Besk, the sailor, swept up by the ocean’s strong current, floated farther and farther from Rome’s shore. A dense storm looming overhead, thrashing him around wickedly. Heavy drops of rain smacked him across his face as a glimmer caught his eye. He dove towards the glowing object. The closer he swam, the clearer it became that the object was a crimson red glimmer lodged among coral. Besk reached for it, but with his last breath, he frantically glanced around for a pocket of air. Instantly, he spotted a mysterious, nearby cave confined by soggy seaweed. Besk propelled himself into the darkness. His arms and legs growing more and more tired as his lungs slowly filled with water. A dim light soon grew into focus, and his body floated to the top. Upon reaching the light, still inside the cave, he emerged into a wide space of fresh air with a small beach that he weakly climbed on. Tree canvas’ protected Besk from the growing tempest. Besk’s head swirled and pounded as he noticed a soft sing-song nearring him. It was so beautiful and delicate that it almost distracted him from the pain gripping at his muscles. The agonizing discomfort was terrifyingly real.
A young lady, best described to the likes of Venus, goddess of beauty, exited from the water and entered Besk’s line of sight. She seemed familiar, but Besk couldn't place his finger on why. She knelt beside him, still singing, gently, her soft, curly hair resting on his chest. They both shyly smiled at each other. She held his calloused hand. They talked for what seemed like an eternity . . . falling deeper and deeper in love with each other. It was as if they had known each other forever.
Besk coughed violently, and the fair lady’s demeanor suddenly changed. She had a worried look plastered across her face. Besk coughed once more and the woman carefully grabbed a locket from her side and held it to his trembling lips. A thick liquid secreted from the charm and down into his rough, patchy throat. He tried not to gag due to the battling tastes of vinegar, mineral, herb, and molasses. Oddly enough, that too seemed familiar. Even a small amount, cured him of any issue he dealt with so that it became a distant echo.
She placed the small locket in Besk’s hand and peered back at him. Besk stared down at the salt licked charm. It was a chained coin and bottle with an illuminating red liquid that slowly crept around inside the tiny glass. It was the glowing object he saw caught in the reef. He felt an engraving written on the back of the old, rusty Romanian coin and flipped it over. Tayyou, he repeated to himself as he read the familiar name. He looked back at her and she nodded softly as if knowing exactly what he said in his mind. She tucked the capsule into Beck’s shirt pocket with tender care.
Besk soon drifted in and out of sleep as the beautiful lady kissed him on the cheek with lips softer than lamb’s ear. It was her goodbye. She waded back into the ocean, singing her sweet song. He finally dozed off, peacefully and unbothered.
“He’s waking up!” a familiar, Romanian voice pulled him out of the other reality. It was only a dream, he thought with a sigh. It felt so real.
Suddenly, family rushed around the small, uncomfortable bed on which Besk lay. He rubbed his eyes. His skin littered with enormous, painful welts. His mouth tasted heavily of metal. Throat swollen and sore. Questions raced through his head but it all came back when his family explained everything. The plague. He had the plague and had been dying for many days without a cure.
He scratched at a welt on his chest, despite being told otherwise, when his hand grazed a raised object in his pocket. He lifted it from where it was placed and inspected it. It was the chain necklace from his dream. He looked at the back of the tarnished coin: Tayyou. He smiled.
Besk uncorked the small, glass bottle and raised it to his mouth, taking a small dosage. Just like in his dream, it healed him of pain and symptoms. All his injuries effortlessly faded away into a mere memory.
The family who had previously flocked around Besk were moved aside by his childhood friend, nurse, and lady from his dream. Tayyou! He never realized how much he loved her before. Besk jumped off the bed and hugged her warmly. She reciprocated his feelings with a soft, gentle kiss to the cheek.
She whispered in his ear, “Te iubesc,” Romanian for I love you.
