“So, this is Tristan’s work?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm.” I wandered around the deck. “Well, at least his skill wasn’t exaggerated.”
“Nothing about him is exaggerated.”
I sighed and turned to him. “Grandpa, he’s a con man. I warned you about him and his lies, but you refused to listen.”
“They’re not lies, Starfish.”
“How do you know? All you have is his word.”
“That’s more than enough. He said none of his previous clients have complained.”
“Have you talked to them?”
“No, he doesn’t give out that information.”
“I wonder why,” I said, rolling my eyes.
“Don’t be so cynical, Starfish. He’s protecting their privacy. And I’m glad, because he’ll protect mine too. I don’t want …” He paused and looked down, fidgeting with the loose bandage around his hand. “I don’t want anyone to know how much I paid for this boat. I’ve only told you because we share our love for the open sea.”
My disapproval mellowed and I walked over to him. “Grandpa, you trusting me means a lot to me. You mean a lot to me.” I took his injured hand and adjusted the bandage, cinching it snugly. “That’s why I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t. Tonight, I’m taking Soul’s Oasis on her maiden voyage, and I’m going to get more than my money’s worth.”
I met his eyes. “Soul’s Oasis? That’s quite a name.”
“And she’ll live up to it, Tristan assured me she will.” He walked to the railing and gripped it tight. “I can feel it.”
I stifled a sigh. “Alright, so, when do we depart?”
“Oh, no, Starfish. This is a trip I’m taking on my own.”
“What?” I said, incredulous. “Since when?”
His apologetic smile creased his weathered face. “You know I’ve enjoyed every one of our trips together, but this one’s different. Tristan said I had to take it on my own.”
I crossed my arms. “Oh, really? Well, isn’t that a clever way of making sure there are no other witnesses to his boats’ ‘otherworldly spectacles’.”
“It’s not that, he just doesn’t want to be held accountable. I had to sign a waiver.”
“He made you sign a waiver? Grandpa!”
“Starfish, please, don’t worry.” He placed a gentle hand on my shoulder. “I know what I’m doing.”
“And I’m not letting you go alone. It’s your boat now, you’re free to let anyone you want board it.”
“It doesn’t work that way. The waiver—”
“Forget the damned waiver.”
“I can’t. I signed it.”
“Where is it?”
“With him.”
“How do I find him?”
“He only talks to clients.”
“That’s bullshit. Give me his number, I’m going to—”
“Ramona, enough.” The gravity in his gaze silenced my turmoil. “Trust me, let me do this on my own.”
“But, Grandpa—”
“Trust me.”
“I do, but I love you and—”
“I love you too, and I’m grateful I can share so much with you.” He gave me a wistful smile. “But this is something I’ve dreamt of for so long, and I don’t want to ruin what could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Please, Starfish, let me do this. Let me fulfill my dream.”
I nodded, but my turbulent thoughts remained stubborn. I trusted my grandfather, but I didn’t trust Tristan. Not only did he prey upon the hopeful by offering them empty promises, he forced them to sign waivers releasing him from all liability. He was nothing more than a heartless charlatan, and I wasn’t going to let him hurt my grandfather anymore than he already had.
My grandfather waved goodbye as I drove away, but I didn’t go far. After waiting for him to disappear below deck, I parked a distance away and snuck onto Soul’s Oasis. I didn’t know what kind of tricks Tristan had set up to fool his clients, but I was ready to dismantle every last one. My grandfather wasn’t going to fall victim to any ridiculous projections, speakers, or animatronics.
The layout of Soul’s Oasis was different from Dancing Dawn’s, the old boat where my grandfather taught me everything there was to know about boating. With the added struggle of remaining out of view, I found myself stumbling around, even more so once the sun had set. Despite the setbacks, I was determined, yet despite my determination, I didn’t come across anything suspicious.
A rumble startled me, and I jumped, stifling a cry as I bashed my head against the bottom of the staircase. My pulse racing, I ran to the window, and my heart dropped along with my jaw as I saw the trail of froth leading away from the docks. I hadn’t expected my grandfather to take off so soon.
I whipped around, my wide eyes searching the darkness for answers. I could come clean. Explain why I’d stowed away. My grandfather had forgiven me for a lot over the years, I could see him understanding my concern and excusing my disobedience. I bit my lip in uncertainty. Then again, I’d never done anything behind his back this audaciously. I broke his trust, and that would break his heart.
