Solitude

But I was not Rose Mary. Surely he knew that! The eons that had passed couldn't have obscured his memory of a love so profound! But then, perhaps I was the naïve one. Surely I had no insights into the hereafter, no innate wisdom that opened to me all the mysteries of the unceasing, recycling universe. I too had felt something irresistibly familiar and perfectly aligned in his arms. Perhaps he knew more than I did!

The thought both warmed and chilled me. Could I be James' lost love after all? Perhaps more than the internet had come into play in my choice of sanctuary. Perhaps destiny and the will of one who had waited far too long had been in place! Had James searched through the veils of time and found his Rose Mary once again?

Quickly I pushed the thought from my mind. I was a modern woman with her feet planted firmly in the here and now, not the hereafter! Thoughts like this were for dreamers, romantic mystics...not for the likes of one such as me. And yet, I found myself smiling at the warm glow that had filled me as the possibility had woven through my consciousness. To be James' lost love...that would be truly blissful, a love that would last a lifetime and beyond.

Silently, I closed the locket and slipped the delicately woven chain about my throat. I would have to consider this. The links that I wore represented more than a lovely piece of jewelry, they were the unbroken links of time itself, and I was their curator. Was this then a burden, or an opportunity?

Quickly I finished dressing, donning a quilted vest to ward off the early chill and made my way down the stairs to the kitchen. There, stuffing a thermos of hot coffee and an English muffin in my knapsack, I strolled out onto the porch and took stock of my new environment.

The smell of smoke was thick in the air that morning, a heady aroma that spoke of fireplaces far to the south, drifting through the trees on the stiffening breeze. I inhaled lustily. Life was good.

Then, setting out at a brisk pace, I began to make my way down the trail in the direction of the mine. I had not gone far, however, before a feeling of foreboding came over me, a pounding urge to return to the safety of my cabin, to lock my door behind me. Surely I was being melodramatic! What harm was there to be found here? What evil could survive in a place so pristine and pure of form?

Shrugging off my anxiety, I forced myself to continue onward until the base of the escarpment came into view through the trees. There, amid the scolding of the jays, I settled myself on a fallen log and attacked my breakfast with an eagerness unknown in the city.

The locket, which I now wore, seemed to radiate a life of its own in its warm nest between my breasts. Lying there, so still and intimate, it whispered to me like a lover might...words of passion and moist desire...of forbidden pastimes and erotic couplings.

James was with me. Somehow, in ways that words could never convey, I knew it. He was there, and he wanted me.

Heart pounding, I silently began to undo the buttons of my vest, the chilly air a welcomed relief to the heat that now consumed me. I continued to remove my clothing until nothing remained save the golden heart, and I found myself lying on a nest of my own flannel, eyes closed, awaiting the pleasure of my unseen lover.

I had not long to wait, for immediately I was rewarded with the intimate brush of his lips upon mine, the gentle encouragement of my nipple in his palm.

I moaned in anticipation, and spreading my thighs I arched my back against his unseen form. His hand now traveled down the length of my body, insinuating itself within my moist triangle as it tested my readiness. Then, with slow and easy motion, he began to stroke the swollen nub hidden within, drawing out my sighs, probing my eagerness.

Suddenly he paused, and withdrawing I felt his finger pressed to my lips, wet with my own response, invading my mouth in an intimate simulation of the act I so desired.

Hungrily I suckled, taking his finger deep into my slippery cavern, tasting the tangy lust it bore until I groaned in frustration.

Again, a pause, and then his finger was replaced by something more substantial, growing in length and breadth as it made its way past my lips. It had to be...

Raising my upper body ever so slightly, I felt his fingers twine in my hair, holding me fast as I moaned against his turgid "flesh". Then he began to move, slowly at first, then more rapidly, forcefully as I warmed to my task. My hands stroked his flanks, grasping claw-like, urging him deeper and deeper until he filled me to bursting. Fitfully, my hand slipped between my legs, seeking my own release, but it was not to be.

Quickly my lover abandoned his quest and pinioned my hands above my head, as if to say..."not yet...there's more..." Then flipping me upon my belly over the fallen log, he proceeded to part my crease and insinuate himself within.

