The Encounter (standard:drama, 4396 words)
Author: TJC	Added: Mar 25 2011	Views/Reads: 3691/3377	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
A down on his luck man considers suicide but then meets a mysterious young woman.... (This story could fit into several different categories, but I went with drama so as not to give it away)

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

“The bar inside is pretty clear,” she said looking back.  “Everyone is
all excited over the meteor or whatever it was.” 

He wasn't going to jump in this spot anyway, and certainly not in from
of a pretty young woman.  So why not have a drink with her? 

“I guess that's a sign, huh?”  He pushed the door open leading to the
inner lido deck.  “Ladies first.” 

“Chivalry they call that, right?”  When she laughed, Tony wearily
smiled.  If this was to be his last night, at least he might enjoy some 
of it. 

*** 

They sat at a booth near the back of the small bar, one of several on
the ship.  Tony sipped a Crown and Coke while his rescuing angel 
enjoyed a glass of Chardonnay.  He figured it was about time he 
introduced himself. 

“I'm Tony C--” 

“Tony Cielo,” the girl finished for him.  “I'm a bit of a baseball fan,
so I know who you are.” 

“To know me you're either a baseball fanatic or you're a baseball
writer. Most casual fans couldn't name you one scout on their favorite 
team, the big time fans can maybe tell you the scouting director.” 

“Well I'm not a baseball writer,” she giggled.  “Erinome,” she said with
a smile, shaking Tony's hand.  Her skin was cool, smooth, soft to the 
touch like fine cloth.  Her name was pronounced Air-i-nomay. 

“Never heard that name, what nationality is it?” 

“My roots are in a place you've likely never even heard of.” 

“Where?” 

“Let's talk about you, Tony Cielo.” Her dark eyes shined in the pale
light of the bar and Tony found himself more and more enthralled by 
this young beauty.  “You're a respected baseball scout and in fact it 
has been said you have one of the best baseball minds in the game.” 

Cielo nodded, smirking, that's the kind of nice things people like
General Managers and top players in the money say about baseball lifers 
when the subject comes up.  Not that he didn't have an excellent 
baseball mind, but he would have given anything to have made it as a 
player or had the education to move up into a highly paid front office 
position.  Fact was he was at a dead end of long drives to see amateur 
players that for the most part would never pan out. 

“You never made the majors,” Erinome continued, “but you have worked in
the game your whole life and you're a pretty fair freelance writer.” 

“A few articles and stories hardly make one a success.” 

“You're a glass half empty sort, aren't you?” Erinome giggled and Tony
found himself almost smiling. 

“Scouts tend to be cynical and opinionated, young lady,” he said, taking
a good deep sip of his drink, wanting to take the edge off. 

“But you're more than that,” she said, leaning over the table, putting
the sweet fragrance of an amazing perfume in his nostrils.  “You're 
depressed, maybe even clinically so.” 

“You met me what? Thirty minutes ago?  What are you some sort of super
shrink? How do you know what's inside my head?  You don't.” 

“It hardly takes a shrink. You were going to jump off the ship.” 

“Did I say I was going to jump?”  Tony was pretty sure he hadn't, though
he still felt he might have talked to himself aloud.  He wasn't sure.   
Then when she put her hand on his forearm, he was brought out of his 
thoughts and into her warm gaze once again. 

“Then make me a promise, Tony Cielo.  Promise me you will not jump off
this ship or attempt to harm yourself in any way for the rest of this 
voyage.  Can you do that?” 

Tony hesitated, staring at the beautiful young woman who'd suddenly
taken center stage in what was to be his final act.  What on earth was 
going on?   “Look, you're a sweet girl and I know you're trying to 
help, but tell me how this is any of your business?” 

“That is not the answer I was looking for. You were supposed to say ‘I
promise' and that's that.” 

“Who are you and what's your last name?” 

“I'm the woman who is trying to teach you about your own self-worth and
maybe I don't have a last name.”  Erinome sat back, sipping her wine.   
“There are thousands of people in this world that have it far worse 
than you, you know?  Worse than you can imagine, my good man.” 

