(Authors note: It may help to reread the first chapter)

Chap 3 Dreams

He was lost; she thought to herself, as the memory again swam to the front of her mind, even as she tried to reach for it, it slipped away. She came back to the present and found him staring back at her. His eyes were locked with hers, reaching for her to save him. She gazed in to the fathomless depth of them, trying to find him. A faint breath of a song came into her thoughts, as it grew stronger fear gripped her heart with its cold fingers. Her dinner disappeared from in front of her. The silent men, the extravagant room, ceased to exist.

She remembered….. She was back, in the heart of the storm, with the feeling of the warm body she held close to her chest. The man's beautiful face was so peaceful in the chaos around them. She swam hard all night to save him, 'you will be fine, you will be safe', she whispered over and over. When they had finally reached her destination, an isolated cove, he was almost dead. Holding him in her arms she sang to him. The song she sang was powerful, and she knew it would heal him, although the tune would ultimately rule his life. She had chosen to break the one rule that was sacred: never touch a human. Even her movement was a hypnotizing melody to any human who happened to see her. Her song and touch would surely drive him insane. Making her choice; she sang on, hoping she was not too late. When his breath finally came to his lips, she was weary, and weak. She laid him down. Jumping back into the refreshing water, she waited nearby until one of the nuns came out of the convent in the cove, and found the beautiful man.

The room came back into focus. The men were still eating. Along with her memories of the storm, came the reason she was here: Love. She loved him so much; she knew she would have to save Raphael from the obsession she had started, or he would never love her. She gazed at him with longing, wondering how she would know how long she had with him. She knew she had only so much love to give. A voice echoed in her mind. "You will know you have given all your love, when the desire to speak the words "I love you" can be held back no more."

The supper that had once smelled delicious, now had lost all appeal to her. Knowing now what had to be done, she knew her dreams would unlock the past, all of their pasts. She knew her own past was a nightmare to live through once, twice would be unbearable; this was a pain she must face if she were to unlock the hidden secrets of the two men before her. She had to go back to their beginnings, although she didn't know it yet, but in Raphael's case, before. Placing her fork gently down by her plate, she stood and walked the long way back to her room. Her mind dwelling on what the night might entail.

Time passed unchecked as she lay on her bed. She neither feared, nor looked forward to her night. As the minutes ticked by she tried to calm down. The fear of her past had eased into an excitement she had never felt before. She was here! Now her challenge was to set things right. She didn't realize her eyes were getting heavy, and her breathing became slow, quietly sleep overcame her….

Bright colors came to her eyes. Quick happy music danced in her ears, making her feet want to move. Smells of delicious food surrounded and filled her. Beautiful bronze skinned people passed by talking and laughing. She was in a market place. A group of men watched some women dancing. Children ran and played in the grass nearby. Older people sat in stalls selling goods and gossiping. Life, wonderful happy life! When the group of woman stopped dancing, a man approached one, the most beautiful one. She smiled a lovely smile in recognition. He had blonde hair and a sunburnt face. He took her hand and led her away.

Her name was Eva. Eva was the very meaning of the word Woman. She had beautiful dark creamy skin, large black eyes, and a sultry smile. Damp with perspiration from dancing, tendrils of hair fell out of a thick knot, at the base of her neck. Eva was radiant. The man she was with, Levi, beamed at her. He wasn't exactly old or young, he seemed to be timeless. They were an odd couple, he had nothing in the way of appearance to offer, but a slightly below average face, and hunched shoulders as if trying to shorten the distance from his love. His clothes were well made, but worn. They walked the streets hand in hand with the gleam of love in their eyes.

As she dreamed of Eva and Levi, the girl felt as if Eva's face was familiar to her. The dream continued…

Levi had wooed Eva with his love of poetry, and fantastic stories. He would take her to romantic places and read Keats, and Tennyson. Being a seaman, his beautiful tales were mostly of the sea and his adventures. He told of strange and wonderful places that for Eva could only be a dream. Places that had blankets of snow in the winter, lands of rains and mountains. Animals he had encountered that were as big as houses. These tales caused her to return for more again and again, until he had won her heart. Soon she saw him, not as a plain man, but as a man that was as exciting as his stories.

Levi had taught her to read and write. For this Eva's love was undying. But for Eva a shadow was cast. Eva had always been poor, and had found the only employment she could. As a young beautiful girl options were limited, she soon found herself taking money from a man as payment for use of her body, and company. She had grown to like him, he was not unkind and she knew he loved her dearly. She felt resigned to pain him, but she was helpless to the pull Levi had over her. With a great deal of effort, she felt compelled to withhold the truth of her past from Levi. If he found out she felt sure she would lose him.

Levi had left home at a young age, his parents had not thought him proper for acting on his desire to explore the sea, and had wept at his departure. Levi never saw them again. A letter had caught up to him in France, informing him of his parent's sudden death from an outbreak of yellow fever. Most of their tenants also had been taken ill. Being young he fled this misery with distance. Years had passed, and he never had returned. As he grew more mature he realized he had to uphold his responsibilities. On his trip home he had met Eva. Eva had become everything to him. She was the reason the sun rose each morning. Without her life, would cease to exist. He stayed to woo her.

One lovely evening, as the sun set, having decided it was time to go home, Levi asked his love for her hand in marriage. She said yes and they were away. She had had no idea of his wealth. His estate on a hill overlooking the ocean was heavenly. Cypress trees stood tall in the gardens which decorated the grounds. She fell in love with this dream life.

Eva was a wonderful mistress, she was kind to all. Soon she won over the staff and tenants trust with her soft quite ways. The estate blossomed and flourished. They had six years of utter happiness and in those years a beautiful child: A boy was born. He had his mother's loveliness, and his father's love of stories and the sea. They named in Raphael, "God has healed". For they felt healed of past hurts, and complete in their love for each other.

But the cloud had fallowed them. One night while Levi and Raphael were out sailing, the man came. Not knowing what had happened to her, after her sudden departure, he set out to find her. It took him years to follow her trail. When he did find her, not a slave to an unkind man as he had imagined, but a mistress of a dream, rage filled his heart. He asked her to come with him, she declined. In a fit of passion he killed her.

When Levi and Raphael came home, Levi found his beloved wife in a pool of her own blood. Knowing he could not live without her, he had the servants take the child. He left only a note to his precious son.

Raphael was taken to a convent down the coast near a small fishing village, to be raised by the Sisters (As was specified in the letter from his father). He grew up quickly, in the shadow of his parent's death. Without his parents love to warm him, his heart grew cold and suspicious of emotion. He was polite and courteous to all, but never warm. The Sisters would laugh at this, and felt that in time he would grow out of such behavior. But he never did. After years of practice, he soon realized he didn't have to try anymore. The walls he had built around his heart were permanent.

One thing he could not deny was a desire for the sea. When he was 16 years old, he followed in the steps of his father. He ran away from the convent and found employment on a fishing vessel. He had never seen the letter from his father. He had no idea that when he turned 18 he would inherit his father's estate. Grieved and shocked the Sisters never ceased praying for his return. Raphael had only intended to be gone a few weeks, but as the weeks went by they flowed into months. Months passed quickly and soon it had been a year, and that year turned into two and then three. And soon Raphael forgot he needed to go home, he had found a friend, and Rory was exactly what he needed; fun.

The girl awoke with the thoughts of the two men fresh on her mind. This was going to take more work then she had thought. But how could she possibly warm a heart so full of ice?