Island.

Chapter 8

Eight.

The wind picked up, whipping my hair all around. People were busy scurrying around, trying to get customers to shop at their little stores and stands. I was walking to the plaza, to meet Keanu. The sky was a mass of a forlorn gray. Maybe a warning, telling me that I shouldn’t go.

It was strange saying his real name. I was just so used to calling him Weirdo. I was thinking over everything that Leia had said. How could they blame him for that fire? She said so herself that those kids he used to hang with weren’t so happy about him deciding to change. They could’ve set that fire for all I know.

Wait.

 Why was I getting all angry over this? I hardly know the guy.

 Finally reaching the plaza, I scanned the place looking for him.

I felt a wave of anxiety, and then hurt. I didn’t see him. What if he stood me up? I was going to look like an idiot for coming out here. I decided to sit on one of the stools from the “Soda Shack” and wait a little while more. I ordered a cherry coke while I waited for him. It was almost an hour later when I felt a tap on my shoulder. Turning around, a little startled, I saw him.

“Oh, hey. You scared me a little,” I said a little breathless. I was jumpy from the adrenaline shock.

 “Sorry about that.” He was wearing faded blue jeans and a black t-shirt. They hugged his body, and it made it hard to look away. I focused on his eyes instead, and almost gasped. They were such a deep color. Almost entrancing. I’d never seen eyes like his anywhere.

“So,” I started. I wasn’t sure why I was here in the first place.

“What do you want to show me?” I asked, squinting a little so I can see his face.

“Its not here. We’ll have to walk a little. I hope I’m not scaring you, or anything.” He looked at me with almost hopeful eyes. He definitely wasn’t scaring me. I just shook my head and hopped off the stool, waiting for him to lead the way.

~

“Okay. Now we have to walk through these bushes. Its not too far away. And tell me you’re not scared,” he laughed.
 We had walked in the direction of the beach, but we weren’t going there. Instead of taking the small path that led to the beach, we walked a little more towards a dead-end that was there. It had bushes all around the edges. I was a little confused as to why we were here. But I didn’t ask any questions. During the whole walk here, he talked, asking me the questions. It was like he was fascinated by everything that I did. I found that a little strange. I wasn’t used to being the center of attention.

“I’m not scared, I promise.” He took my hand and led me through the bushes. But I was surprised that it didn’t lead us into some forest. The bushes actually covered the mouth of a cave, and there was dark tunnel leading deeper and deeper into it.

“Um, are you sure this is where we’re going?” I asked, truly nervous now.

“Yep,” he said with a smirk. “C’mon”.

We walked through the tunnel and I was kind of surprised to see that we were walking to an area that was illuminated by the sun. How was the sun getting through here? I wanted to ask him, but I just left it alone for some reason.

He took my hand and led me through the last bit of the tunnel, that had jagged, sharp rocks sticking out at random parts.

 “We need to be careful around this part,” he said quietly. I stepped over the last bit that led us into the illuminated cave.

It was beautiful.

 The center of it was where the water from the ocean was, and I could see the fish swimming around, like a little cesspool. There were starfish that stuck to the sand around the water. They were of different colors, and I looked up to see where the light was coming from. What should’ve been the ceiling of the cave, was actually hollow. It was like someone cut the top of the cave off.

But what I saw when I looked around the cave, was the most shocking part of this little adventure. There were several easels placed at various spots, around the cave, all around the pool. I walked over to the nearest one, to see that it was a painting of the airport. And people were strolling out their luggage.

Most of them were the tanned complexion here, but I saw one pale, slim girl. With brown, almost auburn hair, staring at the scene before her.

“How did yo--” I tried to ask, when he laughed.

“That’s the first time I saw you.” he said softly, with a smirk. I saw paintings of the beach, the shops, and school, and even Leia, playing with little Keoni. It looked more like a photograph than a painting.

I finally came across one that was different from the others. There weren’t any bright or vibrant colors on this one, instead the background was a midnight blue. And there were flames all around, with a building in the center. Through one of the windows of the building, there was a silhouette of someone.

And the building was engulfed in the flames.

And then I remembered what Leia was telling me. The story about Keanu’s parents and their shop. And the fire. I couldn’t ask him because suddenly rain began to pour through the ceiling of the cave. Keanu took my hand.

“The cave is going to flood, we need to get out of here,” he told me quickly.

“But what about your paintings?” I asked him, while getting soaked to the skin from the rain.

“Don’t worry about them. C’mon!”

We ran out of the tunnel with our hands tightly gripping each other, the adrenaline making me feel like I was going to jump out of my skin.