One summer evening, the raindrops fell heavily onto the ground just outside Wilkin’s Bar. The light flickered just above the payphone outside the bar. Occasionally a car would pass by, and traffic would grow slower every hour. The sweet sounds of salsa music played over the radio station. Havier enjoyed working the late shifts at the bar, looking forward to the somewhat quiet nights at Wilkin’s Bar. Unlike most bars that are more extreme at night, this one was the opposite, nestled in an off-the-cuff town in Cave Spring, Georgia. Cave Spring is a small populated town just an hour and a half away from Atlanta. Havier stood behind the bar polishing up some classes when a stunningly beautiful woman came rushing into the bar to get out the the pouring rain. Her umbrella is bent and she is drenched. He couldn’t help but notice her beauty, although she was completely soaked he couldn’t stop staring at her. His eyes met hers and he paused., barely uttering the words,
” Come, in quickly, I’ll get you a towel Ms.” He paused.
“Jemma.” she looked up at him and smiled.
“Thank you, Mr?”
“Havier.” He headed towards the backroom to fetch a towel, still stunned by her beauty. Her hair was brown, her skin reminded him of butterscotch, and her eyes were as green as emeralds. She couldn’t have been any taller than five feet. The summer dress she wore hugged her curves perfectly, and her toes were painted a lovely shade of blue. he headed back towards the front of the bar, to see her sitting on the stool with her jacket draped over the seat next to her. She giggles, as he hands her a navy blue towel.
“I rang as much water out of my jacket in the sink as I could. The rain sure is picking up out here these days hmm?” Havier takes his place back behind the bar, and asks,
” May I offer you a nice warm cup of tea Jemma? Or would you prefer something stronger?” as he heads back towards the kitchen.
A nice cup of tea would be great, thank you, Havier.” He couldn’t help but wonder why a woman so beautiful had stumbled into a bar alone in the middle of the night during a rainstorm.
“I know you must be wondering how I ended up here.” She crossed her arms and began to rub her elbows, in an attempt to warm herself from the summer night chills. Havier’s back still turned, he grinned,
” I didn’t want to pry, but I was a bit curious.” He began to pour the hot water into a mug and watched as the water changed to brown. He placed a few sugar packets on the saucer and placed the mug gently in front of her.
” My car broke down about 20 mins from here. I thought I’d take my chances finding some help in town.” She smiled as he placed the mug down in front of her.
“Thank you Havier, you are very kind.” She sips the tea slowly letting out a sigh of relief as she feels the warm liquid enter her body. A feeling of ease passed over her and she sat back in her seat. Havier was pleased that he could help bring her stress level down and help warm her. He thought back to when he was a child and he would watch his father work on their Toyota Camry that he always kept stored in their old garage. He had spent countless hours there, bonding with his father and learning the ins and outs of a vehicle. As Jemma sipped her tea he offered to help.
” I’ll be closing up here in an hour, I’d be happy to take a look for you. Perhaps maybe it’s something I can fix.” Relieved Jemma reaches her hand out towards his and gently holds them in hers. Havier instantly felt a shocking wave of vibrations course through him. Shocked he looked into her deep Emerald green eyes. He can see her soul deeply filled with gratitude. He saw a sweet soul longing for adventure. He saw a universe surrounding them. he continued to listen to her soft-spoken voice, mesmerizing in her gaze.
“Adios Mio, Thank you so much. I didn’t know what I was going to do, I am not from here. I was passing through. I am a freelance writer on a journey. What’s a good adventure without a little car trouble.” she says humorously. He chuckled a bit, took her hand never looking away from her, he spoke in a softly spoken voice,
” Not a problem at all. A writer, on an adventure? And you’ve ended up here In Georgia. This is such a lovely state. Much to see here.” he paused, taking a step back from the countertop of the bar,
“Such a pleasure to meet you, Jemma, let me begin cleaning up the bar to close up, and we can look at what’s wrong with your car. What kind of car is it?”
“Toyota Camry,” She says right before she takes another delightful sip of the tea. Havier heads towards the back and right before he enters he says,
“Perfect. I know all about those cars.” He grins and returns within 15 minutes. Jemma has her jacket back on, and her blue dress has mostly dried up. The rain had calmed down, and there was only a light mist in the air. The chime of a coo-coo-clock chimed loudly within the bar at midnight, startling Jemma but also causing her to smile.
“Oh, I hadn’t noticed the coo-coo-clock on the wall there, how lovely. My grandmother had one that was passed down to us for generations. An old wives tale will have it be told that she used the chime of the coo-coo-clock to help remind her to leave the spirit realm. Used as a reminder to return from the astroplane, reconnecting spirit to body. My grandmother would tell me tails of how she was connected to a silver cord and could travel far across the lands, high above in the clouds, fast as the speed of light, to reach her soulmate who was off in the War. She would tell me incredible stories of her travels and how she could interact with him. How he learned to astroproject and would meet her in the highest hours of the night. However, they couldn’t stay in this realm long for each moment spent there was a risk. If the silver cord was ever severed one or both souls would be severed from their physical bodies. Causing instant death. The coo-coo-clock allowed them only an hour. Whenever I hear one it reminds me of home.”
As they walk down the road, Havier is stunned by the new information he’s learned about Jemma. How interesting, he thinks to himself. He had always heard of this tale. His grandfather would speak of astroprojecting and connecting to sports when he was a child. He told him that it was in his blood to be able to do it, too. He spent years practicing so he, too, could travel away from his body at will.
“Did your grandmother ever teach you how to do this?” he asked with curiosity as they neared her car, and pulled over on the side of the curb. He had hoped she would say yes.
My grandmother was a very busy woman, but in her spare time, she taught me how to reach that level mentally and soul travel.”
Havier thinks to himself as he gazes at the road ahead of them, he hopes that she has acquired the skills to also travel through the spirit realm as he has.
