THE SECOND SIGHT
Chapter 36
THE ANGEL
Location: ELAINE’S RESIDENCE
Lost! He has lost again!
And then, incredibly, unbelievably, a sweet melodious voice speaks above him.
A voice he recognizes, a voice he loves, a voice he adores!
The voice of his angel!
Sweet, beautiful, lovely Elaine Sarpong!
His love, his fantasy, his sweetheart… his breath!
ELAINE
(worried, anxious)
Yaw? Are you alright, my love?
Yaw Boat looks up at her.
She is wearing some kind of white dress as she bends over him, dropping her handbag and bible on the ground, her face concerned, loving.
But, most importantly, she is covered with the glorious for-ce-field.
Brilliant, hu-ge, all-enveloping, so nice!
Beyond her Boat catches a sheen of green and turns his head.
He sees Hideous crashing throu-ghthe floor, disappearing, fleeing!
The Shadow-Thing is also gone.
BOAT
(whispering)
f*¢king bastards! Help me up, my love. Please get me out of here!
He gets to his feet, gasping for breath, and puts his left arm across Elaine’s shoulder.
ELAINE
(anxiously)
Yaw, what’s wrong? What’s going on? You look so… so shattered!
BOAT
(weakly)
Elly, please get me out of here. No time to explain. Please get me out of here. I think I’m going to black out because I feel so light-headed and weak, and feels a blackout coming on. But whatever happens, please don’t leave my side! Not even for a second. Promise me that!
Somebody gives her the bible and her handbag.
She takes Boat’s arm, and leads quickly off the parking lot.
Yaw Boat keeps looking back, expecting to see his father and Basoah at the entrance, but none of them emerge.
Elaine flags down a taxi on the main road, and she helps Boat get inside.
The last thing Boat remembers is lying down on the seat, his head cradled in her lap-s, eyeing the fine twin mounds of her br£-$ts stretching the fabric of her dress quite nicely.
Exhaustion is like a band of iron across his shoulders, and relief is a blissful wind that blows across his frame.
Boat turns on the seat and buries his face in her stomach. She tenses for a moment, and then her arms ti-ghten on Boat’s shoulders, and pulls him closer.
His arms snake around her, and he holds her close. She is warm and soft, and she smells so nice.
The gentle motion of the car is a rocking s-ns¶tion that dulls his senses, and soon he allows the darkness to steal over him, and he welcomes the sweet sleep.
He deserves it, at least… if nothing for else.
Boat sli-ps into an exhausted sleep.
She shares an apartment with a friend called Anne, and as she unlocks the door Boat hears her mumbling something about Anne being out for the night, something to do with her new boyfriend.
Boat is still drowsy as she leads him throu-ghthe living-room to her bedroom.
It is a big, clean room.
The floor is covered with soft Venetian rug, probably bought second-hand, but nice all the same. The bed is circular and hu-ge, covered with clean flowered white and pink sheets and a lot of pillows. Three little Teddy Bears are lying neatly across it.
A 21-inch colour television shaped like an apple is erected halfway on the wall, and beneath it is a handy home-theatre stereo system and a little silver DVD player. Near to that is a wide computer table on which is a laptop, a few books and earphones.
A dressing-table with a hu-ge mirror sits across the room, near the windows that opens unto a small terrace.
The doors of the wardrobe are closed.
Opposite the bed is a de-ep sofa, two low tables and a tall compact disk rack. Beyond that is a closed door which probably leads to her bathroom.
She leads Boat to the sofa and gently helps him to sit down. She gets on her knees and removes his shoes and socks. Boat is suddenly aware of the fine curve of her bu-ttocks, and the creamy tops of her br£-$ts as she bend to stuff his socks in his shoes.
He sees that the edges of his trousers are still dark from the blood he has stepped in inside the chamber of horrors.
He looks at the incredibly-chiselled lines of her face.
So lovely… so adorable!
Precious Elaine!
She stands up and goes to her wardrobe and brings him a hu-ge bathrobe.
ELAINE
(with a shy little smile)
I bought this for my Dad on his birthday. Never gave it to him because he travelled, and by the time he came back I have forgotten about it. A little small, I think, but it will have to do for now.
BOAT
(gently)
Thank you, Elly.
Boat notices that she is avoiding eye contact with him.
It is the same old game now.
They have had never been this alone and this emotionally close. She is the girl he has vowed to deflower, but now that she is here, he feels no urge to pursue his natural inclinations.
He has seen too much, and done too much. The depth of betrayal he has experienced from men he loves has drained him, and the evil that the demons are capable of has rendered him emotionally-shattered.
