When Water Burns Read online

His quick grin gave me chills. “Yes, three Diet Cokes for the coke addict,” shaking his head. “You know that stuff is like nuclear waste, don’t you?”

  I groaned, slamming the door with an extra flourish, rolling my eyes. “Yeah, yeah, so you keep telling me. I like my insides polluted with nuclear waste thank you very much.”

  He laughed. And his laugh had me sighing with contentment. It had been too long since I had laughed with the one I loved.

  In the car, Daniel turned on the radio as we started the forty-five-minute drive to the beach on the other side of the island. Samoa’s musical answer to everything – Bob Marley –wailed No woman, no cry…and Daniel started singing along. I could listen to him sing forever. The drive to Lefaga beach went quickly, and it wasn’t long before we were pulling off the main road and down a bumpy sandy track towards the ocean. Once in sight of the sea, we turned and started driving slowly along the parallel road past village houses and beach fale. Still he didn’t stop the truck, not until we had come to the very end of the trackdid he pull up beside a thicket of mangrove trees. The nearest house was a half mile away and the little slip of sandy beach was completely empty. We both got out of the truck and I turned shining eyes towards Daniel as he began unpacking our stuff from the back. “It’s beautiful, Daniel. And totally private.”

  He shrugged as he heftily put the cooler on his shoulder “Yeah, but the problem with that is there’s no water, no taps for us to clean off afterwards, but you said you wanted to rough it today. So here you have it, nothing but sand, sea and sun and bugs and mosquitoes and dirt and sweat. Ugh.”

  I laughed at his lack of enthusiasm. “Oh, don’t be such a spoilt baby. It’ll be great. Come on.” I took his free hand and pulled him with me towards the beach where we found a shady spot under a tree.

  He unrolled the mat and stretched back on it with a pleased sigh. “Ah, that’s better. This is how I like the beach, looking at it from the shade.”

  A sudden wave of shyness hit me. I hadn’t seen him for nearly two months and now, here we were, all alone on a white sand beach that screamed ‘romantic make-out spot for reunited couples.’ I hesitated, trying to decide where to sit. What to do. I knew what I wanted to do – hold him, kiss him, hug him, and love him. Enough to make up for all the weeks I had felt an empty space inside me without him. But the immensity of all he meant to me was almost paralyzing. He smiled up at me and sat up again, holding his hand out to mine. “What is it? Come over here.”

  I took his outstretched hand and sat beside him. The warmth of his shoulder touching mine filled me with contentment and for a few minutes we were both silent, contemplating the silken blue sea as it lapped against the shore.

  “I’ve really missed you.” He spoke quietly. There was no more teasing in his voice this time. I turned and his eyes captured mine. They looked troubled. “I don’t like being apart from you. To be honest, I don’t like the way you make me feel.”

  “Okaaay, what does that mean?!”

  “I never needed somebody like this before. You make me feel like there’s something missing unless I’m with you. I thought I had it all until I met you. I had my plans, my future all mapped out. Then you came along and messed it up. You’re like this massive love bomb.”

  I had to laugh at that one. “Love bomb?! What the heck kind of way is that to describe your girlfriend?”

  He laughed with me, “I never said I was a man of poetry or anything. Give me rugby or steel fabrication and I can talk for hours. But I don’t know how to talk about love. Everything you are to me, everything I feel for you, it kinda chokes me. Sorry. I’m not making any sense here.”

  He gave me an exasperated grin, ruffling his hair with one hand in that endearing way that tugged on my heartstrings. I moved to kneel in front of him so that I could look in his eyes. “You’re making perfect sense. You’re my love bomb too. Now.”I pointed at the calling ocean. “Are you going to come in with me?”

  He shook his head. “Nah. No thanks. You go ahead. I’ll hang out here.”

  “Aw come on!” He shook his head in refusal again. I didn’t push the issue though, knowing his sensitivity about his mother and her drowning. “Okay, I’ll just have a quick dip to cool off. Don’t eat all the muffins before I get back. Or else.”

  “Or else what?” he teased.

