I’m still writing my Block Island stories and I’ll share some fragments from the new story I’m working on at the moment.

Image from:
Pixabay

From Arrivals and Departures:
In no particular order, here are four fragments 

1.     Sean strolled away then.  He walked to the far end of the property and sat near the boulder that marked where the lighthouse resided before it was moved. Closing his eyes and resting his head against the rock, he smiled again. Block Island seemed to always create a sense of peace and joy in him. There was nowhere else he felt so relaxed. If he wasn’t careful, he’d be asleep in a matter of minutes.  

In this time between, he heard a woman’s voice whisper in his head, “believe what you’re seeing.”

He jerked his eyes open. “Kate?”  He leapt to his feet. Brushing himself off, he looked around and saw several other people staring back at him.  “I’m alright,” he said, smiling. “Must have dozed off for a moment.” As he walked away, he thought again about Kate’s visit after she passed. And now here on Block, there have been unexplained events.

2.  Left to his own thoughts once more, Sean reflected on the first time he saw Kate. It was actually his brother, James, who introduced them. They were sitting in Willoughbys, a local coffee shop when Kate walked in. To this day, he continued to wonder whether it was a set up. Both James and Kate denied it. What did it matter, really. They wound up falling for each other and spent as much time together as possible, starting with meeting at Willoughbys every morning before each headed to work. The other regulars began calling them Kasean, because they were together so often, first behind their back.  

Then one morning they strolled in, holding hands and Bill, one of Willoughbys frequent guests turned and said, “Uhhhhh.  Look it’s Kasean.” The others in the coffee shop waited for a reaction. When the only thing that happened was a slight giggle from Kate, everything went back to the status quo. 

Kate smiled as she took a seat next to Bill. “At least you’re using my name first, Billy Boy.”  She brushed his hair with her hand. Kate was demonstrative that way with everyone. It was one of the reasons she became so accepted at the morning coffee clutch.  Everyone loved her. But there was only one she wanted to spend any time with. She watched Sean, never taking her eyes off of him as he walked back to the table with her coffee. Half the time, Sean was unaware of how deeply Kate watched him. They were truly one soul separated at birth.

3. He made plans for this trip to Block Island a year ago, soon after that flight over the island; when he and Kate started looking for summer homes. From the time Sean turned twelve, he traveled here, first with his family, then once he turned eighteen he started coming on his own. Every chance he could. He fell in love with the island from the first time his feet touched the ground, much the same way he fell for Kate four years earlier. This was now a solo vacation having lost Kate six months ago. 

Cancer is such a horrible disease. In some cases it sneaks up on you and slowly saps your life away. In other cases it hits you hard and quick like a fastball hit for a homerun over Fenway Park. That’s what happened to Kate. One morning she woke up with a headache that wouldn’t go away. All that day and into the following day the pain was unrelenting. She finally went to her doctor. That’s when things went sideways. Next thing she knows she’s being evaluated at Smilow in New Haven, Connecticut.  Three weeks later she’s undergoing her first treatment. 

Sean stayed with her the entire time, sleeping in the hospital bed that sat between them. He made sure to have a private room for them.  As the cancer continued it’s ugly march through her life, Kate kept up her resilience as best she could. Some days you wouldn’t know she was sick. Others were devastating. The day after her treatments were always horrible. Kate would do her best to hide it. Having been with her for so long now however, Sean could see through her masquerade. He’d hold her as she heaved up the medicine she was given, cleaning her up after and carrying her back to the bed.

“You don’t have to stay with me, Sean,” Kate said each time he carried her to bed. “You need to realize I’m not getting any better. It’s time for you to understand that.”

“All the more reason to stay.”  Sean sat on the edge of her bed and held her hand. “I’m not going anywhere,” he said wiping tears from his eyes. 

It went on like that for a month.  But then Kate took a turn. The treatments stopped working and within a week after she slipped into the place between. Kate’s last words before she passed were, “Promise me you’ll take our trip.”

4. Now, two years later, because of the resources he was able to gather, Sean could pursue something he always dreamed of. His father flew for the military and Sean loved the thought of flying himself. After taking flight lessons for over a year, Sean finally lived his dream and together with James he bought a Cessna 172 Skyhawk. 

Flying, it turned out was in his genes. He took to it like breathing. Sean so respected his Dad for flying for the military,. It was one thing he could never see himself doing however. He loved his father but he couldn’t follow in his footsteps.  Sean was a free spirit. He didn’t do well with regiment. It might seem odd since he owned a gaming company. However this was something he wanted. Doing something you love always makes doing it seem less like work. 

Sean kept his plane at an airport in Chester, Connecticut. There was nothing better for him then climbing in his plane and taking off anywhere he wanted. Sometimes as he flew, he still pinched himself. 

The first time he brought his girlfriend, Kate up, he watched her face light up. “Can we fly over Block Island?”

He looked over at her and laughed out loud. “I knew I loved you for a reason,” and he banked left. “When I’m up here I feel untouchable.  You know my Dad flew the P3 Orion for years. Then he joined the Air Force and flew the C-5 Galaxy. He inspired me to learn to fly myself.”

More to come next week from another story.

Be Happy!  Be Well! Be Positive!
Blessings to you.
—
Chris

Once you realize that life is eternal,
That our souls our eternal,
That we return to light and physical over and over;
We then lose all our distress
We then lose all our fear of dying.  For there truly is no end.