I gasped! What did he have in mind?

Immediately I had my answer, for in one long thrust he buried his prodigious length within my weeping slit up to the hilt, plundering my limited channel until I cried in exquisite pain. Mightily he pounded, thrusting unrelentingly until the pain/pleasure principle consumed me and I cried for more...pleaded for more...begged for more!

Then, withdrawing his mammoth offering from my body, he trailed his fingers through my overflowing wetness and began to prepare my narrower passage.

At first I squirmed beneath him, struggling in uncertainty as he slid first one slippery digit, then another into my resistant aperture. Then, as I began to relax, his ministrations took on a more urgent tempo, thrusting forcefully until I felt myself begin to flow along the insides of my thighs in anticipation.

Finally, he withdrew once more, my protestations ready upon my lips. I had no time to utter them, however, before he parted my buttocks, and pressing his manhood against my tightly muscled opening, he gave a mighty thrust and impaled me full force upon his hardened flesh.

I screamed!

My lover paused once again, and steadying my hips within his encompassing grasp, he waited until I began to arch against him before he continued. Then, slowly and with determined strokes he claimed his prize.

Immediately the pain, if that is what you would call it, became overshadowed by the act itself, the totality of his conquest overwhelming. Deeply he thrust, burrowing into the very center of my belly, then withdrawing only to thrust once more. Harder and more vigorously he bore down upon me, until I thought I could joyously split in half, covering the landscape with my creamy effluent. Then, without breaking stride, he slipped his hand beneath my belly, down deep within my quivering slit, and began to stroke the hardened nub within.

I exploded!

Gushing heavily into the undergrowth, I cried out again and again, rutting upon his fingers, my exhortations echoing off the walls of the escarpment, drowning out the scolding of the jays as I violated the silence.

Finally, shaking with spent emotion, I felt the warmth flow of him fill my body, bringing with it the comfort I had so craved. Then, sated, I dropped among the pine needles, my lover's arms holding back the spasms that yet wracked my quivering flesh.

Surely no woman had ever experienced such an outpouring of unadulterated sensation! I throbbed, I ached, I glowed in the aftermath.

I knew then that I couldn't leave, not then, not ever. I belonged here in the wilderness with James, and he with me. It was meant to be.

* * * * *

Chapter Six:

Slowly he watched as the dawn rose in the east, spraying his misbegotten nest with rays of sunshine as it filtered through the trees.

It had been cold last night, as cold as his heart. The mangled gathering of pine needles he had used for his resting place was roughly kicked aside. He'd have a better bed tonight, he assured himself, and his wayward slut to keep him occupied.

He had heard her cries last night, heard her screams of passion. Did she have someone here with her? Had she brought some filthy cock-wielder to this place to cuckold him? He would set that to rights as well. Never again would his "'Ginny" be touched by another. He would see to that.

He had watched until almost dawn, ignoring the furtive rustlings that filled the underbrush around him as an onslaught of wilderness animals fled from the approaching fire. Finally, the ominous glow from the blaze to the south had been drowned by the rays of an even larger conflagration as the sun rose in the east.

It was then she had opened her door, and vanished, knapsack slung over her shoulder, into the forest beyond.

Had she locked the door? He hadn't noticed. The sight of her, alone, striding into the trees had distracted him. But her lover had been absent, of that he was certain. Now was his chance to even that score! He would slip quietly into the house, dispatch this interloper, and be waiting when she returned.

Today was his...and tomorrow. Tonight her screams would be for his ears alone.

Slowly he stroked himself, smiling, and entered the clearing...

* * * * *

Chapter Seven:

How long we lay there in each other's arms I have no recollection, but when I rose to return to the cabin I found myself hesitant, as though a seed of foreboding had been planted in my mind.

"No", I laughed. "I can't stay here all day! I have worked to do!" I chided my unseen paramour. Then, slipping into my clothing once more, I made my way through the trees and back onto the trail in the direction of the cabin.

The smell of smoke was stronger by then, and it was with a distinct sense of discomfort that I began to study the horizon. The wind, which blew at that point from the south, had begun to carry with it a faint dusting of fine, white ash, and black smoke filled the sky beyond the trees.