  I didn’t answer immediately because I was peeling off my sweaty t-shirt, leaving only my black bikini top. I wasn’t brave enough to strip down to the bikini brief so I left on my surf shorts. I tossed my shirt down on the mat and twisted my hair up into a messy knot. I poked my tongue out at Daniel. “Or else I’ll have to set you on fire.”

  “Too late. You already have.” was his wry response. He was staring at me in my half bikini and his eyes had an appreciative glint in them.

  I blushed my invisible brown-girl blush. “What? What are you looking at?”

  He smiled that crooked smile and ran his eyes over the length of me, from head to toe. “You.”

  “What about me?” I folded my arms across my chest and wished I had kept my shirt on. Or that I had a Baywatch babe chest to flaunt.

  “I’m just looking. And thinking that there’s nothing quite as hot as a girl with a malu tattoo. I dare you to take the shorts off so I can get the full effect. Go on. It’s not like I haven’t seen you in a two piece before, Leila.”

  I don’t know what was sending delicious chills down my spine more. His words or the way he was looking at me. I shook my head. “No. That night at the pool was different. It was dark. Swimming in the middle of the night is way different than this.” I waved wildly at the postcard-perfect day. “See? Sunshine. And wide open spaces. And blue sky. And anybody can see me.”

  Daniel rose to his feet and took those few steps to stand a mere breath away from me. He spoke softly, “Not anybody. Just me.”

  He didn’t touch me, but I could feel him on every raw, ragged piece of me. My pulse raged a wild battle to stay calm and I could barely choke out my dissent. “I don’t have the kind of body that looks good in a swim suit.”

  He raised an eyebrow at me and leaned forward to murmur, low and rough against my ear. “I disagree. I’ve seen you, Leila. All of you. You’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen. And don’t ever let anyone tell you any different.”

  His voice was liquid chocolate, a slow cascade over my body. Sweet and sinuous. Tugging on invisible wires of heat. And all without even a single touch. He grinned then, as if aware of the effect that his words were having on me. “Besides, I bet after all that time away in a Washington winter, you could really use a tan. Go on. I dare you. Take it off. ”

  And then together, our hands were on the waistband of my shorts. And I was supposed to be the fire goddess, but it was his fingers that were burning against my skin as he helped me, tugged at the drawstring and eased the slippery fabric down my hips. The next breathless instant, I was standing there in my black bikini brief. Daniel’s eyes never left mine as he stepped away from me. “See? That wasn’t difficult, was it?”

  The sunlight was gold liqueur on my skin. I stepped out of my shorts, trying not to betray my nervousness, resisting the urge to run for the concealing sanctuary of blue ocean. Or grab my towel and skulk in the shade. Holding Daniel’s words close to me, like a mantra of courage … the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen … I took a deep breath and held my head high, putting my hands on my hips, trying to ignore the fact that Daniel was staring at me with an unreadable expression on his face.

  “Fine. I’ve taken it all off. Are you happy now?”

  “Yes, I am.” Before I could anticipate it, he knelt on one knee in the sand beside me and traced the patterns of my malu with tender hands. His fingers were scorching fire on my skin and it was a battle to stand calm and composed as he studied my tattoo for several taut moments. “The artwork is stunning.” He smiled up at me. “Your malu is beautiful, Leila.” He placed a delicate kiss on my bare midriff, so fleeting that it was as if I had imagined it. An
d then he was standing upright in front of me and holding me captive in his embrace. “Thank you for sharing it with me.”

  My entire being felt like rippling blue silk in his arms. Like he was the only thing that anchored me to earth. Like he could set me adrift on the azure ocean and I would dissolve into a million strands of lightness. Joy. He continued speaking, “There were moments over the last six weeks where I worried if you were ever going to come back. If maybe, you were going to choose to stay with your American family. I’m sure you thought about it. Right?”

  I nodded. “I thought about it. But only because things were different than they had been the last time I was there. Or maybe it was just me that was different. I actually felt like I belonged with them, like I was a part of the Folger family. For the first time.”

  “They tried to get you to stay.”

  “Yes. But they understood when I chose to come back. They were supportive of my decision.”

  “I’m glad you chose Samoa.”