“Nice try,” Tony said, reflecting on her words.  “It's not something one
can compare.  A person can be unhappy and unfulfilled no matter what 
his station in life.  A person can also be giddily happy no matter his 
station life.  It's the inner make-up of a person that makes them what 
they are and how they feel.” 

“Spoken like a true writer.”  The bright smile once again flashed across
her angelic face. 

“Hardly.” 

“You've thought about suicide your whole life.” Erinome announced.  
“Ever since your father's death when you were a teenager.  You thought 
about it several times as a minor league pitcher, several more times 
after that.  In fact if you were to guess how you would die you'd have 
to say suicide or you'd be lying to yourself.”  She gave him a look of 
a cocky school girl who knew she'd outsmarted her parent.  It annoyed 
him greatly. He'd seen it on the faces of his own daughters. 

“Who the hell are you and what the fuck do you want with me?” Tony was
embarrassed at cursing, but he kept himself from showing it.  He wanted 
answers from this wise girl sitting across the table from him.  “Tell 
me who you are or I'm taking off.”  He stood up and exited the booth, 
watching her. 

“I'm someone who wants to help you.” 

“Why?” 

“Does that really matter?” 

Erinome moved out of the booth and touched his face.  Tony wanted to
back away, but her touch was more soothing a sensation than anything 
he'd ever felt. It was intoxicating and before he knew it he was 
bending down to kiss her.  Their lips touched twice gently, then as 
they circled each other's noses they kissed passionately.  It had been 
a long time since he'd kissed a woman like that, let alone one so young 
and beautiful. 

“Maybe we should go for a walk on the deck,” Erinome whispered, kissing
Tony's neck. He stroked her hair, loving its lush softness. 

“Are you with anyone on board?  I mean...” He took her hand while she
again giggled at his less than smooth delivery. 

“I'm alone,” she replied with a smile. “Not alone really, but I'm not
with anyone as you mean it, Mr. Cielo.” 

They strolled the decks for a couple of hours, talking, stopping to look
at the sea, kissing and touching.  The more Tony tried to find out 
about the mysterious Erinome, the more confused he became.  She knew 
his thoughts, his every dream, it's as if she'd studied his life in a 
textbook.  It was unnerving, frightening, but altogether fascinating.  
Besides all that, he was wildly attracted to her and could see himself 
doing anything she asked him to do. Even make that promise if she 
brought it up again..... 

*** 

Before the night was out, they were back in his cabin making love.  As
he moved inside her, Tony moaned out in absolute joy.  Perhaps he 
hadn't realized how lonely he'd become, how starved he was for the 
affections and pleasures a woman could bring him.  Their kisses 
lingered while their bodies entwined in a passionate desperation.  
Erinome was a giving, wonderful lover, wrapping her legs and arms 
around him while nibbling his shoulder and whispering how amazing it 
all was to be there. 

“Oh god I'm here with Tony Cielo,” she cried out.  Tony at first thought
she was teasing him, but the expression on her face was so real, 
honest. 

“You really are loving being with me?” He kissed her neck. “I'm old
enough to be your father, maybe your grandfather.” 

“Oh you don't even know how much this means to me. How it thrills me.” 

Another deep kiss and they rode out the passion wave together.  Then as
they caught their collective breath, holding hands and enjoying the 
thin beam of the moon shining through the round cabin window, they 
began to talk once again. 

“You're working on a book aren't you?” Erinome rested her head on his
chest. 

“How did you know that?” 

“I just figured.” 

“I have wasted my time writing two novels, years of work, only to never
see them published.” Tony gritted his teeth, he hated talking about 
this, but somehow she drew it from him. “But yes, I'm working on a 
third.” 

“It won't ever be published if you kill yourself before it's done.” 
Erinome turned her head and smiled up at him. “Right?” 

Tony smiled, nodding, saying nothing, trying to force the smile from his
face. 

