Across Time

"Is that a promise?" "Yes. I'll find you. I'll always find you."

Amara sat at the bar of a dimly lit pub, shifting a bit uncomfortably in her seat. She was anxious and highly aware of her surroundings as she waited for her blind date to come.

Amara was almost 30 now, and she scarcely dated in her 20's.

Her best friend always wondered why. She was intelligent, witty, charming, and gorgeous. When Izzy insisted that Amara go out with her friend Jo, Amara couldn't resist saying no.

So here she was.

Friday night, a tight black dress, and a surprisingly empty pub.

Her short red hair sat just above her shoulders, and it burned like fire. She was hard to miss.

Jo staggered nervously but eagerly into the pub and instantly knew who Amara might be from Izzy's descriptions. She squared his shoulders and dropped any hauteur she may have been carrying. She marched right up to her, tapped on Amara shoulder, and watched the way her eyes lit up when they met hers.

The almond shape encasing the endless green fields of Amara's eyes squinted down as she sized her up. "You must be Jo," she noted.

"Yes, hi," smiled Jo before sitting down next to her. She tugged a bit on the end of her dark green mini skirt, not feeling anymore at ease. Amara was beauty made out of heartfire.

"Let me guess," said Jo, gesturing to her glass of white wine. "Sauvignon blanc?"

Amara smiled and took a thoughtful sip. "At this point, I wish it was. Just some cheap Pinot Grigio to be honest."

"Your first mistake was drinking a white wine," chuckled Jo.

"Hey!" squealed Amara playfully. "I love white wine."

Jo licked her lips, and she felt a bit more relaxed. She tapped her index finger against her chin in thought. "I think you should try this Merlot they have here." She flagged down the bartender and ordered two glasses. She raised hers in the air to Amara, and she followed suit with a grin.

They clinked their glasses, and soon after, Jo spoke up. "Tell me what you think."

Amara sipped her wine pensively, never breaking her eyes from hers. "I taste black cherry, a bit of cocoa, and maybe a smidge of vanilla."

"I'm impressed," she whispered gruffly. It wasn't often she met someone who had a keen tongue for wine. She studied her a bit more deeply. There was something electric in the air pulling and pushing around her. Some sort of cosmic tide she couldn't name.

There was something familiar in Amara's eyes. How, she had no idea. She didn't know this woman. And yet, she didn't realize in that moment that Amara was thinking the exact thing. Something was gnawing and nagging at the corners of her mind, begging her to remember.

One glass of Merlot became two, then three, until the air and space around them felt airy and light. The dim light fixtures seemed to buzz a bit louder, but neither seemed to care. The blue tooth speaker spewing out jazz song after jazz song slowly started to feel stretched and somehow lazy but still enjoyable.

"Amara I-" started Jo. Her bottom lip started to quiver. She wasn't sure why. The dark ruby liquid now coursing through her had set her in an emotional state she'd never felt on a first date.

It startled her.

She looked up from her wine glass and into Amara's eyes.

"Yes?" asked Amara.

Jo steeled herself with a calming breath. "Do you feel it too?"

Amara giggled to herself. "How good this wine is making me feel, or how badly I want to kiss you right now?" She wasn't sure where the dash of tenacity had come from, but she didn't want to question it.

Jo smiled, glad that Amara was feeling the connection as well, but she couldn't stop thinking about how it felt like more than just a good first date.

Jo set her glass on the bar top and reached for one of Amara's hands. When their fingers brushed, they both were struck with flashes of memories, and they recoiled in their seats. Bewildered looks plastered on their faces, breathing becoming more ragged.

"What the hell was that?" whispered Amara.

"You saw it too?" Jo asked shakily.

Amara nodded slowly, unsure really what she had seen. "I-" She drew in a short breath before cautiously reaching back for Jo's hand.

Jo let her take it, and this time, when Amara carefully wrapped her slender hand around Jo's, everything seeped in slowly.

