Free The Light of the Blue Pearl by K.C. HAWKE Page B

said.
    “Oh,” Ethne said.
    She figured there was no use arguing, plus
she didn’t even know if it was out there. Feeling even more
crestfallen then she had saying goodbye to Ian, she put all of her
belongings back in her pocket and looked out the window trying to
fight back the tear that was making its way down her cheek.
    These days, normally not one for tears, she
tried her best not to make a scene; it was just a silly little
pearl anyway.
    But it wasn’t just a silly little pearl; she
knew that. There was something special about that pearl, about this
trip and even about her meeting Ian. Losing the pearl was quite
significant and having been a long time since she felt a feeling of
loss it seemed everything was coming up all at once.
    The one tear started to become two and
before she knew it her entire face was made of salty rivulets. She
didn’t have any tissue with her and was trying to keep her sudden
downpour under wraps, but obviously failing because pretty soon the
flight attendant was hovering over her.
    “You okay, sweetie?” she asked.
    “Yeah, I’m alright thanks,” Ethne
replied.
    “I’ll bring you some tissues,” she said,
smiling down at her, obviously trying to brighten the spirits of
the sad, pathetic creature before her.
    “Thanks,” Ethne said.
    After cleaning herself up a bit, she decided
crying was going to get her nowhere so it was best to stop that
right now. The plane was about to take off. The realization of her
departure hit her hard in the stomach; she thought she might
actually throw up. But that would be even worse than crying, so she
decided that was not going to happen either.
    What she needed was a distraction and
without Ian there to be one, she figured music was the next best
thing. She plugged her headphones into her ears, leaned her head
back and closed her eyes.
    Had she been paying attention when the plane
was taxiing she might have seen Ian waving to her from the window
of the terminal, but she wasn’t. Before the plane even took off
Ethne was alone in her own little world doing her best to forget
the reality of this one.
    ***
    The layover and second flight had been as
uneventful as her first flight; for this she was extremely
thankful. Before she knew it they were touching down, back home in
San Francisco.
    She was almost always here. Yet to be back
from what could only be described as a dream world suddenly seemed
foreign to her, she felt dazed and definitely confused.
    True, she was exhausted; she couldn’t wait
to crash and crash hard onto her own bed.
    As she was departing the plane she suddenly
remembered what the note she had found while snorkeling had said –
that when she got home, ‘someone would be waiting for her’.
    A shiver went up her spine and she found
herself scanning the room for someone watching her. She didn’t see
anyone.
    Just as she was about to cross out into the
room the flight attendant stopped her.
    “Ethne?” she said.
    “Yes,” Ethne replied.
    “This is for you,” she said, handing her an
envelope.
    “Thank you,” she said.
    Taking the envelope from her she found a
quieter place to set her belongs down so she could open it.
    The note read: “Welcome home Ethne. You’re
probably exhausted. That was a whirlwind of a trip you just went
on, I do hope you had some fun.
    “Go back to the coffee shop on Market Street
tomorrow afternoon, be there by 2 p.m.”
    “More instructions,” Ethne thought. “Oh for
heaven’s sake, when would the notes end?!” She was ready to know
what this was all about. She hoped tomorrow’s meeting would finally
offer her some answers. The trip had been fun, unforgettable even,
but she was really not up for anymore games.
    Climbing onto one of the buses to take her
back to her car she thought again about the loss of the blue pearl
and choked back another tear before it had a chance to escape. She
was exhausted and far too emotional to be reminiscing now.
    As she pulled into her driveway she