“What's it called and what's it about.  I promise I won't tell anyone.” 

“The Best Hope of Man is the working title,” Tony replied saying the
title out loud for the first time since he'd begun working on the 
manuscript.  “It's a novel set in the future, showing what mankind 
could be if we ever came together.  Of course there are forces working 
against it and all that. It will hopefully be entertaining as well as 
thought provoking if I ever finish it.” 

“Any baseball?” 

“I will manage to get it in there, yes.”  Tony pressed Erinome's nose
and leaned in to kiss her again. “Are you hungry?  On this ship food is 
available twenty-four hours a day.” 

“Famished, but let me take a quick shower first.” She rose and walked
toward the tiny bathroom, shower unit.  He watched her, so captivated 
by her beauty. 

“Won't you need a change of clothes?” 

“I wore that gown just a little while.  I'll put it back on.  Don't go
thinking me a slob, okay?” 

“Fair enough.” 

As the bathroom door shut and the water started, Tony began to put on
his robe but then laid it on the bed.  The shower unit was tiny, but it 
would be fun to shower with his new exciting young love. 

Opening the door, peaking into the bathroom, Tony's eyes were suddenly
burning, a bright light flashed into his face and caused him to fall 
back against the wall of the cabin. It was if the entire compartment 
was bathed in the whitest, glowing gleam imaginable and it was coming 
from the shower unit. 

“What the hell is going on? Are you okay in there? What the hell is
that?”  Tony tried to go back into the bathroom but the light was 
forcing him from entering.  Erinome said nothing, was she even alive? 
Try as he might he could not get inside, the burning light was searing 
his eyes and skin. 

“Erinome!”  Shielding his eyes, he saw movement inside, a form, like
that of his young lover, but a glowing white body with black eyes.  The 
form looked at him for a second before the door shut, killing the 
illumination from within. 

Tony sat on the floor against the bed, feeling suddenly naked, stupid,
and more than anything, scared.  He got up and put on his robe as 
Erinome emerged from the bathroom.  She stood before him nude with wet 
hair and an embarrassed smile. 

Tony was speechless. 

“I probably should have gone back to my cabin or well......” Erinome
smiled and shook her head. 

“What's going on?” 

“I suppose I should explain.” 

“Either that, or get out of my room.”  Tony was shaking, unsure of
himself, attracted to the woman he barely knew, but now he was also 
terrified of her. 

“I'll explain over pizza,” Erinome grinned.  “I love the pizza parlor on
the lido deck.  Come on, Tony, have a sense of adventure.  I promise 
it's a really interesting story.”  When she came toward him, he backed 
away, but then was against the wall.  Her body molded to his, kissing 
his upper chest.  “You needn't be afraid,” she said in a slightly more 
serious voice. “I promise I'll explain it all......If.....” 

“If what?” 

“If you promise to have an open mind.” 

“After what I just saw?  My mind is open......blown wide open.” 

Erinome giggled.  “Good!” 

*** 

At nearly four AM the lido deck was deserted save for the ship employees
working in and eating in the pizza parlor.  Tony sat in the back with 
Erinome.  He was drinking water now, wanting his wits about him, while 
his mysterious lover sucked a coke from a straw as if she'd never had 
one before. 

“Delicious,” she said, grinning. 

“It's actually lousy for you, but yeah..... so, uh, what exactly was
that back in my cabin?” 

A girl brought them a pepperoni pizza, when she walked off Erinome
smiled and stared into Tony's eyes.  “Look into my eyes, Tony,” she 
said, pulling down the lower lid of her right eye.  A beam of bright 
white light shot out instantly but disappeared when she let go. “You 
saw me, Tony Cielo. You saw me.” 

Tony took a bite of pizza, but didn't taste it.  His mouth was dry and
numb.  He had no idea what was happening. 

“I know you believe in other worlds, Tony.  So is this so hard?” 

