Under the Mango Tree: 101 Tales (2)

DELICATE

Challenge No.26 - Facing Obstacles.

Write a story or scene in which your protagonist faces an obstacle.

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The nurses in the hallway of the Naval Hospital in Castries parted in an imitation of the Red Sea as Colonel Sarah McDonald of the Caribbean Defense Force, came through. She knew EXACTLY where she was headed.

"Mac!" Harm repeated in Farsi. "You are real. You are real!"

Mac was taken aback. Harm could barely handle English, was downright awful with Creole, yet here he was in fluent Farsi. She lapsed into the language and moved to his side. "Harm. I... Oh Lord Harm I thought you were dead! In fact, everyone thought you were dead!"

He frowned "Harm? I am not harmed I can assure you."

She chuckled "Your name is Harman Etienne Jr. and we call you Harm for short."

"I am called Khalil." He grinned and Mac melted. Much had changed but that flyboy grin had emerged intact. "Are you, my wife?"

Mac burst out laughing. "We are friends."

He frowned. "In all this time I have never told you that I love you?" He asked.

Mac almost choked. "No." She managed to say.

"Then I can only conclude that this Harman Etienne is a fool."

"You do realize that YOU are Harman Etienne." Mac pointed out.

"Indeed. Then I am a fool." He repeated. "I have but a very small part of my memories in place yet I can tell there is more between us than this friendship you describe." He sat up.

"I have lost many years-- I ask you, Sarah." He paused. "Sarah?"

"That's my name." She clarified. "Sarah McDonald hence Mac."

"See!" He was triumphant "More of the memory returns. So, I ask do you love me too?"

"Too?" She dodged.

"I apologise for the long time it took but I believe that despite all that has happened there is evidence to prove that I love you, and on the off chance that my actions are misinterpreted let me say that I love you. Do you love me?"

Mac had no idea how they had got to this point so fast. But there they were. "Yes." She said and was rewarded with the flyboy grin. Then he leaned toward her and kissed her. The electricity flowed between them the time apart made no difference.

Finally, they pulled apart as Trish, his mother returned.

For no reason, Mac would ever be able to explain the fantasy that she had been taking part in ended. She landed with a bump as reality struck. It was like a bucket of cold water and she stepped back in horror.

"What is it?" Trish asked as she saw the horror on Mac's face.

The younger woman gulped and looked from son to mother and back like a deer stuck in the headlights of a fast-approaching vehicle.

"Mac!" Harm was scared.

"I'm married." She whispered. And to make sure that they both understood she used three languages: Creole, English and Farsi.

© Written July 2002 * Rev. 26 March 2022

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