Beyond the Mist

by Lori Ann Ramsey

quiet.

  "We don't have time. We went through it okay. Obviously, we didn't cause the accident."

  "But didn't it seem like it? For a split second, I heard it. I felt it. Didn't you?" Johanna asked turning her worried eyes to Mack.

  "That was truly weird. I thought we had been hit. I really did. But then I blinked and we were still driving, still in one piece. We're fine. They will have help. We can stop somewhere and get a paper on the way home to see what happened. If we don't make it to the coast by seven we'll have to sleep here," Mack said as he kept his steady foot on the gas.

  They drove mostly in silence the remaining hour and a half as it seemed the gas gage gave them favor. Mack commented more than one that the needle didn't seem to move and then it did as if it were listening. The sun hovered over the western horizon.

  "The sun seems to have stood still for us. You'd think since we are traveling east it would have slid on down but it hasn't," Johanna said looking at the small orange globe in the sky. The thin layer of clouds enabled her to look right at it without hurting her eyes.

  Mack glanced at it and smiled. "See, fate is on our side. We need the light to find the right access road that leads to the dock. We're going to just make it," Mack said and tapped the clock in the dashboard. It hovered at near seven. They finally found the access road and the sun slipped a little closer to the horizon casting an orange glow that made long shadows from behind.

  "Did you notice after that near wreck we haven't seen one single car?" Johanna said, always the observant one.

  Mack just nodded his mind more on the upcoming honeymoon festivities than on her current observations. He did note they didn't even pass a single gas station or town the last hour and a half. He shrugged as he pulled into the graveled parking spot and smiled over to the old man standing on the dock holding the rope to the small vessel that would carry them to Harper's Island.

  "See, just in time. Wow," Mack said exiting the car and waving to the man.

  The old man walked over to the car nodding to the couple as they pulled their bags from the trunk of the car. He wore light gray work shirt and pants, a pair of dark brown worn boots, and a fisherman's hat. His gray hair stood out in tuffs around his ears and brow. A splattering of grayed whiskers shadowed his lower jaw and chin as if he'd been out working the seas all day. The small dingy bobbed up and down as the waves crashed into the dock. The sea reflected the pale golden glow of the setting sun, the horizon turning a deep blue-gray.

  "Appreciate you waiting," Mack said as he stepped onto the dingy.

  "Knew honeymooners heading this way," the captain said. "Had the boat ready for passage." He grinned showing a row of perfect white teeth. His clear blue eyes also startled Johanna, who expected to see a mouth of rotten teeth and eyes that matched the grayness of the quickly darkening seas. The two features seemed out of place on the old man.

  The seas were calm as the dingy bobbed onward away from the shore and toward Harper's Island. They arrived about a half an hour later, the odd sun a semi-circle pale globe on the western horizon. The briny air filled their lungs, a welcome fragrance. The island loomed up, the home a dot of light quickly emerging and filling the upper beach. The forest beyond the home filled with dark lush greens, a stark contrast to the seashore they just left.

  After the old man let the couple off he gave them a grin and a nod. "You can stay as long as you like. The owners said as much. The kitchen's stocked and a hot meal awaits. You should have everything you need. If you have need of something, raise the white flag here, I'll see it and I'll come. Don't worry about phones and outside communication. This is your own private paradise you have no need of these things."

  "What if someone from our family needs us?" Mack asked.

  "If someone summons for you the owners will tell me and I'll come tell you. No worries, I'll be here if the need arises. You just go and enjoy yourselves." The captain stepped back into the boat and gunned the engine as the dingy slowly turned away from the long dock. He waved and smiled as he set up at a pace heading back to the coast.

  Mack and Johanna turned and walked up the dock each carrying two large bags. The sound of the boat grew fainter and Johanna turned to see and the boat was gone. She knit her brow and peered harder. "Where did he go that fast?" she asked.

  Mack turned to look too and shrugged. "Must have moved on past the horizon." But for Johanna it didn't add up. She had just heard the boat and as she turned it disappeared. She shrugged too and turned back to the beautiful home before them.

