Over the Rainbow - Book One - 'The Gathering Place' (23 page)

Chris closed the door of the chapel with a tiny
‘click’, and both the sound of the sea and the music of the chimes
fell strangely silent. He crossed to the singular candle like a
moth to the light, curiously fascinated by its softly flickering
flame, and leaned in for a closer look. The flame in the narrow
glass cylinder suddenly flared with unexpected brilliance, and
again the world flashed-

But this time to
somewhere else entirely
.

This time, it was not the smeary
monochrome of his past- it was a vision of his
future
. The scenes and pictures were
more like a movie montage, Chris watching the flickering images
from a point apart, seeing visions of a future that was the stuff
of dreams or nightmares- alternately colorized or black and white,
a Christopher Nolan imagining of his life, each clip flickering and
jumping with a kaleidoscopic fracturing, the point of view slashing
from near to far- from extreme close-up to broad
panorama…

…
A fish-eye view of a crowded
boardroom, tumultuous applause from the dozens of gathered board
members, Chris bowing gently in acknowledgement-

…
to a reflection of himself,
older, hairline receding and the lines of life etched on his
handsome face, reflected in the glass of a penthouse office, his
view of the city below smoky and smeary from the clouds and the
streaking of rain on the windows-

…
to a sharply
cut montage of Alani- his first vision of her, sitting in stunned
disbelief on the road, a dirty red puddle of mud surrounding her;
and then the hospital, a coquettish grin tracing a tilted line on
her face- then the store, as she hesitated and fled- then the road,
her hair lank and dripping, her face grease-streaked and twisted in
frustration- and
then
- she disappeared in a blur, her features replaced with those
of…

…
Evangeline,
holding out her hands in expectation, a stack of shopping at her
feet- the background
empty
behind her-

…
and back to Alani, older now,
running away from him on a hazy and Vaseline-lensed beach, two
small dark-haired children chasing at her heels, laughing with
childlike glee- as a wave crashed and a gull screeched-

…
to a vision of himself, older
still, as he opened the Business page of the newspaper, a crude
caricature of him holding two ‘Monopoly’ bags of money, a jaunty
cigar protruding from his lips as he stood on the necks of two
‘slave laborers’- ‘Made in China’ written across their twisted
forms-

…
to Alani, much older, streaks of
gray in her glossy dark hair, as he saw her in profile and
reflection in a rain-streaked window-

…
and back to himself, now an old
and decrepit man, the world outside his window dark and gloomy, a
foggy dew occluding his view of anything beyond, the reflection of
the office behind him sterile and empty.

The old man that was Chris slowly turned and saw a
singular candle, identical to the one in the chapel. And as he
watched, a gust of wind extinguished it, plunging his vision into a
complete and terrifying darkness…

And the world of his visions sharply fractured and
slashed back to normal.

Chris whirled around in confusion, the disturbing
visions still reverberating within his mind, the acrid scent of
candle smoke stinging his nostrils as he noticed- it was dark. He
turned and staggered blindly out of the crystal chapel, knocking
over several chairs in his haste, backing through the door and
fleeing without even attempting to close it.

As he emerged into the warm night air, the sound of
sea again crashed into his awareness and he paused and took in a
slow, troubled breath, regaining his bearings and shaking the final
persistence of vision from his mind as he slowly revolved in a
circle to re-orient himself with reality.

“
Whooo- SHIT!” he exclaimed,
looking around to see if anyone else had witnessed his latest
diversion from the norm. Simultaneously relieved by his
solitariness and saddened by the fact that he had no one to share
the epic weirdness of it, he slowly, haltingly began to continue
his walk along the sea-side path around the hotel, watching with a
strange new perspective the glowing luminescent waves as he savored
the sharp tang of the ocean breeze.

As he climbed to the top of the
stairs that completed his circumnavigation of the hotel grounds, he
found himself having returned to his point of origin just to the
side of the brightly lit hotel lobby, the soft strains of IZ’s
‘Starting All Over Again’ drifting from the hidden speakers. He
paused at its entrance and suddenly felt his gaze being tugged out
to the sparsely-populated parking lot- where he saw the most
incongruous sight. It was a bus-stop, a solitary figure sitting on
its lone bench, back-lit by the cold glow of fluorescent lights.
And with a cold certainty of realization, he knew
exactly
who it
was.

Sauntering with a deliberate and
forced casualness to the side of the lonely bus-stop, Chris leaned
around the corner of the bench and greeted Alani with a
now-familiar phrase, “Uh- Hi. What are you doing
here
?”

Alani whirled on him and said with
unexpected vehemence, “I'm waiting for the bus! What the hell does
it
look like
I'm
doing?”

“
Oh, right- sorry. Do, uh- do
buses still run this late?”

Alani shrugged in dejection and looked expectantly
up the road. “Yeah, there's gonna be another one in about half an
hour.”

Chris leaned against the side of the bus stop, his
pale attempt at being casual fading and he said with a shrug of his
own, “You know, I could give you a ride, if you didn't want to
wait.”

Alani softened slightly and said, “No. That's okay.
I'll wait. Thanks.”

“
Are you sure? It must take you
forever to get home on the bus.”

Alani replied with a hint of tension edging her
voice, “No, I'm fine, okay? I've got nothing better to do
anyway.”

“
You're kidding.”

Alani erupted, her voice tight and
a glimmer of tears behind her lovely jade eyes, “No, I'M NOT
KIDDING!! If I had something better to do, don't you think I'd
be
doing
it?” She
paused, a short sniff and a slow, stuttered intake of breath
softening her demeanor as she continued, “I'm sorry, I'm not mad at
you. It's just- it’s nothing, okay?”

“
Just-
what
?”

