A Rocky Path (14 page)

When she got down to the water, she was
shocked to find how much it had risen and how rough the waves were.
She had never seen this usually peaceful place in this kind of
weather. It was a little frightening.

Suddenly there was a bolt of lightening
followed by a loud clap of thunder. She jumped and almost stumbled
on the rocks, barely avoiding falling into the water. She regained
her footing and decided it was time to sit down. The rock was cold
and pretty soon the chill seeped into her body, causing her to
shiver.

She wasn’t sure what to do now. Sarah had
said that Patrick might come if he thought she really needed him.
She wondered what she should do or say, or if there was something
she could do with the silver ring that had once belonged to his
fiancée. She remembered that Sarah had warned her not to bring the
journal or letters because they would have reminded him of the
girl’s betrayal. But what about the ring? Would that, too, remind
him of his fiancée’s deceit? Or would it bring to mind happier
times?

She toyed with the ring on her finger. She
concentrated hard on Patrick and what she wanted.

“Patrick? I know that you’re here somewhere.
I know that you’re always here. Please come to me! I need you,
Patrick.”

She didn’t feel anything. The wind was high,
but there was no soft stirring near her that would signal the
presence of the man she loved. The thunder rumbled closer than
before.

“Patrick, please! I need you so badly! I want
you to come to me. I want to talk to you about a lot of things. I
want to help you, too. I want to help you get home.”

She waited and listened, wondering what else
she could do or say if that didn’t work. Didn’t he have any
feelings for her anymore? He had left the beautiful painting for
her and the letter that declared his love for her. Had that
changed?

“Patrick, I love you. There is nothing I
wouldn’t do for you! Please come to me. Just this one time, ok?
After this, I won’t ask you to come back anymore if you don’t want
to. I just need to tell you so many things!”

She pleaded with him for over half an hour
until she was chilled to the bone. The tears running down her face
felt like ice against her skin. It was no use. He wasn’t coming. No
matter what she did or said, he didn’t love her enough to come back
to her. He didn’t want her or believe in her. There was more
lightening and louder thunder as the storm grew in intensity.

She slowly rose from the rock, her body stiff
from the cold. She had been sliding the ring off and on her finger
in a nervous gesture. Suddenly the ring slipped out of her hand and
down to the edge of the water. The waves lapped against it and it
slowly started sliding into the water.

“Oh, no!” she cried as she scrambled down
next to the water and reached down to grab the ring.

All of a sudden she lost her balance and her
feet slipped out from under her. The next thing she knew, she was
sliding down into the water. She tried to grab at the rocks, but
they were too slippery and her hands slid right off them. The waves
roared over her as they succumbed to the growing storm. She tried
to regain her footing, but each time she thought she was going to
be able to scramble out of the water, another wave hit her and she
was knocked down again. As the waves grew larger and stronger, they
gradually started sucking her back farther into the water. Her
mouth and nose filled with water and she started gasping for air.
The waves kept dragging her under and she knew that this was it.
She was going to die. She felt herself grow calmer as she resigned
herself to the fact of her death. She wondered if she would see
Patrick or if she would go on to Heaven. She was exhausted and had
no fight left in her. As she went under, she prayed that Patrick
would somehow find peace, since she wouldn’t be there to help him
get home. Consciousness slowly faded away and everything went
black.

* * *

As she slowly came awake, Emily realized that
she was warm and comfortable. She gradually opened her eyes,
wondering if she was dead or alive. She felt alive, but she didn’t
really know what being dead was like, so there was no frame of
reference.

When her eyes were able to adjust to the low
lighting, she realized that she was lying on blankets and was
covered by another fluffy blanket. She sat up and looked around.
She saw a fire burning nearby, explaining the warmth she was
feeling in addition to the blankets. As she took in her
surroundings, she saw that she was in some kind of cave. She
couldn’t see the opening and she didn’t know how deep into the cave
she was or where the cave was even located. She didn’t remember
seeing any caves nearby. And who had brought her here?

She realized with a start that she was naked
under the blanket. She blushed slightly, then thought about how
ridiculous it was to be embarrassed about something like that when
someone had obviously saved her life. But who?

“Hello? Is anyone here?” she called out. No
one answered and she wondered if whoever it was had left her here
alone.

She looked around a little more closely than
before. She saw her clothes laying out on a rock near the fire.
They looked like they were completely dry. How long had she been
here? She got up slowly, looking around to make sure no one was
watching her. Then she hurried over to her clothes and put them on.
They were nice and toasty from the fire. She walked around the
cave, looking for the exit. She must have been pretty far back into
the cave because she couldn’t see where she had come in.

“I’m glad you are awake.”

She whirled around and was standing face to
face with Patrick. Her heart started beating wildly at the sight of
him with his disheveled hair and his beautiful blue eyes.

“Patrick!” she cried and flung her arms
around him.

He enfolded her into his arms and pressed his
face against the top of her head. He kissed her forehead and her
face, and then he pulled back a little bit so he could look into
her eyes.

“When I saw you out in the water, I thought
you were dead. The way that made me feel…you just can’t imagine. I
jumped into the water and pulled you out. You weren’t breathing. I
felt like someone had punched me in the stomach. I turned you over
and tried to push all the water out of your lungs. When you started
coughing, I thought my heart would burst with joy. You started
breathing regularly, but you didn’t wake up. I brought you in here
so you could warm up.”

“I thought I was going to die. I finally just
gave up because I couldn’t fight anymore. The last thing I remember
was going under one last time before everything just went away.
Then I woke up here.”

Patrick stroked her hair and her face. He
kissed her on the forehead again, then her cheek, her nose, her
chin. Then he took her face in both of his hands and slowly kissed
her on the lips. His kiss was feather light, but it felt like
paradise to her.

