Cinereous Skies

Chapter 10: Bridge over Troubled Warblers

Neal lets his right hand skim through the water. He smiled at Kate and tightens his left arm around her. She's sitting beside him in the small gondola. The oars lie unused at their feet. They're content to let the river guide them wherever it wants.

The rainforest is a slow-moving panorama in shades of tourmaline and jade. Kate looks like she could be a water sprite. She's clad in the same sky-blue silk dress she wore for their farewell dinner before he left for Oxford.

She rests her head on his shoulder. "I wish this trip would never end."

"It doesn't have to. We can stay on the river. Just you and me. We'll let the world flow around us."

Her response is a kiss. He could live in that kiss till the end of time.

Kate pulls back when the gondola rounds a bend in the river. A tributary leads off to their right. "Look!" she exclaims. "It's Arkham."

"In the middle of the rainforest? You're joking."

Her laughter sounds like the tinkle of bells. Stroking his cheek with her hand, she nudges his head toward the tributary. "Such a skeptic you are. What do you make of that?"

He stares in disbelief. Rising out of the mist are the familiar silhouettes he knows so well. He can make out Derleth Hall with its observatory and the university tower. The Church of St. Jude is visible on Prospect Hill.

Kate picks up an oar and turns their craft toward Arkham. "Do you see them?"

"Who?"

"Our friends. They're on the bridge, waving to us. Help me paddle."

He retrieves the second oar. The bridge is so far away. When had her eyes become sharper than his? Gradually he can make out the figures—Peter, El, Mozzie, June ... Sara's there, too. As their boat draws close, he realizes they're singing. It's one of June's favorite songs, "Bridge Over Troubled Water."

He laughs and Kate does too. Sara is singing her heart out about a bridge over troubled warblers.

"She really is hopeless," he says and tells her about the other lyrics Sara muddled.

"You should go to them. They need you, Sara in particular. For her sake, for the world's sake, you have to teach her the correct words."

"You don't mind?"

"Of course not. Go to them, Neal."

He watches them on the bridge, singing and waving at him. Peter beckons to him. "You'll come with me, right? ... Kate?"

When she doesn't answer, he turns his head.

She's gone.

"Kate!" He scans the water frantically. Surely he would have heard a splash if she'd fallen into the river. A bird soars high overhead. Its opalescent blue feathers shimmer in the sun. As the bird flies off, he hears distant calls. They sound like his name ...

"Neal?"

He blinked. June was now in front of him. As his eyes gradually focused, he realized she was crying. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"Don't mind those tears. I'm just happy to see you." She hugged him. "Welcome back!"

"Neal, my boy, I expect a full report as soon as you're up to it," Mozzie said, wiping his glasses. "Don't think you can go wandering off to unknown planets and leave us in the dark."

He scanned the hospital room. Had he been sick? Had it all been a dream? But they seemed to know about Merope as well. He lay back on the pillows, trying to piece together his recollections. "Is Peter all right?"