Chasing Xaris (19 page)

You were the sunlight?

I am Light. Everything you love about light, you will find in me.

I do love light.

And Light is all around you.

It still seems dark.

You haven’t had the eyes to see me.

How do I get new eyes?

Ask and see.

Show me?

And then warmth rolled over me, around me, lifting me out of the blue light and onto a shore with white sands. Mom and Dad stood there with Ari. They were laughing and waving me forward, toward a man near the water’s edge.

He looked like one of Dad’s old friends—another captain with longish hair and a beard. Sunlight bathed his face, illuminating the most beautiful eyes I’d ever seen. They were bright blue with flecks of green. The color of xaris.

M

Y phone blared to life.

I groaned and rolled over, turning off the alarm. It seriously felt like I’d just fallen asleep. I yawned and stretched my arms over my head, feeling my back pop. I’d just returned from a crazy long flight, and my body was still groaning about it. The flight had been worth it, though.

My grandparents and I had visited the University of California at Santa Cruz, specifically their Psychology Department. I’d loved the program and knew it was the next right step toward my dream. I still wanted to surf—every day if I had my way—but I wanted to counsel, too. I wanted to combine the two somehow. That’s what had happened for me.

Some of
my healing had happened in an office with my counselor, Linda. And some had happened on my board, with a Counselor who loved the ocean way more than I did. Each surf session, He’d peel back another layer of my hurt, exposing it to the sunlight, where He could heal it.

There were definitely more layers to unpeel.
Some days, I’d still feel the ache in my chest, but that wasn’t my normal anymore.
And that felt like a miracle.
Thank you.

I threw aside my covers and went to the bathroom. Then I grabbed my rash guard and bottoms, gazing at Grandpa’s painting as I changed. He’d given it to me two months ago, and
I’d hung it in my room that night. It rested between a picture of Mom and Dad and one of my grandparents. Its title was simply
Bloom
.

Grandpa had set up his easel in our backyard and painted one of Gran’s sunflowers. Its petals looked soft enough to touch, and their color looked more gold than yellow. The face of the flower turned upwards, toward blue rays that shimmered faintly with xaris dust.

Grandpa had been one of the first people to mix xaris dust with paint. He and Gran had also put bowls of xaris in every room of our house. They pretty much wanted the blue light around them constantly. Every time Jordan came over, he would trace a finger over the xaris and smile. It had pointed him to the same Light that I’d found.

The thought of Jordan broke my gaze from the sunflower. He was waiting for me.

I hurried downstairs and found Gran in the kitchen, scribbling away in her planner. The Weather Channel played faithfully in the background.

“Rain today?” I asked.

“Not until tonight,” she replied, without looking up. “Winnie is still coming with you to the gala, isn’t she?”

“Oh yeah. She already has her outfit picked out, plus accessories.” Winnie had made suggestions about my outfit too, but only a few.

“Next week will definitely be a busy one.” Gran grabbed her coffee mug and smiled. “Do you want some breakfast?”

“I’ll eat when I get back,” I said. “Love you.”

“Love you,” she replied, eyeing me. “What are you so excited about?”

I shrugged. “Surfing.”

“Hmmm.” She sipped from her mug and returned her attention to her planner. “Tell Jordan hello for me.”

“Will do.”

“Invite him over for breakfast,” she added.

“Okay.”

Gran had been doing that a ton lately. Either she had softened to him, or she wanted to keep a close eye on him. Probably both. She asked if we were dating all the time, and the answer had always been no. But I’d come away from yesterday’s counseling session with a nudge that had straight-up surprised me.

So naturally I jogged a little faster to the water that morning.

A warm breeze blew against my skin. Seagulls cried ahead, pulling me forward. Toward the sound of breaking waves. My feet pounded on cement and then sand.

Up ahead, the sun peeked out over the sea, illuminating Aletheia Island. I hadn’t gone back yet. I wanted to, though. One day. I still thought about Ari—mostly when I was surfing. I still thought about his dreams of travel and how much he would have loved the sight of xaris drifting to every corner of the world.             

