Yellow

Yellow
By
Raman Jalota

It was in the air. He could smell it. He breathed slowly, inhaling deeply. He lifted his head and breathed again. Yes, it was in the air. He knew it. He would always know it, no matter where or when he smelled it. There was something in that smell that connected very deeply within him, to his core ... his soul. He looked around, hoping to see whatever it was that was part of him, inseparable yet missing - unknown but a part of his ultimate being. He couldn't recognize any of it. Not knowing what he was looking for made it impossible to identify it. He walked along the street, his head full of smells of the street, overloading his senses.
He turned around the corner and started up the stairs to his apartment. That smell was there again. My God! It is so strong. What is it? A woman was descending the stairs wearing a long yellow dress and dark glasses. He was hit by that strange force so hard, he had to put his hands against the wall to support himself. The woman walked by without glancing at him. She was busy talking to her male companion.
Savatre stood there shaking his head. What was it that hit me so strangely? I have seen her before. That woman has to be in her forties! I must be getting sick. Why would I be drawn to her? She has her boyfriend and seemed quite happy with him. He quickly ran up the stairs to his apartment and crashed on the sofa.

.....

It was a nice floating sensation. He felt comfortable and completely relaxed. He let himself loose and let it happen. There was glorious sunlight, bright golden yellow sun bathing the beach in sprinkles of silver, gold, blues, pinks and whites. He breathed deeply and his face relaxed in a happy smile.
The sand was warm and felt wonderful between their toes. He walked to the sea with her and they both walked in the shallow part. The water was warm and inviting. She stopped and turned away from the beach. He turned to stare at the beautiful mercurial indigo sea, softly waving to them. There was a small island in the shape of a dome in the middle of the sea about 500 meters away, it had some grass, trees, rocks and sand by the sea. She took his hand and started walking into the deep water.
She was wearing a soft yellow bikini and as he stared at her delicate features, and tight, young body, a vague sensation hit him. That yellow color ... there is something about that yellow color that is trying to tell me something. What is it? I don't know who she is. What her name is. Where did she come from? But this is so natural, so right. I feel I have known her forever. Maybe her name will come to me ... maybe the memories will awaken ... maybe ...
.....
"What the hell happened to you today?"
"I am sorry. I felt weird and slept this afternoon. Five hours."
"Five hours! I didn't know you took naps."
"I don't. But I felt strange today and lied down for a few minutes on the sofa. I guess I dozed off."
"You do look different today. Relaxed but aloof. Not here completely, I think."
"I am not kidding Heather, I had a strange day today."
"What happened?"
"I was out shopping when I smelt something that made me feel very strange. When I got home, I saw this woman and this strange feeling hit me again and left me completely powerless. I had to hold on to the wall to keep standing up."
"Are you serious Savatre?"
"Absolutely. I am not kidding. When I slept ...I had this dream. I was on a beach with a girl and she took my hand and we started walking to the middle of the sea."
"You mean swimming."
"No, walking. Besides, I don't know how to swim."
"And then?"
"I woke up. That's when you had called me."
"You know, I think you may be coming down with something. Maybe you should call the doctor."
"No, I will just have another beer. It will go away."

.....

Savatre sat in the meeting and listened to the program manager explain that the database problems were related to the server that was running old software that was incompatible with the database version the programmers were using, causing lockups and failures.
This is so stupid and useless. They always have some explanation when they miss the deadlines and others get blamed. Maybe we just don't have people that know what the hell they are doing. What a waste of time this really is. And all I can do is go back and let everyone else know that we have to wait another month or more for our processes to work correctly. In the meantime, the shit just keeps on piling up. What wouldn't I give to get away from all this?
He called Mike, "I don't feel too good. I am gonna take off now. I will see you tomorrow."
"OK. See you. Bye."
He walked out of the office building unsure of what he would do or where he would go. He got into his car and started driving back towards his home. As he turned right on Leetsdale, he felt that sensation again. He slowed down. Just before he reached the red light, he saw the shack. It was a small booth painted with stars and a new moon on a background of blue and black sky. The sign said "Tarot cards. Your future told here. Psychic readings. Know your future now." He braked and turned the corner. He parked his Honda CRV and walked to the booth.
There was a small door in the front wall and he could see through the beads hanging by the door. A dark woman, wearing a very dark dress, a scarf on her head and loads of crystal beads around her neck motioned for him to come in.
"Have a seat young man. You have come to the right place."
"How do you know?"
"I can read it in your face."
"Oh! I need to know ... er..."
"Yes, yes. I know. You want to know your future. But your future is tied to your past."
"I don't understand."
"Give me your right hand."
She held his hand lightly in both her hands and closed her eyes. After a few minutes, she took out a pack of cards and started shuffling them slowly. Savatre looked at her with a frown. She stopped shuffling and looked into his eyes.
"OK. I won't read the cards."
"Huh?"
"I understand, you don't want me to read the cards. And you are right. You don't need to know the future. You don't need to connect with the future. You need to connect with the past."
"I have been having this strange sensation. I don't know exactly how to say this, but I smell something ... something ... er ... yellow."
She stared at him for a few minutes.
"Your answer is in the gold of the sun."

.....

