The Light of the Blue Pearl by K.C. HAWKE

its contents.
    As if reading her mind the entire time she
had been driving home, inside the box was a note.
    “I can’t wait until Thursday. If you’re free
tomorrow at noon, I’ll be waiting outside your door.”
    Not really sure why the box was necessary,
but not complaining much either, she put the note back in the box
with a smile on her face.
    She was both relieved and excited that she
didn’t have to have such a long wait. Strange how part of her was
dreading this supposed new relationship, but at the same time was
finding pure joy from it.
    Sometimes Ethne wondered if her solitude was
really necessary or if the choice had been a hasty one, but it only
took the thought of her past to make her recoil inside herself
again. Now however, instead of finding herself alone when she did
this, she was surrounded by butterflies that would not shut up.
    Having no plans for the next day aside from
work, which of course he knew, she got ready for bed with
intentions to wake up and meet him outside her door; again having
absolutely no idea what the destination was going to be. She was
starting to find comfort in his surprises, which was kind of an
oxymoron.
    But all the same, the notes, meeting Ian and
now Scott, getting to visit San Pedro and find her pearl, stirred
up a feeling inside of her – something that had been lost a long
time ago.
    Lying in her bed with her blankets pulled up
to her chin Ethne wondered what she was going to do. How long could
she keep pretending? How long could she hide her past – her
condition? She would have to tell him eventually, but she didn’t
want to. That however, was not an option.
    Ultimately it was neither fair to her or to
him to keep the relationship going. She would only hurt him in the
end and she didn’t want to do that. Nor did she want to be
hurt.
    No. She was going to have to tell him that
this wasn’t going to work, that she couldn’t date him. That thought
was more than she could bear for some reason; but she supposed the
magic of San Pedro must be wearing off and the reality of being
home back in her own life was once again sinking in. It sure hadn’t
taken long.
    She rolled over to her side and hugged her
blankets tightly to her, wishing for once she was hugging an actual
person. How quickly the feeling of excitement had been replaced
with a feeling of dread. As she drifted off to sleep a tear escaped
her eye, rolled across the bridge of her nose and down her cheek. A
few others followed it, though she wasn’t aware of them since she
was now in another world far away from the troubles of her own.
    ***
    Instead of finding herself on a serene beach
this time, however, she was being blasted by wind and sand; each
speck of sand feeling like a tiny needle hitting her feet and
ankles. The wind was so strong she could barely walk and yet to
look around she saw sunshine and a gorgeous green ocean in front of
her.
    The water was choppy, a torrent obviously
caused by the winds. Even though she was able to keep moving she
felt each gust pushing her back as though it was telling her not to
go on.
    She was trying to get to someone, or
something, though she couldn’t remember what or who that was. The
determined feeling urged her on through the angry wind and sweeping
sheets of sand.
    The wind was getting stronger and stronger
and she had to shield her eyes from the angry shards of sand that
were joining the winds fight to keep her back.
    She kept walking into the wind and sharp
sand, despite its best efforts to stop her. Barely being able to
breathe in air that didn’t taste of salt and sand she kept
going.
    It seemed she had been walking for hours
when all of a sudden the wind stopped. It vanished as if her
nemesis had never even been there to begin with, pelting her skin,
hindering her efforts to find what she was looking for.
    She could see the water again, calmer and
more blue than green. But she was still alone on the beach with no
clear sign of any particular reason to be