Kristyne woke before sunrise and changed back into her clothes, still a little damp from the previous night. She quietly folded the shirt she had been wearing and had to smile. The shirt, his shirt had hung down to her knees. She was glad he had been asleep and not seen her. But then, maybe it would have given them both a much-needed laugh. Shirt in hand she wandered to the kitchen in search of something to drink. She found some bottled water in the fridge and figured he wouldn’t mind much if she had one. Searching through the a few drawers she found a small note pad and a pen. Nick- When I was lost you found me. You will never know how those few caring gestures from a stranger Never lose your smile. Hold onto your dreams. And always sleep Sweet. Kristyne She read the note over and knew it was from her heart. For she truly had been lost last night, afraid to face the future. It seemed she never had time anymore. And her lack of time left her with hollowness, an aching for friends, family, love, kindness, hope. She had lost her hope. After her parents’ death life had been, well, just life. She hadn’t really been living. Even now, she knew it would be a long way before she would ever really start living again. But, last night, she was ready to give up on life. She had been praying for the strength to walk away. Praying for hope. Praying for help. Even though she knew none would be coming. Just when she had realized she couldn’t take it alone anymore he was there. He wasn’t there for her. But he was there just the same. He was there with those caring eyes. She couldn’t remember the last time someone had looked at her with genuine concern. Evie tried, but she was worlds away in a life Kristyne wished she could have again. No, this gentle stranger had saved her life last night. And in the saving had given Kristyne a little of that hope she thought she had lost. She dreamed of her parents and of them watching her become the woman they always knew she would be. And this morning she woke, tired but clear-headed and just a bit stronger than the night before. It was enough. It would help her through. Placing the shirt and note on the counter she walked back to the living room. The sun was just beginning to peak over the horizon. One last look and she left. It would be a long walk back to the parking lot and an even longer drive home. The time would be well spent thinking about the changes she would be making in her life. “Nick. Nick, man wake up. I KNOW you can’t be comfortable” Eddie was shaking Nick. He couldn’t believe he had slept in the lounger all night. No, he had to have come out here to watch the sunrise and dosed back off. “Nick man, wake up! You gonna sleep all day?” Nick cracked his eyes and immediately regretted it. The sun was already shining bright and hot. He realized he was covered in sweat and an afghan… “Kristyne!” He bolted up right. “Where is she, Eddie?” “Where’s who? Nick you were dreaming. There’s no one here, remember?” “No, she was. She wasn’t on the couch when you came in? Maybe she went to the bedroom.” With that Nick headed into the house. She wasn’t on the couch. She wasn’t in the bedroom. He went to the bathroom maybe she was changing. But the door was open and the light off. Eddie just followed him with a strange look on his face. ‘Nick must have had one hell of a dream’ he thought. Nick went back to the living room looking around. “I know she was here man. I even gave her a shirt to sleep…” And as he turned towards the kitchen he saw the shirt neatly folded on the counter. Going to pick it up he also saw the note and read it over quickly. ‘When did she leave? Why did she leave without saying goodbye? Will she be ok? I’ll never know. All I know is a first name. No last name, no city, no address, not even what type of car she was driving. Damn, if only I could have actually SEEN what was on that driver’s license!’ “Nick, you ok? What’s going on? Man, only you could get a strange girl to come back to your very private beach house in the middle no where in the middle of the night. Where’d you find her, on the beach?” Eddie was chuckling. “Yeah” Was all Nick said and went to sit on the couch. “Eddie, she was so small, so scared. I found her crying out there last night. She seemed so frail and lost. I wanted to help, you know. So, I brought her back here. She said she lived about 2 hours from here. I knew that was too far for her to drive like she was. At first, well, I thought she was a child. The breeze off the waves nearly knocked me over when she said she was 24. I couldn’t believe it. I told her she needed to rest before she drove home. Eddie, I don’t know her last name or where she was from. I’ll never know if she is ok.” Nick said all this with his head in his hands. Not really realizing he was breathing in the scent of the shirt still in his hands. Hoping it would give him some clue as to who she was. “Nick, she probably just had some fight with a boyfriend. You know. She left you a note saying she would be ok, right? Don’t worry about it. You need to relax and unwind, not worry about someone else’s problems.” **Sigh** “You’re probably right.” But he would still worry.
When I was scared you held me.
When I cried you wiped the tears away.
You gave me strength to face another day.
Helped me find the sun again, and gave me hope to breathe again.
<~Chapter 3 or Chapter 5~>
Karina 2003
