The Revelation

Jiraiya

 

"I feel horrible,” Gracen croaked, her breathing erratic. She wriggled her way into my embrace, gently laughing, as she tried to get a hold on her breathing.

She had just finished the women’s 100 meter and, she was a wonder on the track. I was a great runner myself, but I was amazed at her performance. It had been wonderful to see her in her running gear; when she had first emerged from the changing room and I had laid my eyes on her, it took all I had to keep from literally sweeping her off her feet and taking her straight home. I still want to take her home but that will have to wait.

"You did great, Babe. I never knew you could run that well,” I teased her, rubbing her back with my palms. The simple touch sent shivers down my spine; I planted a kiss on her long silky hair.

She pulled away from me and playfully threw jabs at my chest while I took cover with my arms.

Gracen and I have been an inseparable duo since the day we met. I cannot completely explain it but she had this pull, like a magnet of some kind, on my heart. Every time I stare at her beautiful blue eyes I note that they are the color of the clear blue sky. I can't help being enamored over and over again; because her beauty just leaves me breathless. I would never forget the first day my hands made contact with her pearly smooth skin, the feel of her as she trembled at my touch, the taste of her ripe lips as they drew in my hungry breath.  Her body being joined to mine in adoration—it was a slice of heaven, and I always want to be in heaven. Gracen was an angelic being, my loving angel.

The loud voice of the man behind the megaphone brought me back to reality. It informed the men it was time to take a position. I looked at Gracen, laughing surreptitiously at her sulking face. I dared not show my teeth or let out the slightest chuckle. She would kill me. I don't know of any man who would not love to have such a beautiful face be the last thing he saw before a race.

“Try not to come in last,” Gracen warned, poking my nose with her forefinger.

“No worries I’ll try not to break your record, Babe,” I mocked, immediately sprinting out of the way of the fierce swing of her playful fist. I looked back at her, chuckling at the smile that was carved at the corners of her lips. She was indeed beautiful and elegantly so; with a spark that would start a fire in the absence of oxygen. No chance of that...she always took my breath away. Concentrate man! I need to concentrate on this race, I silently berated myself.

 

The starter gun thundered as the track came to life, feet landing one after the other.  The racers seemed almost airborne; and then came the merciless landing of the next step. They covered distance in seconds; legs moving in perfect symmetry, gathering speed as the cheers grew louder.  

Luckily my personal health kick regimen allowed me to overcome the hurdle of weariness and press on. The spectators stood and roared as we neared the finish line.  It appeared like it was going to be a close one; I was a hair's breath away from the guy in first place. I pumped my arms and legs furiously as I closed in on him. I could see his wife cheering in admiration; he was already celebrating his pending win as his hands took a winner’s position, but it wasn’t to be.  At the last moment, I breezed past him.  

The ovation became louder that instant as I broke through the ribbon and fell to the ground in a struggle to catch my breath. I had used more energy than I had in me. My stomach hurt, and the pain in my joints made me cringe, but I still got to my feet and hugged my overly-elated fiancée, who was overjoyed. She could not help screaming at the top of her lungs ‘That’s my man'. It made me feel much happier for winning.

 

*****

"Brrrr, it's cold out here," Gracen muttered, shivering as we stood outside of the Moonlight Basin Lodge, an 8100 acre property in the alpine community. The snowy afternoon is bitterly cold in the large populated area of Big Sky, Montana. The dark sky was barely visible through the thick flurries of falling snow. This was our second day here and it had snowed heavily the previous night.

Gracen had lain in my warm embrace the entire night as the snow fell heavily, threatening to envelope us all in its womb. Over another foot of snow was expected to blanket the area again this night—promising me another night of Gracen’s smooth skin interlocked with mine. The thought of it made me giddy.

"Don't worry Darling; I'll warm you right up after our skiing session." I flashed her a smile and winked. Gracen’s cheeks flushed even redder as I gazed into her sky-blue eyes and licked my lips thinking of getting a taste of her nether regions. I loved the taste of pussy and I made no secret of it when it came to the woman who was in my life.

