The Light of the Blue Pearl (5 page)

It was a strange feeling meeting someone new
and not instinctually keeping her distance, but everything about
the last day or so had been strange and new. When she glanced back
up she noticed a man holding a sign with her name on it.

She walked over to him and told him she was
Ethne, he smiled at her and handed her another envelope. It was
small and plain and had only a short message inside.

“This was your first test. You passed.”

“Test?” she thought. “I was being tested?”
She wasn’t sure why, but that made her kind of angry. Maybe it was
just because she was extremely exhausted and really hungry, but
this little “game” apparently, was getting a little old. She had
just travelled for twelve hours on two planes to a foreign country;
she was ready to find out why.

She put the note back in the envelope and
followed the man out to a cab that was parked outside. It was nice
not having to go to baggage claim since she only had the one bag,
but she was actually a little disappointed at the thought that she
might not see Ian again.

“Oh well,” she thought to herself.

The man took her bag and opened the door for
her; she climbed inside having absolutely no idea where he was
taking her. The room key had been unmarked, perhaps on purpose, who
knows. Either way, she didn’t know what hotel she was going to, or
even if she was going to a hotel. She started to feel a little
uneasy.

As he pulled away from the curb all she
could do was hold her breath and stare out the window, hoping she
had made the right decision to come here.

The view out her window was spectacular as
they drove speedily through the countryside passing beautiful
beaches, palm trees and seeing nothing but the most beautiful blue
water she had ever seen.

Her brochure had told her that this was
Ambergris Caye, the largest island of Belize. It didn’t really
matter though, she still had no idea where she was going and what
she was doing here.

It hadn’t been very long since they had left
the airport and the driver was already slowing down and pulling
into the driveway of a hotel. He didn’t even bother to turn off the
car. He retrieved her bag, handed it to her, smiled and was gone
before she could even thank him. She suddenly felt very alone. Even
though he hadn’t said a word to her during the drive, ever since
she had met Ian on the plane the rest of the trip hadn’t felt quite
as lonely. But she was used to being alone, so she shook off the
abandoned feeling and started making her way up the path to the
hotel.

It was stunning. Actually stunning wasn’t
even accurate enough. She hadn’t travelled much, had pretty much
spent her entire life in San Francisco, which while having its own
beauty couldn’t even compare to this.

The hotel had a quaint spiral staircase with
yellow trim leading to the balcony, and so many palm trees among
the beautiful flowers that she found herself just staring in awe.
And that didn’t even include the breathtaking blue water that
spanned from the pool all the way out to the ocean, which made the
pool seem as though it simply went on forever. This is what people
meant when they said paradise. She was incredibly disappointed that
her trip here was going to be so short. She was set to head back
Sunday morning, not nearly enough time to really revel in the
beauty here; Sunday morning was going to come far too quickly.

The Pelican Reef Villas Resort didn’t look
inexpensive by any means; the thought of how much this trip had to
be costing crossed her mind for the first time. It had to have cost
a fortune so far, a large sum paid for by a possible stranger, for
a stranger? She couldn’t fathom why anyone would do that.

As she made her way up the cobblestone
pathway to the lobby door, someone was coming out. She couldn’t
believe her eyes when Ian was staring back at her with a gigantic
grin on his face.

“Well fancy meeting you here,” he said,
holding the door for her.

“Hi,” she said, unable to keep herself from
smiling back.

“This is very weird,” he said. “Of all the
hotels, although I think you can agree this has to be one of the
most beautiful ones yes?”

“Yeah, it’s amazing,” she said.

“Well if we’d only known, we could have
shared a cab,” he said, grinning at her as she stepped past him
into the lobby.

She laughed nervously. “Yeah, if we’d only
known.”

“After you check in would you like to get
something to eat?” he asked.

Although she was very pleased to see him
again, she knew that given the circumstances of her visit having a
new friend on the premises might complicate things.

The instructions had been very clear, she
wasn’t to stray off course and while she hadn’t, it was pretty
clear that the course may have other plans. She didn’t particularly
want to share with a stranger why she was in Belize, it was a very
unbelievable and strange story; he would think her mad.

It was highly coincidental that he was at
her hotel too, come to think of it, but it could be just that, a
coincidence. She didn’t want to add paranoia to her list of issues,
so she did her best to put the idea out of her mind. She really did
enjoy his company. Maybe there was a way to make both things work;
what could be the harm in a bite to eat?

“I’d love that,” she said. “But I’m not
quite sure of my plans just yet. Let me check in and get settled
and get back to you?”

“Oh yeah sure, no problem, I’m in room 19,”
he said, waving goodbye to her. “Just come knock on the door if
you’re free.”

“Okay, I will,” she said, smiling back at
him.

After he was gone she turned and waited for
the woman at the counter to come back; she hoped she wouldn’t be
long.

T
he woman at the
counter had been very friendly when Ethne had checked in, luckily
there had indeed been a room waiting for her. She hadn’t thought it
odd at all that Ethne already had a room key. She appraised her
like she knew something that Ethne didn’t, and although Ethne was
well ahead of check-in time, the room was already ready for her.
While she didn’t appreciate that the woman knew more than she did,
it certainly wasn’t the woman’s fault that Ethne was being kept in
the dark when other people obviously weren’t.

She hadn’t had anything for Ethne aside from
information about the hotel and the offer of assistance should she
need it. Just steps away from her door, she looked out once more at
the crystal clear blue water before slipping her room key into the
lock and stepping inside.

The first word that came into her head when
she went inside and saw where she was going to be staying, was wow;
just simply, wow. She was almost speechless at the extravagant
accommodations that were to be just for her for such a short time.
Honestly, with such a brief stay and just for one person, this
place was way beyond necessary for anyone.

