t appear that she was saying no, but rather that she was somehow in a state of denial. The tears forming in her eyes suggested that something else may have been going on that I wasn’t made aware of.
“I can’t do this anymore, Zane,” she choked out before turning toward the house.
“Wait! How do you know that name? Do you recognize me?” I asked, running toward the deck.
She clutched the door handle, but stopped. She appeared to stare down at her own hand, all the while shaking her head.
“I need help,” I said, climbing the stairs, “I have no idea where I am or who I am for that matter. I think I was in a… in a plane crash.”
I was standing next to the crystal swimming pool looking up at the woman who now appeared to be frozen in place. Her straight brown hair flowed down across her bare tan shoulders and stopped halfway down her back. Even from behind I couldn’t help but to be stalled by her beauty.
“You’re always in a plane crash, Zane,” she muttered, “We need to talk and you need to get me out of this place. If you love me, y
ou’ll find a way to get me out of here.”
“Love you? I… I’m not sure I remember you. Are you sure you recognize me?” I asked.
She turned to me, her hand still clutching the handle on the screen door. Her dark brown eyes were shimmering from the tears that were threatening to escape down her perfectly sculpted cheeks. I wondered in that moment how I could forget such an example of perfection. She somehow knew me and apparently believed that I loved her, yet nothing in this woman was familiar to me.
“I guess we have no choice,” she said with something of a forced smile forming on her full pink lips, “Why don’t you come inside and we’ll talk.”
Chapter Seven
The back door led into the kitchen which was relatively large. It had something of a backwoods cabin feel to it with the dark hardwood floors and the equally dark cabinets. I was only passing through however, so I didn’t see much more than that. The next room she brought me through was a dining room that sat six at a rectangular ebony table. This room also had dark hardwood floors that gleamed as though they’d just been polished. A crystal and brass chandelier above the table offered plenty of light to the room from about a dozen small bulbs.
Again, we were just passing through. I followed her to the living room where I discovered the origin of the smoke I’d seen earlier coming from the chimney. Centered between two glass-front cabinets was a large fieldstone fireplace where a good size fire had already been kindled. The mantle above the fireplace supported no photos, trophies, or figurines to help me learn a little about this woman.
She gestured for me to sit down in one of the two burgundy chairs near the fireplace. The living room also offered two sofas and three end tables with brass lamps on each of them. The two chairs she gestured to were angled toward each other and shared a small coffee table. I could already feel the warmth of the fire and although its presence wasn’t necessary, it felt quite pleasant.
She sat down in one of the chairs and I in the other. I tried as best as I could not to examine every detail of her as she drew her hands together in her lap and looked at me. The tears were no longer present in those dark eyes of hers. While she didn’t look happy, I could see that she wasn’t quite upset either.
“Your plane, jet, or spaceship crashed in the ocean earlier today,” she spoke softly, “Does that sound right?”
“Yes, but how-”
“Did you drift to this island or swim here?” she asked.
“I swam like crazy, otherwise I would have drifted out there forever and died,” I replied.
“No, you would have still drifted here to the island had you just floated out there and given up. The current leads straight to the beach,” she said with a quiet chuckle, “I lit a bonfire on the beach last night for you just in case you happened to crash at night.”
“I’m so confused,” I sputter, “How do you know about the crash and how do you know me? Did I used to live on this island?”
She smiled and nodded.
“You lived here with me for a very long time,” she said, “This is… this was your home. I rescued you. Too many times actually.”
I gripped my head between both palms, rubbing at my temples as I closed my eyes.
“I don’t remember anything,” I said.
“Nor will you. You never remember,” she replied, “And that’s why we need to take a whole different approach this time. We need to get out of here and you’re the only one who can do it.”
“You’re not making any sense,” I said, drawing my hands down and looking at her, “What’s my name? And what planet are we on?”
“Zane,” she replied quickly, “And this is Kepler Moon Alpha of course.”
“Kepler Moon Alpha? Where the heck is… Wait, what’s my full name?”
We both stared at each other for a minute. The firelight flickered across her features and brought a gemlike appearance to her eyes. I wondered for only a moment what it would have been like to kiss those plump lips and wanted to ask if it ever happened. I dismissed this quickly as I was too busy trying to sort out the confusing information she was tossing at me.
“I don’t know your full name,” she replied with a shrug, “Neither of us ever knew. We just know the name Zane based on what’s stitched on the front of your uniform. And I’d just like to point out that I burned that uniform, by the way.”
“You burned…” I looked down at my uniform and then back to her, “Is there a way you can get right to whatever it is you’re trying to say? I’m more confused than I was before.”
