Balor laughed and said with a wink in his eye, ‘any specific mortal?’ to which he then said loudly, ‘looks like the barbaric thunder god has been hit by cupid’s arrow’
‘No one specific’ as I glared at him with my eyes flaming red and walked out slamming the door behind me. The demons standing guard moved aside swiftly.
‘Hey Aidan, great to see you here’ Jasmine Halle asked as Sarah looked at her. ‘Yeah, Sarah, do you want me to send you home?’ I asked Sarah and ignoring Jasmine Halle. ‘You know, even a hello would do’ Jasmine Halle said as she walked off angrily towards Balor’s room. ‘NO! I can send her home!’ to which I felt a punch on my face and kick in my stomach bringing me to the ground. Jasmine Halle walks off hurriedly to where Balor was. I vaguely remember Jasmine Halle speaking to Balor in ancient Celt language.
‘Aidan!’ Sarah immediately got down from her stool and sat by my side as I slowly rose to face James.
‘JAMES!! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?’ Sarah shouted angrily at James. ‘I DON’T LIKE HIM WITH YOU OR NEAR YOU! I SWEAR I’LL KILL HIM IF HE IS WITH OR NEAR YOU AGAIN!!!’ James shouted back at Sarah who is moving her hands all about as if to calm herself down. The demons just stood and watch and some were sniggering and laughing at the thought that a mortal had brought down a God. ‘What’s gotten into you James? How many times do I have to tell you that there is nothing between Aidan and me??’ Sarah asked as she calmed herself down.
I looked at James and then at Sarah and say,‘It’s ok Sarah, I’m fine’ I reassure her. ‘You’re fine, I’m NOT!’ she shot back at me and then glared at James. Rebecca was nowhere to be seen and I was not surprised, ‘I’m going with Aidan! and THAT’s FINAL!’ she screamed angrily. I had never seen an angry Sarah before and it was obvious that an angry woman is a dangerous woman. I looked at her while wiping blood from the corner of my lips. With that she walked out the door, pulling me with her. James glared at me as Rebecca appeared by his side to cool him down.
Outside as we walked back home, Sarah walked ahead of me and calmed herself. There was a moment of silence until I said, ‘thanks for standing up for me earlier, really appreciate it’
‘No worries, it’s not as if you can’t defend yourself. You could have made him fly in all places but you didn’t because of me, I suppose’ Sarah said while looking down at the road. ‘Sarah, actually Rebecca caused the misunderstanding just now, she would have said something that triggered the anger in James’ I told Sarah. Sarah looked at me and said, ‘Aidan, it’s best not to speculate or accuse unless you have proof of it. Yeah, I know James was wrong, but blaming Rebecca, that’s just childish!’ Sarah said as she stared at me angrily. ‘Point noted’ I answered and thought to myself, ‘does mind reading qualify as proof?’ Although I couldn’t read her mind, she looked sad and I thought of cheering her up. So, I decided not to talk about James and instead asked her, ‘when was the last you danced in the rain?’
She stopped and looked at me wide-eyed, ‘never done it before, dancing in the rain would get you sick, that’s what mother used to say’ she answered as she kicked imaginary balls.
‘Well, mother isn’t here, is she?’ I looked at her and smiled while bringing on a gentle drizzle. Sarah stood at her place and extended her arm and then she gave the most beautiful smile I had ever seen in her, it was a pure, genuine, happy smile. In no time, it began raining and she was dancing in rain, kicking puddles of water which had formed on the road. She looked at me happily like a small child set free to run and play in the rain. I had just brought a gentle rain which subsided as we reached Aunt Josie’s home.
When we reached Aunt Josie’s home, Sarah was all wet but she didn’t seem to care about it. She opened the door, only to be greeted by a shocked Aunt Josie, ‘Oh my! Sarah, go up and bath this very moment!’ she instructed and Sarah looked down in guiltily. She then turned towards me and gave me a peck on my cheek and said whispered in my ear, ‘thank you for everything’ to which I replied, ‘sweet dreams, little one’ I whispered back. Our eyes were locked in gaze until Aunt Josie said, ‘Sarah, where is James?! Why didn’t he send you back?’
Sarah looked at her aunt and said, ‘he was busy with Rebecca. Aidan offered to send me home and I accepted’ she said as she ran up the stairs, her cheeks blushing.
