Chapter 20

She started as Semi touched her arm.

“I love this guy.” He declared.

She grinned when she saw Brett blush.

“You are something else.” She told Semi.

The mirth bubbled up from deep inside, then spilled out into a belly laugh.

For the first time since she had died, she felt different.

Reborn?

Freer?

All of the above.

She was still trying to sort them all out.

“What now?” She asked no one in particular.

All of a sudden, her anger at the situation, as well as at everyone else vanished. Nina really didn’t want bitterness to corrode her spirit. She had accepted she was dead.

She had finally adjusted to her changed circumstance.

‘Moving forward now…’ She thought, as Brett turned to her with shimmering eyes.

“I don’t know…I…” He couldn’t go on.

He sat down suddenly.

She dropped down beside him, then tapped his arm.

“No regrets now. I will accept what happens after this. I know I have been a grouch, but all’s going to be better now.”

He turned to her with anguished eyes.

“It is my fault. I just don’t know how to help you now.” She didn’t know how to reassure him, but help came from an unexpected source.

“No, it is mine.”

Cagilaba looked anguished as he dropped down to face her.

Defeated, he apologized.

“I tried to claim what was not mine to claim. I take my share of the blame.”

He took her hand.

She didn’t try to pull away as she realized for the first time since she had met him, his whole attitude had changed.

“Can you ever forgive me?” He asked her in a tentative voice.

“I can.” She declared, happy to know she could.

She couldn’t blame him or anyone else.

This was her destiny. It had been her time to die.

“Thank you.” His voice sounded humbled.

Brett reached out, pulled her hand out of Cagilaba’s without heat, to hold it on his lap.

He didn’t look as bad as he had a few minutes before.

‘But he was still possessive, that was for sure.’ Nina grinned inwardly.

“What are we still waiting for?”

A disgruntled voice sounded from above their heads. They looked up in unison to see Aunt Seni staring in irritation down at them. Semi stood beside her; annoyance evident on his face as he argued with her.

“What’s wrong with you, woman?” He asked her. He glanced down at them, then back to her.

“They’re clearing the air. What plans do you have? A date?” He asked her in a sarcastic voice.

Nina stood up.

“Yeah. Night is coming on. Where are we?”

Her surroundings were unrecognizable in the gloom of the evening. There were a lot of trees around them, making it look even more gloomier. There were no buildings anywhere to be seen in the dusk of the evening.

“Are we still in Fiji?”

“Nope.” Brett answered. “We’re somewhere in the bush in Australia, on the border between NSW and Queensland.”

“Do you want to go back to Fiji?” Cagilaba asked her.

She debated on that for a few seconds.

“I think we should. There may be questions asked. That is, of how I ended back here dead, when I had been booked at a hotel in Fiji. We don’t want the authorities looking too deep into this.”

“I think she may be right.” Semi backed her up. “Maybe you could be buried there beside us at our village cemetery.”

His eyes were moist as he gazed at her with imploring eyes. There was an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. She felt an insistent stare. She turned to find her aunt staring daggers at her.

“Is there something wrong?” She asked her aunt.

She made a resolve she would confront any funny business with her aunt. Even if it hurt her.

Or hurt them both.

“I don’t think you should be buried in Fiji?”

Before she could retaliate, Semi jumped in.

“Why not? Why are you always going off at Nina? What has she done to make you so mean to her all the time now?”

He was up in arms, his arms gesturing wildly.

He looked disappointed in his mother, offended on Nina’s behalf.

She added her voice.

“Yes, I want to know too. Why, aunty. What are you hiding?”

“Why would you think I’m hiding anything?”

Her stance was aggressive, but she looked shifty.

‘Yep, she’s definitely hiding something.’

Downcast, she turned her face, so that they couldn’t see the emotion she was trying hard to suppress. She couldn’t understand why her aunt didn’t want her buried near them. But if that’s the way she felt, then she would make other arrangements. But they had to go back to Fiji to start those arrangements there.

Surreptitiously, she dashed tears away.

She tuned back into the conversation in time to hear the end of Semi berating his mother.

“Then I want her near me. And I disown you. You’re not the mother I knew.”

His voice was bitter.