  I smiled up at him. “I couldn’t choose any different. This is where my heart is.”

  I pulled away then and he stood and watched me wade into the shallows lugging an inflatable tire that he had brought on the back of the truck. He laughed as I launched myself into the silken warmth of blue. “Yoohoo! This is beeeyootiful. You’re missing out!”

  I swam farther out until the water was too deep to stand and then pulled myself up onto the tire and lay back to soak in the sun. I was luxuriating in the chance to just be with Daniel, hang out, and do normal things with him. We had spent so little time together where we were not either fighting for our lives or fighting over whether or not it was safe for us to be together. I was determined that today would be the first of many days that would be blissfully ordinary.

  I don’t know how long I floated along like that, lulled by the warm sun and the gentle sway of the ocean, but when I felt a slight shiver down my spine, I sat up. Uh oh.

  The current had taken me farther out than I had expected, further out than my second-rate swimming skills felt comfortable with. I was now closer to where waves crashed on the reef than I was to the faraway shore. I could no longer make out Daniel’s shape underneath the trees.

  Dammit, good one, Leila. I sat up and started paddling my way back to the beach, kicking with my legs to help spur me along. That’s when I felt it. An ice-cold tingle on my skin, a sharp contrast to the silken blue warmth of the water lapping around me. I felt a presence. A something – threatening, darkening – coming towards me. My heart pounded as I clutched the inner tube tightly, wishing I was safe on shore. Stop it Leila, just quit it, you’re being ridiculous. But not even my grandmother’s favorite phrase could stop the rising terror that had me turning wildly in all directions to see what hidden threat had me silently screaming.

  I couldn’t see anything. The sun glinted on the diamond water. The golden line of sand beckoned. A soft breeze played in the coconut trees lining the shore. I looked back at the ocean, scanning the blue for anything out of the ordinary. All seemed well – on the surface. Then from far away, Daniel shouted, and the fear in his voice confirmed my own.

  “Leila! Don’t move. I’m coming. Don’t move.”

  Daniel was running along the beach towards me, then several splashing steps into the water and he dived. Strong and sure, he surged through the water with quick, even strokes. He was a powerful swimmer and amidst my ragged fearful breathing, I heard myself exclaim in surprise. “Wow, he’s a really good swimmer.” He was like liquid in the water, the gaping distance between us was nothing to him and his pace never slowed. It seemed like bare moments and he was beside me in the water, one arm looped around the inner tube while he half-turned to look out over the ocean.

  “What is it?” I grabbed onto his shoulder, feeling foolish in my inexplicable fear. I longed for him to laugh, to brush away my concerns as nothing but foolish imaginings. Instead, his reply was quiet and low, his eyes darting in all directions, searching.

  “Just keep still. Very still. Try not to move. It’s circling.”

  “What is? Daniel – tell me – what is it?” My question was a piercing whisper. I didn’t know why I felt the need to whisper. And I already knew the answer to my question, only I was hoping that I was wrong.

  “Shark. A big one.”

  He spoke the words I knew he would, but every fiber of his being was focusing on the water, as he twisted his body this way and that, eyes darting back and forth.

  I choked back a sob. As if being quieter would somehow make us invisible to the most deadly hunter in the ocean. As if. I’d seen Jaws. I knew what was coming. I didn’t need the theme music. The pounding of my heart was crescendo enough. I threw a searching gaze back to the shore. Was there any way anyone could help us?

  The deserted beach stretched away in the blue-gold afternoon. My earlier thrill at having the day to ourselves now mocked me. We were alone. In the ocean. Too far out from the shore thanks to my day dreaming. Alone without weapons of any kind. Not that weapons ever seemed to help shark attack victims in all the horror movies I’d seen. Funny. They had neverseemed that scarywhen onelivedin the suburbs of Maryland and only sniffed the ocean twice a year. Now? Here I was with the love of my life, about to get torn to pieces in the water. I started to shake, my teeth chattering as if we were in the midst of the Arctic instead of the glorious Pacific. Daniel threw me a concerned glance, unwilling to take his eyes off the waters around us.

