Island Boy
Note: This two-part story (presented here in a single chapter) is rooted in a Celtic folktale. It can be assumed that the original was told to scare young ladies into avoiding both strangers (especially young men) and walking alone by the seashore during storms (and those dangerous 'sneaker waves'.) It is a departure in style from our other work, and we would like to know if the mood is at all haunting. We hope you like it. –Thanks.
-Part 1-
It was fall, my favorite season. I was at the beach for the weekend with my friends. Not the best time of year to be at the beach because the stormy weather was unpredictable, but so was I! It was to be the two days and just one night with no parents present.
I was nearly twenty years old, but I still lived with my over-protective parents. I had been an only child and they had always been very strict. They had never let me stay at Amelia's beach cottage, which technically belonged to her father. Phil Seyruun used it for business retreats and, occasionally, he allowed Amelia to invite a few friends over, like me this time and Lina and sometimes Sylphiel. We were all priestess trainees at the Seyruun White Shrine, except for Lina, who was our agnostic troublemaker. That's why my parents had never let me go before, because of Lina. She wasn't good with following rules, like: 'Stay away from the breakers; you don't swim well!' 'Don't talk to strangers!' And especially, 'Stay away from and never, ever talk to those good-for-nothing island boys!'
Those were my parent's rules for me, among others. But I was an exemplary priestess and a dutiful daughter, and when I was old enough to stay at the beach house without their permission, I did.
Anyway, we got to the beach house and it was comfy and all, especially because it was getting windy and nasty outside, but after the third round of gin rummy and twelfth version of 'you know who likes so-and-so?' I needed a change of pace. I'm more of an out-doorsy type of girl– not reckless, I just wanted to experience the untamed world.
"Miss Filia, where are you going?" Amelia cried out.
"Fresh air, leg stretch...you know...I want to see the water, too."
"Bring me back an agate. The waves bring them up after storms," Lina noted.
"But it's going to rain!" Sylphiel warned me. "Take a coat!"
"I'll just run down to the cove, smell the rotting seaweed, and come back before it rains," I assured them all then left, without the coat.
I climbed the narrow path from the roadway down to the hidden inlet. I loved the way the wind blew my hair every which-way. It tossed my blond curls into my face, and then ripped them off to flap like wings behind me. I wished that I could sprout wings and fly! The normally calm sea had been whipped up into frothy waves. I ran to meet them and skimmed off big arm loads of the dirty foam to throw at the seabirds whirling overhead. "If I had wings, then I could chase you!"
"Hey!" I yelled as a dark shape appeared out of nowhere and bowled me over onto the damp sand.
"Woof! Wahooooo!" howled the biggest gray dog I had ever had in my face.
"Get off me!" I punched at its nose, but it didn't budge. I was pinned on my back with a hundred and thirty pound animal on my belly.
"Hey, Zelas, come here! Get off that girl, right now! I'm sorry!"
I assumed it was the dog's master who was calling his dog, Zelas, off me. The voice sounded closer a moment later.
"Bad, girl. Hey, I'm so sorry. She doesn't usually take off like that and she never...oh...it seems she likes you."
So it seemed. I pushed the long nose away before Zelas could lap the salt off my cheeks again, "Yuck! Doggy spit!"
"I'm really sorry," he said again.
This time I looked at him. He wasn't at all what I had expected. I don't know what kind of guy I thought would go with that soft tenor voice, but it wasn't one so... with so disarming a smile. He pushed a long silky strand of glossy purple hair behind one ear only to have the wind blow it back into his eyes, which were closed. He was lightly dressed, for the weather, in a long-sleeved, gold t-shirt and black cargo pants.
"Eh, it's all right," I muttered as he offered me a hand up.
Okay, now I figured he could go and take his big mutt with him.
"Ahwoooooooo," the dog howled and charged off to the other end of the cove.
"It seems as though your dog's found something more exciting already," I said. I brushed the sand off as best I could. I wasn't worried; I knew that when it dried it would fall off naturally.
"Wolf. Zelas is a wolf, not a dog really."
