Atlantis (23 page)

I knew I shouldn’t look. The chest had been locked for a reason. I should run away as fast as I could. But I didn’t. Instead, I peered over the edge to see what had been trapped inside. Animal, vegetable, or mineral? I hadn’t a clue. As my eyes looked over the edge I gasped. I couldn’t believe what looked back at me from within the chest.

Chapter 11. Planes

Lying in the corner of the bottom of the trunk, as if she was taking a nap, was
me
. My ocean blue
eyes
, my messy, spiked black hair, and my small frame. It was surreal. I couldn’t pull my eyes away from her. She looked at me with the same curious interest, tilted her head and smiled.

Before I could say anything, I felt as though the floor gave out below me. Wind blew past my face. I couldn’t catch my breath. My arms flailed through the air, catching nothing.

I was falling.

To my surprise, I landed with a soft thud on the grass that somehow materialized below me. As I tried to stand up, the rush of movement was dizzying. I fell back down on the cushy, green carpet. My dream had changed gears in an abrupt way.

Still sitting and shaken, I looked around, trying to see where my subconscious had taken me. The bowing trees swayed around me. A familiar but more intense scent of lavender filled the air. Of course. I was in my meadow. This is where I always came to get my perspective back, or try to at least. But it was
different
.

There was an energy in the air that wasn’t usually there. It was as if I could feel the life force that emitted from the grass, the trees, the leaves. The sensation lightly pricked my skin like goosebumps. I shivered in reaction to it. Even the air seemed to be alive as it swirled playfully around me, making the wildflowers dance.

Significant as that was, it wasn’t the only difference.

I looked up and fell on my back in astonishment at the beauty of the sky above me. Normally, on a clear night I would find the starry sky amazing. But
this
was spectacular.

It was as if my eyes were looking through a high-powered telescope. The clarity was awe inspiring. And that was before adding all of the colors. Above my head, different parts of the universe glowed. My eyes gazed at a red cloud sprinkled with bright white stars, several blue clouds with a few definite starry planets residing within them, and there was even a planet close enough that it took up a large portion of the horizon with its pearly white and purple swirling clouds. I had just discovered what could only be another galaxy, with its bicycle spoke shape spinning in midair, when I felt another energy enter the meadow.

I turned automatically in the direction of the sensation.

Before my eyes even found the source, the playful wind swirled and blew his distinct floral scent into my face. Elliott ran across the meadow to me, a gigantic smile on his face. I barely had time to sit up when he picked me up in his arms in one swift scooping motion and swung me around, and around.

“
You figured it out!” The sweet and smooth texture of his voice rang with happiness and he repeatedly kissed my cheek.

My eyebrows furrowed. I was so confused, yet utterly happy at the same time. I was with Elliott again. I was enjoying his beautiful beaming white smile, the floral scent of his skin, and the energy of him pulsing around me; it seemed that my world was set right. I stared into his hazel green eyes as the world spun around us. “What did I figure out?” I giggled. His mood was contagious.

Elliott stopped spinning us around. His face turned more serious as his eyes assessed mine. “Ma scusa, tu sai come e’ arrivata qui, non?”

Though the sounds his voice made were music to my ears, I didn’t understand a word of it. I looked into his eyes; I could feel the confusion coloring my face. “What?”

“
I’m sorry, Miele.” Elliott hugged me close and I could feel him pause as he breathed me in. Self conscious as ever, I wondered what I smelled like to him. He sat me down softly back on the grassy ground. Folding his body down to sit beside mine, he continued, “Do you know how you got here?”

“
I don’t even know where I am.” I kept starring into his eyes.

Elliott seemed to deliberate at my response. It was as if he was afraid of scaring me. He spoke his next words slow and careful. “Where do you think you are?”

I pried my eyes from the dreamy guy in front of me, and once again scanned the surroundings. “Well, it
looks
like my meadow. . .”

“
But. . .” he pried.

“
But. . . it’s different.”

He stroked his fingertips from my temple to chin and looked deep into my eyes. “What do you see?” he asked.

