Chapter 2
age9
”Knight, come here.” Abuelo”s stern voice brokered no room for disobedience so I dropped the stack of papers onto the desk, racing out of his office and into the grand entranceway. Light filtered through big windows overhead, the sound of seagulls squawking in the distance as I stepped over the cream colored marble tile, my eyes taking in everyone standing there.
Both my Abuelo and Lita, my grandparents, stood inside the foyer, next to the gold and bronze Poseidon statue, along with two guards, rifles slung along their backs.
“Ven, hijo,” the deep voice of my Abuelo urged me forward again, his shrewd, penetrating eyes on me. “Say hello to Bogdan and Anna Krapivnik. They’ve just moved here from St. Petersburg, Russia.”
Standing a few feet across from my grandparents, was a matching couple. Both had boyish-thin frames and brown hair, peppered with grey. The man had large pockmark scars across his face that gave him a severe look, while the woman’s threadbare dress hung off her shoulders, revealing sharp, protruding collarbones.
Their cold, calculating eyes took me in.
I didn’t shrink under the weight of their gawking, but straightened my shoulders, meeting their stare with an unblinking one of my own. I nodded respectfully. “Nice to meet you.” I had to work to hold back the annoyance in my voice; I was impatient to finish my assignment before I could go to the beach.
They didn’t answer.
Abuelo’s bushy white eyebrows furrowed at their disrespect, but he gestured towards a young girl, standing next to them, “Now say hello to their daughter.”
”Hello.” I plastered on a smile, waiting expectantly for her to answer.
The girl’s pink shirt was too tight across her shoulders, and her pants only came down to her ankles. She had two braids, tied at the ends with red ribbons, a contrast against her black hair. The braids were girly and childish, but I had to fist my hand to keep from pulling out the ribbon to see what her hair would look like undone.
She didn’t look up, keeping her stare fixed on the floor. ”Hi.”
Her voice was softer than expected, and her tongue flicked out, nervously running it over the edges of an interesting looking freckle on her upper lip before it disappeared back into her mouth.
“What’s your name, mija?” Abuelo bent over, tilting his head so he could hear better.
“Tatiana.”
“Tatiana,” he spoke the word deliberately, making sure to say it correctly. “Welcome to Havana, the most beautiful city in the world.” He took off his white, straw Panama hat and placed it on her head. She grabbed it, finally lifting her gaze from the floor. He flashed her a warm grin, and her face brightened, sharing a soft, shy smile with him.
“This is my grandson.” Lita, my grandma, pushed me closer to the skinny girl. “Tell her your name.”
“Knight,” I said dutifully.
“Knight?” Finally gaining some courage, she looked at me. Her eyes, a freakish blue color, caught mine, and she gave me a funny look.
“Yeah, that’s it.” My eyebrows furrowed. “Is there something wrong with that?” What kind of name was Tatiana anyways?
“Knight,” Lita warned, “manners.”
“But she was rude first!“ I tried to tell Lita that the girl had looked at me funny, but, at the stern look Abuelo gave me, I gulped down my words, mumbling out an apology instead. “Sorry.”
When I looked back at Tatiana, her face was bright red. She didn”t even answer me back, but stared at the floor again, clutching the hat to her head tight. What a weirdo.
“Knight comes here every summer to work for the familia,” Lita began to explain, and I quickly lost interest in listening, used to people talking about me like I wasn’t even in the room.
I lived in the United States with my parents, where my father worked for the Vegas camorra. They sent me here to work for my grandpa, or, as they liked to tell everyone: to ‘educate me in the old ways’ and to ‘prepare me for my future.’ Really, my mom just didn’t like me in her hair when I was home for the summer, so basically, I was a slave to whatever my grandpa wanted me to do.
”Knight, why don”t you take Tatiana outside?” Abuelo said. See? A slave. “Show her around, while we speak to her parents.”