"A wolf! Isn't that illegal? It can't be safe," I said without thinking. I liked this guy already, which was funny because I didn't like guys much. Oh, I had a couple of guy friends I liked to pal around with, but I guess I was unsure of myself around boys. Also, I was very dedicated to my Golden clan and too violent tempered and too opinionated to attract anything but weirdoes. So I didn't like them back.
"Well, if she's killed anyone, she hasn't left any evidence yet!" he giggled and grabbed my hand. "Let's go see what she's found, okay?"
And that was how I came to be romping on the beach with a strange boy and his wolf in a downpour. That made it two out of the three 'don't do's' I had achieved in my first few minutes at the beach.
"I'm g-getting c-cold," I said through gritted teeth. Getting sick must have been on the 'don't do' list too, and looking at another dead bird, which Zelas had found washed ashore, was growing old.
"There's a coffee shop on the other side of the road. Let's head that way," he said. He wrapped an arm around my shoulder, drawing me close to his lithe, but warm body and stepped quickly along. I had no choice but to wrap my arm around his waist and trot in time. I could feel his muscles move under his shirt, which was strange because he looked pretty thin and geeky. This guy worked out or swam a lot.
"How did I get myself into this predicament?" I wondered to myself. One minute I was on the beach laughing at the birds, the next I was dripping into a growing puddle in a nearly empty restaurant while a boy, whose name I didn't even know, was arranging something with the proprietor. I started to edge toward the exit, when I swear I saw that wolf, Zelas, staring at me from outside, hunger in her eyes. Maybe I would stay and see what the guy had worked out for us.
"Ah, go on right up the stairs," he said, coming back to my side.
"I'm soaking wet. I leave a trail. I can't go up there."
"It's okay. There are towels, hot shower, robes...fireplace. They'll make us dinner," he smiled.
At the word 'dinner' I was sold. I had skipped breakfast (breaking another of my parents rules) and couldn't remember eating lunch; a yogurt, maybe. "Well, okay...that sounds nice," I found myself saying. I was famished, but even then, it was out of character for me to become so familiar with another person so fast.
We took turns in the shower; me first, so I was fast. He waited patiently.
"Here's a robe," he said with a smile. As he passed by me on his way into the bathroom, he handed me the folded cloth, then proceeded to strip. In clear view of me!
I scurried out and closed the door. "Man..." The guy was overly comfortable with our close-in quarters.
I rubbed at my hair in front of the fire. Yeah, the 'guy' got a fire started in the fireplace while waiting for me to shower. I couldn't believe this was happening to me. I had to find out his name at least. I mean, sitting around in some room, in front of a romantic, roaring fire, wearing bathrobes with...just some 'guy' was the most... incredible thing I think I'd done, up to that point in my life.
"Xelloss, my name is Xelloss." He offered this information without my asking. He stood beside me, his calf grazing my knee, and combed his absolutely straight hair. I liked the way the firelight shown on it.
"What? Oh, Zelas...that's your dog."
He thought what I had said was hilarious and broke into giggles. "Hee, hee, hee...Wolf, Zelas is a wolf. Hee, hee, hee...And... That's Zzzel-aaas, for the wolf. My name is Xel-loss."
It was an annoying laugh. He must have noticed how flustered I was, so he stopped laughing at me and cleared his throat to ask, "What's yours?" He knelt to my left and smiled as he held his hands palm-out to the fire. "Your name...?"
"My name...Filia Ul Copt." I was very aware of our state of undress with him so near, and I wished I had dry pants to wear.
"Filia. That's a pretty name. It suits you."
"It does, I guess," I agreed, but then I felt a blush creep up my neck to the roots of my hair. It meant 'sprightly, nervous, like a young female horse' in the old language. He was flirting and I liked the attention even though it also unnerved me.
Before I could hem-and-haw something embarrassing, he had moved on, asking, "Ready for dinner? I am!" He waited for me to nod stupidly, and then he hopped up and rushed to the door.
"Hey! Um, Xelloss, you're not going to run around downstairs in only a robe, are you?" I asked. "And, I...ah, I need to call my friends. Let them know I'm okay. Is there a phone someplace that I can use?"
