THE SHORE (from the book Storyteller)

    
Numb …
                                 yet, I could feel the cool mist upon my cheek. 

I didn’t remember where I came from. I had no idea where I was going to. 

Nevertheless, there I was on a shore with the full moon’s light glistening off the smooth surfaces of blue-white stones. 

I wiggled my toes against their satin-like finish. The cool surface felt good against the soles of my feet. I took a deep breath. 

The air felt charged with energy just like after a mid- summer storm. Yes, I thought to myself, I’m still alive. 

Alive.  

What did that mean to me? 

The clean salty air filled my lungs again. 

Inhale.  Exhale. 

As a hint of movement in the air brushed past my cheek I felt the warmth of my blood rush to the surface to greet it. 

How did I get here? I wondered. 

Here. Where is here? 

There was no sunshine, yet there was soft illumination as far as the eye could see. I looked up and felt the eerie feeling of being enclosed inside… of something. 

There were no clouds slowly ambling across this blue sky. No birds hanging aloft on the breeze. No other sound, but for the waves gently caressing the opalescent shore. In and out,  Whoosh… Whoosh… Rhythmic… Hypnotic… 

“It’s a dream.” I assured myself, “Just a dream.” 
  
Whoosh…Whoosh…

I slowly turned my head to the left. All I could see was the endless iridescence of the white stone beach stretching out to meet the darkening sky. 

I looked to my right. The shoreline was glowing in a surreal brilliance. Onward it continued to the horizon. I saw nothing moving in the light. I was alone. 

In my left hand I held something. It felt like a medal, an amulet, a charm? My right hand was limp at my side. 

I stretched out my fingers finding the cloth that dressed me here in this dream. I looked down to see. I was adorned in a white cloak that billowed with the slightest movement. 

“A dream,” I repeated to myself.  

I looked down at my hand, it was as pale as alabaster; the perfect unblemished hand of a porcelain doll. Were these… my hands? 

I placed my fingers to my lips. They were soft and moist. I could feel my breath on them as the air swept gently through them. 

What am I? I asked of myself. Am I human, still? 

The intensity of the light blinded me for a moment. It was coming from the sea. I could make out a tower in the distance. Appearing before me was an island across the great expanse. A lighthouse was its only occupant. There were no trees, no mountains; just the tower-light spinning slowly at its crown. Searching… “…for me,” I whispered. 

“For you,” he replied from beside me, “Only for you.” 

He was beautiful. He eased his way closer to me, careful not to frighten me. It seemed an odd meeting, the two of us on the shore, alone. Where did he come from? I marveled. 

I looked into his eyes. They were dark and his lashes long. They looked unreal, like a dolls eyes. Then he blinked and held me captive for another moment. I could not look away. His eyes seemed to hold lifetimes within them and I felt as if mine was becoming one of them. 

He seemed to be searching for something in my eyes; perhaps something once lost.  

Warm. 

His hand was warm. He took my hand into his own. As his fingers lightly folded around mine I felt a small shock tingle up my arm. I withdrew quickly from his touch, never taking my eyes from his; held fast in the spell. Not a doll. He is human, like me, my thoughts confirmed. 

“I have been waiting for you here for an eternity.” He spoke quietly, his face tilting the slightest to reassure me, never looking away. 

“Who are you?” I asked. “Where are we?” 

“I cannot say.” He whispered, leaning closer.  “You aren’t supposed to be here, it’s not time.” 

He lifted his hand up to my face. I expected another subtle shock when his fingers touched my cheek. To my surprise it was a flutter I felt, not in my cheek, but in my chest. I closed my eyes and memorized the feeling.  

I gasped once; twice… it felt as if suddenly there was no air. He closed his eyes and softly blew into my face and at once I relaxed once more into my breathing. I could still feel his breath upon me. He balanced my chin upon his finger and pulled me to him. His lips grazed my own and I could feel the blood fill my veins. 

Alive. 

My lips parted slightly to taste him. Sweet… His breath was sweet and I breathed him in. 
  
His lips barely brushed against my own. I was losing myself on this faraway coast, not knowing who he was or where we were… but, I was surrendering, nonetheless. 

“I cannot.” He whispered against my breath and for the first time he looked away. “Not yet.  It’s not time.”  

“What are you talking about?” I asked, beginning to feel the panic rising in my throat. “I want to stay with you.”  

What did that mean to me? 

Stay. 

“I have to leave you now, you must go back.” He answered me firmly. Then he turned to face me once more, “I will wait for you.  I will keep watch from the tower for you.” He reassured. 

Was that a tear I saw tracing down his face and dropping silently to the ground? 

“NO!”  I cried out. “I want to stay with you.” 

“Forever…  I’ll wait forever.” The voice faded into the mist.   

Whoosh… Whoosh… the waves rolled gently in and then out again. 

He was gone. 

I could see the hands on the clock hanging on the wall 3:00. 

Was it morning or afternoon? 

The smell of antiseptics filled my nose and sent me gasping once again for air. 

Whoosh… Whoosh… I can’t breathe… something in my throat!  

“It’s okay, dear. You’re okay.” there came a voice from inside the light. “We’re taking the tube out; you can breathe on your own now. 

“Where did he go?” I coughed lightly. “Where am I?” I could see her now.  She was dressed in white; an angel? The room filled with bodies, all rushing to my side. The room was alive.

I was alive.  

What did that mean to me? 

Alive. 

I was holding something in my left hand. Remembering… He waits for me on an island across the great expanse. He searches the shore with his tower-light…only for me.  

FOREVER