Page 44 of Tiger's Destiny
I headed down some steps to the surface deck of our futuristic sci-fi craft. The wind blew the hair away from Ren’s handsome face just as we rounded a section of beach and the city of Port Blair came into sight. Soon the only lights I could see were our own running lights and the fading stars.
Ren stood stiffly at his post and seemed to be doing a good job of ignoring me. I decided to watch the sunrise and made my way carefully to the front of the ship where I sat and let the ocean spray tickle my feet. After an hour, I was rewarded with a breathtaking view. The water turned pink, then gold, and then, as if I willed it into appearing, the round sun burst from the sea.
For some reason it made me think of Mr. Kadam. I smiled sadly and wondered what interesting facts he’d share if he were here. I sat there for another half hour, letting the sun warm my skin while I breathed the fresh scent of the ocean.
Ren and Kishan took turns steering the boat. A few hours later, we skirted Neill Island, then cruised by Havelock Islands, and headed out to open ocean. The weather was nice, and we made good time traveling the sixty-five nautical miles to Barren Island. As it came into view late in the afternoon, I could see that the volcano was definitely still active. Small wisps of steam and spirals of smoke rose into the air from the caldera. I marveled at the wide black path of cooled lava that had oozed from the center and had either punched or melted a hole through the mountain wall before sliding into the sea at a fairly gentle slope. It reminded me of a fried egg after the yolk had been broken.
Though a huge part of the island was covered in black ashes, there were still enough green trees and small shrubs around the circumference to see it had been beautiful once. There were no beaches; the mountain cliffs seemed to rise straight up out of the sea.
The three of us stood on the top deck looking at the island, and with a few murmured words, Ren and Kishan decided to drop anchor on the western side, upwind, where there would be less smoke. They both agreed that the best way to access the island would be hiking over the blackened lava bed and that we would start early the next morning.
As soon as Kishan wrapped his arms around me, Ren descended to the lower deck. The air was cool, causing goose bumps to shoot across my arms. I wrapped my arms around Kishan’s waist, snuggled against his warm chest, and said, “This is really nice.”
He grinned and brought his lips to mine. One hand slid into my hair and cupped the back of my head while the other rested gently on my neck. After a moment his fingertips began to massage the nape of my neck. I closed my eyes and let myself get lost in his kiss.
It was warm and sweet, and on his lips, I tasted just a hint of the salty sea. He stroked my jaw and after tilting my head slightly, his kiss deepened. I held onto him, knowing moments like these might not happen for a while once we started into the volcano.
He smiled at me, obviously pleased with my response, and pulled a small box from his pocket.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“Merry Christmas, Kells.”
“What? It’s Christmas?”
“Well, tomorrow is. It’s Christmas Eve. Did you forget?”
“I did. It’s hard to remember Christmas when you’re in a tropical zone.” I picked up the present hesitantly. “Um, Kishan, I’m so sorry. I didn’t remember to get you anything.”
He pulled me toward him, cupped my face in his hands and gave me a soft kiss. “You agreed to be my wife, Kelsey. There’s nothing else on this Earth that I want.”
I teased him gently, “You’re kind of a smooth talker.”
“Hopefully that works in my favor,” he said with a grin and a twinkle in his golden eyes.
Inside the box, I found an ancient-looking golden key. Raising an eyebrow, my mouth quirking up at the corner, I asked, “And what, pray tell, does this key unlock?”
“Technically nothing anymore. It used to open the treasure room of our old palace. Now it’s more of a symbol of a home. Or homes. Wherever you want to live. I found it when we were looking through my parents’ things. We can rebuild the jungle home where my parents and Kadam are buried, or we can buy a new home in the United States or India or we can do both or all three. It’s nothing we have to decide on right now, but I know having a home is important to you. Leaving our old home will be hard, but we’ll make new memories together, and,” he laid his palm against my neck, “I’ll make you happy, Kelsey, I promise.”
“I know you will.” I leaned up to kiss his cheek. “Thank you for my present.”
“You’re welcome.” Kishan strung the old key onto the chain around my neck where it rested next to the amulet. “Someday,” he said as he touched the key where it lay against my skin. “Someday we’ll build a home.”
He kissed me again in a long, lingering way, then abruptly turned me around and gave me a gentle nudge. “But first, I’m going to beat you at a game of Parcheesi.”
“Deal.”
I laughed and headed to retrieve the game from my room—only to discover another present. On my bed, Ren had left a gift carefully wrapped in golden paper. Inside was a wooden music box with a painted white tiger identical to Ren on the top.
I lifted the lid and my song began to play—the one Ren had written for me when we were apart, the one he struggled with when he lost his memory. I listened to the familiar notes, which were sad at first, and gasped when it continued past the point I remembered. The sad music of separation changed. I could almost hear the hope, the determination, in the sound. It crescendoed in a burst of happiness until the notes faded like twinkling stars at dawn. I shut the lid and closed my eyes.
I was so wrapped up with the music box that I almost didn’t notice that Ren had also left me a note with the sprig of a little plant on my bed.
Kelsey,
You might think I am presumptuous in assuming the end of our song will be a joyful one, but I still believe there’s a happy ending for us, that the promise in the song will someday be realized. I’ll just have to practice patience until then. My heart is in your hands, take care of it for I cannot live without it.
Mistletoe