"Oh?" He looked confused a moment, and then smiled, "Let's get you something to put on, then you can come down with me and use the phone by the kitchen."
"That would be great," I said obviously relieved that he felt the same way or at least sensed my discomfort.
I watched him rifle through a dresser drawer of clothes. "Xelloss? This isn't a hotel room, is it? No phone, TV, little paper-wrapped soaps..."
He closed the drawer and turned around, giving me another quizzical look, "Paper-wrapped...soaps?"
I hadn't wanted to insult him or anything, so I tried to make it sound like a joke with a nervous laugh, "Yeah, you know, personal soaps for each room...heh, heh...?"
He smiled and shook his head, "None of those. This," he gestured widely, "is my place, when I'm in town.
"When you are in town...? So, you aren't a local either. You must be one of those island boys I've heard so much about!" I chuckled anxiously.
"Island boy?" he laughed, this time it was a nice sound and not so irritating. "Well, I suppose you could call me that. I live on an island most of the year. So... What do you know about island boys?" His voice lowered to a seductive purr, and he moved so close I could feel the damp warmth of his hair by my cheek. "Who's been telling you about... island boys, hmmm?"
My cheeks burned, "O-only these stupid stories all the parents tell us girls. You know, stuff like, 'avoid those party boys with their magical ways and loose morals!'" I regretted saying anything so stupid as that the instant the words had passed my lips.
He found that very amusing and giggled openly at me, "I see! Ha, ha, hee... Well, I was looking for clothes. Here, you are... You are very slender; I hope these fit well enough."
I probably appeared peeved at his teasing. I grabbed the stack of clothes and waited for him to move. But he just stood there, watching me. "Well? Turn around," I demanded.
"Why would I want to do that?" he asked with a look of amusement teasing the corners of his mouth.
I dropped the clothes and stood there with my hands on my hips, the clothes now piled at my feet. "Because, Xelloss, I'm going to put these on and I don't have anything on under this robe and that way you give me a little privacy!" I told him, adding an exasperated sniff and a toe-tap. He hadn't struck me as dense before and I hoped he wasn't going to disappoint me and turn out to be a moron, like another good-looking guy I knew, or an annoying jerk, like the rest of the guys I knew.
"I imagine you're beautiful. I'd like to look at you."
Well, he was an honest one; I had to give him that. Still, his words irritated me. The nerve of him to say that to me! "Grrr...I'll just bet you would! I'll change in the bathroom. Island boys!"
When I got out, he was leaning against the door, a composed smile on his face, and dressed in a roomy pastel t-shirt, although mine was far more spacious, and a matching pair of pale, drawstring, linen pants, but not rolled up at the hem as mine were. He must have been half a foot taller than me. Nice. He seemed unaffected by my earlier nervousness or exasperation. "Ready?" he asked.
I nodded and followed him out the door, down the stairs, and to the kitchen. I found the phone and called Amelia, while Xelloss gathered our dinner supplies.
"Yeah, hi. I'm fine. I just got caught in the rain and soaked. I..." And that was where the explanation became difficult. "I got a room at an inn, sorta. I'm going to have dinner, and then, if the weather's improved, I'll see ya. If the storm keeps up, then I'll stay here. Number?" I looked around, but there was no phone number printed out. "No...I'm calling from a phone in the kitchen. I don't see a number. They probably don't want folks using this. Don't worry, I'll call again in an hour and let you know my plans. Amelia! Okay, if the phone lines go out I'll stay here and see you in the morning. Hold on a second."
I placed my hand over the mouthpiece, met and caught Xelloss' slitted eyes, and he edged over. "Problem?" he whispered.
"Can I stay over?" I asked lightly, hoping not to sound like a brazen slut, but feeling very much like one. "...upstairs?"
He nodded without emotion, "Of course! You can't go back out tonight."
I smiled in a way I thought was sweet, then finished my phone conversation, "Okay, Amelia. New plans. I'm staying here. I'll see you in the morning. I'll be fine. Just don't tell my parents, or anyone, okay? Thanks. Okay...bye."
"Your friends care about you."
"Yeah, they do," I agreed while craning my neck to try and get a peek at what he had packed in the heavy-looking box for us to eat. Heavy was good.
