Deep Waters

him to join him on the island of Nihili.
    He watched himself coax the money for the long flight to Nihili from his disinterested, angry grandfather. Saw himself as he got off the small plane on the island and eagerly search the tiny crowd for the face of his father. Then he saw the quiet man with the ancient eyes who walked toward him. Hayden Stone had been the one who had told him that his father was dead.
    Elias let the memories drift past. He watched until they were lost once more in the endless darkness. Then he rose from the futon and pulled on a pair of jeans and a shirt.
    He reached into the carved chest and picked up Hayden's journal.
    Otis mumbled behind the cage cover as Elias padded barefoot across the small front room.
    "Go back to sleep," Elias said softly. "You had a hard night."
    Otis fell silent.
    Elias went out onto the porch, picked up a mat, and walked down the steps into the garden. The sky had grown markedly brighter, he noticed. No fog this morning.
    He settled down beside the reflecting pool and opened the journal to the last few pages.

    This morning I caught a glimpse of the final lesson that I must somehow convey to Elias. I do not know if I will have time to teach it. I felt the pain in my chest again during the night. Soon the river of my life will rejoin the sea.

    But Elias is young and strong, and unlike me, his soul has not yet been chilled by the icy cold of the deepest waters. He still has the capacity to hunger for life.

    When he has seen the folly of his desire for vengeance, he will be free. And when he is free, I hope he will be fortunate enough to find a woman who can help him learn this last and most important lesson. I want him to discover that his true self needs more than what the discipline of Tal Kek Chara can give him. I have taught him to be strong, but if he is ever to know real happiness, he must go beyond the Way of Water. He must learn to open himself to love.

    Elias closed the journal and looked down into the reflecting pond. The surface of the little pool was an opaque gray, mirroring the dawn sky. He contemplated the featureless water for a long time.
    The muffled whispers of the incoming tide down in the cove and the calls of the seabirds masked the sound of her footsteps, but Elias knew the precise moment when Charity arrived at the garden gate.
    He could feel the warmth of her presence, just as he had that first day when she had walked into Charms & Virtues with her clipboard and an invitation to form a united front with the shopkeepers of Crazy Otis Landing.
    He watched as she opened the gate and walked along the narrow path toward the front steps. In spite of the ordeal she had been through last night, she looked fresh and bright and clear as the sparkling waters of a tropical sea. He did not try to fight the hunger and the need that she triggered within him. There was no reason to struggle against his true self.
    "I'm over here, Charity."
    She turned at the sound of his voice and frowned when she saw him sitting at the edge of the pool. "The sun isn't even up yet. It's a little early to be meditating on wet grass, isn't it?"
    "It felt like the right time. What are you doing up so early?"
    She made a face as she walked toward him along the path. "I didn't sleep very well. Thought I'd come over here and see how you and Otis were doing."
    "We're both fine. Otis is still asleep."
    "So is Davis. I left him a note telling him that I was coming over here for breakfast." She halted beside him. "What are you contemplating this morning? Trying to figure out how many Tal Kek Chara masters it takes to screw in a lightbulb?"
    "No."
    "We've really got to work on your sense of humor, Elias."
    "Some other time, maybe."
    "Okay," she agreed. 'So what were you contemplating?"
    "How to go about asking you to marry me."
    Her eyes widened. "Oh."
    "There is no instruction on the subject in Tal Kek Chara."
    "I told you that water philosophy of yours had a few leaks." Charity's smile was tremulous. "Why don't you just try asking me?"
    Elias got slowly to his feet. He could feel the rising tide within him. If she rejected him, he would be carried out to the deepest waters of the coldest seas. He would never find his way back to shore.
    "I love you," Elias said. "Marry me. Please."
    Her eyes glowed. "Yes." She threw herself into his arms. "Yes, of course I'll marry you. I love you, Elias."
    And then she started to laugh. It was a laugh as frothy as waves on a beach, as cheerful as a