Rebound (9 page)

Chapter 29: Finale

They all came forward and hugged Sofia again. They looked at her hesitantly.

“It’s okay Bella, you will not need to produce a Messiah, a fake one. You can now lead a normal life. The real Messiah will come in his own time. Soon.” She hadn’t finished with Bella. “I know Roland has been like a brother to you. He survived and should be fine. The General has a wife and can do without his organ.” She said this delicately. “We are also cancelling the sale of his other limbs and organs.”

They walked to the water’s edge. Bella flew off gracefully with Beckett holding on to her. Ryan was thankful Beckett did not have wings too as he could complement Bella in other ways. They were so much in love and they were a fantastic pair. They were thrilled that it had turned out well for them.

Mason and Emily hugged Sofia and then walked towards one of the speed crafts.

They held on to each other, smiling as they thought of their new life.

Ryan looked at Stella and she couldn’t help saying, “I know what’s going through your scheming mind. You just want to manhandle me.”

They hugged each other and laughed.

Perched comfortably on the horizon amongst reassuring clouds, the island looked inviting. They had all seen it in their lucid dreams. It held the key to their enhanced lives. It opened up another world in the wide space of the universe that more dreams would unlock.

Bella and Beckett flew to the highest point on the island relishing their freedom.

He looked hesitantly at her. He was worried that she might just be infatuated and would let him go once the thrills wore off.

“It’s okay, I love you,” she kissed him passionately.

She looked down and saw the azure calm waters rippling in the sunlight. “Let’s go and have a swim,” he said as he held on to her.

“Now that I am not being sold, I’d really love a baby,” she said.

She could feel the sudden heat from his body warming her and he held her more tightly.

She dropped him unceremoniously in the water and then hovered above him.

“But first you’ve to catch me,” she said as she dived in and playfully swam away.

Beckett was in his elements in water. Bella tried to swim as fast as possible away but he swam faster.

She got out of the water, hovering above him again with folded arms and teased him, “You’re so fast. You should marry a mermaid.”

“I’d swim around the globe to get close to you.”

She dived into the waters quite a distance from him and observed him swim at incredible speed.

“Don’t you feel tired?” she teased him as he came closer. “You seem to be in such a rush!”

“I can’t wait any more.” He looked so exhausted and went under water.

She dived in and held his head up. “I was only pretending to be exhausted so I’d get closer to you,” he said. They held on to each other.

Bella did not resist when he kissed her passionately and vigorously.

She felt his welcoming warmth and the powerful vibrations coursing through her.

She gasped in sheer joy as he held her closely.

+++

Out in the placid sea there was only one set of eyes watching them with absolute hatred. It was Karabos drifting in a grotesque jumble. Her legs and hands were a mass of twisted metal and tissue. One of her eyes was out of its socket. A kingfisher landed on her and tentatively poked at her exposed green eye. Disappointed that it was not a juicy morsel, it perched on her face for a moment surveying the sea for any other signs of food, and then it excreted on her jumbled face then flew off in a flourish.

This was the greatest indignity she had ever faced.

It galled her that she could not use her hands to wipe away this insult from her perfect face made imperfect by the explosion in the air and her ungraceful dumping.

She stared again at Bella and Beckett kissing and sharing intimacies and she almost choked with unadulterated bitterness and anger. Her one eye, misshapen nose and contorted face seemed to give the impression of a being who had been changed by her own awesome hatred.

She felt her exposed brain heating up. She forced herself to submerge so she could cool her system. She consoled herself that by this action she would not give them the satisfaction of seeing her in this disgraceful situation.

+++

As the speed craft zoomed, Mason thought he saw Karabos’s misshapen blond head bobbing to the timeless movement of the waves. She looked like a pathetic piece of driftwood moving wherever the currents took her. She went down and was not seen again. He felt sorry for her but given her evil nature, he dismissed her from his mind.

Bella and Beckett were so much in love.

“Come join us,” Bella said as they came by.

Emily dived in followed by Mason.

Stella and Ryan came by and joined them too.

Karabos emerged one last time to see them swimming in the calm, azure waters.

Then she submerged herself to the dark recesses of the sea to think over her life and her plans for revenge.