Scarlet Roses –(Conclusion) – What was her heart saying to her?

For the three days before Arvin and his search party found the spot where she had dropped her ring, Nate took Amelia on nature tours. It was an experience to treasure, in a place that was a world away from home, the scenic beauty, tranquility, pristine waterways and astounding, exotic flora and fauna. 

At nights they sat by the small, soft crackling bonfire, sharing the intimate and quiet moments of the night.
An undiscovered paradise, she fell in love with.
And the man in whose comforting embrace she sat, her head resting on his strong shoulders?
What was her heart saying to her?
The days they spent together brought them close, beautiful moments and poetic verses written on the leaves, flowing with the stream and sung by the birds, but she wasn’t sure if those sweet words her lips could say, for in her past she felt there was a bond, but with whom?
For Nate, his heart had spoken to him, the first time he saw her and tonight, his face nestled in the fragranced tresses of her hair, he told her, “I love you, Amelia.”
It was the most beautiful spoken words of life.
She looked at him, his rugged sensuality, the warmth of his smile and the love in his eyes, budded in her heart, something as sweet as a rare orchid but that uncertainty in her mind lingered.
“Nate….” She tried to tell him but he put a finger to her lips and said, “Don’t say anything, just let the moment be ours.”
She closed her eyes, allowing herself to be lost with the animals, birds and flowers in the paradise and he kissed her, an endless kiss as the fire burnt low.
Nate’s father looked at them from the shadows of his hut and raising his head to the Heavens he asked, “What plans do you have, Lord? Will her past take her away from him?”
Arvin’s team was getting ready early on the fourth morning to resume their search when there was an urgent shout from the camp, “Sir!”
Arvin looked up and saw surrounding them, a small group of native hunters, bows and arrows poised with deadly intent. No one had seen or heard them, so soundless was their approach from the foliage of the jungle.
Arvin lifted his two arms slowly to show he was harmless and an arrow, in the blink of an eye, thudded in the earth at his feet. The untrusting native stepped forward a little and asked in halting English,
“Who you be?”
“We are searching for a female pilot, whose plane had crashed.” Arvin answered.
The native looked at him for a long moment, then asked again,
“What her name and what she look like?”
Arvin gave a description of Amelia and her name and immediately, the natives lowered their weapons, knowing they had found the search party, they were instructed to locate.
“We find her, she with us.” The native said, showing him the crest from Amelia’s uniform.
A deep look of relief crossed Arvin’s face and he laughed a little, looking up at the Heavens, “Thank you, dear Lord.”
“Is she okay, how is she doing?” he asked excited as he and his team got set to follow the natives to retrieve her.
“She okay,” the native replied, “But no one allowed in village, only one come get her.”
“Why?” Arvin asked, not pleased, “My team and I have been searching for many days.”
“Only one,” the native insisted.
Arvin’s team was not sure it was a good idea for him to go alone it was a chance he had to take. “It’s a risk I’ll have to take,” he said, “You stay here and send out a message so the aerial rescue team can be ready to take us out once I got her.”
On arriving at the village, Arvin was taken to a benab where the old English missionary, Samuel was waiting for him. He was surprised seeing a European there but before he could say anything, Samuel smiled and said,
“I know, Amelia was surprised too when she saw me.”
“Where is she?” Arvin asked anxiously, “I want to see her.”
“You will,” Samuel answered, “but before you do, there’s something you need to know.”
He recounted to Arvin everything from the time Nate had brought her home, her confused thoughts and fragile mind and loss of memory, careful not to mention her closeness with his son.
“She may not recognise you,” he warned Arvin, “So you’ll have to be patient and understanding if you want to help her.”
“I’ve been searching for her and praying for her since day two when her plane crashed,” he told Samuel, showing him her engagement ring, “She’s my fiancé, she means everything to me.”
Samuel relapsed in a short moment of silence, Arvin’s statement stunning him a little, but he recovered and stood up, “Come, I’ll take you to her.”
Amelia was in her hut, the two little girls with her, rearranging the flowers in the wooden vases, waiting for Nate who had gone to find a rare orchid for her when she heard someone call her name.
“Amelia.”
It was the voice she had been hearing, and turning she saw a stranger at the door, not native nor European, tall, with good looks, despite his unshaven face and crumpled clothes. He was smiling at her, tears of happiness and relief in his eyes but she could not recognise him.
“Do I know you?” she asked, a little confused.
Arvin wiped the tears from his eyes and looked at Samuel who nodded his head in consent for him to say something.
“Yes, you do.” He told her, “Only you can’t remember me now. We have been good friends and I’ve been searching for you since the crash.”