Aunt Josie gave me a stare and thought that I was becoming a bad influence on her niece. ‘Thank you for bringing Sarah home, good night Aidan!’ Aunt Josie said. ‘Goodbye and good night, Aunt Josie, sweet dreams’ I said as I laughed to myself, closed the door behind me and walked a short distance before vanishing into a cloud of mist.
I found Jake sleeping in the living area sofa with his right hand dangling and touching the floor. The sofa was too short as his legs were dangling as well. I decided not to wake him up and went up to my room. I smiled all the way to my room; ‘maybe I am beginning to fall in love’ I thought to myself and thought about the peck on the cheek Sarah had given me. However, James and Rebecca were still around. Jake and I would share everything that had happened the next morning. I allowed the rain to continue into the night, hoping that Sarah would get a good night’s sleep.
Chapter 11 - An unexpected visit
The next day, Sarah woke up to a bright sunny morning. She had slept well with the rain the previous night. There had no news of James and Rebecca since the previous night. As she came down the stairs, there was a knock on the main door.
‘I’ll get it!’ she shouted to Aunt Josie was who in the kitchen preparing breakfast.
When Sarah opened the door, standing in front of her was her mother, ‘Mother!!!’ as she gave her mother a tight hug. ‘You didn’t say you were coming, what a pleasant surprise!’ Sarah continued as she took her mother’s luggage and placed them at the side of the living room.
‘I wanted to surprise you and Josie’ Sarah’s mother said as she hugged her sister Josie who was now standing next to Sarah. ‘Nara, my dearest sister, just in time for breakfast, Sarah, would you please set the table’ Aunt Josie said as she took Nara to the living area and began chatting and catching up on things.
‘The table is set. Let’s eat!’ Sarah called out to Aunt Josie and her mother. Aunt Josie had made banana blueberry pancakes accompanied by maple syrup. It was a delightful way to begin the day as they talked and laughed over the hearty meal. ‘These pancakes are good, Aunt Josie!’ Sarah said while Jake drooled over what he couldn’t eat.
‘A lovely meal Josie’ Nara said as she cleared the table and placed the dishes into the sink. Josie and Sarah helped clear the table. There were no leftovers for breakfast. Once the dining area was cleared and the dishes washed, Nara took Sarah to the living room, ‘Sarah, I heard James is back’ to which Sarah replied, ‘yes, he is but I’m not sure he is around, haven’t heard from him in days. Rebecca is here too’
‘I’ll be over at the store today. Sarah, bring Nara there and we can have dinner at The Art Café’ Josie said as she kissed Nara and Sarah on the cheeks and bid them a good day. Today, mother and daughter were going to spend quality time together, after a long time.
‘Dearest, James met me in Devon and this time he wants to make amends’ Nara said to her daughter, Sarah, who stared at her in disbelief.
‘Mother, how can he make amends when Rebecca tagged along everywhere we went. I think they are still together and that James is lying to me. Thank God, Aidan was there. Mother, have you met Aidan, he is a charming young man!’ Sarah said as she recollected the moments at dinner and at Darkness Club.
‘No, I have yet to meet this Aidan fellow. Anyway, dear, Rebecca is here on business and she is leaving today. James has told me that he wishes to spend the next few days with you, just the two of you. I feel he deserves a second chance and you should give it to him. I like James, although I disapprove of what he did to you and what is this I hear, you are spending way too much of your time with this Aidan fellow, a vagrant, Josie tells me’ Mother continued as she acknowledge Jake who had just walked in on their conversation
. ‘Jake, do you know who this Aidan fellow is? I am surprised you allowed Sarah to mix with such a man!’ Nara said as she chided Jake, who was wide-eyed. In defense, Jake said, ‘Aunt Nara, Aidan isn’t what you think. He is a good man and he cares for Sarah, unlike James, who only cares about himself and Rebecca!’
‘Mum! He isn’t a vagrant and in fact is a businessman who deals in stock and investments. He lives in Boswedden House with Mr. and Mrs. Smith; you have met them, haven’t you? Yeah, I agree that he isn’t as presentable as James is but, Mother, there is no one like Aidan’ Sarah said defending Aidan. ‘You seem to like him, don’t you? Well then, tell me more about his family, who are they? What do they do? Where does he come from?’ Nara continued asking Sarah. ‘Frankly, dear, it seems he appeared out of nowhere and had to land in St Just, to toy on your feelings, stupid man!’ mother said in a suspicious tone.