I’d seen Delphina and Nikandros once since the shield had fallen. They had been preparing for a month-long trip to Greece with Helena. I hadn’t mentioned Ari, but I had asked about the island. They told me a few
Aletheians had moved to Tarpon Springs, a Florida city with a strong Greek community. Most of the Aletheians had chosen to stay put, though. Their island had become a United States territory and Congress had extended citizenship to them.

Scientists were still studying
Aletheia Island like crazy. No one had a solid explanation for how the island had remained hidden, but some believed xaris had been involved. In all the reports I’d read or seen, no one ever mentioned the misos stone. Which meant the Aletheians had kept Santiago’s notebook secret from the world. Among other things.

Xaris had definitely become renowned, though. It had washed onto beaches across the globe, defying currents and tide patterns and
all logic. There was just so much of it—way more than I would have guessed. It was almost like it had multiplied somehow. It was still washing ashore months later. Sometimes I still found fresh xaris by Laney Pier.             

I didn’t see any that morning, but I did spot Jordan in the water. He was all alone and sitting on his board, bobbing in the knee-high waves.

He waved, and I waved back, feeling a rush of nerves.

I could do this. I could totally do this.

I attached my leash and ran into the surf, feeling the familiar splashes. I dove onto my board and paddled right for the guy with the green eyes and the huge smile.

“Miss Bloom,” he said
as I neared.

“Mr. Lane,” I replied.

“How was the trip?”

“Amazing.” I sat up on my board and rubbed my shoulders. “We’re going to love it.”

“You don’t even know if I’ll get in.”

“I have a good feeling,” I replied, feeling another swirl of nerves. Okay. I just had to do it.

“So, I forget, are you dating anyone?” I asked.

Jordan shot me a look. “Funny.”

“You’re not?”

“You know I’m not, Chandler. I ask you out like every week.”

“Last week it was to a luau in Hawaii.”

“And you rejected me. And Hawaii.”

“You haven’t asked me this week,” I said.

“You’ve been in California,” he replied.

“You could have texted.”

“That’s not my style.”

I laughed. “That’s totally your style.”

“I like to mix it up,” he said, grinning. “Miss Bloom, would you go out with me tonight?”

“Yes,” I said.

Jordan’s eyes widened.

“So where are we going?” I asked. “Is Hawaii still on the table?”

Jordan just stared at me. “Chandler, are you serious?”

“Not about Hawaii,” I said.

“But about dating me? You’re serious about dating me?”

I nodded, and Jordan jumped into the water, swimming to my board.

“We still have a few hours before dinner,” I said, laughing.

He held onto my board and his fingers laced around mine. His eyes were warm. Very warm. He tugged gently, and I realized he meant to kiss me, right then and there.

My body pulsed.

I lowered myself onto my stomach and Jordan reached up, cupping the back of neck. Water dripped down my back. I shivered and closed my eyes.

His lips found mine, caressing gently, then boldly.

I leaned into him—his deep kiss, his taste, his smell. And when he pulled away, I was smiling just as widely as he was.

“Surprised?” he asked.

“Impressed,” I whispered.

We stayed like that, grinning and gazing, for a bit. A long bit.

“Want to come to breakfast?” I asked.

“I agreed to dinner, Miss Bloom. Not two meals in one day.”

“
You
agreed?”

He shrugged. “But yeah. I guess I’m free.”

I laughed and dropped his hand into the water.

“Okay, back to your own board,” I ordered. “I’m here to catch waves.”

“So am I.” He swam back to his board and slid onto it. “You were the one who got me all distracted.”

“Distraction over,” I said, glancing over my shoulder.

A new set was rolling in, and I already saw my wave.

“It’s all yours,” Jordan said.

I nodded and paddled forward, feeling the swell snag my board. I popped to my feet, shifted back on the fin, and steered into the wave.

Wind stirred my hair. Surf sprayed my legs and arms. And sunlight
glittered on the water ahead, guiding me forward.

~~~

Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

John 8:12 NLT

A percentage of
net profits from
Chasing Xaris
will be donated to

Mission
: RESCUELIFE, a ministry of LIFE Outreach International. To learn more, visit:

http://lifetoday.org/outreaches/mission-rescuelife

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