PRECIOUS
Chapter 1
The man adjusted
the rearview mirror of his jeroké and let out a sigh of
contentment. The sun was setting on the yellow hills, sending shards
of pink and purple light across the horizon. The wild oats he drove
by swayed gently in the evening breeze, lapping the highway edges
like a sleepy kitten making itself ready to settle for the night.
A
half smile graced his lips as he reveled in the soft hum of car as he
traveled down the road, solitary, completely alone; the long stretch
of straight and narrow before him.
Life was an adventure, and
today he had started living his own. Today, he had been driving, just
driving to an unknown destination.
"No," he whispered to
himself, he knew where he was going and he wasn't far away.
Another
sigh escaped his lips and this time he yawned. It had been a long,
exhausting day, but he didn't want it to end.
It wasn't long
before the scenery started to change. Rolling hills of golden wheat
and ruby red barley soon turned to jagged granite cliff faces as the
straight road that once was, began to curve around hills and
mountains.
A soft mist started to fall as the sky turned shades of
pale blue and the first stars, sparkling like jewels in the sky,
appeared answering the call of the moon that loomed on the distant
horizon.
He was close. He could feel it.
In complete
resignation, he wound down his window, letting the salty air enter
into his breathing space, allowing it to consume him. He pulled over,
a sense of completeness as the parking bay welcomed him with a vision
of perfect serenity.
The lady in the moon hovered over the salty
ocean that lay at the feet of the cliff that he stood upon and above
the last of the gulls called, seeking their mates who had hid
themselves away in the rocky shelves below.
Fresh, salty and
completely intoxicating air seeped through him and he closed his
eyes, content to stay with his back pressed against his car and his
face to the ocean for the remaining of his lifetime.
"Sayid?" the call came from a sleepy passenger who had resigned in the backseat of the vehicle.
He grinned, and opened his arms to his wife, "Hey beautiful. How was your sleep?"
Shannon grinned, pulling the sleeves of her jumper over her cold hands, "We made it."
"Yeah," Sayid whispered, pulling her in for a hug and wrapping her in the wings of his jacket.
He kissed her forehead and for a moment, they both stared over the ocean, enjoying the peace it provided.
Only after they'd had a few moments alone, another voice called out to Him.
"Daddy?"
"We're here Hunter," he replied.
The young boy crawled out of the backseat, rubbing his sleepy eyes and stumbled towards his parents and falling into their embrace, joining the pair as they huddled together.
"I love you daddy, I love you Mummy," he whispered into their jeans.
Shannon looked up into the chocolate brown eyes of the man she loved and rested her long fingers in the golden blonde hair of the boy they called their son, "And we love you Hunter, more than you know Precious."
"Come on," Sayid chuckled, taking one last look at the now dark horizon, "Let's keep driving."
Together, they made their way back into the car and settled in for the adventure.