She would have been quite content in a one
bedroom hotel room that simply boasted a bed, a bathroom and maybe
a television, though she doubted she would have even used that. But
this place was stunning, it made her home look like a college dorm
if you were to compare.

For one thing, it was huge; she could tell
already that it was far more than a single suite. She set down her
bag and started making her way to the most amazing kitchen she had
ever seen.

The granite countertops seemed almost sinful
to be located in a place that no one lived in permanently. They
were so clean and untouched by the clutter of everyday life that
perhaps it was only right they belonged in a place like this, where
no one had quite the time to ruin their beauty.

Sitting on the pristine countertop was an
envelope with her name on it.

“Here we go,” she said out loud to herself,
quickly making her way across the room to it.

Picking it up she could tell it was far more
substantial than any other note she had received thus far. She
carefully tore it open and started pulling out what was inside.
There were a couple of brochures and a note.

“Welcome my dear to this lovely place. I
hope this letter finds you well and that you are enjoying your stay
so far. You should be rewarded for making it this far, you’ve had a
long journey and you must be exhausted.

“Next to the master bedroom is a master
bathroom with a Jacuzzi tub. Enjoy it, as you will have quite a day
tomorrow.

“Inside the envelope you will find a
brochure. There are two options on the brochure: one is to go scuba
diving, and the other is to go snorkeling. You can do either, but
you must do one.

“Whichever you choose, the arrangements have
already been made for you, and all you need to do is be down at the
lobby by 5:00 a.m.

“If you choose to go scuba diving, there is
an instructor waiting downstairs for you right now who will teach
you the basics. However, if you choose snorkeling, the rest of the
day is yours.”

That was it, nothing else was said – just
pick an excursion and go. Now she really didn’t know what to think,
and frankly, she was almost too tired to care.

Walking down the hallway to the bedroom her
legs felt fifty pounds heavier than normal. When she saw the ever
so inviting bed and the veranda close by, all she really wanted to
do was lie down and fall asleep to the peaceful sounds of the
ocean. But she remembered what Ian had said, that she should fight
the urge and do anything but sleep.

Ian. She just remembered she was supposed to
go have a bite with him. While the Jacuzzi tub was tempting, she
was absolutely starving and had the entire day to explore and do
whatever she wanted in paradise. The idea that she could perhaps
not spend this day alone was far more tempting indeed.

True, at home she would have never attempted
to build a relationship with this person. But this wasn’t home and
she was likely never going to see him again, so what was the
harm?

She looked down at the brochures again
before picking up her things to leave. The decision was an easy
one, scuba diving was out, and so snorkeling it would have to be.
The best part of that decision is that it meant the rest of the day
was hers, and she knew exactly how she wanted to spend it.

When she emerged from her room the air was
the perfect temperature, like being wrapped up in her favorite
blanket. She had decided to put on the dress that had been packed
for her, no doubt that outfit wasn’t going to work for snorkeling
and was far too stunning to stay packed away in her bag. Her trip
was going to be so short she hated the idea of it going to waste.
Only slightly did she have it in the back of her mind that she
might be putting it on for Ian.

She made her way to room 19, her heart
suddenly beginning to flutter a bit which took her by surprise.
This was silly. It was just lunch, and she had practically spent
the last day with the guy already, what was the big deal now? No
matter what she said to herself, she couldn’t seem to manage to
slow its pace.

Taking one last deep breath she mustered the
courage to knock on his door. “Maybe he wouldn’t be there,” she
thought. But just as she finished thinking that thought the door
opened.

“Well hello there,” Ian said, grinning at
her. “I was beginning to think maybe you weren’t coming.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said, feeling a bit bad
for having kept him waiting. “You should have gone without me.”

“Not a chance,” he said, stepping outside
and closing the door behind him. “So, where should we go?”

“I have no idea,” she said, backing away a
little so he could join her in the walkway. “I assumed you had a
place in mind?” she replied, barely able to make eye contact.

He could tell she was a little nervous for
the first time since they had met, not counting the obvious jitters
from the plane rides.

“You look lovely by the way,” he said,
smiling at her and moving past her to lead the way down the stairs.
“I have the perfect place in mind if you have no objections,” he
said, more as a statement than a question.

“Thank you,” she managed to say in response
to his unexpected compliment as she turned to follow behind this
stranger who had so quickly become her travel companion.

After the quick trip into San Pedro, they
stepped out of the taxi in front of a lovely restaurant on the
beach.

“I hope this is okay?” he said, looking at
her questioningly for some sort of sign of approval.

“It’s perfect,” she replied, as they made
their way to the door of the Blue Water Grill.

So far this entire experience had felt like
a dream. She was now on her way to having lunch in a gorgeous
restaurant that overlooked an unbelievable ocean, in a country she
had never even thought of before – with a person she likely
wouldn’t have met.

As the waitress led them to their table,
Ethne couldn’t take her eyes off the view. It truly was like a
dream. She could barely feel her legs, this was perhaps due to some
nervousness of being with Ian, but still she felt more comfortable
with him than she had with anyone for quite some time.

They sat down and quickly perused the menu
before deciding on sharing an appetizer and ordering a couple of
sandwiches and drinks.

“I don’t know about you but I’m starving,”
Ian said when the waitress left with their menus.

“Yeah, me too, I feel like I haven’t eaten
all day. I am sorry for keeping you waiting,” she said.

“Oh that’s alright, I’m sure you had a bit
of settling in to do,” he said, smiling at her before turning and
looking out at the ocean.

“Thank you for the invite to lunch, that was
very kind of you,” she said, quite unsure of what they were going
to talk about for the entire meal. She really was very
uncomfortable around people, having purposefully kept her distance
from most for so long. She nervously fumbled with her napkin in her
lap and tried to look out at the beauty before her and ignore her
thundering heart.