***
The shining light hides behind my eyes,
Comes in a super nova surprise
My spirit glides into the skies,
Spreading the perfect heat like the sunrise
I was like a diamond under the beauty of the ocean!
My current rides out with smooth motions,
Leaving a taste with intense emotion
Captured by my tides, sunk to my love potion
The sun sends my waves like a mirage of snow
I got the moon to favor upon my glow
With every star touching my inner soul
A glimpse of darkness in my light entwining with a massive flow
Blinded by my own ECLIPSE!
My sun & moon collide
Until the day we both touch lips
~Poet Destroyer A
***
The investigation all about mysterious guy unfortunately had to wait for another couple of days since Evie had to finish her manuscripts that were due on Monday. She also had to work an extra load in advance after Paul told her to take an unprecedented leave starting on Monday till Tuesday.
It was her Uncle's birthday.
Of course! Why did she even forget?
And at the behest of the birthday boy, she was gonna come to Beach Haven in New Jersey whether she liked it or not. Her Uncle made it clear that it was nonnegotiable.
"Beach Haven?" Evie asked. "That's so far. Can't I just celebrate your birthday after you come home from your birthday bash?"
She instantly received deathly glares from her uncle.
"After all the years of abandonment from you, nothing—not even a card—you still have the audacity to miss my birthday now that you're here?" Paul replied, his tone was full of bitterness.
Evie was gonna try to explain but she figured it was best to just support her Uncle. What's a two-day leave of absence right? She thought she also needed to learn how to kick back and have fun . Her life was so sterile. Perhaps taking on adventures would also help her find an inspiration to finally start her own book. That's the main reason why she moved to New York after all.
"Hey Morgan." She said as the other line picked up. "I'm won't be able to work this Monday until Tuesday. Can you please please please tell Dexter?"
"Why?!" Morgan's loud voice talked back. There were some loud background noise like in a bar or something.
The reception was a bit choppy and it made Morgan sound like a glitched robot.
Evie grabbed the window's latch and opened it. "Family stuff." She tersely said—lacking the energy to explain further.
The noise was getting lesser and she heard footsteps from Morgan's line. Probably Morgan going out to hear Evie better. "Oh! Yeah sure. See you on Wednesday." This time, Morgan sounded lesser like a robot.
Evie was about to put down the phone when Morgan opened her mouth and words came out. "Be sure to eat some dicks before you go home!" She giggled after and even snorted.
Evie was bewildered with her friend's words. "Wha-what did you just say?" She wanted to make sure since she could've misheard her plus the crappy signal and excessive noise weren't helping their situation.
"EAT. DICKS. GO. HOME!" Morgan laughed again.
Evie's eye brow twitched and her mouth frowned. Her friend wasn't usually so... vulgar. There must be something wrong with her. "Are you drunk?"
Morgan laughed again and several hiccups followed. "Nooooo. I don't get drunk. I'm just telling you to taste every dick in the world before things are too late and you'll get stuck with just one dick in your life. That's boring with a capital B."
"Yup, you're drunk." She said while caressing her head. "You better get home Morgan."
"But I'm still looking for a dick!" She said with her childish voice.
Evie groaned. "What's with you and dicks? Dicks aren't special. Just go home."
"Oh, I have to go. Byeeeee." Morgan immediately cut the line, leaving Evie dumbfounded and worried for her.
What was Morgan doing with her life again?
She sighed and arranged her desk. She grabbed a few things to bring with her on their trip.
Toiletries. Check.
Clothes. Check.
Sunscreen. Check.
Bikini. Check.
After stuffing everything essential into her bag, closed it—a little bit of wrestling trying to get the bag to close going on—and put it aside, she also readied her purse.
Evie eyed her desk one more time to make sure she got everything essential.
"Shoot! I almost forgot about you." She exclaimed when her eyes landed on her favorite book. Evie can never go on a long trip without her favorite book. It was Acreage of the Past written by Samson. She never really knew the author because whoever behind the book was serious in keeping his identity hidden aside from the fact that the author's a he. The Samson was just a pen-name. Evie tried asking a friend from Blue Moon Publishing Company which was the publisher of all of Samson's books but apparently, even the editors and workers do not have any single idea who Samson was. He never does meet and greets nor book signing events. It was a bummer, really.
It was such a waste since everyone loved Samson's books. He wrote poems and stories and he's fond of using symbolism in his works. Evie fancied all of his works and he sort of became her inspiration to pursue the literary industry.
Evie would definitely flip out if she'll meet him one day but that idea is too far-fetched from being realistic.
The sea of clouds parted as the airplane they boarded glided through the vast sky. Evie clutched her phone and opened her book to the part where she stopped reading.
Moon Phases
That's the title of poem #17 in Acreage of the Past. Evie continued reading.