Abuelo was a big man on the island, almost equal to the Capitan of the tropas de choque, because the Capitan had put him in charge of a bunch of businesses. If anyone wanted to work in the city, they had to meet my grandpa first.
Lita pulled Tatiana into a side hug, asking in a gentle voice, “Would you like that?”
Tatiana looked at her parents for permission but they were too busy staring at the statues and artwork. Sensing the chance to get out of my chores early, I asked eagerly. ”Want me to show you the docks?”
”The docks?” The girl looked confused.
”Yeah, most of the fishermen are already gone but I bet old Ciego hasn”t left yet. He takes forever to get his boat out.” Leaning in, I whispered under my breath, ”Man”s blind as a bat. I”m surprised he doesn”t get lost out there. They say his dead wife shows him the way.”
”Knight!” The sharp tone of Lita”s voice, usually soft and kind, made my shoulders haunch up to my ears.
”Sorry, Lita!” Grabbing the girl”s hand, I pulled her out the front door, past the other guard standing there, and through our courtyard, explaining, “Lita doesn”t like it when I gossip. Says a boy of my position should always be polite and respectful to the community.”
I didn’t tell her that my Lita shouldn”t be telling me that, but Abuelo. He didn”t respect the community, like, at all. I”d seen him kill a man in front of his own kid, and the man had been on his knees, begging for his life.
”Come on.” I pulled Tatiana up to our front gate, where there were more guards and a handful of workers carrying in large crates filled with fish. “Hey,” I shouted at the men, “those go through the other way,” I pointed towards the path that led beside our property and towards the back gate.
“Si, se?or.” The man out front bent his face down respectfully, then ordered his men back.
“Gross,” Tatiana held her nose as they passed back by. “They stink. Why are they bringing those to your house?”
“If I told you that, I’d have to kill you.” I flashed her a grin, and she scowled at me. The fish were how Abuelo smuggled in jewels and cash from Mexico and Guatemala, but I wasn’t supposed to tell strangers that.
When I didn’t explain, she looked expectantly towards the front gate but I didn’t leave, making sure the workers passed back through the front gate and towards the side path. Abuelo would be mad at the men if they brought the smelly boxes through the front.
When they were out of sight, I led her through the front gate, ignoring the uniformed guards who nodded at me respectfully, and stepped into the muddy street. I pointed past the row of fifteenth century mansion homes and towards the clear blue sea beyond. “I bet I can beat you to the docks.” I was the quickest boy in my school and I wanted to show Tatiana how fast I could run.
Her eyes flashed. ”Bet you can”t!” She took off.
“Hey!” She didn”t even wait for me to say ‘start’.
With one hand holding Abuelo’s hat to her head, her thick, glossy black pigtails flew in the wind behind her, the red ribbons fluttering.
I stared at her in awe, surprised, then knit my eyebrows in a furrow as I ran after her. ”Hey, I said! That”s cheating!” I pumped my arms fast, trying to catch up to her. By the time I reached the wooden dock, she was waiting for me, breathing heavily. Her hands were on her hips and she had a stupid smirk on her face.
”You cheated!” I paused to fling off my flip flops then raced past her.
”Did not!” She cried indignantly, and footsteps pounded after me.
I focused on the edge of the dock, determined she wouldn”t beat me this time. I had to be careful not to trip; the wood was old and could break.
Black pigtails flew past me and I gasped, stumbling. She ran ahead of me, jerking to a halt at the edge of the dock where she turned with a triumphant grin. “See? I still beat you.”
”You cheated!” I cried again, unable to believe that this ugly girl with the freaky colored eyes was actually faster than me.
Her expression flashed with outrage, her foot stomping as she watched me race towards her. ”Did not!”
Growling in anger, I jumped, tackling her. We sailed off the edge of the dock and into the water. She shrieked, hat flying, her expression surprised.
The water was so clear, you could see the slime-covered wooden posts of the dock. Small fish flit around us, and below us, a white, sandy bottom. I still held her, kicking upwards towards the sky. Her face was panicked and she fought against me, trying to break free.
