Boundless Connections:

She stood waiting for the taxi outside the restaurant. The black canopy had tiny lights that resembled the night sky. Lightning hit the top of the building, creating flashes of red light to reflect off the windows. Brilliant flashes in the sky directly above her pulsed irregular. The wind blew leaves and flower petals from the fully bloomed Hibiscus trees. Through the street pink, orange and green debris could be seen gathering in doorways and against cars. Forcefull gusts of wind ripped branches from trees and plants surrounding the funky restaurant. Light pulsed behind grey clouds illuminating them a deep red. Thunder rattled the windows. Community art pieces surrounding the restaurant shook, violently. For the moment it had stopped raining. Lightning continued. This time striking the building next to the newest social cafe. The cafe lights abruptly went out. The woman turned her head quickly when the bus boy dropped the dish bin he had just collected. If it had not been for all the candles on the tables it would have been pitch black inside. Sighs of relief could be heard as the lights flickered on. The smell of Beef Brisket reminded the young woman of her grandmother's recipe. The aroma could be smelt for blocks. Moisture from the rain filled her nose forming droplets of water on her skin.

A group of young men wearing suits, ties loosened on three of them, come around the corner laughing hysterically. The end of a quirky joke which was only humorous amongst the four close friends, resonated in the doorway. They caught notice of the woman and stopped dead in their tracks. The two on the left rolled their eyes as they noticed their friends' expressions. They stood staring at the beautiful brunette. The pale green dress stuck to her wet body. The two young men watched as she searched through her purse. She let out a sigh as she pulled out a hair clip. She proceeded to gather her hair which stuck to her skin from the humidity. The stares continued as she started walking towards the street. The taxi would be any moment.

BOOM! CRACK! Rumble, rumble

The bangs of thunder startled the woman causing her to fall directly in front of the two men. She was about to land in a giant puddle. The taller man lunged towards her, catching her. She stretched her arms out as he quickly embraced the beautiful woman. Just then rain poured from the darkened sky. The droplets so enormous landed on her skin. She would let out a little yelp as the splashed down on her body. Her clothing quickly soaked even though the young man covered her protectively. They ran to the doorway where his friends waited. They could hear the sound of rain streaming down the buildings. The giant drops of rain landed on the patio with loud splashes.

The glow from the lightning illuminated the eerie sky.

BAM! RUMBLE! crackle, crackle, crackle went the thunder.

"Hey John, give her your number and let's go inside!" Said one of them, rushing his friend.

"Ya, the power is probably going to go out again, then we won't be able to order and this would have been just a waste of time" another said, very cynically, "Who knows if this storm is going to get worse?" he continued".

"Just go. Start without me. I'll join in just a moment" said John, glancing at his friends for a moment, "I'm going to wait here with…” He turned his head back to the young woman and said “I'm John and you would be?" He asked with a huge smile.

"Neve, my name is Neve." Her face turned bright red and butterflies filled her stomach.

"Neve, that's a beautiful name," John said admiringly. John's friends went inside shaking their heads.

John said "I hope I'm not too forward asking this, but life is too short and I will not limit myself…." "If you're going to ask for my number" she said, cutting him off, "I lost my phone on the way to the dinner tonight. I do have a hotel room” Neve looked down at her feel nervously, took a deep breath, looked back at the handsome man adding, “would you like t-"

"Are you asking me to your room?" Interrupted John.

"Yes" Neve said confidently "life's too short to think of all the what ifs and possibles. I feel a connection between us" then at the same time said "Let's take the chance!"

The taxi arrived a few moments later and they quickly entered the car.

"Where to?" Said the driver with a thick Jamaica accent.

"The hotel at the waterfront, please" she said politely.

“Oh, I hear that place is a hit. It was just renamed last week, Dark Night, I think that is what they are calling it now.”

It wasn't long before John wrapped his arm around her shivering body. She took the chance to nestel into his warm body. She rested her head on his chest hearing the sound of his heart, the beat seemed familiar, calming her. They arrived at the hotel. Neve handed the driver fare and a large tip. John opened the door, slid out of the car and offered his hand to Neve, helping her out of the taxi. Just before John closed the door "Don't forget your wallet!" the driver stated and proceeded to hand her the object. She confusingly puts the object into her pocket. The sky turned from deep red to black and the wind stopped. For a moment the sound of the taxi driving away was the only thing that could be heard. You could feel the stillness. The silence.

"We should get inside before the wind comes back. Or that rain, did that ever hurt the head when the drops landed" He said as the storm was about to get much worse. Instead of answering, she looks at him and removes the object from her pocket.

"This isn't a wallet!?" She said knowingly. It was a little black book. There were no marks on the black leather but seemed old. She flipped through the book. A postcard fell to the ground. John bends down picking up the postcard and shakes the water rain off as much as he could. The front of the postcard was a picture of one of the most rarest Orchids. The orchid's beauty was defined by numerous tiny maroon flowers held within the tubular leafless flower. The image seemed gleamed realistically. John handed her the postcard. She flipped it over revealing a handwritten message.

"When you see it, you wi~."

The end of the message had faded from the wet rain and was no longer legible. Neve turned the card again showing the endangered Orchid. Rain began beating down causing the book to be knocked from her grip. The little black book fell to the ground, pages fanning as it fell between the two of them. As it landed a piece of folded paper flew out and twirled in the wind. John, attempted to stop it from blowing away causing it to plummet into a puddle. Neve swiftly picked it up and opened the folded paper.

It was a $20,000 check made out to Neve Thorn and John Page.

"How? We just met!" John said surprisingly.

“Wait, there is something written at the bottom” implying the note would contain answers, even a clue. A tiny cursive note at the bottom of the check revealed a message written for the two strangers who just met an hour earlier.

Neve and John,

Congratulations!!! You did it! The wedding was beautiful. You both said the Orchid would be enough to remember the importance of this trip. I hope at least one of you will remember.

P.s. The $20,000 was a fabulous instruction.

Yours Truly

They looked at one another puzzled.

“What do you propose we do?” He questioned her.

“Lets go to my room and dry off, I can see if dry clothing can be brought to us” she paused for a moment as she stuck the key-card in her room door.

“Perhaps we could look through this book. Maybe we missed something?” The heavy door closed behind them and she made her way to the bed to sit down. Next to her were two airline tickets. She picked them both up to read the information.

“I think we have our answer to what is next.” She held the tickets so John could see them.

“You want to go to Australia??” She looked up with an eager smile and he knew the answer.

By Roxane Carey