No, I’d rather remain hidden until we returned the next morning. It was going to be uncomfortable, but not as uncomfortable as appearing to have no confidence in my own grandfather. And this didn’t have to be a bad thing. I could now keep an eye on him all night and continue to search the boat for anything suspicious. I just had to make sure I laid low.
The bump on my head throbbed to the rhythm of my agitated pulse, and I winced as I rubbed it. To my shock, my hand came back warm, wet, and sticky. Thinking fast, I removed my sweater and wrapped it around the wound like a bandana. The last thing I needed right now was a hemorrhaging head injury.
“Ramona?”
I gasped and ducked down, my heart stuttering in my throat. How did my grandfather know I was here? I barely made a sound!
“Ramona, you’re here.”
Confusion swirled within my fear. My grandfather only called me Ramona when he was upset with me. But this whispered voice didn’t sound upset. It sounded … overjoyed.
“I knew you loved me. I knew it. You tried to deny it for so long, but you couldn’t deny your heart. I’m here for you, my butterfly.”
Ice flooded my veins.
My butterfly.
Only my stalker called me “my butterfly”.
“You look as beautiful as always. I’ve missed you.”
Those last three words resonated in my ear, and I squeaked in terror and jerked away, my wild eyes scanning the room as I plastered myself to the wall. “No, y-you’re … you’re not here.”
“I am here. For you, my butterfly.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, my voice cracking through my hyperventilating breaths. “No, This … this isn’t happening. This can’t be real.”
“My love for you have always been real. And now you show up, proving you’ve always loved me back, in your own way. Leaving your curtains open just a tantalizing sliver. Getting Fang so you could walk her twice a day past my car. Keeping the kitchen window open while you cooked so I could hear you sing along to the radio …”
His words carved through my prickling skin, releasing traumatic memories I’d spent years struggling to tame. Tears welled in my eyes and I hugged myself, shivering as I tried to fight past the madness I’d found myself in. This couldn’t be Tristan’s trickery. He didn’t know me. He didn’t know about my stalker. He didn’t even know I was going to be a stowaway.
Yet if this wasn’t fake, then that only left one other possibility.
Tristan wasn’t a charlatan. He offered the real deal.
“I d-don’t know how this is happening, but I never loved you,” I said, fighting to control the fear in my voice. “You harassed me. Stalked me. Terrified me. You tried to kidnap me!”
“I never meant to scare you. I love you. I can’t imagine myself without you. After my arrest, the idea of never seeing you again was too much to bear. But today, you showed up. You showed up! You were a beacon in the dark, and I came running, my butterfly. Now we can be together forever.”
“Wh-what do you mean?” I asked, hugging myself tighter.
“You came to be with me, and I’m here for you. Together we’ll finally be free to love. You have no idea how much I’ve suffered without you, yearning for just a glimpse of your smile, a whiff of your perfume, a—”
Panicking to the point of nausea, I burst out of the room and ran up the stairs, my shrill words quaking as I yelled, “Grandpa!”
I jumped up on the deck, panting as I looked around in a frenzy. There, facing the bow, was my grandfather, his back to me as he looked out towards the starry horizon.
“Grandpa!” I cried out as I ran over.
He didn’t turn around, so I slid in front of him, and my heart sank at his trance-like state. “Grandpa? Can you hear me?” I asked, shaking him.
A flash of clarity streaked across his face, and he frowned as his eyes focused on me. “Starfish?”
“Yes! We have to get off this boat!”
He blinked, his confusion growing. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m sorry. I only wanted to protect you. I was so sure Tristan had set up gimmicks to trick you. I didn’t think … it could be real.”
His eyes twinkled as he smiled. “You can hear her too?”
“Her?”
“Vivienne.”
“Who?”
“My true love.”
I frowned. “I thought grandma was your true love.”
“Your grandma is wonderful, but Vivienne … she’s my first love. My only true love.” He turned back towards the water, his eyes glazing above a lopsided smile. “She’s here. She came when she saw me. Do you hear her?”
“No, but I did hear my stalker. Do you remember him? The one who took his life after he was arrested for attempted kidnapping?”
