“What did you do?” I asked.
“I healed them both.”
“Why?”
She turned to me and looked me up and down. “Because you gave me hope.”
We both looked toward the bed.
“They’ll be just fine in a few days.”
She started to make her way to the door.
“Geiruna?” I called and she turned slightly.
“Thank you.”
She nodded and left the room.
Mom and Tammer were in a deep sleep. Their color had returned and they looked at peace. Sleep was probably the best thing for them, so I left the room, shutting the door behind me.
“Where’d she go?” I asked the others and they pointed out the door.
Thayde followed me outside to the gazebo steps. Geiruna was standing on the top step, smiling out to sea.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” She asked.
The silver moon reflected off the black water. Not a cloud littered the sky and the stars twinkled in all their glory, making the heavens look like a jeweler’s paradise.
“I love nights like these,” she continued. “Makes you happy to have lived.”
She stepped down into the water and bubbles began to rise.
“Geiruna?” I called, starting toward her. Thayde grabbed my hand and pulled me back into his embrace.
“Don’t,” he warned gently.
“Will I ever see you again?” I asked.
As she walked down into the water, millions of tiny bubbles surrounded her. She shook her head.
“Maybe in another lifetime,” she said and as the bubbles covered her, she disappeared.
“What’s happening?” I asked, watching the ocean water bubble and froth.
Thayde simply held on to me, his strong arms gripping me tightly. When the bubbles subsided, she was gone. I knew she had passed.
“She’s gone, isn’t she?” I asked.
“Yes.”
I felt sad. Sad, but privileged to have been there when she died.
“Is that what happens to us when we die?” I asked.
“To the good ones,” he said. “When the bad ones pass, it’s not as pretty.”
“Poor Geiruna,” I said and Thayde turned me around in his arms.
“She could have gone a lot worse. I think you helped save her.”
I sighed and rested in his arms. “What happens now?”
“I don’t know,” he said truthfully. “But we’ll be together and that’s all that matters.”
I turned in his arms and wrapped my arms about his waist. He smiled that beautiful smile at me and I felt the love I had for Thayde grow in me. It felt as if my energy was radiating out of me.
“You’re glowing, you know,” he said, the gold orb shining around his body.
“I love you,” I said.
“I know,” he interrupted, “I love you more.”
I didn’t get to finish what I was saying. His mouth was on mine before he could finish speaking.
Does a love like this happen all the time? Is it more commonplace than we think? I doubt it. Being with Thayde was being alive. I needed him and he needed me. That need and love would forever bond us to each other. I knew that my life was just beginning and I welcomed it with open arms.