Making Amends

Fantasy Island

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Scene 2

My mind feels blank as I twist my hands. I have put my past, any past, long behind me. The people I meet nowadays are simple tourists who know nothing of me except that I am Mr. Roarke's wife, the woman with the leg in a brace, and who can still dance a good two-step in spite of it. My eyes force themselves off my hands and make my mind focus on my husband's words.

An old foe wants to make peace. That could be a number of people, the main two being Jimmy and Kurt. Jimmy had survived some strange testing which was only supposed to prolong his life by a few decades, not centuries, and Kurt? He'd slithered away after the fight that had about done me in and given me a very good bum leg. Ugh, couldn't old foes be like old ghosts who have enough decency to rest in peace?

Peace...it was something I'd been enjoying for quite some time. No stupid college pranks, no watching my daughter pass away without her even knowing I was still around, no ex-girlfriend, or lover, of Roarke's to cause us headaches. I'd simply played mother to more than one orphaned child, and helped many visitors get settled in at the start of their visit. I guess peace can last only so long -which showed how much faith I had in the visitor being serious.

"Mrs. Roarke!" The sound of a girl crying turns my head. I see it is Jenny, a local girl who works for us in the evenings. Tears are rolling down her face, and her poor eyes barely can be seen through them.

"Annalyssa, what's wrong?" My heart goes out to the young lady as she gets near enough for me to pull her close.

"They said I'm ugly, that no one will ever want me." I don't have to ask who "they" are as it is - the standard bullies, I'm sure - nor do I have to ask why they claim such a stupid thing. It is the purple birthmark she bears on the side of her face.

"Remember what I told you?" I whisper.

"Everyone's worth someone, I just have to believe in myself and be patient." She grits her teeth. "But I hate them, I always will."

"Hate is an awfully strong feeling, and it destroys." I whisper. "Why not just be yourself and move on. Someday you may find you can forgive them." My words stop me in my tracks as I see Mr. Roarke standing near a newly trimmed set of bushes.

His feet do not move as he stands by the landscape, but his eyes ask what his mouth does not. Have I truly moved on? Am I able to forgive? Standing up, I urge Annalyssa to go home and not let the words hinder her own growth. Once she is gone I find myself in front of my husband.

"I'm still not eager to go," I whisper finding myself shaking in a way I haven't done in years...decades...no, centuries.

"Cassandra." Roarke's arms encircle me and hold me close. "I give you my word, he's not lying." His use of my full name is an implication of just how seriously he wants me to take him.

"Who is he?" I ask with my cheek against my his chest and my fist balled up next to my mouth as I keep my other hand close to his jacket. I do not have to speak the age-old fear trying to grip me - one that would rip Roarke from me forever.

"I think it's best if you find out in my office." His words are spoken low as a few old natives walk by; ones who actually know our history. That can only mean I am right. It is either Jimmy, or worse, Kurt. Roarke seems to read my thoughts and asks...no, pleads...with me to go with him to where the man is waiting.

"Okay," I whisper, "But don't let go of me" I am not sure what I feel now: fear, or outright anger, but either way I cannot seem to shake the mood.

"I won't." Roarke holds me tighter. "I promise.