The Light of the Blue Pearl Page 3

  A little disheartened, she placed her bag back up in the overhead compartment and sat down with her book and iPod in her lap. She was just about to pop the headphones in and try to forget the long wait she had to endure when the flight attendant showed up with some food.

  Once she had devoured her dinner Ethne was feeling a bit groggy and figured sleeping was really the only option. She put the headphones in and did her best to get comfortable. It wasn’t long before she was having an extremely vivid dream, completely unaware that she was 30,000 feet in the air.

  ***

  The sand felt cool beneath her feet even though the hot sun was beating down on her. She raised her hand to shield her eyes and saw someone waving to her from a distance farther down the beach. She could see him smiling at her even though she couldn’t make out who it was. She waved back and started walking towards him. At first it felt like her feet weren’t even moving, instead like she was gliding across the sand towards him. After a few minutes she realized she must have been walking for hours but hadn’t gotten anywhere; they were exactly the same distance apart, still unable to make out any features.

  She started looking around her in a panic trying to see what could be keeping her from making any progress towards him. She looked down at her feet and saw that she was no longer standing in the sand. Looking up she realized she was back in her hotel room, completely alone.

  ***

  When the plane touched down Ethne was jolted awake from her dream and once again remembered where she was. She was kind of glad she had been asleep for the descent; landing was never her favorite thing, but for some reason the dream had left her a bit unsettled. It took forever for it to be her turn to get off the plane, and her legs were more than happy to finally be walking freely again.

  Once out into the airport she went in search of more food, her stomach once again reminding her of its neglect. She found a restaurant not far from the terminal and found a table. After ordering a turkey sandwich, which was so much more up her alley than the airplane dinner had been, she started looking through a brochure of Belize that the flight attendant had handed her when she was leaving the plane.

  The pictures were gorgeous, but that wasn’t unexpected. The place was after all a huge tourist attraction; she knew at least that much even if it hadn’t been on her bucket list. When she flipped to the last page of the brochure there was a note stuck to it.

  It read: “Congratulations on making it this far. Go to the Hudson News by Gate D29, the man there has something for you.”

  She had kind of forgotten about the notes with all of the excitement of the plane ride. But now it was back in the forefront of her mind what she was doing, following strange commands from written words on a page. In a way though it was nice to have something to do with the five hour wait she had in front of her.

  After finishing her sandwich and paying the waiter, she picked up her things and started making her way to Hudson News. It wasn’t too far from where she had stopped for a bite to eat, which was good since the airport was massive and probably easy to get lost in.

  There was nobody at the counter when she walked up, so she waited scanning the various magazines and newspapers. After a few minutes a man walked in and stepped behind the counter and smiled.

  “Can I help you find something?” he asked.

  “Umm…yeah, I was told you have something for me?” she said.

  “Are you Ethne?” he inquired.

  “Yeah,” she responded quietly.

  “Well, here you go then.” He pulled an envelope from underneath the counter and handed it to her.

  “Can I help you with anything else?” he asked.

  “No, not right now, thanks,” she said, taking the envelope and scanning the front of it which was blank.

  He responded with a smile and said: “Okay, well let me know if you change your mind.”

  “I will, thanks,” she said, barely even looking up.

  As she walked away she was already opening the envelope to see what was inside. This felt a bit like Christmas and honestly she couldn’t remember the last time she was excited about something like that.

  She found a bench to sit on in a fairly calm part of the airport and started pulling out the contents. There was a small note, a hotel key, some money and another airplane ticket.

  “Oh great,” she thought.

  She had really hoped there wouldn’t be any more flights after the next one. But here it was, right in her hands, another plane ride. She almost felt like throwing up, she seriously wasn’t sure how she was still holding it together. She was so tired, so uneasy about her decision, and now even more so.

  She put the hotel key and money safely into her bag and started reading the note.

  “Once you’ve landed in Belize, you’ll be flying on Tropic Air to get to San Pedro, it’s a very short flight…hang in there. Once you land, there will be a man waiting for you who will take you to your hotel. Go straight there.”

  So particular. It was clear that there was to be no sightseeing upon arrival and that she was to specifically follow the instructions to the letter. And for whatever reason she didn’t feel like she should deviate from the instructions in any way. After all, the instructions were why she was there; if she didn’t follow them who knows where she would end up.

  Well, at least now she knew that when she landed she had a plan; that was comforting in a way. She put the note in her bag and decided to find a quiet place to rest and wait for her next flight. It was late, nearly 3 a.m. and even with the excitement, she was exhausted.

  She thought it wise to find a place close to her gate so she would hopefully not sleep through the departure. Laying her bag down and trying to find a comfortable position to sit in, she leaned up against the wall and closed her eyes.

  A couple of hours later, after having not slept at all, people started to line up at the gate. She found her place in line and got ready to make the next flight; not feeling any more confident than the last time.

  This time though she at least managed to get on the plane without making a spectacle and found her seat, thankful that this flight was a lot shorter than the last. She wasn’t as lucky to be seated alone this time and found herself sitting down next to an attractive young man sitting by the window.