"You're a bad boy Jiraiya," Gracen fluttered her naturally long eyelashes at me.

"There's no boy here Sweetheart. Haven't you learned the difference by now?" I replied with an arch to my brow.

"That I can definitely attest to," she responded with a giggle before turning her head to take in a view of the area.

"I can't believe it's only early November and the ski lifts are this crowded," she added; a frown appearing between her perfectly carved brows.

"Why do you find such a trivial matter as the crowd to be a problem? You're with me, not them," I said turning her face away from the crowd, so she could look at me.

"True, but the Colorado mountains would have been better," Gracen rebutted.

Gracen had wanted us to go to the Colorado mountains—as a child she had fantasies of going there, having heard her uncle’s stories of the breathtaking view from the mountain top.  She still wanted to visit the mountain and she would have preferred if we had gone up there, but I had preferred the sheer danger of these slopes; the heavy snow, the low temperatures, the pine tree covered paths.   I loved it all and I was happy to be here with her.

I put on my ski kit, which had been a gift from Gracen, and moved to the edge of the chair, ready to go once my skis touched ground. I pushed off, knees slightly bent.

Looking at Gracen with a smile, I nudged her on. "Let's just ski, shall we?" I said as I pushed off with my ski poles. I looked back to see Gracen taking off behind me.

Damn it, I live for this shit! The more dangerous the sport the more alive I feel.

I zoomed past the dips and over the snowy hills like the experienced skier that I am. Gracen tries to move over to my side; I looked over at her and grinned. She might be a top model, but she loved the feel of danger and excitement just as much as I did. That's why we clicked so well together. Gracen and I continued down the hill at a fast rate, zigzagging like a pair of Olympic champions.

“Wow, that was extra exhilarating,” I said once at the bottom of the slope, removing my goggles so I could get a good view of Gracen as she came to a stop right beside me.

“Jiraiya, your nose is bleeding,” Gracen said with an alarmed look on her face.

That’s when I felt the warm trickle slide from my right nostril, coming to rest on my light moustache.

“What?” I put my finger below my nose, quickly feeling the warm blood. Gracen was quick to get a napkin from her ski pants pocket and put it to my nose to staunch the bleeding. After a minute, the blood seemed to have slowed and I tried my best to dispel the worried look on Gracen’s face.

Later that night after I warned Gracen to stop fussing over me, we sat in the big Jacuzzi tub, allowing the warm water to gurgle over our naked bodies, giving that incredible feeling of calmness. The words were silent between us as our eyes remained closed, leaving our legs to do all the talking beneath the lavender foamy suds. Ahh, who knew a bathtub could feel so much like paradise. But when Gracen opened her eyes and her eye met mine, she screamed.

“What the hell, Gracen…” I started to say.  Sitting up quickly, I began to feel dizzy.

“Your nose is bleeding again,” she shouted, urgency in her tone.

I felt the blood running down from my nose for the second time in a day, and the moment of peaceful tranquility was ruined.

I grew dizzier by the moment; my body wasn't feeling like its usual self. It was just the strain that I had put my body through earlier that day. I tried desperately not to believe the words in my head, while trying to show no sign of alarm at the fear spreading over Gracen's face. But I lifted my hand again to feel my nose and my arms felt weak. I looked at the worried woman in front of me; slowly my sight started to become blurry.  I knew something was wrong. Getting out of the tub was a chore; getting dressed was a herculean task.

Gracen helped me to the nearby clinic on the grounds of the Ski Lodge and sat by my side as the doctors ran their tests. The bleeding from my nose was persistent now; it wouldn't stop. When the doctors got things under control, I had little to no strength left. I watched Gracen as she tried to look strong for me, knowing she was breaking to bits inside. She looked on, somewhere between perplexed and confused. My test results finally came in. I close my mind off the doctor’s words. I don’t hear the doctor as he reads the results...all I see is Gracen's beautiful face as it crumbles...letting loose a flood of tears.

I am that man, the man Gracen dreamed of marrying. The man she loved has just been sentenced to a life of hell.  Leukemia!