Destined

He was married, and had a child. She had to accept that. That was a sacred thing. He was taken.

The idea of it hurt her more than anything else, but she just had to accept it. It was a bond of marriage, and regardless of what might happen in the future, she could not interfere. She would have to let him go.

If that was the case, then what was the point of her coming back in time? Was it really to find her father, as that priest had said? Was Caleb just the lure to lead her down that path?

Or was her destiny to be with Blake instead? Was that the whole reason she had come back?

Was that fate’s way of winking at her?

On the one hand, since Caleb was taken, there was nothing wrong, she realized, in being with Blake. But a huge part of her still loved Caleb, still longed for him. The idea of being with Blake still, somehow, despite everything, felt disloyal. Disloyal to who? she wondered.

Why had it never entered her mind that things could go so wrong? She had imagined that possibly she could never find Caleb. But she had never imagined that something even worse could happen: that she could find him, and that he could be with someone else. And not even remember her. It was the worst thing she could possibly imagine. She should have foreseen it. But if she had, would she have done anything differently?

Dawn was breaking fully on the horizon now, shades of red and orange and pink flooding the sky, lighting up the lagoon and the water. She had been awake all night long, she realized, and now the world was beginning anew again.

She saw the island on the horizon, and knew she would be there shortly.

But a part of her wished she wouldn’t. A part of her wished their boat would just keep going, and fall off the face of the earth.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Caitlin ran. The sun was high overhead as she ran through a field of flowers, thousands of roses, impossibly tall, reaching up to her waist. They were all different colors, red and pink and white and yellow, and they brushed against her softly as she ran. Amazingly, they had no thorns, and the feel of the flowers was smooth on her legs, as their smell filled the air.

On the horizon stood her father, taller than ever, closer than she could remember. She could almost make out his facial features, and as she ran, she felt as if she were about to reach him.

But as she looked down, the field of flowers disappeared, and was replaced by a small, golden bridge. Her father, too, was gone, and on the horizon sat a city, with low buildings, all with red tile roofs. The small, golden bridge went up in an arch and came down the other side.

She ran across it, and underneath her, she saw the crystal clear water, glowing blue. She crossed the bridge, about to enter the city, and her father appeared again, at the entrance to the city gates. He stood just on the other side, and as she ran for him, there suddenly appeared two immense doors, freestanding, in the middle of the street, blocking her way.

She knew she could not get around them. They were tall, three times her height, and as she stopped before them, she was amazed to see that they were made of solid gold. They were intricately carved with the most beautiful figures, figures she could not understand. She knew that her father was behind them, on just the other side. She knew that if she could just open the doors, she could reach him, that he was waiting to embrace her.

She searched everywhere, but found no handle. So instead, she reached up, and ran her fingers along the carved, golden figures. She felt the smooth shapes and contours, was amazed at their depth of detail. It was like a piece of artwork.

“Caitlin,” came the voice. She knew that it was the voice of her father. It was a deep, soft, relaxing voice. She craved to hear it again.

“I am waiting for you,” he said. “Open the door.”

“I can’t!” she cried frantically.

“Caitlin!”

Caitlin opened her eyes and saw Polly standing over her, shaking her.

Caitlin woke up, disoriented. Had it been her father’s voice? Or Polly’s?

She sat up and looked all about the room, looking for her father. But it was just another dream.

It had been so vivid, like a meeting.

She sat up, rubbing her eyes, and squinted against the harsh sunlight streaking into the room.

Daytime. She tried to remember. When had she fallen asleep? Had she been sleeping all day?

Rose came up and licked her face.

“What time is it?” Caitlin asked, groggily.

“It’s late in the afternoon,” Polly said, “you’ve been sleeping all day. I didn’t want to wake you. I let you sleep as long as I could. But now, most the day’s passed, so I figured it’s ok. You’ve slept enough, right? I’m just dying to talk to you. How did everything go last night? What happened? Why didn’t you come back with me? Did Blake bring you back? How was your time with him?”

As always, Polly fired question after question, barely giving Caitlin a chance to think. She didn’t know which question to answer first.

“I didn’t come back with him,” she said. “I came back alone. I hired a boat to take me back.”

Polly’s eyes opened wide in anger.

“What happened?” Her expression darkened. “If he abandoned you there, I’ll kill him—”

“No, no,” Caitlin said, “it’s nothing like that. He wanted to bring me back. I asked him not to.”

“Why?” Polly’s expression changed again. “Oh, I see,” she said. “Things didn’t go so well? You don’t like him? Why, what did he say? What happened!?”

“No, it’s nothing like that either,” Caitlin said.

She got up, stretching her legs, needing to breathe a bit, to process it all. She wanted to answer Polly, but she barely knew the answers herself.

“I guess I just…needed time,” she said. “To think it all over, you know? I actually…I…ran into someone else last night…someone I used to know.”

Polly hesitated. “That…Caleb person you were talking about?”

Caitlin looked away, her heart pulling at even the sound of Caleb’s name.

“Yes,” Caitlin answered, finally.

“So? What happened?”

Caitlin thought. What did happen? She still could hardly believe it all. That Caleb did not remember her. It felt like she’d been stabbed in the heart. And seeing him together with Sera, so happy….It was more than she could handle.

“Things…I guess…just didn’t turn out as I expected,” Caitlin said.

“So? What about Blake? What’s wrong with him? You guys seemed to dance so well together.”

Caitlin tried to think. Blake was amazing. There was no doubt about that. And her feelings for him—they were very real. Why had it all had to happen at once? She felt so torn, so conflicted. She knew, intellectually, that Caleb was taken, and that it wasn’t healthy to dwell on him anymore. But at the same time, to be with Blake, right now, so fast, at this moment…it just felt too soon.

“There’s nothing wrong with him,” Caitlin said. “I just… I don’t know. I guess I just haven’t figured it all out yet.”

Polly nodded. “I hear you there,” she said. “Guys are impossible.” She sighed. “Anyway, sorry for all the questions. I was just really curious. I missed you. You have a way of growing on people.

Not to mention, it’s almost dinner time. And someone very important wants to see you.”

Caitlin wracked her brain. Who could that possibly be?