I suddenly felt bad. I”d been so jealous that she was faster than me that I”d tackled her into the water.
What kind of gentleman would do that?My Lita would be so disappointed in me.
As soon as we broke the surface, I let her go. She pulled in a deep breath, choking on the sharp tang of the ocean water. ”You jerk!” She coughed again.
”I know.” Frowning, I licked the salt from my dry lips, staying close to her. “I’m sorry.”
”I can swim, you know.” She tried to swim away from me but I didn’t back away. Instead, I gently pushed her towards the dock, just in case she was lying.
”Are you okay?”
She struggled to stay upright and finally grabbed ahold of the mucky dock post. ”Of course, I am.” She gave me an offended look.
I laughed. ”You look like a drowned rat.”
”And whose fault is that?” She splashed me. “And you made me lose my hat.” She looked around, trying to find it. We spotted it being dragged out to sea by the waves.
“It’s just a hat.” At the hurt look on her face, my laughter died. “I’m sorry. I was just mad you”re faster than me.”
She peered at me though thick eyelashes. ”You called me a cheater.”
”You ran off before we said, ‘go’.”
”And you weren’t going to do the same thing?” That same defiance she’d shown earlier came back out again.
”Maybe.” There was no way I was admitting that I”d planned on doing just that.
”Do I really look like a drowned rat?”
”Of course not. I was just kidding.” She really did. Though in this light, her eyes didn”t look as freaky as they had before.
”Oh.” She grew silent, and clung tighter to the dock, shivering.
”Look, it”s Ciego!” I pointed towards the mint green boat slowly making its way out towards the open water. Old man Ciego”s back was bent over, his wrinkled hand on the tiller as he steered, a lost expression on his face.
”Does his wife’s ghost really show him where to go?” Tatiana sounded skeptical, like she really didn”t believe me.
”Of course she does!” I exclaimed, exasperated. ”How else would he know how to come and go? The man”s blind. Look at him.”
“You sure?” She still sounded uncertain.
“Of course I am.” I turned back to her. ”Hey, why don”t we play another game. I bet I can stay underwater longer than you can.”
This time I knew I was going to beat her. People called me el delfin, the dolphin, I could hold my breath so long.
”I bet you can”t!”
“This time, we go down at the same time,” I warned her. I didn’t want her to wait until I was under the water first.
”Five, four, three, two, one!” She counted down quickly and I pulled in a deep breath.
We both went under at the same time and I almost immediately lost it because I wanted to laugh again.
She looked like a puffer fish under the water with her cheeks puffed out like that.
After a minute, her cheeks slowly painted from a blush to deep red. I knew it would only be a few more seconds until she would run out of breath. But I liked it here with her. I didn’t want her to leave me. Grabbing her shoulders, I pulled her to me.
Her eyes widened in surprise and the air in her lungs burst out of her mouth, the bubbles rising to the surface. She clasped my shoulders, her fingers digging into my skin painfully, trying to get away. Pressing my lips to hers, I pushed some of my air through hers, and she breathed it in with a gulp.
Eyes clashing, we stared at each other for a long moment, the muted sounds under the water making it feel like we were in some strange world, with only each other for company.
Then abruptly, she jerked back and clawed her way to the surface. I stayed under, showing off. I could probably stay under here for like, ten more minutes.
After a long time, I swam back upwards, not even needing to breathe in a bunch of air.
”Wow!” she exclaimed when I broke the surface. ”You”re good at that. You lasted so much longer than me.”
”I know, right?” Even I was amazed at how long I could hold my own breath, but I glanced away. She was a much better loser than I was.
”I”m getting tired. Can we get out now?”
”Sure,” I began to swim towards the surface and she splashed noisily behind me. I made sure to go slow enough so that she could easily keep up with me until we finally made it to where we could stand.
”Oh, I know what we can do.” I perked up after we were standing on the rocky shoreline. ”I can take you to the fair.”
