The Love Below

The outside world was unknown to her, but she could see a glimpse of it through the window in his room. Actually, Anesha and Brixx Goree called it a porthole in his cabin. Anesha stood at about five feet eight inches tall and had skin the color of black diamonds. Goree also showed cacao colored skin and was six feet two inches tall. They donned themselves in their Royal Navy uniforms. Her hair wrapped in the back of her head in a tight bun. Goree was bald. Their personal submarine rocked underneath the waves.

Anesha found her husband in the passageway.

“Good afternoon, my love,” Anesha said.

“Good afternoon, lovely,” Goree responded.

“We must be able to shake them. We’re just about fifty miles away,” Anesha said and kissed her husband.

“That’s right. They’re still on our backs, though,” Goree replied.

“Once we get to the States, we should be able to breathe liberty,” Anesha declared.

The submarine wasn’t cramped but you couldn’t say it was rather spacious either. The couple studied the navigational equipment.

“We should arrive in America just at daybreak,” Anesha announced. Goree smiled.

That outside world was foreign to her because she had never seen these parts of the Atlantic before. It was like a glorious fantasy to see marine life pass by like trails of smoke underwater. Anesha enjoyed the array of colors, pink, blue, silver, red, and green that streaked by like deep-sea traffic.

As the submarine continued on its course, the pair input information from US satellites. They were within twenty miles from the Bethany Beach shoreline in Sussex County, Delaware.

Then, the lights and controls went blank. Anesha and Goree quickly started tapping screens and pressing gray and orange buttons corresponding to the mechanics of the sub.

“They’ve cut us off,” Goree pointed out.

“Should we just turn around?” Anesha asked, her breathing elevated.

“No, my love. We must conplete our journey.”

A sharp jolt then knocked the couple from their feet. A giant, powerful underwater magnet pulled them to shore. Its mighty draw tugged them to the beach as if a child’s hand had reached into a bathtub and redirected their course.

They slammed against the bulkhead or the wall of the vessel and tried to hold onto each other, brace themselves. Power returned.

A screen illuminated.

“I am Captain Dayton Fallweather. I have received word that at least one of you is a fugitive of the Royal Navy. In cooperation with the military of the United Kingdom, I am here to determine which one of you must go back.” He was black as oil as well. The same oil banned by all of Europe and some parts of America.

Anesha and Goree exchanged worried glances. Next, they found themselves docked. They met up with Captain Fallweather with salutes.

“Lieutenant Commanders Anesha Goree and Brixx Goree. Welcome to the United States,” Fallweather commented.

“What is this about splitting up?”

“Yes, the US Navy has been advised to find which one of you is guilty of the crime of espionage.”

“Sir, neither of us are spies. This is our own personal vessel we were using to land on this soil,” Goree explained.

“We know nothing about this criminality,” Anesha backed up her husband.

Fallweather produced a pen and pad.

“It says here that you used this sea vessel against the dictates of your navy and that you employed navigational technology instead of the pre-industrial controls prescribed by the Monarchy that has reascended to political power.”

“Then we’re both guilty!” Anesha shouted.

“I mean…sir, we’re blameless in this regard. We’re just trying to live our lives here in this country. Didn’t you use a gigantic magnet? Isn’t that going against the rules on using technology?”

“The United States Navy employs such measures to combat maritime piracy, spying, and other crimes.”

“Sir,” Goree implored. “We will go through the process of citizenship. We will apply and adhere to the rules that come with being Americans.”

“I have orders to allow one of you to be admitted into the country. Make your choice.”

Anesha looked at Goree. A tear streaked down her face like rain down stained glass. Goree embraced his wife and unborn sons in her belly.

“I’m supposed to be a father to twins. She’s not showing now, but they are growing. It was supposed to be my responsibility to raise them with her, sir,” Goree explained.

“I understand that but you are a fugitive to the Crown. You must be held accountable for your vices,” Fallweather mentioned flatly.

“If this must be. Permit my wife. Let her bring up my children in this country, in this state. I know my innocence and will fight for the ability to come back to these shores,” Goree saw three members of the US Navy with rifles marching towards them. Goree raised his head. Anesh wept. The men and women in their blue uniforms that looked like choppy seas with their camouflage pattern reached the place where the three of them stood.

Anesh watched as cuffs wrapped around her husband’s wrists. Goree was resolute. He showed no emotion. His face looked like granite. They marched him onto the naval ship. Anesha and the captain followed soon after. She spoke her mind.

“It will be a sore on the side of this country until it condemns the UK for its insane stance on the environmental controls over our lives. This will be a corruption that will be righted no matter what.”

“I can allow you to visit with your husband.” Fallweather said this as if he disregarded all her words. “If you wish, you may see him right now.” Anesha walked to the holding cell where Goree stood upright, his hands relaxed at his sides. She hugged him from the brig cell.

“You take care of those babies. I want them to live in America, Delaware, if you can. It’s the freest state in the Union notwithstanding this whole incident. But listen to me…you get off this ship and forget about me for a while. I’m going to fight but there’s no guarantee that we will ever see each other again. I love you and want my litte boys to grow up under the banner of freedom.”

Anesha wanted to burst into tears. She wanted to drop to her knees and wail. She, however, kept a straight face and said, “There’s no love you will know but mine. I’m not going to pretend that you won’t find someone else, but I know I love you.”

They embraced once more and Anesha walked off the ship and into her new life.