‘Mother!’ was all Sarah could say as she kept silent and became thoughtful. All this while, Aidan had never mentioned about his family or much about himself. Sarah had no idea where he came from, he never told her and she never asked. He remained private and would only answer if he was asked. Aidan, unlike others, didn’t prod into other people’s business and couldn’t care less about the local gossip in town. However, she was grateful to Aidan, as he had saved her and Jake, twice and somehow, Aidan always brought a smile to her face. Nara caught Sarah smiling and asked, ‘dear, why the smile?’ to which Sarah answered, ‘nothing, alright then! I’ll spend the day with James, but it’s just to make you happy, nothing else’
Nara gave a broad smile as she turned to Jake and asked, ‘So, Jake, what have you been up to?’ Nara said as she placed her arm on Jake’s shoulders ‘How are you? It’s been ages since we sat down and had a chat. Sarah tells me you have become close to this Aidan guy, spill the beans dear. Sarah, please go get dressed. I don’t want James to see you in your pajamas’ Nara said as she smiled and looked at Jake in the eye. Nara was the only person who could see Jake and Jake relished that thought, as Nara always emphasized the fact that she was his mother as much as she was Sarah’s mother.
As Sarah walked up the stairs, she felt a sense of happiness come over her as she thought about the good times she shared with James. In the past, James had always placed Sarah as his priority, he would hold his meetings and speak to her at length. All that changed when James was made the Vice President of his father’s company. Their dates became less and he would spend more and more time in the office, where Rebecca, their schoolmate, was his secretary. ‘Ah! You are beautiful, my dear one and looking lovely in that blouse and the jeans fits you fine. James would be here any minute and Jake, I would love to meet this Aidan fellow, can you arrange a meeting, say today, 5.00 pm at St Helen’s Oratory, is that possible’ to which Jake nodded and vanished to inform Aidan about the meeting.
Shortly afterwards, the door bell rang and James stood at the door with three bouquets of flowers. He gave Nara lilies, Aunt Josie got daisies, which Nara placed in a vase and Sarah received red roses, which were her favorite. As Sarah came to meet James, she smiled at him and he gave her hug and a peck on the cheek as James handed her the bouquet of red roses. ‘You two have fun now!’ Nara said as James walked Sarah to his car and opened his car door for Sarah.
As they bid Nara farewell, James opened the door and Sarah sat in. As they drove away, there was silence between both of them until James said, ‘I’m sorry about my behavior towards your friend at the club, which was totally unbecoming of me. Please forgive me. Sarah, I love you, then and now and what happened on what was to be our wedding, please forgive me’
‘Yeah, that was horrible of you. You know, Aidan means no harm, he could have brought you to the floor but he didn’t. I forgive you but what about Rebecca?’ Sarah said quietly and continued looking out of the window. ‘Sarah, Rebecca and I are history, and she has left to London. And, how do you know that friend of yours can bring me down?’ James quizzed Sarah to which Sarah replied, ‘James, I have seen him bring down many people, that’s all’ James looked at Sarah and said, ‘Let’s go to the beach, I hear there are great beaches in this part of the country’ James said as he drove towards Holywell Beach.
As James turned into the road leading to Holywell Beach and parked the ca,r stopped the engine, he turned towards Sarah and continued, ‘Sarah, Rebecca and I are no more, please believe me, that’s confirmed. She was here for business and I won’t be seeing her anymore. I really want to concentrate on “us” now. From now on, it will just be you and me, just like old times’ James continued as he touched Sarah’s right hand which was on her lap while looking into her eyes, briefly. James then got down from the car and opened Sarah’s car door. They spent the day at the beach and began reminiscing their good old times. It wasn’t long before Sarah was smiling happily, as if, falling in love for the first time. ‘James, I want ice-cream! Chocolate ice-cream!’ Sarah said playfully as James walked to the ice-cream stall and returned with one cone of chocolate ice-cream, which they both shared. At sunset, James and Sarah walked hand-in-hand, along the beach and kissed as the sun dropped below the horizon.
