Sparks of Moonlight

When her mewls turned into breathy half-pants, he knew she was almost near the point of no return. He slid a thick finger into her tight sheath, feeling her clench it tightly. Her hips moved sensually on his finger and mouth for a few moments, before she froze and a choked sob escaped her lips.

She lay limp and exhausted as he rose up above her, covering her with himself. Her cheeks were flushed and her lips were parted. Unable to resist the temptation, he kissed her thoroughly. After minutes of lying above her with his lips against hers, he felt her hunger rise again as she kissed him back with equal fervor.

She wrapped her legs around him as he positioned himself at the entrance of her moist core. When he covered her lips in a kiss and thrust into her at the same time, she was prepared for the full, bursting pleasure. She clung to him, her sharp sighs blending with his hoarse groans as he rode her into the unknown, plunging, dark place where desire ruptured.

It was a while before either of them could summon the energy to speak.

"It keeps getting better and better," he whispered in her ear and she giggled, cuddling herself against his nakedness.

"Definitely better."

They lay entwined for hours, making lazy love when they had a mind to. Only when the horizon became tinged with a hint of white did they rise from the grass and clothe themselves.

He gave her a long, lingering kiss that was almost a promise.

"Tonight," he said, his fingers clutching hers. "Can you be ready?"

"Yes," she whispered against his lips. "Where will we be going?"

"To the city. A ship is leaving for my country the morning after."

She did up the last button on his shirt and patted his chest. "I will be ready."

He pressed another kiss to her lips.

"I love you," he mouthed, and then, he was gone.

*

He slipped into his hotel room after dawn, tired from his exertions the night before. Yawning, he shut the door and turned the key in the lock, just as a sharp pain seared his forehead. Letting out a strangled sound, he collapsed onto his knees. Another sharp pain, this time by his neck, and he felt his world swim. Footsteps sounded beside him, but he couldn't look up. He heard someone murmuring in Japanese. Then he couldn't hear anything at all.

*

Caleb woke with a start.

For the first few moments, he was confused, disoriented. Why was he lying in the middle of nowhere? Why were his arms and legs covered in dew?

He sat up slowly, as though he was afraid to jar a sore ache or a forgotten memory. As he sat up, he saw his backpack tossed by his feet, untouched. He looked to the right and he saw the large pond, the tree and the bench.

Everything was fuzzy in his head. He knew he'd seen this place last night, but why was it important to him? Had he collapsed here? Shaking his head, he struggled to get up. His knees felt weak. But he managed to get to a crouch.

Looking around, he found no one. He heard no one. Then he looked to the pond again. Something gold glittered in the shallow water nearest to him. He reached out to touch it, and everything came flooding back. His memories; memories that weren't his.

Nami. Nami. Nami.

*

Asahi Shimbun, October 20, 2009

Body of Imperial Princess Found in Pond

On the nineteenth of October, Yukai Hospital's emergency unit received an anonymous call informing them of a woman's body found in a pond in the mountains of Osakaya. The pond, some several hundred meters away from the Imperial Palace of Osakaya, is said to have been the coveted resting place of the missing princess, Nami Osakaya in the 1950s. Princess Nami was reported missing in 1956, and though many believed she had run away with an unnamed American soldier, the police state that there is a very high possibility that the body might be hers. There was also a gold ring found by the body, with the engraving, "To my beloved. From Caleb", leading the police to believe that the princess might have withdrew the ring before she drowned herself in the four and half meter deep pond. What was the cause of her death? A lover's quarrel? A scorned love? Or had her death been made to look like a suicide?

Only further investigation by the police would provide the answer.

*