A fire! There must have been a wildfire brewing I whispered to myself. How close was it? In what direction was it heading? Why had no one notified me?

And then I knew. No one knew I was back here! This place had been devoid of human habitation for over 40 years. Who would think that it might suddenly he occupied?

Quickly I hurried through the trees, intent now on reaching the cabin and turning on the radio that formed my only source of information from the outside world. Dry as the forest had been, and untouched by the hand of man as ecologists strived to save the area as a preserve for the Mexican Spotted Owls that nested in the region, I knew that this vulnerable ponderosa tract would be quickly engulfed. The overabundance of fuel, the dry summer conditions and the rising wind were a lethal combination. I had to know what was happening...and quickly!

In no time I found myself tearing at the doorknob, flinging open the door as I rushed madly toward the kitchen and my tiny radio. Then, tuning it to the local channel for the first time since my arrival, I waited breathlessly until I heard the insistent beep of the emergency warning system come to life.

It was huge. It was out of control...and it was spreading due north! Already over 200,000 acres had been consumed by the hungry giant, ravaging homes and forestland alike in its quest to climb the escarpment and feast on the arid forests above. My home would be but a brief appetizer on its way to greater destruction. I had to leave, and immediately!

Then, from above I heard it, a helicopter flying low over the canopy, skirting the treetops as it made its way southward.

Quickly I rushed outside, waving my arms, screaming to no avail that I was there, that my cabin was no longer unoccupied. But all I saw was the last flicker of its tail rotor as it vanished beyond the treetops, its Bambi Bucket filled with water for the fire beyond.

Panicked now, I hurried back inside and began to gather up my former manuscript, the only copy in existence, before I made my final run toward safety. Then, searching on the kitchen peg for my car keys I heard him.

"Looking for these?" he growled. "You won't be needing them. You're not going anywhere."

I whirled about, terror filling my mind. Eric! What was he doing here? How had he found me? And why, oh why was he keeping us both here in harm's way. Didn't he realize...

And then I knew. Eric had slipped beyond reason. Surely his madness had not been the byproduct of our brief tryst. It had obviously lain in wait for some time, perhaps a lifetime. I had just been the spark that had set him off...and now I would reap the whirlwind.

Quickly I darted for the door, hoping beyond hope that he would be startled enough to give me some lead time, but it didn't happen. Instead, Eric enclosed my waist in a crushing embrace that all but broke my ribs and began to drag me up the stairs toward the bedrooms above.

I screamed in earnest now, not in passion, but in terror as he flung me atop the four-poster and began to tear at my clothing. In minutes my garments lay in shreds on the hardwood floor, Eric straddling my body with his own as he tied my wrists to the bedposts with torn strips of my shirt.

Desperate, I tried to reason with him, to plead the urgency of the situation, but his eyes only glazed at the thought of what was to come. Then pivoting on my midsection, be stretched my ankles toward the corners of the bed and lashed them in place as well. Finally I was spread-eagled before him, and he rose to inspect his handiwork.

By now the air had begun to fill with wind-borne smoke from the encroaching fire. Over and over helicopters and slurry bombers roared way overhead, rushing southward in their frantic attempts to contain the blaze, never suspecting I was tethered down below at the mercy of a madman.

Eric was in charge. He wanted no question about that. Cruelly he pinched my nipples, twisting them between his fingers until I cried out in pain.

"Scream, you Bitch!" he growled. "Scream. I want to hear you! By the time we're through you'll be hoarse from screaming. I promise you that!"

Then, rising above me he began to remove his clothing until all that remained were his briefs. These he dispatched in short order, flinging them into my face in distain. "Here's an appetizer, Bitch!" he laughed. "Main course coming up!"

With that he reached beneath the bed and brought up a pine branch, peeled to whip-like proportions and wielded with glee. He raised it above his head, his eyes shining, then brought it down in a mighty arc.

"Whack" it slashed across my breasts.

Immediately I could feel the welt rise on my tender flesh, taking on livid proportions. I jerked in pain, whimpering, cringing in anticipation.

"Whack" Again the branch hummed through the air, this time laying a red stripe between my thighs as I screamed in torment.