”I don”t have any money.” She looked down. ”Or any shoes. I lost them in the water.”
Now I really felt bad. “You can have my shoes.”
”I can?”
”Of course! It”s my fault anyways that you lost your shoes.” Taking her hand again, I led her back to the dock where I”d kicked off my flip flops. ”And I can get us into the park, no problem.”
”But your money”s probably wet.” We picked our way through the rocks, with me showing her the best spots to step.
”I don”t need money. They always let me in for free.”
”Why would they do that?” Once again, she sounded like she didn’t believe me.
I pulled her up to the top of the hill then led her down the dock, tightening my hand on hers when we reached my shoes. I was suddenly afraid she wasn”t going to believe me and run off.
”I don”t know. They just do.” I shrugged, my own cheeks pinking. Wasn’t it like that for everyone? “Maybe Lita pays for it later.”
“I wish my parents had money like that.” She suddenly looked shy again, not looking at me as she slipped on my flip flops. ”Sometimes we don”t even have money to get me new clothes.” She looked down at her water-drenched shirt and I realized now why it was tight and her pants a little bit short.
”It”s okay.” I took her hand, staring into her eyes with a fierceness I’d never felt before. ”Whenever you”re with me, I”ll make sure you get everything you want.”
“Everything?” Soft star-blue eyes stared into mine, vulnerable and open. As if she believed me this time.
As if she was trusting me now, when before she hadn’t.
Lots of people trusted me but the way she was looking at me, it was like I was a king, bestowing my favor on her.
I sucked in a breath, feeling the weight of that responsibility like a crown on my head.
I suddenly wanted to kiss her.
I”d kissed a few girls in my class but their mouths had been too wet and squishy. I just knew this girl”s lips would be perfect.
“Yes, I’m sure.” I wrapped my arm around her waist, pulling her closer, and she sucked in a surprised breath, her chest pressing into mine. I reached forward, running my fingers down one of her braids. Her midnight-black hair was so soft, and her tongue peaked out again, brushing over that beautiful freckle.
“What are you doing?”
“This.” I pressed my lips to her soft ones, my fingers softly tugging on her hair. Her eyes widened in surprise, then she squeezed them shut, kissing me back.
I was right.
The girl with the star-blue eyes had lips that tasted sweet, like strawberries. She smelled like the ocean and sunshine and happiness…what I’d imagine a happy home would smell like.
When I pulled back, her face was so red and her eyes were still squeezed shut.
”Come on,” I grinned, then, giving in to temptation, tugged on her pigtail. “Hey.” She opened her eyes; they were bright and cheery. I grabbed her hand, “let’s go before it closes.”
* * *
Still holding her hand,I led Tatiana to the fair. By the time we reached the front gate, the afternoon sun was waning, lighting up the landscape in a golden glow.
“Hello, little Knight.”
I smiled at the woman at the front counter. “Hi, Lupita.”
Lupita worked the front counter every day. She was short and squat, with cinnamon-brown skin and silver-brown hair cut bluntly at her shoulders. She usually had a serious look on her face, except with me.
“I—” I began, but she held up her finger, telling me to wait.
Mumbling under her breath, she counted a stack of mixed cash piled on the front desk. When she finished her current pile, she returned her attention to me, speaking in Spanish. “What are you up to this late in the day?”
”I have a new friend.” I pulled Tatiana, who’d been hiding behind me, forward, “Abuelo told me to show her the city.”
Lupita’s eyebrows raised, her sharp gaze going to Tatiana. After a moment, she pulled another stack together, and began counting. She stared at Tatiana the whole time, not even glancing down at the money, until finally, she finished. She tore her gaze away from Tatiana and wrote something down, speaking in English, “A new friend, eh? What’s your name, dearie?”
“Tatiana.” Tatiana pawed at the ground with her foot; she was back to being shy again.
“By any chance, is your last name Krapivnik?”
Tatiana’s face jerked upward, her mouth open in astonishment. “How’d you know?”