"Hungry?" Xelloss folded the top down so that the view was blocked, and smiled at me.
"Yes! Um...that smells good. What is it? I'm allergic to mushrooms and I don't like shrimp... Or is it the other way around? Doesn't matter. I don't eat either."
Xelloss laughed and danced nimbly away, deftly keeping the box out of my reach. I chased him all the way up the stairs and back to his room.
He spread it out picnic-style on a tablecloth spread upon the floor. I tore off a hunk of bread and gobbled it down while he unfolded the foil wrapper on a cutup, roast chicken. Salad, mashed potatoes and gravy, peas– it was perfect, my favorites! I didn't notice if he ate or not. He certainly didn't get in the way of my eating, which was nice for a change from my greedy friends. He did pour himself a glass of wine from a liter flask. I helped myself to the water. No reason telling him I wasn't old enough to order wine. He didn't question me about it either. I liked the way that he wasn't at all pushy, like so many other boys I knew.
"I owe you for all this," I said. "I didn't bring my money. I was just going for a walk on the beach, you know. Tomorrow, we'll go to my friend's place and I'll be able to reimburse you."
"That's okay. It's my treat. I have to uphold the reputation of the islanders, right?" his eyes glittered in amusement, but it was good humored, I could tell.
He hadn't asked me what I wanted to eat and yet he chose exactly the right assortment. He didn't talk much, but nor did I. A more perfect meal I couldn't have designed! I relaxed and completely enjoyed myself. My thoughts wandered to my roommate. I wanted him to look at me with those dark eyes again and maybe try something. Something romantic and safe. He caught my eyes with his and smiled slowly. Could he read my mind? I worried; he suddenly felt dangerous for a moment, and then it was over and Xelloss was clearing the space again.
"It's really coming down out there," I noted as I stared into the blackness of the window at the far end of the room. My voice was sharp and taut with ill-composed nervous tension.
"It's mostly the wind you hear."
"Oh, I just thought that was hard rain. So, where's your dog...er...wolf? Shouldn't she be inside, too?"
"She's fine. She won't be...in here tonight with us," he said, his smile fading slightly. "Do you like stories?"
"Yeah, fantasies are my favorites, with dragons and knights and magic, but anything is good. You know any?" I asked. My relief at the change to a comfortable topic must have been apparent to him as well.
"Yes, I have some special ones here." He pulled a slender volume off a shelf and indicated with a sideways tilt of his head, that I should join him at the window seat. "Like this one. Mind if I read to you?"
I loved to be read to. I had always liked it when my mother cuddled up and read to me on stormy nights– a boyfriend would be even better. "That would be... cool."
At first, we sat facing one another, my legs over his, our backs to the pop-out walls and the window to one side. His toenails were perfect; sand-polished. I loved listening to his voice. He could put so much feeling into a simple line and gave each character a different voice. My eyes closed to picture what his words painted in my mind.
I noticed his body shift and his voice go quiet. Then, I felt his warm breath on my ear as his voice started up a fraction of an inch away, "I can't be doing this right if you are falling asleep."
My eyes flew open, and I squeaked, "I wasn't asleep! I listen better with my eyes shut!"
"If you move over with me, you can see the pictures." He slid and rearranged me so that I was nestled between his legs, my head on his chest and his arms were wrapped around me with the book resting on my belly. "Okay? Can you see?"
I nodded quickly since I couldn't speak. I had never snuggled with a boy before, or a man, because I was sure that Xelloss was far older than he appeared. I don't know why I thought that. I knew he couldn't help but feel my heart pounding through my t-shirt. I felt like I'd run a marathon! His body heat seeped through the thin clothes. I could hardly concentrate on the story; I felt this tingling sensation wherever we touched.
He continued where he had left off, then, story done, Xelloss closed the book. "Did you like that?"
"Enormously!" I gushed, although the story had only played a small part in my enjoyment of the moment.