Then once more it came, and yet again until I was befouled with tears and my desperate pleas blubbered freely from my lips.

This made my tormentor smile once again, and he reached forward remove his undergarment from my face and squeeze my cheeks painfully between his fingers.

"That's right, cry Bitch. Beg!" he grinned. Then holding his swollen member in his hand, he stroked himself briefly until he let loose with a hot, slimy offering that splattered between my tear-filled eyes, fouling my vision with its viscosity as he knelt between my trembling legs.

Wider he spread my stance, then wider still until my nether lips spread gaping before him, garishly displayed by the weight of his knees pinioning my splayed and vulnerable thighs. Then, trailing the branch along my body, he reversed his grip and began to force its broader end into my tender flesh.

My screams were incoherent as he began to force his instrument of torture within my fragile opening. I struggled against my bonds, begging for mercy, pleading for compassion. And then suddenly he stopped.

Jerking his head wildly about, he leaped from the bed, thrashing the air with his knotty switch, attempting to hold back my unseen rescuer.

Terrified, he lunged, whipping the air in his frenzied attempts to comprehend the unexpected reversal of fortune. But it was not to be.

In a flash, Eric was thrown to the floor, his head rapping soundly against the boards as he wailed his frustration. Then, my bonds were untied, and I leaped from the bed, grabbing my clothing as I rushed through the smoke-filled hallway toward the door below.

The flames by now were visible beyond the clearing, filling the air with soot and consuming the available oxygen in a greedy whirlwind. Trees crashed in the distance, felled by the force of the fiery assault.

The keys! The keys! The last time I'd seen them, they'd been in Eric's hand, and I couldn't go back there! And so, clothing in hand I began running as fast as my trembling legs would carry me down the narrow timber road, hoping beyond hope that the trail beyond was still accessible.

The flames grew ever closer...closer...until finally they formed a virtual wall before me and removed my last chance for survival. Frantically I searched for a break, but found none. And then a miracle happened. From overhead came a sound, the roar of a helicopter, and a voice emanating from a loud speaker.

"Stay where you are," it boomed. "I can't land here, but the slurry bomber can clear a path. Hang tight!"

And so I did. The seconds seemed like hours until finally I heard the roar of a plane overhead, swooping low over the treetops in my direction. In an instant I was engulfed in a thick, red soup that all but bore me to the ground.

Desperate, I clawed at my eyes, and then I saw it. Before me lay a wet, red pathway to freedom...and I took it.

Slipping in my haste, I covered the slurry-coated ground as though my life depended upon it...for it did. Finally, after a few hundred yards, I came to a clearing, and there sat my rescuer, rotors spinning, gesturing me aboard for a final trip to safety.

* * * * *

Chapter eight:

It's been two weeks since my return to New York. I no longer have to fear the ring of my phone, or the flicker of my monitor, for Eric is gone. Gone as well is the cabin I had come to love so well in so short a time. But the most devastating loss is that of my beloved James. For him there can be no replacement.

The days have melted one into another, each a faceless blur, for time has now lost all meaning in my life. Gone are the foolish fantasies of a naive girl, the needs of a mature woman. Instead there remains only the void of his absence, and the promise of an endless stream of vacant tomorrows. I will recover eventually, but I will never be the same. My grief has seen to that.

And so I bury myself in a new book, the idea I had so enthusiastically embraced abandoned in the flames of a lost love. I have only the vague solace that if James did indeed find me through the veil of time, then perhaps I too will find him someday. I can only hope.

I pause in my writing to brew a pot of coffee in my small kitchen, strewn once more with discarded pizza boxes and Chinese take-out cartons. What does it matter anymore? This is the face of my future, this is all there is.

Then I stop.

Can it be?

Frantically my eyes scan the gloom of my surroundings, falling astonishingly on the thin ray of sunlight that has pierced the shadowed vale of this bustling city.

There, laying on the countertop lays a flower...an Indian Paintbrush. My heart leaps in my breast! Is it possible?

And then I know. Eternity has come full circle once more. Time and space have no meaning, not for us.

I lower my eyelids...and welcome my lover home.