Sentilia

Chapter 12

I hated cars now, which was ironic, granted. I was used to going really fast in transporters, and now it was going to take forever to get to the beach, and the longer I was sitting in the car, the more nauseous I felt. Plus I could feel every bump and every crack on the road; it was the rockiest ride I'd ever been on.

I actually wondered if there was any way these things could go faster, since Kleio was controlling it, maybe he was going slowly on purpose? So I asked.

He raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "What? You want me to accelerate? But I thought... Usually ladies are more comfortable at a slower speed since it's less dangerous... and you get nausea Max, it isn't going to help..." One look at my face made him change his mind. I think the expression my father used to say, "if looks could kill" would have been an appropriate fit. "Well, okay, but I'm already going 80 miles per hour. I won't go over 100." His tone seemed very strict.

He accelerated, and I felt a tiny bit better. I started to feel sick again, but I could recognize the side of the roads; I remembered seeing them from the top of the mountain, with Maia; the red house, the park with the pond. We would be there soon enough; I could hang on for a few more minutes.

We passed beautiful green fields, and I was awestruck at how the simplest thing could be so beautiful. The sun was creeping up slowly in the sky, and it gave the whole picture a golden glow. I wanted to run through the fields, and discover the scent of cut grass and tilled land. But Kleio had other plans for us; he was slowing down now, as we were arriving at our destination.

It was not a part of the beach I recognized. In fact, I wasn't sure it was the same beach at all. This was a rockier place, called Pebble beach. Boulders were quite numerous, but there was a cleared path all the way to the water. Kleio cut the purr of the engine; I opened my door and caught a whiff of a fishy and salty odor.

Kleio came around, and I stepped out of the car. He stood in front of me and I couldn't help but ask: "Kleio. Where are we?"

"This is Pebble beach, we're just..."

I interrupted: "No, Kleio, I mean...where are we? This island... where is it?"

I was suddenly sitting on a rock, a few feet away from where I had been standing. "Whoa...what just..." I turned around to see Kleio sitting beside me, and gave him a quizzical look. He completely ignored me. I assumed it was a glitch in my dream. It had happened to me about an hour or two before, when I was with Elis; but was I crazy to think it was weird timing?

"This is where I keep my boats. Do you see that first dock with the two boats?" I nodded slowly. "The first one is my fishing boat: the orange one. The other one, the sailboat, is just for leisure. I love sailing, don't you?" He winked. He knew I had never been on the ocean.

I looked at him, suddenly realizing why we were here, completely disapproving.

"I know this is your first time, but I really hope you'll like it," he added more seriously.

"Kleio, I'm not so sure...I mean, I get carsick, won't I also get boatsick?" I was scared, but also curious.

"It's called getting seasick, Max, and it's completely safe! C'mon!" He had a cute smirk on his face.

"Fine, K" I said, with a mocking tone. His smile widened.

We started walking towards the docks. From the beach now, I could feel it was a bit windy. I guessed it was an excellent time to sail. The sky was still a cloudless blue, so I figured there was no danger of a storm.