I rarely glance at the midnight skies
Whenever I do, the glowing orb always catches my eyes
Doting, drifting and succumbing
Completely besotted to its magical, glistening light
What a heavenly sight!
Infinitesimal stars surrounding its might
Wraith of clouds accentuating
As the bright full moon is rising
Splayed on the lush emerald grass
Thinking with fervor it would stay full until the very last
But as the world shifted towards east
The once rotund moon changed; its light gradually faded until it finally ceased
Begged for it to come back with a tearstained face
But stark darkness swallowed the gloomy place
The lucent moon I passionately loved and chased
Left me to feel a palpable sense of ache
I wept and wept and wept some more
In the throes of forgetting the short-lived spectacle I once adored
Just as I felt the lacerations disappear
The moon began to shine in the heavens, oh dear!
Just as she was about to read the last paragraph, the flight attendant started announcing that the plane was gonna land already. Her uncle flinched from his beauty sleep and started rummaging through his bag.
Evie quickly closed her book.
"Have you seen my power bank?" Paul asked.
"No." She absentmindedly replied while gazing out at the lush green field that was now visible from their line of sight.
After taking off from the plane and doing the hustle of finding their things in the plethora of bags, they rode a service to reach the resort where her uncle will be celebrating his birthday.
The Beach Haven signage greeted them from afar. The resort screamed summer and sunshine.
Wow! It is a haven indeed.
The first thing you'll see the moment you enter the entrance is a souvenir shop. Next to it was an array of golf carts. Apparently, private vehicles weren't allowed inside the villa so they had to travel their baggages and rode the golf carts towards the beach proper.
The hot and humid ocean breeze kissed Evie's face while they travelled along the concrete pavement. There were coconut and palm trees everywhere and huge villas. Beach Haven was a villa type of resort. Her uncle booked two villas for everyone who will celebrate will them.
Evie stepped out from the golf cart and bermuda grasses greeted her feet.
"Uncle, I don't see any beaches here. It's all trees and villas. How huge is this place?"
Paul, who was helping the bellboy log off their baggages, looked at her and said, "If I remembered correctly, I think the whole resort expands to at least five hectares."
"That explains the golf carts." She walked towards their huge villa. It was your typical wooden but modern villa.
The inside was very spacious and organized.
Evie panted after impulsively deciding to walk all the way to the beach. It was worth the sweat because the beach was spectacular. Her floral dress was getting whipped around by the strong afternoon breeze. The fine grains of sand felt like powder against her toes.
The beach was littered with coconuts, people and sand castles. Some people were playing beach volleyball while others were just laying on their blankets to get tanned. She excitedly sauntered towards the blue water and a shriek escaped from her mouth when the cold water touched her feet. She probably looked like a nine year-old kid playing in the water.
Tropical drinks were available in a coconut hut and she sat on one of the stools while the bartender was busy whipping up her pineapple drink. After that, she waited on a hammock and watched the sun gradually kissed the sea as it passed through the horizon, emitting wonderful colors on the once blue sky.
As the sky went black, lights and torches lit up the entire resort and even the pathway towards each villa so Evie did not have any problem walking back alone to their own villa. She passed by groups of people walking and riding carts from time to time and everyone was just enjoying the spectacular place.
The villa was so quiet the moment she entered and so she thought she was alone but she found Melissa getting ready in her room.
"Hi roommate!" Melissa said while trying to reach for her silver dress' zipper.
Evie went inside. "Let me help you with that."
"Thank you so much. Why aren't you still dressed up?" Melissa asked while retouching her make up in the mirror.
"This is what I'm wearing." Evie said and sat on a bed filled with various dresses, make-up tools and hair extensions.
Upon hearing that, Melissa stopped fixing her brows and looked at her with an appalled look. "You're kidding me, right?"
"No. This is the best looking dress I've brought here." Evie felt a little ashamed. Was she a a little underdressed? I mean, what's wrong with a beach dress? They were on a beach!
Melissa looked at her from head to foot with a disapproved look plastered on her face. "Dear, I guess you haven't been to any of your uncle's party. That guy is so extra."
Evie ended up wearing one of Melissa's dresses and heels. It was a deep red bodycon dress with a sweetheart neckline paired with silver stiletto heels. Melissa also curled her hair and lent her a silver necklace to finish the look.
"Do I really have to wear make-up?" She said while scratching her eyes because the false lashes were too uncomfortable.
"Yup. Trust me, you'll thank me later." Melissa winked.
After an hour of getting ready, they immediately rode one of the golf carts to the site where the yacht was situated. Evie had to drive because Melissa was busy receiving calls. "Yes, the manager already informed me about they changed the appetizer to shrimp scampi. The wine? Yes. There's also bourbon."
Evie already knew her uncle was rich but seeing the glimmering yacht beside the narrow port made her rethink about how rich her uncle in actuality was.
