Chapter 5
Juliette held tightly to her shoes, digging her toes in the sand as she walked along the water line. The waves sent cold water across the top of her feet. She turned her face to the morning sky, closing her eyes as the salt filled breeze fluttered across her face. She loved the quiet mornings before the families and tourists came out to enjoy the beach. Later in the day it would noisy and crowded, but right now, when she closed her eyes, she could hear nothing but the peace of the gently rolling waves, fell the solitude she needed to reenergize and rejuvenate.
Walking with her eyes still closed, she tripped. With a soft, shocked cry, Juliette held her hands out, wheeling her arms in a comical attempt to stop her fall, but she failed and landed with a thud. Her head banged against something hard. She whimpered in pain, the edges of her sight darkening and fading again.
Rolling to the side, she stood, using the wood she bumped her head on, to hoist herself up. What the hell? She’d looked all up and down the beach and hadn’t seen this damned piece of wood. The tide wasn’t in enough for the water to have put it there in the few moments her eyes were closed.
She peeled off her sunglasses, stood to brush the sand from her legs. Her tall waisted shorts were dotted in grains, and she stroked the material. As she looked up, she noticed something else that she hadn’t before.
Forgetting about the sand, Juliette dropped her sandals and ran to the man lying in the sand, her heart racing. She inexplicably felt saddened, almost like she lost something. She turned him over. There was something about him…something familiar. His tattoos maybe? She stroked a finger down his arm. He groaned, but didn’t wake.
Kneeling beside him, Juliette brushed hair from his face. Yes. Definitely something familiar, but what was it? Just touching him filled her with a giddy sort of glee, with a feeling of depth and love. As she touched his face, visions came to her. A large ship, much like the one tattooed on her thigh. A couple embracing as a storm raged about them.
She felt sea sick, shook back and forth as if waves moved her. With her eyes closed, she clearly saw the man beside her. He looked so different than the one lying next to her, but so similar as well.
She could feel their fear, their love, it was almost too much to handle. She cried out, grabbing hold of whatever she could. Her fingers connected with the man’s arm, gripping tightly. She could see the ship, broken to pieces around them, and bouncing on the waves. The woman alone, floating on the night sea, the man nowhere in sight.
Helene.
The name whispered on a wind, blew into her mind, pushing her eyes open. Juliette looked at the man again.
Geoffery.
Her heart swelled with love and pain at once. So many years, so many lost chances, lost loves.
“It’s finally your time, the time you two have waited for, to love one another. Helene, awaken your Geoffery with true love’s kiss. He is the key to bringing back your lost happiness. Money, your father, your family, none of it matters if you’re not with each other.” The ghost floated above the sand and normally would have scared her. But now, she felt ready, like she had been waiting to see this ghost. Her willowy dress blew around her legs as she hovered above the ground.
The man stirred, opening his eyes. Curiosity rang through his gaze. “You,” he said, his voice coarse. “I’ve been dreaming of you. You’re not real.” He shifted, turning his body away from her, using his hands as leverage to stand.
Juliette giggled. “I can assure you. I’m as real as you are. My name is Juliette and I found you passed out on the sand.” More than anything though, she wanted to hear his voice again. “Who are you?”
“Tim,” he said, still looking confused. He looked out at sea, then down the beach, the scrambled backwards. “What the hell?” He didn’t look afraid, just, shocked.
Relief flowed through Juliette. He could see it too. Tears filled her eyes as she leaned towards him. He stared at the spirit, as if in a trance, but Juliette couldn’t hear anything. She wondered if there was something he could only hear. Out of nowhere, the song that had haunted her thoughts, floated on the air, and both looked to each other. He smiled. She smiled. Someone reached out. Someone came closer.
“Helene,” he whispered.
“Geoffery,” she laughed. He lowered his head, and their kiss awakened memories of lifetimes past. Helen, Chloe, Geoffery, an injured soldier, their true love and past lifetimes.
“This is real. We’ve finally done it,” he said, brushing hair from her face.
She chuckled, fingering the piercings on his face and perusing the tattoos covering his body.
“Though these truly are strange times, where a person can express themselves apparently, in many ways.” Humor filled her words as he stroked the ship tattoo. Both realizing it was the French Rose. He nodded, pulling her close.
“But good times, since I can’t wait to feel you beneath me. And these days, there’s no waiting on marriage bans or judgement for not being chaste.”
The stood, hand in hand, walking toward the boardwalk. Tim grabbed his guitar and led Juliette up to the street level. They found what they sought, a small chapel that boasted weddings at any time. Though it was barely seven am, they wandered inside and met a priest. Being Louisiana, voodoo is a big seller, so symbols garnished the walls, chickens hung about. Though it looked charming. The two lovers held hands, happily waiting for the paperwork to be done, so they could be married after two centuries of waiting. After the ceremony, they went back to Juliette’s hotel room, staring at each other, as if this moment had been a long time in the making.