“Oh, I could float for days in your poetry …”
“Grandpa!” I shook him again. “Please listen to me!”
He turned back to me with a disoriented pout. “What’s wrong?”
“My dead stalker! He said he came when he saw me and wants us to be together forever!”
“Together forever.” A dreamy look swept across his face as he glanced up. “Yes, mon petit chou. We’ll be together forever where no sickness can tear us apart.”
“Grandpa!”
I grabbed his head and forced him to look at me, and his irritation surfaced above his stupor. “Ramona. What are you doing?”
“We’re in danger! We have to get off this cursed boat!”
“We’re not in danger.”
“When a dead person says they want to be together forever, what do you think that means?”
His cheeks pushed against my hands as he smiled. “It means I can be with my Vivienne …”
“It means you’ll die!”
“That’s okay.”
“It’s not okay! Grandpa, you have family here!”
“They don’t need me. I just want to be with Vivienne.”
“We do need you! And if we stay, I’ll die too! I don’t want to die!”
My words broke through his haze and he frowned. “Why will you die?”
“Because my dead stalker wants me to join him!”
“Your stalker? Why’s he here?”
“I don’t know! He said he saw me and came running!”
“How? Tristan said he built this boat only for me.” His gaze darted to the sweater wrapped around my head. “You hurt yourself?”
“Yes, and I’m bleeding a lot. Yet another reason we should get back to land!”
He clenched his fist around the bandage on his hand, his expression heavy beneath his emotions. “You shouldn’t have come. Tristan didn’t take you into account. He says the strings of unrequited love don’t always run both ways, that’s why he offers regulated portals and privacy.”
I frowned. “What do you mean? Wasn’t this whole thing just to prove ghosts existed?”
“No, Starfish.” He looked up at the sky with a smile. “It was to reunite with my true love taken too soon.”
I stared at him in disbelief. “So, you were planning on what? Dying tonight? All alone out here?”
“Hmm …” He chuckled at a joke I couldn’t hear.
“Grandpa, no! Snap out of it!” I held his face tighter. “Listen to me! I’m glad I came, because I don’t want you to die. This isn’t the answer. Your time will come, and Vivienne will wait for you.”
His smile wavered as he whispered, “But I don’t want to wait.”
“Where are you, my butterfly?”
“Oh, shit!” I let go of my grandfather and turned towards the deck, my pulse spiking. “Stay away from me, you criminal!”
“You’re the criminal, Ramona. Stealing my heart and holding it captive all these years. But now, you show up to give me yours in return, confirming our destiny.”
I gasped as a cold shock rippled beneath my skin, its tendrils grazing my rabid heart.
“Grandpa! Something’s happening! We have to get off this boat!”
Another icy jolt filled my lungs, freezing my breath mid-scream as I fell to my knees. Shaking, I turned to my grandfather. He hadn’t reacted at all, his infatuation beyond help as he stood still, his yearning eyes reflecting the night’s grim promises. With his smile indented deep, he held his arms out to the sky, and dread spurred my determination. I didn’t know how it was going to happen, but I wasn’t going to let us die.
Fighting the arctic surges coursing through my body, I gritted my teeth and staggered towards the controls. If I could just steer this boat back to land and drag my grandfather out, perhaps all of this would stop. Wheezing, I gripped the wheel and threw my weight against it, my hope rising as Soul’s Oasis groaned and turned around. Yet hope didn’t last long as a frigid shroud suffocated me, sticking to every inch of my trembling skin.
“It won’t be long, my butterfly.”
Gasping for air, I writhed and thrashed, pleas of desperation squeaking through my clenched jaw. Spasming as I fought for life, I crashed against the controls, and my rioting heart leapt to my throat as I found myself airborne.
The ocean’s salty warmth thawed my torment, and I coughed and sputtered as I broke through the surface. Soul’s Oasis was upside down, rumbling between foaming bubbles. Treading water, I whipped around wide-eyed, panting as I tried to find my grandfather in the inky depths surrounding me.
“Grandpa!” I screamed between frantic dives. “Grandpa!”
I searched long after the boat sank, yet when dawn danced across the waves and I was rescued, weeping in resignation, all I could hope for was that Soul’s Oasis lived up to her name.
-—-