Lupita reached over the counter, bopping Tatiana on the nose and giving her a rare smile. “I just know things, dearie.”
“We wanted to go for a few rides,” I interrupted. The crowds were already thinning as moms and dads left the park with their kids.
Lipita frowned, grabbing another stack. ”The park is closing in five minutes.”
I scowled, not realizing how late it was. ”It”s too early for it to close.”
She shook her head, still counting the money. ”A big storm is coming. Might be bad.” She took out a ball of rubber bands, pulling one off, and began to bundle a stack together. “We”re closing early.”
Shoot. Tatiana had seemed so excited to ride the rides, and I wanted to see her smile again. I turned to her, ”I”m sorry. We can try again tomorrow.”
Tatiana’s tongue flicked to that freckle again, a frown tugging at her lips. ”It”s okay.” She forced a smile that I could tell was fake. “You don”t have to bring me here tomorrow. I”m sure we”ll be unpacking, anyway.”
There was an uneasiness to her stance and she wouldn”t meet my eyes, but instead, stared at the counter below us.
I had a feeling Tatiana wouldn”t be unpacking tomorrow. That, maybe, they didn’t have much to unpack, but that she felt bad about me paying for her. My best friend from home, Rook, was like that, too.
I turned back to Lupita, giving her my best pleading gaze. ”Please, can’t we come in? Just three rides, I promise.”
Lupita hesitated, and Tatiana threaded her fingers through mine, squeezing them tight, also giving Lupita a begging look.
Lupita stopped her work, her hands resting on the countertop. As her eyes took me in, there was an uneasiness to her expression.
”Please, please, please.” I flashed the smile that usually got me anything I wanted. ”I swear, just a couple of rides. We’ll lock the gates when we leave.”
Lupita shuffled on her feet, glancing behind me, watching as Eduardo, the security guard, locked the entranceway gates, and my heart sunk in my chest. If he was leaving, there was no way she would let us in.
”Night, Lupita,” he waved at her, speaking in Spanish. ”See you tomorrow.”
She nodded at him, forcing a smile. When he was gone, she finished bundling the stacks of money with rubber bands, ignoring us.
I guess we had our answer. I turned to Tatiana, about to apologize, when Lupita gave a big sigh, shoving the rest of the money into a big purple pouch. “Okay. For the Knight of this island, I will let you in.”
”What?!” My voice sounded as surprised as I was feeling. “Are you serious?”
”Yes,” Lupita”s smile had grown soft, ”I can never say no to you.” She shook a finger at me. “But only three rides. After that you need to get home. I heard the storm will be a big one, and I don’t want Abuelo mad at me, eh?”
”Thank you!” Grinning, I jumped up onto the counter and leaned over to kiss her cheek. ”I promise, just a few rides and we”ll lock it up tight.”
”Come here,” she beckoned us behind the counter, then led us towards the back door of her booth. ”Everything else should be locked up, except for this door.” She pressed a key into my hand. ”Lock the door with this key, and drop it off at my place when you leave.” She shook another stern finger at me. ”And don”t lose it, or I”ll have to report you to your Abuelo.”
”I won”t!” I was so excited, I could hardly stop from shouting. As soon as she”d gone and we”d locked the door behind her, we ran through the park, screaming and whooping at our good luck. Tatiana took off once again, running ahead of me to pick which one to go on first.
We finally found one we could get started and the smile that lit up her face made me feel incredible. It made me feel like, with the wave of my hand, I could open every door Tatiana ever needed to get whatever she wanted.
We went on every single ride we could, and rode the ones she loved the most four, five, ten times.
I gave her one magical night of happiness and we didn”t stop until the first drops of rain fell on us.
I looked up to the sky, a grin on my face, ready to call the rain down on us, when suddenly, I realized that the sky wasn’t dark or grey, but a horrid shade of green.
My bright smile slipped away, terror raining down on me.
Tatiana immediately sensed my discomfort. “Knight? What”s wrong?”
