Chapter One: Part Two

Jacob felt light headed for a moment and almost spilled the cup of cocoa in his hand. He looked around, and his vision was blurry at first. A foggy blue mist floated around the room. What room? Where was he?

Then he noticed the sound of happy voices.

Girl's voices.

Well a girl's voice. Ann's voice. And she was talking with ... her mother?

Jacob shook his head slowly, trying to clear the cobwebs that hung close around his eyes.

"Jacob, are you OK?" said Ann's mother. Yes, he was sitting at their kitchen table. Through the haze, there was Ann sitting at the table, too. She reached over and steadied Jacob's hand with hers. The warmth of her touch sent a thrill up his arm, and the fog cleared a little.

"Yeah, umm, I mean, I think so," Jacob replied. He was distracted by Ann's hand, still on his.

"He looks a little pale, doesn't he, Mom?"

"He does. You do, Jacob. Here, put that cup down. Let's have you lie down on the couch in the living room."

Both of them helped Jacob to his feet and led him to the next room. They had him lie down, with his head on one of those fluffy throw pillows with the picture of flowers on it.

"It might be just a reaction to the cold -- you walked a long way to get here in this nasty cold, Jacob. But it also might be a flu. I'm going to call your parents and have them come pick you up."

"But Mom, I'm sure he's going to be OK," protested Ann, as she sat on the floor by him and looked at his face, and then into his eyes, silently urging him to support her.

"I'll be fine, Mrs. Carlson," Jacob offered. He didn't know why Ann was so insistent, but the way she was looking at him, and the warmth her hand had left in his, both convinced him he must not let her down.

"Jacob, you know you can call me Sandy. Well, I'll call, and we'll see," said Sandy, leaving the room.

Ann reached over and pushed some of Jacob's hair into place, and as she withdrew her hand, it lingered a bit on his cheek, as she glanced to see that her mother was no longer in sight.

Then she gave him a quick kiss.

Jacob gasped. His heart seemed to skip a beat. His face flushed.

"Ann? Matt..."

Ann looked at him with a question in her eyes.

"'Matt?' What about Matt? Maybe you are sick. Maybe I shouldn't be kissing you. Oh well, if you have a flu, I suppose I'll be catching it anyway."

Sandra's voice reached them from another room.

"Jacob, I can't reach your folks. You just lie there a while and see if you start feeling better."

"We were just going to watch a movie anyway, Mom," called Ann. I'll just let him lie here and I'll sit by him and we'll watch our movie, OK?"

"Well, I guess," came her mother's reply, "as long as Jacob promises to tell me if he starts feeling worse."

"Oh, he will," said Ann. Then she motioned for Jacob to sit up for a moment, and she slid into a seated position under the pillow and had him lie back down. She reached for the remote control, turned on the TV, and started looking for the movie.

Jacob lay his head back down. He was more confused than he could ever remember being. But confused or not, he couldn't make himself stop enjoying his situation. He didn't even really notice what movie Ann selected. He simply stayed there, head on a pillow, on her lap, thrilling every time she decided to reach down and straighten a strand of his hair. Time slipped away, and he just didn't care.

He supposed he should have told Mrs. Carlson ... Sandy ... when his vision clouded up again, but he would not risk breaking the spell. Then the clouds in his eyes became a colorful vortex pulling him in a dizzying path towards a small, dark hole.

And his body jerked, as it was racked with a shocking pain.
.....







[©Steve Will, 2011]