  It was then she realized how lucky she had been to have had the window seat the last time; sitting in the aisle she decided was not where she wanted to be. She started to feel her heart pound and her palms sweat. “Crap,” she thought.

  “Are you alright?” he asked, looking intently into her brown eyes. His own, an intriguing shade of blue and grey caught her off guard.

  “Yeah….I guess,” she answered meekly. “I don’t really like to fly.”

  “Oh,” he answered with concern on his face. “Would you prefer the window seat? I don’t mind changing with you.”

  “Really?” she asked. “You wouldn’t mind?”

  “Nope, not at all,” he said, standing up and preparing to help her into his seat.

  “Thank you, that’s very nice of you,” she said.

  “Don’t mention it,” he said, smiling and sitting back down.

  She immediately started feeling better at being able to see outside, rather than staring down the middle of the plane – a tube in her opinion that nobody should be in in the first place. She wasn’t sure if this was simply because of her last experience, or if she would have had this claustrophobia anyway; either way, she was thankful to be sitting where she was.

  “Feeling better?" he asked.

  “A little,” she answered. “Thank you.”

  “I’m Ian by the way,” he said, putting his hand out.

  “Ethne,” she said back, shaking his hand tentatively.

  “Ethne? Really? That’s pretty, don’t think I’ve heard that name before.”

  She smiled back and shrugged, not really sure what to say. Conversations with other people didn’t happen for her that often. This plus the nervousness about be
ing on the plane was a little overwhelming, although there was something about him that made her feel at ease.

  Before long the plane was taxiing to the runway and taking off for Belize. Ethne was doing her best to not act like a complete fool next to this person she had just met, but still she was hanging on pretty tightly to her armrest which she was sure he noticed. He looked down at her hand once and just gave her a reassuring wink.

  Once they were in the air she relaxed a bit and put her hands back in her lap.

  “So without sounding too cliché,” he said, turning to face her. “Are you heading to Belize for business or pleasure?”

  This was not a question she was expecting to have to answer. She was pretty good at dodging people back home, it had actually become quite an art form, but he had caught her off guard.

  “Umm...I suppose pleasure?” she answered as more of a question really.

  He responded with a light laugh that made her smile. “You don’t sound too sure.”

  “Well, I’m sure I’ll figure it out when I get there,” she said with a small grin. “How about you?” she asked.

  “Oh, I’m going down to meet some friends, do some sight seeing, maybe some scuba diving. I hear the scuba diving is amazing down there. Have you ever been?”

  “Scuba diving? Or to Belize?” she asked.

  “Either, I guess,” he said.

  “Well, neither then,” she said, looking down at her hands.

  “Are you meeting anyone down there?” he asked, with a hopeful sound in his voice.

  “I don’t think so,” she said.

  He looked at her with a puzzled look on his face. “You don’t know?” he asked.

  She must sound like a complete idiot to him by now and she could feel her cheeks starting to color. She decided now was the time to start making things up.

  “A friend of mine bought me a ticket to San Pedro, said it was amazing. I don’t really know what to expect yet.”

  “Oh! I’m going to San Pedro too!” he said, grinning. “That is so cool; well you’ll love it there. I’ve only been once before but it was amazing.”

  Satisfied that she no longer seemed like a complete freak who had no idea what she was doing, she smiled at him.

  “Are your friends on this flight?” she asked.

  “No, they are already down there, been there a week. I was stuck at work,” he answered.

  “Oh, that’s too bad, what do you do?” she asked, a little unsure of how she was making such casual conversation with a stranger.

  “Oh, I don’t want to tell you, you’ll think it frighteningly dull,” he said.

  “No I won’t, really,” she said, finding herself surprised that someone even cared what she thought.

  “Well, right now I’m working part time for my Dad’s law firm, just doing administration stuff while I finish college,” he said.

  “Oh, well that’s not dull,” she said. “Are you studying law then?”

  “No! Of course not, I have no intention of being a stuffy lawyer, all that paperwork would drive me insane,” he said, realizing at that moment he had no idea what she did and hoping he hadn’t offended her. “You’re not a lawyer are you?” he asked sheepishly.

  She laughed. “No, I’m not. I work at a hospital. Doing mostly administration stuff, you know, dealing with paperwork,” she said, smiling at him playfully.

  “Well I have nothing against paperwork per se, I’d just rather deal with people, I guess, than paper,” he said, looking down at his lap.

  “Yeah, I can understand that. My job wasn’t my first choice, but it is convenient for me and I like it well enough,” she said, biting her lip feeling a little uncomfortable with so much focus on her. She was ready to change the subject. “So what are you going to school for?”

  “I’m not sure yet, I’m having a hard time deciding,” he said.

  She wasn’t sure if this was a dodge to her question as well, but given her own ambiguous nature she decided not to pursue it any farther. As if sensing her need for an interruption the flight attendant walked by and asked if they wanted anything to drink.

  They both gladly accepted.