---------------

July 19th, 1792. Charleston South Carolina.

My dearest Eliza,

I cannot sleep at night thinking of you in his arms. Thinking of how I so desperately wish it was me. I know you have asked that I stop writing these letters lest we are caught, but I cannot bear to not unleash my heart unto you through ink and paper. Last night I had another dream of you. We were by our lake again, half naked under the star light, the soft summer air keeping us warm.

I seldom ask for anything in this life, always content with what God has granted me, but I cannot help but covet. Covet what you and James have. Covet that he comes home to you every night and kisses your lips, your shoulders, your neck. I saw him the other day at the market. He was buying a bottle of Merlot. It was not one of the good ones either. I tried to recommend the one I know you like, but he insisted that a husband knows his wife better than her friend. If only he knew how much better I knew you than he.

The way your chest heaves when you get to a suspenseful part of a book. The way you twist your wedding ring when you grow nervous. The way your nose scrunches and your brows furrow when in deep concentration. The way your fingertips feel as they glide along my flesh. The way your mind and soul reign me in and tame the wild tide that is my heart.

I love you. I will always love you. I will always love you. I will always love you.

Always yours,

Katherine

Eliza clutched the letter to her chest for just a moment before tossing it into the fireplace. As she watched the paper catch and crinkle into ash, she repeated the words over and over, etching them into a far corner of her mind.

"I love you too," she thought to herself.

Just then, the front door to her house flew open in a frenzy, Katherine bursting through it. The bottom of her sky blue dress was muddied, the braids of her hair frayed, all as if she had been running.

Katherine didn't even try to catch her breath.

She took one glance behind her shoulder before facing Eliza. "They're coming."

"What?" asked Eliza as she staggered backwards.

"The church. They're coming."

"How-How do they know?" Eliza's eyes scanned over Katherine, looking for any hint of joke or maybe a lie.

"I don't know," cried Katherine. "But you have a husband. You'll be okay. I'm not sure where they'll take me but-"

"No, stop that." Eliza's breathing grew as wild as her lover's.

Katherine shook her head in resignation. "I'll find you. Wherever they take me, I'll find you. Maybe it won't be this life but the next. This," she whispered fiercely while clutching Eliza's face, "This is not a once in a lifetime love. I will find you."

"Is that a promise?"

"Yes. I will find you. I will always find you."

They pressed their foreheads together for a long moment before stealing away a kiss. Their hands clung to each other so tight that their fingers started to turn purple. Maybe if they held on tight enough, they would be okay.

Two guardsmen and the local priest entered the home without knocking.

"Katherine Aurore Smith," sneered the priest. "You've been a slippery little fox haven't you?"

"Please," Katherine begged. "We've done nothing wrong. Just let us go. We'll leave the city."

"Seize her," ordered the priest with a breath of boredom.

One of the guards marched up to her, wrapped an arm around her waist, and hoisted her into the air with little effort. "No! NO PLEASE!!" she screamed. The other guard came around and stood between her and Eliza, ensuring Eliza stayed in place.

The only thing louder than her pleas and cries were the incessant breaking of their hearts.

-------------------

"I-That's not possible," breathed Amara. "I remember you." She placed her hand gingerly on Jo's face, softly stroking the sharp features of her cheekbone. "My Katherine," she whispered almost inaudibly.

"I told you I would find you," laughed Jo. "How is it possible?"

"Perhaps good Merlot," Amara teased. "Or perhaps..."

"Perhaps?"

"Perhaps love can transcend time and space. But I say, let's not question it. We're together again, somehow, some way. I will never let you go," Amara promised.

"I will always love you," smiled Jo.

The rich, oak flavors of the wine nestled itself deep into her heart, and a fire caught in her chest. Their fingers intertwined, and for a moment, the world stilled for them both.

They pressed their foreheads together, the subtle aroma of Merlot coated mouths mixed in the air between them along with sacred promises of tomorrows to come and yesterdays that have befallen them.