Woman Overboard

Chapter 17 : Waterfall (3)

Alessandra

September 1st, 1820

(8:56 PM)

The waterfall was just as grand as Aless remembered it being.

Perhaps it wasn't the most spectacular torrent of water out there, but in the warm, wet marshes of South Carolina, it seemed like a perfect miracle. Something so vibrant and full of life in the middle of a forest this deadly was stunning and enormously satisfying.

Afiba blinked at it, her jaw slack with wonder.

Aless grinned at her reaction. "Isn't it beautiful?"

"Yeah," Afiba breathed. "Never seen a thing like it."

Aless tugged her hand. "Come on. It's cooler right up next to it."

They picked their way toward the waterfall, through a path of jagged and wet rocks. Afiba kept her arm around Aless's shoulders, but whom she wished to stabilize wasn't obvious.

Aless did feel a bit faint. The cool stones that laid alongside the waterfall beckoned her, advertising the soothing mist in the air and the beauty of the currents racing down the slide and tumbling over each other to reach the bottom first.

Surging forward, Aless reached the first stone at the base of the waterfall. Afiba fell forward after her, catching Aless around the waist. "Be careful," Afiba warned. "Ye look a li'l unstable."

"Oh, I'm alright." She loved the feeling of safety that Afiba's hands on her waist brought her. She felt like Afiba would save her from any danger that threatened them today, from these slippery stones to the South Carolina militia. She sighed. If she kept thinking like this, she would be dead within a few hours.

They hoisted themselves above the next few steps, pausing to rest and look down at the rushing water beside them every few seconds. Aless felt a new type of joy in her heart despite herself. Once more, she hated that she had to compare everyone to Daniel, but she couldn't stop herself.

In the situation with Daniel, he would have climbed easily up the mountain of rocks and offered her a hand once her reached the top. But with Afiba, with a woman, they could pause and enjoy the beauty of the journey.

When they had made it about half the way up, Afiba said, "Why don' we stop here?"

They were sitting on a broad plateau of rock wide enough to lay down on. Aless nodded her agreement and sat down with her back against the next rock above. She hadn't realized just how tired she was until now.

"You okay?" asked Afiba, crawling over with a concerned frown. She placed a hand on Aless's forehead. "Jesus, you's burnin' up!"

"I will be fine," Aless assured her. "Quit worrying and enjoy the view."

It was truly spectacular. An expansive tapestry of green and blue stretched in front of them, its depth seeming endless. The jade leaves of the trees danced in the breeze, moving aside to let stars wink down on them. From here, tree roots were no longer a bothersome impediment but an intricate knotting of stitches in the rug of the forest floor.

"Isn't it lovely?" she breathed. The air up here seemed intoxicating, wealthy with the rich scents of earth and water.

Afiba nodded but said nothing.

Aless let her head loll to the side. Blinking at Afiba, she asked, "Are you nervous? Is that what's wrong?"

"I guess . . ." Afiba gazed into the thicket of trees below them, her eyes clouded by something like mild anger. Then her face crumpled. "Aless, what if they hate me?"

Shocked by her sudden change in mood, Aless scrambled to her knees and put her arms around Afiba. The girl buried her wet face in Aless's neck, the wounded wail of her sobbing turning into a muted whimper. "Darling, what are you talking about?"

"My family," Afiba whisper. "I jus' up an' left 'em widout a word o' goodbye. I'd hate me too, if I been them!"

Aless felt the weight of Afiba's despair settling over her, dragging her down like heavy chains on her limbs. She imagined Afiba had felt this way every since they left The Brookes. Suddenly, she felt the urge to cry, not only for Afiba but for every person who had ever been put through this turmoil, through this moral dilemma of saving themselves when they couldn't save everyone else.

"You needn't worry," Aless said. "They will be glad you came back for them, not mad about what happened years ago."

Afiba nodded into her neck but continued to sob. "I hate myself," she wailed. "I ain't even deserve t' be 'live if Hany don', I say. She ain't done nothin' wrong. I outta die instead."

"Don't say that." Aless's gut clenched at the idea of Afiba's death. She held the girl closer.

It was strange, but Aless couldn't bring herself to think of Afiba as a woman instead of a girl. She had all the things that made a woman: the age, the body, the face, the experience. But in many ways, she remained a child. Aless knew she must be at least ten years older than her and that she ought to feel ludicrously old in comparison. She ought to count that as one more reason why she and Afiba did not belong together. Yet, she didn't.

A dark thought crossed her mind. "Afiba?"

"Hmm?"

"If we survive this . . . I might never see you again."

Afiba was silent for a minute. "Maybe it's--" she began, but cut herself off.

"Maybe it's what?"

"Maybe it's for the best."

They were silent for a moment. Aless felt like she had been slapped. Afiba wore the guilty face of one who had delivered the sharp hit. "For the best?" Aless repeated, her voice bordering on incredulous. She gaped at Afiba, but couldn't seem to form a sentient argument against her.

Perhaps she was right. Two women, one black, one white, being in love? If Aless knew anything about the world, it couldn't last. Maybe it was for the best that they parted ways willingly instead of waiting to be torn apart.

"I will always remember you," Aless promised.

"Don't," Afiba sighed. "That'll jus' make it all the worse."

Aless leaned in for what could be their last kiss and whispered, "Just promise me you will never forget that someone loves you."

Afiba cupped Aless's face in her hands, laying a soft kiss on her lips. "I promise," she said. Then they held each other and cried until they had no tears left to cry with.