The declaration pierced her to the heart.

‘No, Semi. I don’t want you to fight with Aunt Seni. Not on my behalf. I’d hate to think I’ve caused a falling out between you.” She hardened her heart.

But it was pierced again by his words.

“I will always choose you, my sister. We’ve been through too much together.”

Aunt Seni looked stunned.

Even Cagilaba and Brett looked startled.

Aunt Seni trembled; her eyes pleaded with Semi when she spoke.

“Why are you doing this? You’re my son.” She whispered shakily, her eyes glistening.

“I am not doing anything. You’re the one who’s alienating Nina, and me. We are family. Have you forgotten that?” Semi’s voice was hard.

Nina knew he had made his mind up. He had always been the steady one. She had been the one easily won over. Always giving people the benefit of the doubt, until they stabbed her.

Not him. He took time to make his mind up about people, or anything.

And when he did, he stuck to it. He was loyal to the ones who were loyal to him.

He had always had her back.

As she had his.

Her aunt hadn’t understood that about him.

Nina could tell her aunt had realized her grievous mistake with her next words.

“I don’t know why you’ve always stood up for her. Why you’ve always taken her side against me. I realize now you didn’t love me.” Her voice was pitiful.

“Okay, now you’re just playing the victim card.”

Semi’s voice was remorseless.

He looked torn, but he stood resolute.

“If you change your mind, I will change my stance. If not, then you know whose side I will be on.”

He turned his back on her to walk a few feet away.

He stood, with his back to them, waiting.

Her aunt looked forlorn for a second, then her expression hardened.

She turned blazing eyes on Nina.

“It’s all your fault. This would not have happened, if you had just stayed away.”

Nina was nonplussed.

“Stayed away? You accused me of not doing enough. Now you’ve changed your tune. You conveniently do that when things don’t go your way.”

It was Nina’s turn now. A Deja vu moment.

This had always been the outcome of any arguments when they were younger. Her aunt would have an argument with him over Nina. Then she’d blame it all on Nina when the argument ended badly.

Brett raised a hand for quiet when she opened her mouth to continue to berate Nina.

“Enough! This argument is pointless. We have to leave. Now.”

He nodded to Cagilaba.

“It’s dark now. Carry your charges.”

Nina looked around in surprise.

He was right.

It had grown dark while the argument had been going on.

“Where to now?” She asked with some trepidation.

“To our room at the hotel.” He replied.

“We will leave your body at sea. The tide will push it in. Hopefully it will be found by someone in the morning. Then we’ll proceed from there.”

“But won’t the fishes eat my body?”

Nina was aghast. She didn’t want to be eaten by fishes.

Cagilaba and Semi guffawed.

Even Brett looked amused for a second.

“Sweetheart, you’re dead, remember?” He grinned.

“Still…” She began.

“Let’s go.” His sudden grab at her kept her quiet.

He took hold of Semi when they reached him.

In the blink of an eye, they were back in the room that they had left yesterday. The cups they used were still on the sink table. She had rinsed them out in the morning before they left. Her clothes were still scattered around in their room. Semi noted her forlorn expression. He reached to thread his fingers through hers.

“It’s not too bad, being dead, you know. You can still wear new clothes in the spirit world. Unlike how movies portray the lie that you stay for eternity in the clothes you die in. You and I can start a fashion trend.”

She turned in surprise to catch the teasing look in his eyes.

Smiling gratefully at him, knowing he was trying to cheer her up, helped her feel a whole lot better.

Then arms slid around her from behind. Her breath stalled in her throat. Semi smiled, then stepped away to walk back into the lounge.

She was grateful for the privacy he gave them.

Brett leaned down to her ear to whisper, “We must check out if you can still feel.’ His breath blowing into her ear, combined with his intimate whisper made her tremble. To disguise it, she cleared her throat, then stepped out of his embrace. Mainly to hide her reaction to him, she pretended her attention was taken up beyond him.

“Where is Cagilaba with my aunt and my body?”

He chuckled.

“Dumping your body in the ocean nearby. Changing the subject is not going to change the outcome of my curiosity.”

He turned to strut out of the room, leaving her with heightened breathing.

‘Damn, he did it again.’