We were on the Scrambler, and everything around us was silent, except for the drip drip drip of the rain building slowly, and the whirl of the wind echoing through the park.
I grabbed Tatiana”s hand, pulling her out of our seat. ”We gotta go!”
”What”s wrong?” she cried as we raced through the maze of the park.
I didn”t answer her, pushing her faster and harder towards the exit. Then the blood drained from my face when I realized that somewhere along the way, I”d lost the key.
”Oh, no,” Tatiana said, ”we can go back and look for it.”
”There”s no time,” I said, forgetting it. I pushed her out the door of the front booth and slammed it behind me.
The streets were empty and it was almost dark. The wind turned into a howl, the rain picking up.
Tatiana shrieked with joy but I frowned, knowing what was coming. I ran towards the first hotel and banged on the door. No one answered. The doors were locked and windows blocked.
Door after door, and no one answered. It was like all the people on the shore had packed up and gone home.
Tatiana was beginning to get worried, and the wind grew even stronger, as trash and dead palm leaves began to sweep the streets. The worry on her face did something to me; it brought out a protective instinct inside me. I had to get us to safety.
By the look on her face, she had no idea what to expect.
I felt it in my bones, in the howl of the wind, and the green sky—a hurricane was blowing in.
We could race for my house where I knew we might be safe, but the palm trees lining the road were beginning to sway dangerously and the rain had turned into sheets pouring down on us.
We didn’t have time; we had to find shelter nearby.
”Tatiana,” I cupped her face, forcing her attention from the weather around us to me. ”We”ve got bad weather coming. Do you trust me?”
At my words, her eyes widened in fear, her throat bobbing.
“What kind of bad weather?”
“Forget that,” I said. “Tell me if you trust me.”
She hesitated, her tongue coming out to flicker over her freckle nervously.
”Tatiana,” I said fiercely, “I swear to you, just give me your trust this one time, and I”ll protect you. But you have to do what I say, no questions asked. Do you think you can do that?”
She hesitated, and I gripped her shoulder tight, ferociously making the first oath I”d ever made in my life. ”I swear I”ll keep you safe.”
We stared at each other for a long moment, our eyes locked, as water began to surge at our feet. Then, slowly, she nodded, her voice uncertain. ”Okay.”
I grinned, feeling like the king of the forest right then. I grabbed her hand. ”Follow me. And don’t let me go.”
We ran, faster than I”d ever ran before, being slowed down by the rising tide.
We were both soaking wet now, and I had to cling to her hand tight to keep it from slipping my grasp.
Instead of heading towards the city, I ran back towards the beach. We battled wind and rain and the water, which rose up to our ankles.
As soon as we got to the road near the beach, waves crashed against our calves, pushing us back. True to her word, Tatiana didn’t question what I was doing, and not once did she let go of my hand.
As soon as I hit the sand, I raced north and towards the large cove of rocks.
Just as the water was beginning to rise up past our knees, I found what I was looking for: the entrance to a cave.
It was after we entered that Tatiana stuttered to a stop. The water rushed inside, waves crashing against the lower cave walls.
Eyes wide, her chest rising and falling rapidly like a little hummingbird flapping its wings, Tatiana stood there, frozen. ”Knight.” Her throat bobbed. ”I lied to you earlier. I can”t swim that good.”
”It”s okay,” I assured her, pointing towards the back of the caves. ”We only have to go a little ways. Up there the rocks are high enough that the water won”t be able to reach us, and the cave walls will protect us.”
She shook her head vehemently. ”I can”t swim.”
”I”ll help you.” I knew I could get her up there, it was such a short swim before we could start climbing the rocks. ”I promise.”
Eyes still wide, she nodded. “Okay.”
My heart exploded with the warmth of her trust in me. I gave her a reassuring smile, tugging on her pigtail but she just nodded. “Show me where to go.”
