Over the Rainbow - Book One - 'The Gathering Place' (35 page)

Andrew leaned on the counter,
alone in the now-silent caddie shack. “Yeah, it was totally weird-
kinda spooky even. It was rainin' you know, lightnin' too- so
nobody wanted to go out. Then all a sudden, there was this big
burst of lightnin’, like- right outside the door, and
George
came
in…”

Kanaka interjected, asking, “George?”

“
Yeah, man,
that's the
really
weird part.”

“
Why?”

Andrew hesitated with a slight
look of fear in his eyes, looking to each of the men in turn before
replying, his voice almost a whisper, “Because George has
been
dead
for
over ten years.”

Chris and Alani walked hand in
hand amongst the grove of colorful trees, row upon row of magical
looking flowers nodding gently in the breeze. Chris stopped and
slowly turned around, and said to Alani with a tone colored with
both wonder and awe, “This is all so- beautiful. I certainly didn't
think that- well... I just didn't expect to see anything like this
here, you know? Not exactly what I was thinking a Hawaiian vacation
was going to be like.”

Alani smiled, “Welcome to the 'other' side of
Hawai'i. Disappointed?”

“
No way. If I could, I would
gladly trade everything I have for this.”

“
Really? Why?”

“
Because this-
this feels so much more- real. I can almost feel it…” He gestured
in the vicinity of his abdomen, “...right here. Like there’s some
sort of- some sort of
connection
that I can’t explain.”

“
I know what you
mean, about the connection- you know? When I dance, I feel the same
thing. I think it's the islands, they do that. That connection, the
one you're feeling? I think that's what the essence of
'aloha'
really
is, you know? That connection- to the Earth...” Alani
hesitated, and then an impish smile stole across her face. “Take
off your shoes.”

“
What?”

“
Take off your shoes. I want to
try something.”

“
You aren’t- I mean, you don’t
want to…”

“
No. Trust me,
if this works, its
way
better.”

A look of puzzled curiosity crossed Chris’ face as
he complied, carefully placing his socks in his shoes and setting
them aside. Alani took both of Chris’ hands in hers and stared deep
into his eyes, her gaze never leaving his.

“
Okay, now close your eyes, and
try to sense the energy of the Islands through the soles of your
feet.”

Chris closed one eye, holding the other open, still
watching her. Alani smirked and closed both of hers, and then Chris
closed the other one.

“
Okay- now- inhale slowly, through
your nose.” Chris did so, a slow, leisurely intake of air, and
Alani continued, “Now- exhale slowly, again, through your nose...
Do you feel it?”

“
I don't know, I mean- I think so-
my feet are kind of like- buzzing, tingling...”

“
Okay, cool. Now, if Gran'ma
Lei-Lei is right, you're connected. It's fuzzy at first because you
supposedly haven't learned to- I don't know how to say it in
English- I guess you would say, 'relax', yet... she says it
smoothes out later.” Alani pulled Chris slowly to her, their bodies
lightly touching. Chris stiffened slightly, and then relaxed.
“Okay. Now, breathe- slowly, this time with me...”

This time, they breathed in unison, slowly,
rapturously inhaling. Alani leaned her head in to Chris, and he to
hers, their lips instinctively parting, and they kissed- softly,
sensually, with a slow, burning passion gradually taking over. The
kiss lingered, grew almost- steamy…

…
and then a sudden breeze stirred
up the blossoms strewn upon the ground, scattering them about their
feet as a shower of multi-colored flowers simultaneously splashed
over them from above. As they continued their ardent kiss a
strange, almost invisible glow radiated up from the ground, one
that carried with it a host of twinkling sparkles like a thousand
tiny stars, enveloping them in a warm embrace as a crystalline
tinkling of wind chimes drifted magically by on the
breeze.

It was then that he felt it, and she was right- it
was infinitely better than anything he could have imagined.

It started slowly- a warm, stirring glow that pulsed
and radiated from his gut, and then spread rapidly to his chest and
his loins, quickening the beat of his heart and tightening his
groin, the almost orgasmic ecstasy building and causing his breath
to contract to short, choppy gasps, and then exploding through his
head and rushing out through his feet, leaving him breathless in
its’ wake.