Boat is not sure he ever wants to make love to another woman again. It is Elaine he loves, and eventually he will marry her, and she is going to be his only woman for the rest of his life.
But that will come later, after he has seen Anderson again and gotten rid of the gift.
As he looks at her there is no longer lust in his eyes but de-ep respect, love and a rush of emotions alien to him. He feels silly, and wants to take her in his arms and sing to her, rocking her gently as they both sli-p off into de-ep slumber.
She has the amazing for-ce-field, and that is all that matters. He is going to tell her everything, leaving nothing out, and then she will accompany him to Takoradi to look for Pastor Paul Anderson.
With her by his side, and with her wonderful for-ce-field, those evil bastards will not dare come near him again.
She points to the door he has earlier as-sumed leads to a bathroom.
ELAINE
(shyly)
The bathroom is in there, Yaw. Go and take a shower. You look really battered up and dirty and stinky. I’ll go and rustle up something in the kitchen for you. And then you can tell me everything that has happened to you, my love.
Boat begins to protest, to beg her to stay, but with a little rustle of silk she leaves the bedroom.
Yaw Boat feels a rush of sudden panic, expecting the room to fill up with the devilish green of Hideous, but nothing happens.
And then he remembers how they flee crazily in the presence of the for-ce-field, and he knows that the evil beings will not dare show up when she is in the same building with him.
Feeling suddenly a little secure, Boat enters the bathroom and shirks his clothes.
The bathroom is not very big.
It is very feminine.
There is however no lacy inti-mate clothing lying around, and he smiles ruefully at the dirty turn of his thoughts.
He soaks un-der the shower for a long time, and then he reaches for hu-ge sponge and some liquid soap.
After the long refreshing bath he towels himself dry slowly, and then sli-pped into the bathrobe. It is indeed small, and feels uncomfortably ti-ght around the armpits and arms, giving him a pinched kind of look as he surveys himself in the half-length mirror on the wall.
He pulls it off and takes a hu-ge towel from a pack on a rack, and dra-pes it around his wai-st instead.
The scent of fresh coffee as-saults his nostrils as soon as he enters the bedroom again.
She is sitting on the sofa, regarding his nak-ed hairy body frankly for a moment, and then she looked away, a blus-h spreading rapidly across her amazingly beautiful face.
BOAT
(softly)
You were right. Bathrobe was too ti-ght.
She speaks without looking at him, and she points at a laden tray on her computer table.
ELAINE
Made you some coffee and tuna sandwiches, Yaw. If you prefer something heavier-
BOAT
(cutting in)
No, no, my love. This will do just fine.
Boat doesn’t realize how hungry he is until he has downed four cu-ps of coffee and eaten all the six sandwiches.
He has been stressed, and doesn’t even remember the last time he has eaten. It seems he has just been fleeing from the evil ones forever.
He drinks a glas-s of water, stands up, belches and stretches luxuriously.
The towels around his wai-st starts to fall, and he Gr0-ns with alarm and catches it fast, holding it in place.
She giggles, which stops suddenly as their eyes meet, and then she looks away quickly again.
She is so demure, so lovely, so precious…
Dearest Elaine!
Boat can feel the sleep stealing over him again.
He walks over to her and sits down beside her on the sofa. She is tense, and her hands are clasped together ti-ghtly.
Boat reaches out and covers her hands with his right hand. She tenses up, and then she slowly relaxes. Her hands unfolded and coil around his.
The mood is just right, and the atmosphere perfectly set-up, even better than he has ever planned it.
This could have been the setting for the great deflowering, but he knows it will not happen.
He has left that part of his life behind.
Yaw Boat is no longer the master player he has been.
He has transcended; he has been a selfish, irresponsible little lout, unable to see the diamond that she is. Here is a girl worth sticking to, a girl a man should love and protect. The kind of girl guys take home to meet Mommy.
It is amazing that his feelings has changed so drastically in the space of a couple of days. He has entertained the fantasy of taking her V¡rginity and introducing her to his world of lust, and yet here he is, indulging another kind of craving, the sort that makes him feel like putting flowers in her hair and ki-ssing her ankles.
The sort of feeling that makes his heart skip beats as he imagines her approaching him as he waits for her at the altar.
She now looks desperately into his eyes, and there is a little fear in the depths of hers.
ELAINE
(whispering)
Why were you running, Yaw? Why were you so hurt? I saw blood stains on all over your clothes, and I heard you were fighting with your father.
Boat winces and sighs.
Even thoughts about his father hurts him terribly.
His hand ti-ghtens on hers.
TBc..