We began to talk. I couldn't remember what all we discussed. All kinds of things and nothing. We laughed and laughed, and then he kissed me. I had never been kissed before. Not like that. Not by a guy who meant it, whatever 'it' was. It was fleeting. He didn't make much of the kiss. He simply leaned over and around, put a hand in my hair, drew me close and then he just did it. After that he gave me a hug and moved off to tend to the fire, leaving me to tend to my feelings gone wild.
Maybe I should have said something, or slapped him for being fresh? Fresh? He had been a life saver to me, a great host, and now he had just kissed me. I shouldn't make a big deal out of it. But it was a big deal! I must have looked shocked or funny or something, because when Xelloss turned my way he asked, "Are you okay? Is something wrong?"
"Ah...no...I mean, yes! I'm fine. Everything's cool. It's just that...ah...you know...you... ah...that."
He smiled with understanding. "I overstepped my bounds, didn't I? I can feel this ... almost a protective shield you put up when I get close. I broke past that when I kissed you. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. Your lips just...looked..." he edged right up to me again, then bent in, "Yeah, like that."
He kissed me again. Longer. He broke our contact and smiled. "That was nice. Would you like to sit on the couch?"
There was a small couch in front of the fireplace. The couch, dresser, and bed constituted the furniture in the room. There was a single shelf for books and a couple of worn, braided rugs on the floor. That was all there was. Oh, and a clam shell soap holder in the bathroom. So, it was the couch or the bed.
"Sure," I agreed. Before I faint away...
He proceeded to tell me all about myself: how the flecks in my eyes were like stars in an azure sky, and my skin as soft as a newborn puppy's. My ears, he claimed, were two perfect shells, the names of which he pronounced in Greek or Latin, but I didn't recognize the words. When he wasn't whispering my praise, he was kissing my lips. They were bruised from his gentle abuse, but I didn't care. He explored everything he could reach while still clothed.
When I caught glimpses of his eyes, it sent shivers through me. Promises and secrets abounded in those violet depths.
After that, the night passed like an exotic fantasy. We retired to the bed. He undressed me, although I didn't know when, until it was done. He lost his shirt and pants along the way. He gazed longingly over my nakedness, praising me with unabashed appreciation. I didn't understand why no one else cherished me the way he did, but no one had ever admired me that way before. Was he really seeing me or just an illusion? I, on the other hand, couldn't look at him. I was curious, but far too shy. I could hardly touch beyond his shoulders, front or back. He didn't seem to mind. He never made me do a thing.
I swear, I felt weightless. I lost control of caring, as if I had been drugged with sensory overload.
Thinking back, I was reminded of a sappy romance novel I'd read where the 'fair maiden was taken advantage of' by a beautiful demon. Instead of real male anatomical parts, the demon had these tentacle things that impregnated the girl 'unawares'. Getting back to the story with my island boy named Xelloss, it was kinda like that. Not really the tentacle part, but the unaware part. There was no pain, no hot sweaty thrusting about, just gentle loving and passionate touches, culminating in sparkling stars and fair music in the background.
It must sound impossibly unreal, but that's how it was. We made love, more than once, a hundred times, and it was the most magical experience of my life.
In the morning light, I looked at him. He was a most truly beautiful man. It was uncanny and he loved me, he had said.
"Hello," I said as his eyelids quivered momentarily, and then parted a crack.
"Hello to you too," he smiled and squinted up at me. "Sun?"
"Yeah, storm's past for now." I ran my hand through his impossibly neat hair.
"Hungry?" he asked.
"Always, but it can wait."
He rose up onto one elbow, eyes widening with understanding, and then chuckled, "Oh my..."
An hour later, freshly showered and changed back into our clothes (which had been returned cleaned, dried, and pressed from yesterday,) Xelloss closed the door to his room, our world for the past eighteen hours, and we found our way to a table for breakfast.
"I should call my friends and let them know I'm okay. I'll ask them to meet us here and bring my wallet. You can meet them," I said, and bounded off to make the phone call.
Our food arrived and we ate in silence.
"There they are," I pointed to the window. "Come on, they're nice. You might like them."
We reached the door, and then he remembered something, "Zelas..."
"Oh, your daaa...wolf! Should we go find her? She needs food too, right?"
"That's right, but I'll do that." He edged away.