“There’s really no easy way,” she sighed, then her eyes met mine, “Why don’t I tell you about the first time we ever met?”
I shrugged, then leaned back in my seat, “Sure, it’s as good a place as any.”
“Okay, but keep in mind that some of the time references may not make any sense to you. Just please disregard them and don’t interrupt,” she said, receiving a nod from me, “It was almost eighteen years ago when we first met right down there on the beach…”
Sarai
Chapter Eight
I was out for an early morning stroll along the beach when I decided that I wanted to wade in the cool morning surf. I kicked off my sandals and then walked along the hard moist sand, gradually allowing my feet and ankles to be swept over with the cool water. As I made my way down toward the base of the cliffs, I allowed the ocean to swallow up my lower legs up to my knees. It was already getting incredibly warm out and the sun had barely just shown its face.
I was gazing out toward the morning sun when I saw something floating out at sea. It was a good distance out there and I knew the tide would eventually bring it in, so I just stood there and enjoyed the feel of the ocean on my legs. That was when I saw movement. What I had initially thought was just a bundle of clothing or a sack of treasures that had fallen from a passing ship was actually a living person.
“Hello!” I shouted, then followed it up with a piercing whistle.
It was a man and he was looking up now from whatever it was he had been clinging to. He didn’t reply, but he did however start swimming decisively in my direction. I had been wearing my short summer dress which was currently quite wet along the hemline anyway due to my morning activities thus far, so as he got closer, I decided to go deeper into the water and assist him the rest of the way in.
The water was almost up to my neck by the time he reached for my hand and allowed me to pull him the rest of the way in. He was clearly exhausted and still in no mood to talk. I dragged him and his little square pillow onto the beach and then sat down, allowing him to rest his head onto my lap. He was breathing heavily and staring up at me while I pushed his wet hair out of his face.
“Who a-are you?” he choked out, “Where am I?”
“I’m Sarai and this is where I live. I don’t think I recall ever giving my island a name. I guess it didn’t need one before,” I replied, suddenly smiling at the thought of a nameless island.
It had never occurred to me that an island inhabited solely by me should even have a name, yet here I was in need of one.
“You’re beautiful… stunning actually,” he said, still trying to catch his breath.
“Well, you’re quite handsome yourself. Though you still haven’t introduced yourself or told me why you’re here on my nameless island,” I replied.
“I… I honestly don’t know my name. I can’t remember anything. I think there was a plane crash in the ocean yesterday and I must have been on it,” he said, staring up at the sky, “Though I can’t even be sure about that.”
I parted his blond hair with my fingers, wondering if the man had a wife or family. His fingers bore no rings. I wiped some sand off the side of his face, noticing his strong square jaw and the sturdy neck of what was surely a muscular man. His arms were muscular which probably extended the same qualities to the body beneath the uniform he wore. I probably flushed at that thought and directed my attention to the uniform itself.
“It says here that your
name is Zane. Would that be a first name or a last name?” I asked.
He looked down at the uniform with an expression that suggested he’d never even seen it before. He tugged at the colorful patch on the opposite breast, then looked at the patches on each of his sleeves. He then turned to me, leaning on an elbow that was dangerously close to a sensitive region of mine. He didn’t seem to be all that aware of the fact that his face was now just inches from my breasts and while my one leg was still under his lower back, the other was trying to find a less provocative position.
I tried to draw that leg back beneath me, but then I looked down and became suddenly aware that my light yellow dress was wet and almost completely invisible. I’d inadvertently gasped aloud, causing his eyes to follow the direction of my own. He instantly shut his eyes and rolled off me in the opposite direction. I covered myself as best as I could with my arms, but it wasn’t necessary. He was being a gentleman and facing the opposite direction at the moment.
“I – I don’t know what the name is. I imagine it would be my last name, although it doesn’t even sound familiar to me,” he said, politely pretending that he didn’t see right through my dress.
“Is that a military uniform?” I asked, standing up and attempting to shake the sand from my dress.
He was still faced away, so I tried as best as I could to get some air to pass through the dress and dry it quickly. I shook the top portion but I could see that it would serve no purpose anymore. The chill of the wet dress mixed with the breeze I created had worked against me in other ways.
“It looks like a military uniform, though I really have no idea,” he muttered, “Do you have any method to contact the authorities or perhaps a hospital? I wonder if I was injured.”
I was instantly startled by the fact that he was so eager to leave. I looked forward to some company after all this time alone. Especially the company of a handsome man such as he was. But in truth, the answer to his question would be that I seriously had no contact whatsoever with the outside world. I had no phones here, no computers, television, or even a boat for that matter.
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