Several people were already on board, enjoying their champagne and chitchatting with each other. Some were familiar to Evie because she'd seen them from shoots but the majority were foreign to her.
"You sit over there and enjoy yourself because your uncle is calling for me, okay?" Melissa said before leaving for upstairs.
Evie looked around the place and thank God she listened to Melissa because the servers were wearing floral flowy dresses. She could've been very embarrassed seeing that all the guests are high profile and very well-dressed.
She had no plans on socializing other than making an appearance for her uncle to see that she actually showed up instead of reading inside their villa, away from all of these.
As a waiter dressed in a hawaiian shirt and shorts passed by, she quickly grabbed a piece of appetizer and champagne and went out. The yacht started to move away from the port and she could see the many people enjoying the beach while watching fire dancers blowing fire. From where Evie was, she felt more appreciation for the resort. It was beautiful during daytime but it was magical at night.
Evie leaned on the railing overlooking the vast ocean and gripped the cold hard metal. She faced the horizon, the moon dangling low and large in the sky before her and breathed in the ocean air. The sight, sound and scent of the ocean helped her relax. She took one glance at inside of the yacht and sighed. She'd rather shiver from the chilled ocean breeze than go back inside and look like a total loser by the corner.
"Hey." A man's voice said beside her. Evie tensed up a bit and looked at the stranger's face.
"Hi." Evie did not know the man in a black suit who was beside her, smiling. "Do I know you?"
The man laughed, masking the sound of the yacht's engine and the splashes of the reeling waves. His undercut slightly moved as it caught the wind.
"I can't believe you're asking me that." The man said in disbelief.
Evie stared at the man's feature. "I am blanking." He had a hawkish nose, chiseled jaw, defined cheekbones, but despite his brooding look, his smile screamed the complete opposite. He looked friendly at the very least.
"We used to hang out every summer in your tree house, remember?"
He watched in amusement as Evie's confused reaction changed into a shocked one.
"Sammy?! Oh my God, it's you!" She jumped to hug him and he hugged her back while laughing.
Evie looked at him again. "I can't believe it's really you. I totally did not recognize you at all!"
"Should I be offended?" He asked jokingly.
"No! Not at all. You look great." Evie said. She remembered Samuel, or Sammy to her, as the awkward kid next door who played with her for many summers in her tree house until they moved to a different state because of his father's work. He was small, thin, wore those thick glasses and always had a towel on his back because he was very sweaty all the time. The man standing in front of her was totally different in physique but he was still the same old friendly Sammy, just a little more confident.
"So, how's life Sammy? I haven't heard from you for ages."
"I am now working as a lawyer and I tried contacting you years ago but when I called your house, they said you weren't there anymore and they don't have your number. You weren't active on social media also." Samuel placed his hands on the railing and gazed into the distance.
Evie let out an awkward laugh. "Uh yeah, funny story. I ran away from home."
Samuel laughed. "I figured. I know you have the propensity to do that because even before, I saw you as a bird trapped inside a cage." Samuel looked at her, the moonlight shining over his face, revealing his sincere smile. "I'm happy that you managed to set yourself free. I never did, until now."
Samuel, just like she was, was born rich with his future already planned out for him. Maybe their shared situation became the reason why they found comfort in each other's company before, other than the fact that they were next door neighbors.
"Don't be too proud of me just yet Sammy. If it weren't for Uncle, I would've been homeless before." Evie ended up telling everything to Samuel.
"Wow, I can't believe you suffered that much. You could've contacted me and asked for help. I'd always help you out."
"Honestly, I was too preoccupied with trying to survive that I forgot you. We also lost contact for like years and I probably could not get myself to come to you and ask for things when you used to look up to me before." Evie sighed. She hugged herself when another cold breeze blew passed them.
Samuel automatically removed his tuxedo and draped it on Evie's chilly shoulders.
"I'm always gonna look up to you even when you almost became homeless. You actually helped me overcome my anxiety with other people because I used to think about you whenever I had to face people in law school. Obviously, you can't be a lawyer if you can't handle lots of people directly staring at your face."
A small smile appeared on Evie's mouth. "That's sweet."
They fell silent as the bright full moon rose up to the sky, illuminating the dark waters. More ripples appeared as the yacht sped up. They were already so far from the coast. All they could see were blinking lights and the watch tower from the resort.
It was Samuel who broke the silence. "Do you have someone now?"
Evie paused and looked at her cold hands. "No."
"But you have someone you like?"
When Evie looked at Samuel, he was watching her intently. She looked away, afraid he'd see through her. "I don't."
Samuel smiled. Another moment of comfortable silence lingered around them. "Why do I have a feeling that you're not telling the truth?"
Evie remained quiet because deep in her heart no matter how much she'll deny it, she knew she was not telling the truth too.