"You have to...go...back to the island, don't you?" I hated to sound needy.
He nodded, "Yes I do." He touched my lips with a finger tip. "You are lovely."
"Will I see you again? How can I get a hold of you? Do you have a phone number or something?" I was sounding desperate now.
He smiled and shook his head. "You'll know where to find me, when the time comes. Better hurry. Your friends are looking a bit lost." He kissed my outstretched hand.
I turned to the open door and cried out, "Amelia! Over here!"
She didn't seem to know where to look. As I stepped out the door, I looked back into the restaurant one last time, but Xelloss was gone. I considered running back in and calling his name, but I had the feeling he was out of earshot already. Instead, I adjusted my belt and briskly exited the building.
Funny, from inside it had appeared like Lina and the others were just outside the door, but once I was on the road, they were actually much farther away than that. I waved and shouted, then broke into a run to meet them.
"Miss Filia! Where have you been?"
"You wouldn't believe it if I told you!" I laughed and attempted to give them the 'G' rated version of my experience, minus the lovemaking part.
"An ISLAND BOY!" Lina was delirious.
Sylphiel was shocked. "Oh Filia, what will your folks say?!"
Amelia mystified, "I didn't think you liked boys very much, but...how really sweet and romantic! Did you give him your number?"
"No," I admitted, but I didn't know why I hadn't. Why, that would have been the obvious thing to do! How stupid of me, I thought.
I told them little enough to get them bored with the topic and to move on to other subjects. However, I saw Xelloss on every corner, on every doorstep, and never, actually, at all.
-Part 2-
We drove back to Seyruun and life returned to normal. School started for those in high school, like Amelia, and a week later for Lina and Sylphiel at the community college. I had put off higher education, choosing to work instead. Lina's sister, Luna, got me a waitress job at the same restaurant where she was employed. I liked to eat, and the food was free, making it a perfect fit. Everything was fine, dull, boring and monotonously fine. Mercifully, Xelloss faded from my memories. He might have still entered my dreams, but my wakening world was Xelloss-free. And terribly sad and boring.
I felt continuously tired, and then I grew listless and depressed. One morning I was sick at work and I knew why. Without a doubt, I knew I was pregnant and in the next thought I knew exactly what I would do. A terrible plan grew in my mind. An ill-judged and inconsiderate course of action so unlike me, and yet I carried it out without a backward glance.
I called one of my friends, an admirer I had kept at a distance. "Gourry? Hey, wanna come over after work? Yeah, my folks left for Atlas City this morning and won't be back for a few days. I'll make dinner, all right? Great. See ya!"
Gourry was an accommodating guy. I could tell that he wasn't in love with me exactly, but he didn't turn down my invitation to dinner or to sleep with me. I didn't feel bad about seducing him and he hadn't minded it. He was just a guy, after all.
We kept seeing one another regularly after that. He was taller than I and just as blonde, so we made a handsome couple, everyone agreed. The only one who had cause to question our romance was Lina. I knew Lina kinda liked him, but she had had her chance and never made a go of it.
"You better treat Gourry like gold, Filia," she told me. "He's a solid guy and, well, I know you're not a bad person, but to me, anyway, you two generate as much heat as lukewarm oatmeal."
I couldn't get her words out of my head.
We had been going out a few weeks when I told him, "Gourry, I'm pregnant."
"Filia...I...ah..." He paused to look into my eyes reading what was in my heart. I don't know what he found, but something encouraging. "Let's get married," he said.
"Okay," I sighed in agreement.
My parents and his weren't thrilled at the news of our upcoming nuptials, but they would have been angry had they known I was pregnant. It was our secret for the time being. Lina's words were hard to forget, though. She had been right; Gourry and I were great friends but not deeply in love. I couldn't help but compare this romance with my brief affair with my island boy-- 'lukewarm oatmeal' versus 'a full chicken dinner eaten picnic-style in front of a fireplace on a stormy night at the beach.'
Xelloss... I thought back to Xelloss, who I had pushed way back into the near-buried parts of my mind. With a single recollection, I was nearly overwhelmed with the excitement I'd felt during those few hours with him. I had never been more alive than when I was with him; a surreal experience, for sure, but I hated reality more each day. So, with Lina's warning, my own guilty conscience, and the specter of Xelloss, I had second thoughts. I couldn't use Gourry unwittingly.