“Oh!” She exclaimed softly with relief, “I’m sorry, I can’t remember you.”
“That’s okay,” he said calmly, trying not to feel worried, thankful he had found her.
She was looking even more beautiful than he had known her, so different dressed as a native, he could hardly believe she was standing there in front of him.
“Once you’re with family and friends,” he told her, “It will help you to regain your memory.”
The colour faded a little from her cheeks, realising he was here to take her back and she looked at Samuel, a glint of worry in her eyes, her voice quivering a little,
“Do I have to leave?”
Before Samuel could answer, Nate returned with the rare orchid, not noticing Arvin and giving her the flower, he kissed her on the cheek,
“I’ve found it and I’ve named it Amelia.”
She did not smile or express amazement and he noticed the worried look.
“What is wrong?” he asked and following her gaze, he saw Arvin.
The two men stared at each other for a long moment, a tense silence filling the hut, broken by Nate asking his father,
“Who is this, father?”
“He’s from the search party looking for Amelia.”
“And…?” his question continued.
This time Arvin answered, “I’m here to take her back home.”
That unexpected statement hit Nate hard and he looked at Amelia, the fair beauty he had fallen in love with and who had become such a close part of his life. He shook his head in defiance.
“That can’t happen.”
“She does not belong here.” Arvin said firmly, “Her family is anxiously awaiting her return.”
Amelia was beginning to look disturbed and Samuel interrupted before the tension got worse, saying to Arvin, “Can you step outside with me please, and give them a moment?”
Arvin hesitated, a little before complying and Samuel explained to him-troubled that his son would suffer a heartbreak “She couldn’t remember who she was or anyone in her past so she became close to my son because he was a source of comfort for her. It’s a delicate situation you have to deal with until she regains her memory.”
“The sooner we leave here the better,” Arvin said; not too comfortable with Nate’s closeness to her.
That night as Amelia laid in bed sleepless, the two men who loved her sat by the bonfire, distant apart, not looking at each other and not saying anything, each in his own deep thoughts. Nate’s heart was breaking to pieces, not wanting to let her go, but Arvin was her fiancé, whom she had said ‘Yes’ to marrying before she knew Nate.
Now she had to leave with Arvin in the morning to return to the world she had come from of neon lights, airplanes, roadways and fabulous houses.
“Oh God, how do I do this?” she cried in her mind, “Leaving the one whose special to me, to go with the one I can’t remember.”
Saying ‘Goodbye’ to the people who had become like her family, to a place that was paradise on earth was heart breaking.
Nate did not say ‘Goodbye,’ unable to see her leave and she left with his last words, ‘I love you.’ his last kiss and the feel of his strong arms as he held her close.
He sat in his hut, alone, the muscles on his face taunt as he battled with his emotions. Samuel came in quietly, distressed too that she had to leave and after a long moment, Nate asked his father,
“Why did this happen?”
“It’s fate, my son. You had to let her go because she belonged to someone else. If she returns then you will know she belongs to you.”
“And if she doesn’t return?”
The question was left unanswered.
Three months passed as doctors worked with her but she regained only bits and pieces of her memory, the remainder still a blank.
“It will all come back,” they told her worried family. “Her mind can’t be stressed. Just let her relax and live a natural life. Just one little thing can trigger an instant recollection.”
She did not fly again, her passion lost somewhere in the jungle with scarlet roses, hoping one day it could be resurrected as she refocused on her world, her life. But not one day passed without her thinking of Nate, wondering how he must be doing, of his father, Samuel and the two flower fairies, missing deeply the beauty and tranquility of their world.
So far away she was now but coming back and being around familiar people and places was helping with her recollection and she now knew the bond she had felt she had with someone. Arvin, the man she was supposed to marry. A bond strengthened by her deep sense of gratitude when she was told how he searched desperately for her and never gave up because of his love, not wanting to lose her.