I wrapped an arm around her waist, facing the back of the cave. ”We”re going to dive in there,” I pointed towards the small pool of water, ”and swim for just a few minutes until we get up there.” My hand swept forward and up, pointing towards where we could easily climb out. ”Then we”ll climb all the way up there where we”ll be safe until the weather passes.”
When she didn”t answer me, I tugged her forward. She looked pale and deathly afraid but walked with me, trusting that I could keep her safe. We waded through the water, now halfway up my thighs until we got to the jumping off point. ”Take a deep breath,” I warned her, making sure she did it before we both jumped.
The water was a warm swirl that immediately sucked us towards the sea.
I clasped her tight, hooking my arm around her skinny frame. I kicked harder than I”d ever kicked before. The water fought me, trying to pull her from my grasp. But I clenched her tight, determined I would never let her go. She helped by kicking, fighting the sucking waves.
It took forever. It was almost like we were in a riptide or something.
I swam harder than I’d ever swam in my life.
The pressure in my lungs grew and grew, but I knew it was worse for her.
I forced myself to keep moving.
Suddenly she began to fight me, and I knew she was panicked.
If I let her go, she would be carried out to sea and I couldn’t let that happen.
I fought against her, my arm a band of steel across her like Superman. I wouldn’t let her go.
Fighting her made me more tired, but we finally made it to the other side.
I shoved her up so that she was sitting, and she started coughing up water. I climbed out, slipping once as the water pulled at me. I finally made it out, and sat next to her, pounding her back.
Her cheeks had angry, red spots but when she finally caught her breath, she gushed out. “You saved me.”
Her eyes met mine and, even though the waves were still crashing against our feet, I couldn’t move. I was thunderstruck by the look of awe on her face. She repeated herself. “You saved me.”
My chest filled with pride and I felt taller, bigger, and stronger than I ever had before. A ferocity I’d never felt before came over me. “I’ll always save you,” I proclaimed.
She nodded, eyes wide as she stared at me. “Thank you!”
“You’re welcome.”
I wanted to kiss her again but the waves started crashing against us higher. I stood up. “Come on. We have to climb up.”
Neither one of us had shoes, and our clothes stuck to our wet bodies, but she easily followed me now. It took us several minutes to climb high enough to be safe. Then we sat, huddled together against the cave wall. Waiting, we watched in silence as the water rose higher and higher, waves crashing, and wind howling around us.
Tatiana shivered. It wasn’t that cold so I thought maybe she was just afraid.
I took off my shirt and pulled it over her head.
When she still didn”t stop shaking, I pulled her inbetween my legs, then wrapped my arms around her, holding her close, trying to comfort her.
We stayed like that for a long time, with her head leaning back against my chest—trusting me.
I”d never had the trust of anyone like that before, especially someone who you could tell didn”t give it easily.
I was quickly sliding deeper and deeper in my need to always be here for her, to do whatever it took to protect and keep her safe.
I suddenly hated that I lived in the United States and that she lived here; that I would only see her when I came to visit.
I planned and schemed, trying to figure out ways I could do it from my home.
By the time the tide was sucked back out of the cave, allowing us to easily swim back to the other side, night had fallen.
We stepped out of the cave, hand in hand, to see that the dark stormy sky had broken free of the clouds, allowing us a breathtaking view of the stars. We stopped to stare in awe. For a single moment in time, it was like we were the only people on the planet, and that we were stepping from the end of the earth and into the heavens.
As we stood there, a trail of tears fell across the sky—it was a bunch of falling stars. “Look!” I pointed at them.
She sucked in a breath. “Oh my god. They’re so beautiful.’
“Uh-huh,” I said, but I wasn’t looking at the stars.
As Tatiana watched them fall, her lips parted in amazement, I could only stare at her, my own little polva, in awe and wonder.
The whole world had fallen apart and yet, here we were together. On the very day that we’d met.
It was fate. Destiny had put us together.
In that very second, I vowed that, no matter what, I would always, always, keep her safe, no matter what happened.