And with that, the moment ended. Chris broke from
his reverie, staring at Alani with awe as Alani stared back, a
post-coital grin on her face. Chris was speechless, his mouth open
dumbly, finally asking, “What the hell was-?”

Alani smirked broadly, lifting Chris’ chin with a
delicate finger, “Don’t ask- you’ll just ruin it.” She released one
hand, and turned and started back toward the house. “Come on, let’s
get back. If we're gone too much longer, Buddy's gonna kick your
ass.”

Hashimoto and Kanaka slowly approached the front
desk of the hotel, knowing from experience that they were nearing
the pinnacle of their quest. A perky hapa female desk clerk, the
golden name-tag identifying her as ‘Heather’ greeted them with a
wide smile, “Good evening, gentlemen. How can I help you?”

The girl’s smile quickly faded as Hashimoto slid the
photo of Walter across the marble counter. “Matthews, Walter. Left
this morning, last seen at the golf course- Has anyone reported him
missing?”

“
No. Not actually- missing, but
his wife did call earlier asking if he had returned from the golf
course.”

“
His
wife
? Is she
in?”

The girl typed a few keystrokes, nodded, “Yes. Room
three-twelve. Shall I call up?”

“
No. We'll take care of it. C'mon
Darren, let's get his over with...”

Alani and Chris entered the courtyard through yet
another hidden entrance and emerged into a large, open space that
contained a long table filled almost to overflowing with food,
several mismatched chairs of various origins standing empty around
it. Except for one- Buddy sat smiling benignly at one end of the
table, a slight indentation on his face where until just recently
an oxygen mask had been, a plate piled high with strange and exotic
dishes in front of him.

Chris swept his gaze over the spread and said to
Alani, “Wow! All this- for me?”

Buddy made a rude noise, and then deflected the
offending sound with a droll comment. “Naw, these is just
left-overs, nobody cooks on Sunday. They better the next time
anyway, right? Dig in, bro.”

As Chris made his way around the
Hawaiian smorgasbord, the remainder of the family trickled in-
Kenji looking at him silently with an air of introspection, the
grand-mammas with merriment and barely contained mirth, Satoshi
with a zen-like smirk of knowing. Chris looked from one steaming
dish to another, some vaguely recognizable, others
distinctly
not
.
Hesitating above the dark lavender hue of the Poi bowl, Chris
looked around for a serving utensil, and then gaped in amazement as
Buddy demonstrated the lack thereof, dipping out a copious amount
of the purplish goo on two fingers, and laughing uproariously at
Chris’ reaction.

Settling into a creaky wooden chair, Chris discarded
the proffered fork and dove into the colorful meal with chopsticks,
eliciting a renewed bout of whispers and giggling from the two
ancient schoolgirls.

Hashimoto paused outside room 312, his grim
countenance reflecting his mood. He hated this- that inevitable
moment when someone’s life was changed forever, when he became the
harbinger of ill tidings, the dark messenger of fate. He knocked
softly on the door, almost as if reluctant to disturb the peace of
the individual within, and stiffened in preparation for the
next.

The door opened slowly, and the wide-eyed and timid
face of Abigail peeked around its edge.

“
Mrs. Matthews? I'm Detective
Hashimoto, this is Detective Kanaka- may we speak with you for a
moment?”

Abigail’s face paled, and she stammered, “Yes-? Yes,
of course.” And then a dawn of realization crossed her face, “Is
something wrong?” Hashimoto’s face had frozen into an inscrutable
mask. “Oh my God! What's happened? Is it my Walter? Is he all
right?”

Kanaka said gently, “I'm afraid we have some bad
news, ma'am... May we come in?”

Abigail’s response was merely stunned silence as her
eyes went wide with shock, and she fainted.

After reviving the pale form of Abigail, Hashimoto
began to recount the tale of Walter’s demise, almost theatrically
describing the wave, carefully omitting the bizarre appearance of
the ghostly visitor, assuring the silent Abigail that he likely
passed in an instant, the force of nature that moved him from this
life to the next swift and efficient, the people who rescued his
remains caring and kind. As he concluded, Kanaka took her gently by
the elbow and helped her to her feet, saying almost apologetically,
“I'm afraid you'll have to come with us, ma'am. We need you to
positively identify the... your husband.”