Out of the Blue

10

That morning the sirens blared in Stephanie and Andrew's ears and echoed throughout the dim cave. They were shivering from the cold or the rain and wind.

"H-how are they g-going to see us?" Stephanie chattered through her teeth. Andrew leaned over to grab the lantern. He started waving it back and forth, then realized that they couldn't see the light through the waterfall. Andrew started to yell for help.

"HEY! WE'RE IN HERE! HELP!" Andrew started to yell repeatedly. After about five times, Stephanie joined in. Three men in police jackets finally reached the cave after five minutes of screaming. They told Stephanie and Andrew to come to them and that they were going to be ok. After Andrew and Stephanie got into the car they were taken to the hospital.

Stephanie didn't go into work the next morning. She rested on her couch flipping through an old Seventeen magazine. The hurricane had slowed down quite a bit, the storm was practically over. Broken tree limbs and trunks scattered across the lawns and streets. Gentler winds made the remaining trees sway back and forth. She heard a ring at the door. Her mother yelled that she would get the door. Stephanie's mother walked back in and said with a sly smile and knowing eyes that she had a visitor.

Andrew walked in. With his warm smile his eyes brightened. He had a bandaid where the branch cut him. He smiled and walked over to Stephanie, sinking into the couch right beside her.

" How ya' doing?" Andrew said, while he put his arm around her. Stephanie shrugged her shoulders.

"I've been better" she weakly smiled. Stephanie was still unsure about what happened in the cave. Was he just saying those things? Maybe she should just forget it. Andrew laughed after she responded.

Andrew leaned close to her ear and whispered "I got something for you." Stephanie raised her eyebrows and turned to to face him. He held out a flower. It was one from his memorial. He brushed back her hair with his fingers and placed the flower behind her ear. " What happened last night," he continued to whisper, " I meant it. I know it was crazy last night but I really did mean it." He kissed her again. Stephanie pulled back. Slowly, she started to walk out the door and she grabbed her bike out of the shed. she started pedaling. She was already far ahead before Andrew got up and got into his truck to follow her. After about ten minutes, Stephanie reached the beach. Andrew was right behind her. He parked his truck and got out of the car.

"Stephanie! Where are you going?" Andrew yelled. Stephanie stopped on the bridge leading to the beach, Andrew caught up with her. Stephanie then smiled. Not at the ground but facing at him, staring right into his beautiful piercing blue eyes.

"You showed me a place that was close to you and now it's my turn. See that small island out there?" She pointed to a small, rocky island about two hundred yards off the coast. Andrew nodded.

He then asked " How do we get there?" Stephanie smiled and took his hand, pulling him to the shack along the beach. She walked in and a large Hawaiian native was at the counter. He looked up and his charcoal eyes glistened against his round, deep tanned face.

"Oh, why aloha! I haven't seen you in a while wahine nani." He looked up, seeing Andrew and smiled with smart eyes. " Are you going to mana moku I presume?" Stephanie nodded to answer his question.

"Ululani, we need two boards to paddle to mana moku." Stephanie smiled and motioned her eyes towards Andrew so he couldn't see. Ululani chuckled and went into the back to grab two pairs or paddles and said we could choose our boards out back. He whispered something in Hawaiian to Stephanie and she nodded and smiled. Andrew and Stephanie picked their boards and headed into the water paddling towards mana moku.

"You know quite a bit of Hawaiian." Andrew said.

"It's a pretty language" she replied while keeping her focus on the ocean.

"What does wahine nani mean?" He questioned.

"Beautiful girl. He always calls me that. Ululani is kinda like the big brother I never had. He's known me since I was thirteen."

"What did he whisper to you?" Stephanie just gave him a sly smile and said nothing for the rest of the trip. They reached the island, but instead of going to the beach front Stephanie told Andrew to paddle to the back of the island. When they reached the back, Stephanie and Andrew entered a large cave. On the inside of the walls were beautiful chalk drawings. Flowers, landscapes, and quotes all over the walls. On the bottom right of each picture was the date they were finished.

"Who did these?" Andrew looked around in awe. Stephanie let him take in the surroundings for about a minute longer.

"I did." She said quietly. Andrew quickly turned his head, looking at her with amazement.

"Really? How did you get up so high for some of them?" He questioned. Stephanie just laughed. They paddled onto the small white sandy beach inside the lit cave. The cave had a very large opening so inside it was only a little more shaded then the outside.

"How did you find this island, er, I mean, how did you know to come here?" Andrew asked as they sat on the private beach.

"When I was thirteen me and my parents got in a huge fight, a stupid fight really, but I got over dramatic and ran away. I met Ululani at his shack and asked if anyone goes to that island. I wanted to explore and get my mind off the fight. He was hesitant at first but for some understanding deeper then words could have said he let me paddle to mana moku. The front wasn't that interesting to me. I mean the flowers were beautiful but I thought the name of the island meant there was more to it. I paddled around back and found this cave." Stephanie looked up and pointed at a large hole in the roof of the cave. " Later tonight we'll take a boat out here to this cave again."

They returned back to shore and drove back to Stephanie's house and hung out until dark. They went back to the beach and Ululani's shack to rent a boat. On the boat ride back to mana moku there were no words spoken. Quick glimpses, a couple smiles and the steady purr of the mortar were the only things heard and seen in the small boat light. They finally reached the cave and beached the boat. On the small beach Stephanie set out a blanket, directly under the hole in the roof of the cave.

"Now lay down." She said to Andrew. They smiled at each other and settled themselves onto the blanket. On their backs, Andrew stretched one of his arms out and put the other behind his head for support. Stephanie leaned in close to Andrew, resting her head on his shoulder and he wrapped his stretched out arm around her as she pleased her arm across his defined chest.

"Look up." She whispered in his ear. Through the skylight was a myriad of stars individually placed in the deep, dark blue contrasting sky. The beauty of the stars was that they could see the Milky Way from where they lie. For what seemed like forever Stephanie and Andrew were hypnotized by the twinkling sight. The reflection of the water moved across the rock of the ceiling, all together making a breathtaking scene.

"This is beautiful. " Andrew whispered back into her ear.

"When I ran away I stayed here for one night. At first I was scared in the dark but I looked up and felt safe among the stars." Stephanie looked over at Andrew, his blue eyes faintly glowing in the dark of the cave. She smiled and with a faint laugh said " Has anyone ever told you that you're eyes are as bright as the stars?"

Andrew smiled with a small chuckle and and said " Nope. I don't think I've ever heard that one before."

Stephanie stared deeply at him. She softly brushed her lips against his. " I feel safe. Right here, right now."

Andrew brushed the hair out of Stephanie's dark, twinkling eyes. " If my eyes are the stars, your eyes are the beautiful night sky that I'm blessed to be a part of. Whenever I'm not with you, I'll be dreaming of you. Just like the morning stars dream of the night to come again." He kissed her forehead as they said nothing else for the rest of the night. There was no need for words. He understood her and she understood him. They fell asleep for a couple hours until they decided to go home. They reached the main island around two in the morning. They said their good nights at her door and he drove home in the dark, alone. Smiling. Heading home to get some sleep for work the next day.