that there was a secret passageway hidden beneath it. After I had succeeded in moving the stone, I cautiously took the candle in my hand and tried to see how deep the hole went. The candlelight, however, was not very bright, and I couldn’t see anything at all. I let the candle drop. To my surprise the candle fell only about ten feet and stayed lit. I peered into the hole and could barely make out what appeared to be a few columns in the dim light.
“ It was probably not the smartest thing to do, but I dropped myself down into the hole.
“ I noticed as I got to my feet that there was a very ancient feel to the place that was only augmented by the appearance. I felt the cool hard marble column nearest me. It was magnificent. I couldn’t see clearly, but there were obviously many other columns around me. I could tell that whatever that chamber was, it was much larger than the little bit I could see in the dim flickering light. But why would someone build something so massive underground? Only when I finally looked around my surroundings again did I see you.
“ You were standing, mostly hidden in shadow, by the column nearest me. You seemed offended by my presence. I had obviously insulted you, yet again,” Elliott rolled his eyes, “by following you.
“ I gave a bow, and offered you the white gardenia from my breast pocket. You hesitated, but slowly came out of the shadows and accepted it.
“‘ I’m Elliott Falcone,’ I said.
“ You probably don’t remember, but you weren’t very nice to me. I figured you were just being cautious, and nervous, since some stranger followed you into a hole. You kept asking me to leave. But I persisted. There was something about you. I wasn’t going to leave without at least your name, and hopefully a promise to see you again. Finally, you told me you were called Lillianna. Looking back on that day, I think I really frightened you.” Elliott gave me a squeeze, “Sorry about that. I can be a little obsessive.”
I was confused by his pausing. He really seemed to exude an apologetic aura. “Apology accepted?” I replied. After another pause and squeeze, he went on.
“ You were very quiet, except when you were asking me to leave.” Only because I was examining his face did I notice his eyebrows raise and his eyes roll. “I only agreed to leave when you promised to let me see you again within the fortnight. I think near the end of that meeting you were just being shy. I am quite sure I saw you blush in the dim light as I told you how beautiful I found you to be.
“ And you added to your mystery, because instead of giving me a time and place to meet you, you gave me half of a small bean-sized stone and told me that you had the other half, and that somehow it would communicate when we would meet again. I didn’t understand how it could, but I figured I could come back down here and find you again if need be. I finally felt confident in my quest. I conceded to leave, and bowed once more. I found the niches in the wall that allowed me to crawl out and leave.”
When Elliott finished, silence fell like a blanket on top of us. The only sound I could hear was a gentle rustling of the nearby leaves being pushed around in the midnight breeze. I didn’t know what to say.
My mind couldn’t come near any sort of reality where what he had just described could happen. Let alone, happen to me nearly three hundred years ago. At the same time, I didn’t think my imagination was nearly creative enough to come up with a story that elaborate either. I was not sure what to do or say, so I contented myself with enjoying the shelter of his arms and looking at the opal.
I couldn’t look into his eyes yet. His eyes always seemed to penetrate my soul and know what I was thinking even if I hadn’t figured it out yet myself. I wanted to understand what I was going to believe before he thought he did.
At that moment, his hand gently caressed under my chin and tilted my head up to his. I
“ It was probably not the smartest thing to do, but I dropped myself down into the hole.
“ I noticed as I got to my feet that there was a very ancient feel to the place that was only augmented by the appearance. I felt the cool hard marble column nearest me. It was magnificent. I couldn’t see clearly, but there were obviously many other columns around me. I could tell that whatever that chamber was, it was much larger than the little bit I could see in the dim flickering light. But why would someone build something so massive underground? Only when I finally looked around my surroundings again did I see you.
“ You were standing, mostly hidden in shadow, by the column nearest me. You seemed offended by my presence. I had obviously insulted you, yet again,” Elliott rolled his eyes, “by following you.
“ I gave a bow, and offered you the white gardenia from my breast pocket. You hesitated, but slowly came out of the shadows and accepted it.
“‘ I’m Elliott Falcone,’ I said.
“ You probably don’t remember, but you weren’t very nice to me. I figured you were just being cautious, and nervous, since some stranger followed you into a hole. You kept asking me to leave. But I persisted. There was something about you. I wasn’t going to leave without at least your name, and hopefully a promise to see you again. Finally, you told me you were called Lillianna. Looking back on that day, I think I really frightened you.” Elliott gave me a squeeze, “Sorry about that. I can be a little obsessive.”
I was confused by his pausing. He really seemed to exude an apologetic aura. “Apology accepted?” I replied. After another pause and squeeze, he went on.
“ You were very quiet, except when you were asking me to leave.” Only because I was examining his face did I notice his eyebrows raise and his eyes roll. “I only agreed to leave when you promised to let me see you again within the fortnight. I think near the end of that meeting you were just being shy. I am quite sure I saw you blush in the dim light as I told you how beautiful I found you to be.
“ And you added to your mystery, because instead of giving me a time and place to meet you, you gave me half of a small bean-sized stone and told me that you had the other half, and that somehow it would communicate when we would meet again. I didn’t understand how it could, but I figured I could come back down here and find you again if need be. I finally felt confident in my quest. I conceded to leave, and bowed once more. I found the niches in the wall that allowed me to crawl out and leave.”
When Elliott finished, silence fell like a blanket on top of us. The only sound I could hear was a gentle rustling of the nearby leaves being pushed around in the midnight breeze. I didn’t know what to say.
My mind couldn’t come near any sort of reality where what he had just described could happen. Let alone, happen to me nearly three hundred years ago. At the same time, I didn’t think my imagination was nearly creative enough to come up with a story that elaborate either. I was not sure what to do or say, so I contented myself with enjoying the shelter of his arms and looking at the opal.
I couldn’t look into his eyes yet. His eyes always seemed to penetrate my soul and know what I was thinking even if I hadn’t figured it out yet myself. I wanted to understand what I was going to believe before he thought he did.
At that moment, his hand gently caressed under my chin and tilted my head up to his. I
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