I shivered at the sensation. The electricity that pulsed from him seemed somehow more condensed here, wherever I was. I pulled my eyes away from his and looked up.

“
I see the stars, galaxies, as though I am in another realm. It’s like looking through a telescope, but all I have to do is look up.” My face found his and then we both looked up again and got lost in the beauty.

Elliott giggled his laugh beside me. “It is pretty amazing. Like you.”

“
Huh?”

“
You’re pretty. And amazing.”

I blushed and continued, to distract him. As a rule, I shied away from attention. “There’s more,” I added.

He turned his face towards mine, a smile building in his mouth and beaming in his eyes. “What is it?” But he already seemed to know my answer.

“
There’s an energy here. Everywhere. Can you feel it too?”

Elliott outright laughed. “Yes!” he managed between giggles. “I feel it too.”

“
You. Know. Where. We. Are,” I accused, emphasizing each word.

He rolled onto his back nonchalantly, and placed his arms behind his head. “I might.”

My eyes grew big and round at his response before narrowing on my prey. I was a puma and he was a rabbit. He was going down. It felt as if I had known Elliott my entire life, perhaps longer. I was completely comfortable with him, as he obviously was with me. I tried to be sneaky as I moved to pounce.

The funny thing was, he didn’t seem to notice (or pretended not to notice) what I was up to. A smug I-know-more-than-you-do look on his angel face as he looked up into the heavens.

I pounced.

I don’t know how he knew what I was up to, but his reflexes were ready for me. While I was still in the air, he leaned away from me in such a way that when I landed on top of him, he rolled me off and placed himself on top of me. I was pinned. He smiled.

“
What?” he said as casually as if we were sitting all proper having tea.

I sighed. He definitely had the upper hand here. I just wished I knew where
here
was.

Elliott rolled off me, but still kept contact. The energy that was pulsing between us was euphoric. I continued to lay on my back, as he propped himself up with one hand behind his head and the other stroking my arm. “Are you mad at me Miele?” His accent seemed thicker now, or maybe I was just more perceptive in this world. He smiled his perfect smile and pretended to worry about my answer.

I couldn’t be mad at him. My body craved being near him and his energy too badly. “No,” I confessed.

We sat like that for awhile. I gazing up at the galaxy and he gazing over at me. Even without looking at him, I was taking in his energy. Reading it. It was more distinct than the other waves that I could sense emitting off the world around me. Without seeing it exactly, I could sense that his energy had color. Vaguely, I wondered if mine did, too.

Wherever we were, I was on sensory overload. I soaked in all I could, memorizing this place and its beauty. But especially I worked at memorizing Elliott.

I was ecstatic to see him. During our last conversation, he’d made it sound like it would be
forever, maybe longer, until we would be together again. I wondered,
what had changed?

Elliott stroked my face with his fingertips. “I’m so proud of you,” he beamed.

“
Why?” I didn’t understand anything anymore.

“
You found a way for us to see each other.”

I sat up and looked him straight in his eyes, confused. “I did?”

“
I can’t believe I didn’t think of it before. What, with you showing up in that lower plane early saturday. But to have projected so far!” Elliott sounded impressed, and I had no idea why. He was still talking, but it seemed he was talking more to himself than to me. I was quiet as I tried to catch up with him. As I tried to understand.

I touched his hand, recapturing his attention. “Elliott, I must have missed something. What did I figure out? How can we be together?” I needed to know this. It was crucial information to my existence.

He took both of my hands in his. “We can be together
here
.” His eyes beamed with happiness.

“
Yeah. I missed that, too.” My eyebrow raised. “Where are we?”

“
You really don’t know?”

I shook my head. “Besides a really vivid dream, I haven’t a clue.”

“
No, not a dream Miele. This is more real than . . .” he paused, obviously trying to come up with a suitable comparison. “Life.”

“
You’re changing the subject again,” I teased. “Please tell me where we are. I can handle it.” I held up my hand and crossed my fingers. “Promise.”