"Gourry, the baby...it's not yours," I told him.
"I knew that, Filia. I'm not smart, but I can count," he said seriously. "Don't matter. I wanna marry you anyway. Ya don't gotta even tell me...'bout the other guy. Just tell me it ain't nobody I know."
"Nobody knows him," I said. I looked him straight in the eye, and then asked, "Gourry, would you drive me to the beach?"
"The beach? Weather's rotten now, you sure that's where ya wanna go? Mall's closer."
"I need to...go to the beach."
"Okay, Filia. Better go now, before it gets dark."
But when we got there, I couldn't find the restaurant.
"Only place I see is a diner up ahead. Wanna eat there?" Gourry asked.
"Sure, Gourry. You order, I'm going to look upstairs."
It was similar to what I remembered, but less quaint and more modern inside. The stairway was in the same location, but at the top of the stairs, where there should have been a door, there was a corridor. I found a payphone and a pair of restrooms I know weren't there before. I looked in the other direction wondering if it hadn't just been remodeled and I was turned around. Sure enough, there was a lone door. I dashed to open it, only to find a broom closet. Where had Xelloss' room gone?
Xelloss' parting words came to mind: I would know where to find him. Well, I came to where he once lived, and he wasn't there! Now what?
The beach-- that was where we first met. He would be on the beach.
"Gourry, I'm not sure this is the place I wanted, but it doesn't matter. What I'm looking for isn't here."
"Ya mean...who you're looking for, don'tcha?" Gourry looked up from his soda.
I quickly glanced down. I couldn't ignore the raw pain in his voice, but I could avoid the accusatory look in his eyes. I hadn't meant to hurt him, but I had. "I'm crossing the road," I told him. "If I'm right, there will be a path down to a little beach. Just stay here. If I'm wrong about all this, then I'll be back in 20 minutes...and then we can go home."
"And if ya don't come back?" he asked slowly.
"Then...leave without me."
Naturally, Gourry didn't agree to my plan right off, but eventually I convinced him that I needed to see for myself if I was ready to settle down. I had to be sure.
"Twenty minutes," I said as I stepped out.
"Or so..." I barely heard him mutter.
I felt my heart pound in anticipation as I scrambled to find the path. I hadn't remembered the weeds being so tall, but they might have grown some even in fall. There it was! I cried out a joyful 'yes!' and hurried faster.
I felt invigorated again. My joints loosened and my stride lengthened as energy flowed into my sluggish limbs. Oh yes, this had to be the right way. Although the sun was low and the fog was nestled close to the rocks, I had no problem seeing. As if a veil was lifted from my eyes, I saw with heightened clarity. Details stood out in sharp contrast. There was a rock I recognized with what looked like a decorative face in mineral deposits on one side. All my senses were coming alive again. The air smelled herbal fresh. Without concentrating on the sounds around me, I could make out a distant foghorn and the scratching of animal claws on the hard-packed sand. I heard a howl and Zelas appeared to greet me with her wolfish, wet nose.
"Hi, girl. Remember me? Are you here to find me? Take me to your master, okay?"
The wolf understood with supernatural powers, and led me onto the beach. When the wolf raced away, I was mesmerized by the sight of my island boy, Xelloss, appearing like an apparition out of the accumulated mist. He was there, just as I had remembered him, gold shirt and black pants, smiling as if he'd been expecting me to walk down that path at that very moment.
"Xelloss!" I cried out and rushed to his outstretched arms.
"Filia, you came," he welcomed me with warmth and an absolutely breathtaking kiss. "Just I as had hoped."
"It's been horrible. I was dying until I came back. I went to your room, you know at the restaurant, but it wasn't there. Everything had changed! I was afraid I never find you again."
Xelloss smiled, "Oh, you weren't really afraid. You needed to come after me alone; that's all."
"How did you know I came with someone else?"
He shrugged, "When you said that the restaurant was different. If you're with others, places just are different."