~~
At Boswedden House, Jake entered Aidan’s room and woke Aidan up, although Aidan knew the purpose of Jake’s visit, Jake said, ‘Aidan, Sarah’s mum wants to meet you at St Helen’s Oratory at 5.00 pm today?’ Jake said, ‘it’s possible?’
‘Yeah, no problem, I’ll know and I’ll be there. What’s Sarah been up to’ I asked Jake curiously. ‘How did you know when I just told you? Nara, that’s her mum, wants James and Sarah to be together, which I don’t agree at all. She agreed to James request of allowing him to spend the next few days that he is here so that the two of them can be together. She has been hearing about you and I’m afraid it isn’t good’ Jake said sadly. ‘You know, Nara can see me too!’ Jake said excitedly. ‘She saw me the day I passed on and knows I am always with Sarah, she has THAT much trust in me!’
‘Jake, I just know stuff, please don’t ask me the mechanics of it’ I answered as I walked towards the bathroom to freshen up. ‘Ok, I’ll be going then, see you at sharp 5.00 pm? Please be punctual, if it’s one thing that Aunt Nara hates, is people who aren’t punctual!’ Jake said to confirm, ‘it’s at St Helen’s Oratory!’ I turned towards Jake and answered, ‘yeah man, I heard you, 5.00 pm, loud and clear’ I answered as I took a towel and entered the bathroom.
That day was uneventful. At sharp 5.00 pm, Nara came with Jake. I was already waiting there when they arrived. Poseidon kept me company as we began playing with our powers. Poseidon would raise the waves as high as the oratory while I would push them back so as to not allow a single drop of the wave to drop on land. Poseidon vanished just as soon he saw Nara in the distance. Jake met me and introduced us, ‘Nara, this is Aidan and Aidan, this is Aunt Nara, Sarah’s mum’ Jake introduced us.
We shook hands and I sensed a power within her, ‘it’s as if she is a Goddess or was a Goddess, Mother, answers would be nice’ I thought to myself while hoping that Mother would give me some hint. There was something about Nara, ‘Mother!’ I thought to myself and continued, ‘where are you when I need you now’. Mother heard my call and said, ‘Aidan, I heard you, give Nara the due respect she deserves. We will speak later’
Nara came closer and with her face directly facing mine, she looked deeply into my eyes and whispered, ‘Marella’ which made me move back, Jake had seen my reaction and asked, ‘what’s wrong?’ to which I replied, ‘nothing’. ‘How does she know Mother?’ I continued thinking to myself when Mother replied, son, she is an old friend of mine. It’s been ages since we met last, I don’t even remember. Do not be alarmed. She means no harm’
‘Aidan, Aidan, I finally get to meet the man behind the name’ Nara said as she walked to the bench and sat down. She gestured me to sit down beside her, which I did. Jake sat at the other end of the bench. ‘Now, let’s get down straight to business. Let me explain things here, you have become extremely close to my daughter
, Sarah. I have been told by Jake and her that they are grateful to you for saving them twice. I would like to thank you for risking your life for my daughter’ Nara continued. She spoke with her hands moving in all directions, similar to Sarah, ‘like mother, like daughter’ I thought to myself.
‘However, James is the man for her, not some vagrant wannabe businessman. I approve of James and disapprove of you totally. Stay away from my daughter and I never want to see you near her again, is that understood?’ she continued sternly as she rose from the bench.
Jake followed suit and said, ‘Aunt Nara, that’s not right!’ he protested. Nara turned to Jake and replied, sternly, ‘it’s my daughter’s life we are talking about here, Jake. I know what and who is right or wrong for my daughter’ Jake and I became silent and didn’t say a word after that.
Jake kept quiet while looking at me. I remained silent until Nara repeated, ‘is that understood, Aidan?’ sarcastically to which I nodded with my head hung. Then, the word of Dea, ‘attachment is only for mortals’ and now I understood that attachment also brought sadness. I had become attached to Sarah unknowingly and without her mother’s approval, it would not be right to pursue her.
As the meeting was a short one, Jake and Nara went home. Jake was disappointed in Nara. Jake felt that Nara had not taken the trouble to know me as much as Jake and Sarah did and yet she passed an unreasonable judgment of not allowing me to see Sarah. As Nara could read Jake’s thoughts clearly, we decided against telepathic conversations for a while.