  Then she stopped, concern filling her as she beheld the deep green leaves and the flowers of pink and yellow dotted throughout the perimeter of the home. "I hope I packed my inhaler," Johanna said as she gave Mack a deeply concerned look. She had allergic asthma and back home anything green caused her asthma to flare. Often she would use the inhaler on days she would be outside. But she took a deep breath and her lungs inflated and deflated with no resistance.

  "You packed it," Mack said. "It's not like you to forget something like that."

  "Yeah, but this was a different day. I had a wedding to attend. A honeymoon to go to. I wasn't thinking about possible asthma." She laughed nervously.

  "If you didn't, we can summon the old man and have him take us to town for an inhaler."

  "What town, we didn't pass a single town, a single gas station since we had that near wreck way back there."

  Mack stopped realizing it was true. "There's bound to be a town nearby. The man has to live somewhere. All this food came from somewhere. Don't worry, we'll manage to find a pharmacy if we need to."

  Johanna took another deep breath marveling at the greenery and the fact that her lungs stayed clear. "Perhaps it's the sea air. I've heard that helps asthma patients."

  Amber lights warmed the windows, welcoming them home. The door was open, a ceiling fan gently turning. The smell of a delicious meal came from the dining area just to the right of the entrance. Johanna and Mack looked at each other incredibly. The meal sat upon the dining tables, steaming dishes of mashed potatoes, gravy, beef tips with sautéed onions and peppers, steamed green beans, and the most colorful salad Johanna had ever saw.

  "Hello," Mack called. "Just a minute." He turned and did a once over in the small house, which only held one large bedroom, a bathroom, and a kitchen. He returned shaking his head. "We're the only ones here."

  "The man said no one else was here and we'd have the whole island to ourselves," Johanna said.

  "Yet here sits a hot steaming meal, set here as if just now."

  The two sat down and ate the best tasting meal. The salad had the deepest green leaves with vine ripened tomatoes, deep green cucumbers, purple onions, and a tasty crusty crouton. Every bite tasted heavenly to the couple as they devoured the food.

  Afterward they cleaned the dining and kitchen, feeling they needed to at least keep it neat. The cupboards and refrigerator was stocked with all their favorite foods. Everything they needed to cook more delicious meals were there at their disposal. They smiled to one another as they left the kitchen to explore the home.

  It didn't take long for Johanna and Mack to find their way to the bedroom where they unpacked their bags. "I can't find my inhaler," Johanna said as panic rose in her.

  Mack turned to help her look and sure enough the inhaler had been left at Mack's cousin's home where she initially prepared for the wedding earlier that morning.

  "How do you feel?" Mack asked.

  Johanna took a deep breath. "I'm fine. No restriction. In fact I've had no allergies."

  Mack smiled. "It's the air here, it's fresh and clean."

  "Yeah, but the forest. All those green trees. All the flowers," Johanna said not convincing herself she was okay at the moment.

  "But you're breathing fine. If you start to feel any sign of an allergy or asthma, we'll summon for help."

  Johanna nodded. "Okay. This might be what I need, sea air."

  After they unpacked they ended up in each other's arms. They d
idn't sleep the entire night as they expressed their love further bonding as husband and wife. The honeymoon had begun.

  They spent a lazy few days frolicking on the beach and enjoying each other's company in the bedroom. Mack cooked meals for Johanna, all of her favorite foods. Johanna and Mack took turns cleaning and cooking and just relishing in the togetherness the island provided.

  Mack and Johanna explored the island over the next week. It was small and took less than an hour to hike across. Gentle hills revealed a waterfall in the center that flowed into a deep pool of crystal clear warm water. The lush green trees and vibrant flowers gave it a jungle feel, yet there were paths throughout for ease of travel by foot.

  There was no TV or radio. No calendar hung on the walls. Yet the two managed to keep busy exploring the outdoors or playing games within the home. Each afternoon at around three a warm rain would descend washing away any dust, keeping the jungle forest green. After about half an hour the rain would stop and the sun would reappear. The sea winds kept the humidity away. The couple got to where they would be outside when the rains came enjoying the clear warm drops and would play while they got drenched. It became their favorite time of day.

  Oddly, as they explored the island, swam in the waterfall pond, trekked to the other side they would return and find the kitchen fully restocked of any food they needed. They never saw any indication of entrance by