Lunch hour and he didn't know where to go. He decided to hit Ramon's and maybe have a beer to calm his nerves. Ramon walked up to him as he entered.
"Hey big guy. How are you?"
"Good, and you Ramon?"
He looked at Ramon's thick, long mustache as he sat him at a table and gave him the menu.
"Beer sir?"
"Yes, give me a Coors, off the tap."
"One cold Coors coming up."
Ramon was back almost immediately with a large glass of beer and Savatre took a deep drink. He ordered the special and looked around. The restaurant was unusually crowded. Hmmm ... they are doing good business today. Lots of young folks around. He concentrated on his beer and looked at the people around him.
He felt somebody kick his foot lightly. He looked up. There was no one across the table. Wonder what that was?
He realized, it was happening again. He inhaled slowly and felt it. The strong sense of it was in the air. What is it? He tried to rationalize. All he could feel was yellow.
He looked across the room and saw a black-haired girl drinking cola and looking at him. I wonder if she has been staring at me, he thought as she glanced away. He took a long look at her. Dark hair, short, thin nose, thin lips, slightly large eyes deep green in color with thick eyelashes. And then he glanced lower. Yellow! She was wearing a dark yellow sweater showing off her ample cleavage. Nice sexy girl. Nice sexy body. He took another sip.
His eyes kept going back to her face and every so often their eyes would meet and then they would look away.
Next time, I won't look away.
... ... ... Their eyes met again. He stared into those green eyes for a while and finally getting his courage up he ran his right hand through her dark, silky hair.
She smiled and cupped his face with her hands. He moved towards her and kissed her lightly on her lips. He liked it and went back for a longer kiss. This feels heavenly. He kissed her again and again till she moved her head away.
"Let's get in the water."
Why does it feel so strange yet so familiar? They were sitting on a thin yellow wrap on the white sand while the blue sea waves were lapping at their feet. Where am I?
She was standing up. He shook his head and focused on her breasts jutting out of the yellow-green bikini top. She took his hand and he stood up putting his hand across her waist. They walked to the sea. There is salt in the air and it smells like there's moisture too. Maybe the afternoon rain will cool the day down before tomorrow. He smiled at the golden rays of the sun reflecting off the mercurial sea. There was a small island in the shape of a dome in the middle of the sea about 500 meters away; it had some grass, trees, rocks and sand by the sea. She took his hand and started walking into the deeper water.

.....

Something made Savatre decide to do it. He called his travel agent.
"Yes, Joe. I need a ticket to Costa Rica."
"When do you want to go? This month, this week ..."
"Yes ... Wednesday the 17th."
"OK. I have a ticket for you flying on the 17th and back in two weeks. Right?"
"That's great. Wait a minute. I want first class."
"You sure? That will be 1200."
"Yes I am sure. Good. Thanks Joe."

.....

Sitting in the American Airlines 767 jet, he wondered what had happened to him. I have never flown first class. I have never spent that extra money for first class. This is good. Why the hell did I never do this before? He leaned back in his seat and stretched his legs.
The flight was nice and comfortable and they arrived right on time in San Jose. He took a taxi to the Holiday Inn downtown and checked in. He took a shower and went to the casino on the seventh floor. He played Blackjack with three others; another American and two Ticos. A fifth American joined the table after two hours. The newcomer took out a pack of cigarettes and started smoking. That was enough for Savatre.
He walked out of the hotel and took a taxi to the Tin Jo restaurant. He ordered two Vietnamese dishes and Imperial beer. The night was warm and quiet. He walked around the streets till he saw a taxi and got back to his hotel before midnight. Sleep came swiftly and as his body and mind relaxed, something woke his unconscious mind and started the manipulation.

.....

Playa Langosta was bathed in brilliant sunlight. The blue water was moving lazily, creating small waves that were an indication of the surf that was going to start building up shortly. It was in the air. He could smell it. He breathed slowly, inhaling deeply. He lifted his head and breathed again. Yes, it was in the air. He knew it. He would always know it, no matter where or when he smelled it. There was something in that smell that connected very deeply within him, to his core ... his soul. What was it the fortuneteller had said? "Your answer is in the gold of the sun."
He looked around. There were only 30 or 40 more people on the beach. Half of them were surfing, the other half were just lying on the hot sand, sunbathing. The water looked very inviting and Savatre strolled in.
He walked in the shallow area, just over his knees and the waves hitting around his waist. The coolness of the water felt nice after the heat of the sun. He turned to stare at the beautiful mercurial indigo sea, softly waving to him. There was a small island in the shape of a dome in the middle of the sea about 500 meters away; it had some grass, trees, rocks and sand by the sea.
He shook his head. Isn't this the same thing I saw in the dream? He felt a little apprehensive and walked out of the water. He walked on the hot sand and then he saw the bar. It was an open building in the shape of a cone with a thatched roof and no windows or doors, just a few poles to support the roof. He walked in and bought an Imperial beer. It was cold and refreshing and he drank it down in large gulps.
As he walked out of the bar, a dark-haired girl in a yellow-green bikini top walked up to him. She smiled and he sank into those green eyes. She took his hand and it was as if they had done this forever.
"Do I know you?"
"Yes silly! You have known me forever."
He smiled and let her walk him to the far northern corner of the beach. There was no one there and they sat down.
She kissed him softly on the lips and ran her hands over his face.
"Are you ready my love?"
Savatre felt immensely alive yet powerless. She was someone he had known, he was sure of that. She was someone he wanted, he was sure of that also. What he wasn't sure of was why and how this was all happening.
"See how bright the sun is today?" She pointed up and he followed her hand. He looked at the golden yellow sun and couldn't take his eyes away from it. Something in his head kept ringing ... gold of the sun ... gold of the sun. They held hands and walked into the sea. The water was soothing and he felt extremely light. Together they moved towards the island ... slowly walking into the water, Savatre staring into the sun till the island disappeared and there was nothing left in his vision, just yellow.

The End 2559 words

Copyright © 2004 Raman Jalota. All rights reserved. No part of this electronic publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the author.

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