  With one arm guiding the tube, he shielded me with his body, muttering under his breath as if talking to himself. “He’s trying to decide. What angle he’ll come in on. Which side will be the best point of attack. Trying to figure out which of us is the weaker. Hmm…should I take out the stronger element first? Or pick off the smaller prey? Circling. Doesn’t want to let us too far. But still not worried. Knows he’s got the advantage no matter what.”

  In the midst of my terror, I paused as confusion added itself to the mix. What the hell was Daniel talking about? Was he losing it? I grabbed his shoulder.

  “Daniel? What are we going to do?” I could barely make sense because my teeth were chattering so much. I was cold in the midst of a screaming hot day. I tried to think about flames. And rage. But I knew from past experience that all the fear in the world could not make me summon fire when I was in the ocean. We were going to die. Daniel was going to die. And useless, hopeless me was going to let it happen. His voice in my ear disrupted my thoughts.

  “Leila, listen to me. I need you to slowly and carefully paddle to shore. Do you hear me? Don’t splash too much. Just move real slow through the water on the tube. I’m going to draw him off. Go now. Go!”

  Before I could process the full import of his words and argue with them, he shoved the tube away from him and towards the shore. From nowhere, a massive wave lifted the tube and started it rushing through the water without me even beginning to paddle. I threw a terrified glance over my shoulder back to where Daniel waited in the water.

  He had his back to me as he trod water and for the first time I saw it. Clearly. The dark shape in the water. Moving almost lazily as it knifed towards him. And still he did not move.

  “Daniel!” the scream tore from me without thought. “No.”

  He turned his head, green eyes speaking to me across the water, as he stretched out his arm towards me. Another impossible wave seemedtoemanate from where he swayed in the water, rushing me further away from him and to safety. What’s happening? Where are these waves coming from?

  In vain, I tried to halt the current but it swept the inner tube along relentlessly. There was only one thing to do. I heaved my body off the tire and splashed back into the ocean. The tube swirled away in the foam, happy to be rid of my dead weight. I had no plan. No brilliant ideas. I just knew there was no way I was leaving Daniel out there to face a shark alone. But now the water wasn’t my friend. I was no match for the strange current that only seemed to have one goal. To sweep me along to the shore – no matter what. E
ven if it meant taking me upside down with a mouth full of water.

  I managed to choke out his name once before the sea swallowed me, churning me like a washing machine. Just when I thought I couldn’t hold my breath a moment more, I was right side up and gasping for air. All thoughts of the shark fled as I battled the current just to stay afloat, splashing and kicking, sucking in air and water in huge mouthfuls. My grasping hands met with the runaway tire. I clutched it gratefully, my lifeline. Hanging on tightly, I took several breaths of air before wiping the hair out of my face.

  I cleared my vision in time to see Daniel begin swimming towards me. Midway he stopped and shouted, “No! Get away from her. You can’t have her.”

  He reached out in my direction again, yelling “Go, Leila! Get out of here.” As he did so, another impossible wave issued from his outstretched fingers. It rushed at me, carrying me with it. I turned my head to look back at him, in time to see a dark shape close in on him. From far away I heard myself screaming. I saw Daniel spin around in the water, then he dived and the water was still. And eerily silent. No Daniel. No shark. No nothing. Just me. Hanging on to a tire. That was now scraping me along in shallow water, coral nicking at my feet. And still thecurrent wouldn’t let me go. Not until it had deposited my stunned self on the shore.

  “Dammit!” Viciously I kicked the tire away from me, ignoring the sting of salt on the cuts on my feet. I dived back into the water and began swimming out to where I had seen Daniel disappear. But again, a determined wave appeared from nowhere and shoved me back to shore. I battled it uselessly. Frustration at war with fear.

  “Dammit, dammit. What’s going on?!” I screamed at an impassive ocean. “Why are you doing this to me?”

  I stood in the shallows, hoping. “Daniel?” my scream died away to a whimper. “Daniel? Please come back.”

  I knew I should be running back to the car. Driving to town. Going to get help. But I couldn’t make myself move. I had left him behind once. I would not leave him behind again. Irrationally, I thought that as long as I kept my eyes on the ocean, there would be hope for him.