  CHAPTER 5

  The flight had gone by pretty quickly with the friendly and unexpected conversation, and before she knew it they were landing in Belize. It was a little after 10:00 a.m., and given that she hadn’t slept much in the last 24 hours she was feeling a bit tired.

  But it was a brand new day, no time to sleep; she had absolutely no idea what to expect now that she was actually there.

  As they were departing the plane Ian asked how she would be getting to San Pedro.

  “What do you mean how am I getting there?” she asked, feeling suddenly panicked.

  “Well you can fly or take a water taxi, which are you doing?” he asked.

  “Wait. There’s a boat?!” she said, feeling rather irritated that there had been another option besides air travel, and that she had been given yet another plane ride.

  “I’m flying,” she answered, making it pretty obvious she wasn’t pleased about it.

  “I am too,” he grinned. “Care if I tag along with you?” he asked.

  “Sure,” she smiled, surprisingly relieved at the unexpected company.

  “Do you know where you’re staying in San Pedro?”

  Yet another question she hadn’t expected to have to answer, so she simply said, “I do, but I can’t remember the name.”

  Unsure as to whether or not that was a brush off, he said a little disappointedly, “Oh, okay then.”

  They walked in silence to the next gate and made small talk until it was time to board the plane. They weren’t seated together, but the plane was fairly empty and the flight attendant said she didn’t mind if they sat by each other.

  Not terribly looking forward to yet another flight, Ethne’s nerves started to get the best of her again. Ian could tell right away and did his best to distract her with conversation.

  “So what are you going to do when you get there?” he asked.

  “I don’t know yet, honestly I’m so tired I kinda want to sleep,” she replied.

  “Oh, bad idea,” he said. “I’m assuming by the looks of it you don’t travel much?”

  “No, not at all actually,” she answered.

  “Well, either way I’m sure you’ve heard of jet lag. Sleeping after such a long trip is what you may feel like doing, but it is definitely not what you want to do,” he said.

  “Oh,” she said, a little crestfallen.

  “But if you like I can help keep you company until later this evening?” he asked, with another hopeful look in his eyes. “I’m not meeting my friends until later.”

  She really wasn’t used to this kind of attention. She wasn’t sure what to say, and besides that, the note had been very specific. But how was she going to turn down such a kind offer? She wasn’t accustomed to letting someone down, at all, let alone nicely.

  “I’d love that, really, but honestly I’m not really sure where I’m headed. My friend basically told me to fly here and that there would be a cab waiting for me. I’d hate to take you out of your way if my hotel happens to be a long distance from where you are staying,” she added with as much reassurance as she could that she wasn’t just trying to get rid of him. She had actually been enjoying his company quite a bit.

  “Oh I see,” he said, trying his best to understand this mysterious woman’s answer. “Well, that’s okay.”

  Their conversation had taken up the entire plane ride; a short 15 or so minutes. She was thankful it was over and appreciative that Ian had distracted her once again.

  As they got off the plane she could tell that he had really hoped to continue talking to her. She actually had hoped the same, but her next plans weren’t really up to her.

  “Well, here, let me at least give you my number where I’m staying,” he said, scribbling his number on a part of his brochure. He tore it off and handed it to her. “If you find yourself wanting s
ome company or you would like to join my friends and me anytime you’re welcome to,” he said, smiling.

  “Thank you, that’s awfully kind,” she said, smiling back.

  “Well it was nice to meet you; maybe I’ll see you around.” He smiled and waved goodbye to her and turned to make his way outside.

  “Yeah, you too,” she smiled back as she watched him go. She had felt rather comforted having him close by during the flights; she was a bit sad to see him go even though they had just met and she didn’t really know him.

  Alone again, Ethne unzipped her bag and put his phone number safely inside, hoping that maybe later she could actually take him up on his offer.

  It was a strange feeling meeting someone new and not instinctually keeping her distance, but everything about the last day or so had been strange and new. When she glanced back up she noticed a man holding a sign with her name on it.

  She walked over to him and told him she was Ethne, he smiled at her and handed her another envelope. It was small and plain and had only a short message inside.

  “This was your first test. You passed.”

  “Test?” she thought. “I was being tested?” She wasn’t sure why, but that made her kind of angry. Maybe it was just because she was extremely exhausted and really hungry, but this little “game” apparently, was getting a little old. She had just travelled for twelve hours on two planes to a foreign country; she was ready to find out why.

  She put the note back in the envelope and followed the man out to a cab that was parked outside. It was nice not having to go to baggage claim since she only had the one bag, but she was actually a little disappointed at the thought that she might not see Ian again.

  “Oh well,” she thought to herself.

  The man took her bag and opened the door for her; she climbed inside having absolutely no idea where he was taking her. The room key had been unmarked, perhaps on purpose, who knows. Either way, she didn’t know what hotel she was going to, or even if she was going to a hotel. She started to feel a little uneasy.

  As he pulled away from the curb all she could do was hold her breath and stare out the window, hoping she had made the right decision to come here.