I didn't understand what he was saying, but then I didn't care. I had found the man I wanted to spend my life with and never wanted to go back.
"You are going to have our child," he said as he crushed me to his chest. "I'm so glad." Before I could ask him how he knew, he went on, "My family would like to meet you. Are you ready?"
"Ready? To go to...your island? Yes. Are we going right now?" I couldn't see a boat or ferry.
"Right now!" he said with a laugh and grasped my hand firmly. He led me to the water. "We'll take the rowboat out past the breakers to my boat. Don't be afraid of the water. You can trust me. I won't let anything happen to you."
I had faith in him completely as he led me into the water. Small waves splashed and tugged at my pant legs, pulling me forward, while the sand sucked my feet in, trying to hold me to the land. But Xelloss moved effortlessly, relentlessly, out to a two-man rowboat.
Gourry waited in the restaurant for five minutes, and then decided that was long enough He found the path entrance easily, and nimbly began to climb down. At one point he glimpsed the ocean's edge and thought he saw a lone figure standing ankle-deep in the water He was about to shout outwhen a huge wolf-like animal blocked his way. Gourry flipped a long driftwood pole off the rocks with a deft kick, caught in his hands, and tested it with a powerful swing.
"Let me pass," he said.
The wolf growled deeply, then lunged and attacked him. Gourry blocked her fearsome teeth with the pole and expertly battled for the right-of-way.
"Getting in is tricky. Hold on and when your feet touch down, move to the center, okay?" Xelloss explained as he picked me out of the water and set me in the boat.
I moved as directed and he settled in beside me. "If you check over your shoulder in about a minute, you'll see our vessel anchored between the rocks."
I peeked but couldn't see it yet. The sun was about to set, flooding the sky and sea with amber and pink. I could hear the splashing of a very large animal heading our way.
"Zelas! Where were you?" Xelloss asked his wolf as he locked the oars into position.
Zelas answered with a mighty leap forward to the boat, launching herself onboard, and sending us rocking to and fro.
"Keep your wet fur away from us!" I cried out.
Xelloss watched his wolf settled into the curve of the boat, and then began to row. "I knew you'd be able to find me, when the time was right," he said to me with a smile.
"I don't why it took me as long as it did to realize what I should do. I hadn't thought about what I wanted before." I had twisted around to look where we were headed and was pleased to be able to pick out a dark ship silhouetted in the sinking sun behind me. "Oh, it that it?"
Despite his delay, Gourry was certain he could reach the water before it was too late. He flew across the sand just in time to catch sight of what he thought were clumps of golden hair floating on the waves. But as the sun set, all the water turned molten in a moment, and then the color faded leaving no indication of a woman's form.
"Filia! Fiiiil-iaaaaaa!" he called.
Gourry ran into the water, diving under the waves until his lungs nearly burst. He left the water and ran the beach, calling and searching for any clue to her disappearance.
A stranger walking above heard Gourry's desperate calls and took off to alert the local authorities.
Gourry returned to Seyruun with the sad news of Filia's disappearance and assumed death, declared to be 'accidental'.
"The police and emergency crews searched everywhere. I musta seen it wrong. They said if she'd been in the water, she woulda been caught in the undertow and drown...and her body shoulda washed ashore. But ...it didn't. Nothing. Still, she couldn'ta just disappeared!"
Filia's mother sighed, "Filia-dear loved to listen to stories. One I remember telling her was a folk tale about a demon boy who ran with the wolves of Wolfpack Island."
"Wolfpack Island? Why, that's just some mythological place said to be off the coast where we were," Gourry said.
"That's right. It's a local story to be sure."
"So, what does the story have to do with...Filia?"
"In the story, this demon island boy, would entice lonely, human girls to join with him, and then steal them away to his island, never to be seen again." The woman sighed sorrowfully and continued, "I don't know what happened. I tried to keep Filia a happy child, but our family has a long history of depression and suicide. In fact, our clan seems plagued by it in our young teens."
"So, what do ya mean? Was she lured away or did she just kill herself?" Gourry asked.
"I believe that she's a captive, alive on Wolfpack Island, even if the place only exists in our imaginations."
End, Island Boy