Two men, now in her life, both, strong and handsome, loving and sweet – tempered from different worlds.
What do I do?
Arvin was attentive and helpful, taking her to places she had loved and getting her to do things she loved like Latino dancing but somehow it all seemed different. She tried to enjoy it all to be appreciative of his efforts but something was missing.
She worked part time in her father’s office and her mother’s gift shop to occupy her time meaningfully and one day as she was browsing through a National Geographic magazine, she saw the picture of a young, pregnant, native girl, sitting by her hut weaving baskets.
She stared at the picture and suddenly a light exploded in her head as she heard herself chatting over the phone’s radio, laughing a little at something then the heavy winds, her distress call and screams then a heavy crash and it all became dark.
Amelia sat with her head in her hands for a few long moments, her eyes closed and when she opened them, she was not at the airport base but in her mother’s gift shop.
She looked at her watch, noting the date and time and she called on her mother, “Why am I here? I always have bookings to fly on Tuesdays.”
“Oh my God,” her mother laughed, tears of joy spilling from her eyes, realising her daughter had regained her memory.
The fragmented pieces all came together at the picture of the pregnant native girl she was supposed to airlift that day.
Now, she could fly again, now she had gotten her life back.
Arvin was elated, taking her out to a special dinner at their favourite restaurant to celebrate.
He wanted to start discussing marriage plans and though Amelia tried to feel happy and excited, her heart wasn’t in it. She had loved him. She had wanted this but it all changed one day in the deep jungle.
Her heart now spoke to her.
Arvin had known her long enough to know what was happening, the sweetness in her smile was there no more, the spark in her eyes gone and loving her as much as he did, he knew there was only one thing left for him to do.
The night when they were supposed to finalise their wedding date, he took her hand in his and said to her: “You really don’t want this, do you?”
She looked at him, a little surprised, “Why do you say that?”
“Because I can feel it in my heart you’re not truly happy, something has changed.”
She didn’t answer for a while then she said, “I’m sorry. I don’t know how it happened.”
“I will always love you, Amelia,” he said, “But I can’t hold on to something that doesn’t belong to me anymore. I have to let you go.”
She looked at him with tears in her eyes, “Arvin…”
“It’s okay,” he said. “You are free to go, he’s waiting for you.”
She sat there for a long time after Arvin had left, crying quietly and looking up at the Heavens she said, “That’s why you made me walk deeper in the jungle rather than help me find a way out, isn’t it?”
She piloted the plane herself, one week later, landing at the nearest airstrip and with the help of the two army friends she had flown in with, she reached the village without any mishap.
Samuel was pleased beyond words, the natives overjoyed, her two flower fairies hugging her, but no one knew where Nate was.
There were so many places he could be but there was one place she was sure she would find him. She ran all the way to a clearing in the woods where he had shown her he wanted to build a cabin, his dream home and she saw him standing there, staring at the empty space.
“Nate,” she called his name softly, just a whisper in the wind.
He turned around slowly, not sure if it was her voice or his imagination and he saw her standing there like a dream, the wind teasing her hair and a smile on her lips.
“Amelia!.” His voice trembled as his heart that had seemed to stop beating since she left came back to life, his passion reborn and he lifted her up in his arms.
“You came back.” He said, as he put her down, tears in his eyes.
Her heart had spoken and now those sweet words, her lips could say, “I love you, Nate.”
“How do I know it’s not a dream?” he asked, hugging her.
“I have an idea.” She said softly and she kissed him-a kiss as sweet as the love that bloomed in her heart.
He had let her go and she came back so she now belonged to him.

(By Maureen Rampertab)

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