“Emily, I love you so much. I’m sorry I
didn’t come to you earlier. If I had, none of this would have
happened. I put you in jeopardy by being stubborn, thinking I knew
what was best for you. I’m so sorry, my love. Can you forgive
me?”

“There’s nothing to forgive. You did what you
thought was right at the time. Even if it wasn’t.”

He smiled wryly. “I have had 150 years to
perfect my arrogance. In all those years, I never had a woman
around to tell me when I was wrong.”

Emily smiled at him. “I guess we all think we
know what’s best for the people we love. The problem is that you
didn’t trust me to be able to accept what you are.”

“How did you figure it out? I knew you had
figured out that I was a spirit being when you were calling to me
tonight. If I had been a living man, you wouldn’t have just stayed
out here trying to get me to come to you.”

“You know that I saw the portrait of you. I
didn’t realize at the time that it was you. I just thought it was
an ancestor of yours and that you had inherited his looks. I did
some research and talked to a historian about the house and your
family. When he told me the name of a young man that drowned in the
very place I met you, I knew the truth. I was stunned at first, but
then I accepted it pretty quickly. I guess I have more of an open
mind than I thought I did.”

“And you can still love me, knowing what I
am?”

“Yes, I love you more than anything!”

“Sweet Emily, you have such a beautiful
heart. I don’t know how I could have ever left you. I just wanted
you to be happy, and I knew we could never be together.”

“You mean because you need to leave this
world and go on to Heaven?”

“No, it’s more complicated than that. We
can’t be together…in the way I would like to be with you.”

“You mean, we can’t….?” She blushed.

“No, we can’t. I don’t want to talk about
that right now, ok? I just want to enjoy being with you for just a
little while.”

He sat down on the blankets and she sat in
his lap and snuggled up against him. He put his arms around her and
held her close, then tilted her face up to look at him. He lowered
his face to hers and kissed her slowly, his lips a little more
insistent this time. Her lips parted to let his tongue into her
mouth and his kiss became deeper as his arms tightened around her.
She felt him grow rigid under her and she wondered why they
couldn’t be together the way she wanted to. Obviously, he was
aroused and wanted her as much as she wanted him.

Suddenly he drew back from her, his eyes dark
and stormy as he looked at her. Then he gently pushed her off his
lap and stood up.

“Patrick, did I do something wrong?”

He laughed bitterly. “No, my love, you did
everything right. That’s the problem. I want you so badly, but we
can’t. I can’t go into details about it right now. The next time I
see you, and we are both calm and rational, I will explain a lot of
things about my world to you. For right now, you probably should
get back to the house. There are going to be people worried about
you and you are going to have to explain some things.”

“I wonder what time it is.”

He smiled. “Any timepiece that I might have
had has long since stopped working. Let me walk you out.”

She put on her coat, which was also dry by
now, and they walked out of the cave together. When they reached
the outside, she saw that the storm had passed, but it was pitch
black.

“Where are we?” she asked.

“Not as far away as you think. The cave is
well hidden, and you can’t see it unless you look for it. See,
there is the place where we always meet. Now you can see the light
of the house. Let me walk you as far as the garden.”

They walked up to the house. All the lights
were on inside. She wondered how late it really was.

“I have to leave you now. Emily, will you
meet me tomorrow? Sometime after dinner?”

“Yes, of course I will. But I expect a lot of
answers then. Promise?”

“I promise.”

He took her in his arms and kissed her long
and deeply. He looked at her and smiled. Then he turned around and
started walking back down the path. And for the first time, she saw
him slowly fade, then disappear from sight.

Chapter Twenty One

When Emily walked into the house, every
member of the household was pacing, all of them with worried
expressions on their faces. When they saw Emily, they all rushed to
her at once.

“Emily, where have you been?” cried Rebecca.
“We were so worried! We knew you didn’t take the car and no one
heard you leave. What happened to you?”

Emily decided to tell a slightly skewed
version of the truth.

“I decided to take a walk like I often do
down by the shore….”

Sam exclaimed. “But a storm was coming and it
was freezing out there! Whatever possessed you to do such a
thing?”

“I just like to go down there! Anyway, I fell
into the water and this man came along and rescued me. I must have
passed out because when I woke up, he had brought me home with him
and dried my clothes. I must have been out for awhile. As soon as I
woke up, I came back here.”

“What was this man’s name?” demanded Sam.

“Um, I was so disoriented that I didn’t think
to ask.”

Jamie looked skeptical. “So how did you get
home?”

“He, uh, drove me home.”

“I didn’t hear a care drive up,” Jamie said.
“Where does this man live?”

“Look,” said Emily, “I am tired, sleepy and
stressed out. I want to go to bed. I’m tired of getting the third
degree. I want everyone to just leave me alone and let me get some
sleep. What time is it anyway?”

Rebecca looked at her watch. “It’s 12:30 am.
You’ve been gone for hours.”

“I’m sorry I worried everybody. But I’m
alright. So
please
let me just go get some sleep.”

Sam reached out and grabbed her and hugged
her tightly. “Just don’t scare us like that again, ok? We are all
getting very fond of you and we don’t want anything to happen to
you. Now, we are going to let you go upstairs and we won’t
interrogate you anymore.”

“Thank you!” she said.

Emily walked slowly up the stairs, weary but
full of happiness because she had found the love of her life
again.

* * * * *

Emily was awakened at 3:00 by a light tapping
at her window. That was odd. She was sleeping on the second floor.
A little apprehensively, she slipped out of bed and went over to
the window. With trembling fingers, she slowly drew the curtains
back. There, on the window sill was a raven. In his beak was a
folded piece of cloth, tied with a black ribbon. This was the
oddest thing she had ever seen. It was like the raven was expecting
her to open the window and take his offering.