Alani looked at Chris with a
wide-eyed stare of reluctant defeat. “You
really
want to know? Fine. After
work, my friends, they just- left.” She continued, mockingly,
“They're all going
dancing
. I shouldn't be mad- it's
not really their fault. I never hang out with them afterward
anyway.”

“
Really? Why not?”

“
It's a long story...”

Chris smiled, remembering the line that Angel the
Barmaid had just recently used. “I've got time…”

Alani whirled on him, wiping a
tear from her eye, and asked with a hint of scorn, “Why do you even
care? Don't you have anything
better
to do?”

“
Does it
look
like I have
anything better to do?”

Alani looked at Chris, and then past him, back
toward the hotel, a wry smirk twisting a corner of her face. “Guess
not.”

“
Geez, you don't have to make it
sound so- pathetic.”

Alani smiled ironically and rested her chin sullenly
in her hands. “Don't worry, my story is way more pathetic than
yours.” She paused and took a long, slow breath and then continued
as she stared off into the distance, “My father, he's always been
really- protective of me. I guess you'd say he was kind of strict.”
She glanced up at Chris with a sardonic frown. “Don't say it- I
know, it's silly, but- it's just how it is, okay?” Alani looked
away again, staring vaguely into the distance. “Anyway, there's no
point in going, since tonight is the only time I could go- and I
would have to be back too soon anyway, since tomorrow's Sunday, an'
we have church an' all. So I guess that's why I never go.” She
turned her face up to him, a look of sad resignation marring her
lovely features and concluded morosely, “There, satisfied?”

“
Uh- sure.” An awkward pause
ensued, and then an impish grin creased the corner of his mouth and
he said, “Wow.”

Alani looked sharply up at Chris,
her eyes creasing in suspicion of what he implied,
“What?!”

“
Nothing…”

“
WHAT?!!!”

Chris shrugged shyly, “Well, I guess I find it kinda
hard to believe that you've never been to a club before.”

“
Why?”

“
Well, it's just that…” He looked
at her curiously, the recent thoughts and fading images still
flickering in the depths of his mind, and then he replied, “Never
mind. Anyway, since neither one of us has anything better to do-
can I at least give you a ride home?”

Alani considered his request again, briefly, and
then responded resolutely, “No, I'll just…” and then she went
suddenly silent as a single distinct chime of a crystalline bell
echoed across the deserted parking lot. Alani abruptly stood
without warning, slung her yellow backpack over her shoulder and
said unexpectedly, “Okay... but under one condition.”

Chris smiled warmly and said magnanimously, “Name
it.”

Alani thrust her chin outward and declared, “I get
to drive.”

“
No way.”

Alani continued with almost
condescending persuasion, “Listen. Do you have
any
idea where you're
going?”

“
Well, no, not exactly,
but…”

“
Well,
I
do,” Alani stated
confidently as she strode briskly to the side of the shiny red
car.

Chris sputtered, “But-!”

Alani ran her hand admiringly over the car, her hand
stopping on the door handle. “That’s the deal. Take it or leave
it.” Without looking up at Chris, she held out her hand and said,
“Keys?”

“
But- Have
you
ever
driven a
car like this?”

Alani opened the door of the car and slid smoothly
into the driver’s seat, running her hands almost sensually over the
controls as she said reassuringly, “Sure, lots of times.”

Chris shrugged in defeat and
crossed around the car, slumping into the passenger seat as he
extended his hand limply in her direction, the key fob dangling
from his fingers. Alani mocked his pout with a reproving glance.
“Oh don't be such a baby. I'm not going to
break
it.” She snatched the keys and
grinned in gentle victory as she said softly, “Thank you.” Dropping
the keys down the top of her dress, she pressed the ‘Start’ button
and wriggled in pleasure as the sleeping beast awoke with a rumble
and a growl. “Nice,” she purred, revving the engine almost to
redline a couple of times before slamming the car into gear and
peeling out in a hail of gravel.

Chris scrambled to fasten his
seatbelt as they flew out of the parking lot, screeching and
squealing onto the main road and flying off into the night,
muttering in mock-dismay, “We're going to die.”

As they flew up the road in
silence, Chris shot a sidelong glance at Alani, watching her as she
drove, smiling in mild surprise with the discovery that her
skills
were
truly
impressive as she handled the powerful car with ease and dexterity.
As she smoothly downshifted for a sharp corner and powered through
it with a g-force inducing lurch, Alani yelled over the roar of the
engine, “You got any MUSIC?”

Chris pulled out his phone, un-wrapped the brand-new
auxiliary cable he had bought to make up for his previous
oversight, and jacked the phone into the dash. Scrolling through
the selections with a grin, he tapped a spot on the
touch-screen.

The thumping rhythms and wailing
vocals of Tracy Bonham erupted from the Bose-powered speaker system
of the car, drowning out the sounds of the engine as a tune that
would prove as providential as it was appropriate underscored their
drive- it was
Blue Man Group’s
‘Up To The Roof’.

Twisting and turning on the
winding island road, the headlights illuminated series after series
of directional arrows that guided them around tight corners and the
flashing blur of speed limit signs that went largely ignored. They
flew through the landscape, gears clashing and tires squealing as
Alani slowed for sharp corners and sleepy Island communities, and
then roaring off again into the bright moonlit night. The drive was
wild, dangerous, almost-
sexy,
thought Chris. And one
which he now realized was re-winding the route he had
followed upon his arrival
.

As they began the precipitous
climb up the Pali highway, powerfully accelerating into
the warm Hawaiian night, the twinkling lights of
houses along the beach and the scattering of fishing boats off the
shore became clear in the distance. Chris leaned over and asked,
somehow instinctively knowing the answer before Alani’s reply,
“You, uh, you live out here?”