“I believe we're not alone,” he said, looking out the window to the
slight rising of light on the horizon over the sea. “I mean if we're 
all there is, it would seem.....I don't know. You're really telling me 
you're an alien?” 

Erinome grinned and nodded.  “There are things out there you can't
imagine and my world and yours are going to come together to the 
betterment of both our species.”  Erinome took a huge chunk of pizza, 
gobbling it like a teenager.  Tony was shaking his head, this couldn't 
be happening.  “Remember, Tony, open mind.....my home is hundreds of 
light years from here, a place, a planet as you say, called 
Charboydis.” 

“So why are you here? I mean if it's for our worlds to come together why
are you on this cruise ship? Shouldn't you be at the White House, 
United Nations or someplace like that?” 

“Can I tell you a story?” Erinome touched his hand, but Tony pulled it
away, he hated feeling nervous but he was.  Worse than that he was 
still a little scared.  Finally he nodded. 

“There will be a man, Richard Stevens, who will be the first of your
species to travel alone past your solar system and into deep space.  He 
becomes lost and his equipment fails.  People of my world come across 
him and transport both him and his ship to Charboydis.” 

“Okay, yeah, so this will happen you say?  So you see the future?” 

“I live in the future, silly.”  Erinome chewed another piece. “Mmmmm
this is so good.” 

“A person from another world and I arrange for her to eat pizza and
drink soda pop. Well done, Tony.” 

“Ah you're making a joke. You're feeling better?” 

Tony nodded, still shaken, but his curiosity was peaking to new heights.
“Why are you here? With me?  Tell me.” 

“Colonel Stevens was injured and unconscious for quite a long time when
we brought him to Charboydis and while he recovered we went through his 
things and learned a great deal about the society he represented.  Once 
he awoke we learned even more.  Not the least of which was learning 
your language and several others of your world.  He had a series of 
language chips just in case he ran into a different species.” 

“Yes, yes, but-” 

Erinome smiled, holding up her hand.  “Eventually we accompany him back
to this planet, Earth as you call it, and our worlds come together.  
Wars and discontent disappear once humans realize they're not alone in 
the universe.  We teach you how to become one as a species, and what we 
learn from you is immeasurable...” 

“What is that?” 

“Diversity and emotion.  Our people all look alike, we all shine with
this glowing skin, and we had long since become stagnant.  From you we 
embraced emotion and affection and we were thrilled at how your species 
had so many different looks and colors.  It's unique in the universe, I 
assure you.” 

“Yeah well it can cause problems here.” 

“Eventually it won't.” Erinome said emphatically.  “Our world is darker
than yours so we evolved into being our own light.  You world has such 
wonderful natural resources and that beautiful sun.  Ours has beauty 
too of course, but a kind that would be impossible to explain to you.” 

“When does all this worlds coming together happiness happen?” 

Erinome looked out the window.  “In about sixty of your years.  Richard
Stevens isn't even born for another twenty.” 

“Sixty years?”  Tony shook his head and laughed.  “Well thanks for the
preview, but I won't be here to see it and I'm not talking about 
suicide, either.  Living to be a hundred and ten or whatever is quite 
unlikely.” 

“I know, Tony, but if you jump off this ship, none of what I told you
will happen.” 

“Oh give me a break,” tony said, getting up.  “What on earth do I have
to do with your wild story?” 

Erinome rose and took his hand, and they began strolling the quiet
decks.  “Among the items Colonel Stevens had was the entire collected 
works of his favorite writer, all on a small chip device.  These 
writings, both fiction and non-fiction were essential in our gaining an 
understanding of your world and its potential.” 

“His favorite writer?” 

“MMHHhhhmmmm, the collected works of Tony Cielo.” 

Tony stopped.  “This is nonsense. You said yourself he hasn't even been
born yet.  What the hell are you telling me?  Is this some sort of joke 
and you're going to tell me I'm destined to become some famous writer 
the world cares about?” 

Erinome put her hands on his face, smiling at him with warm affection. 
“No, you will not be famous, or rich, but you will publish several 
works and gain a limited following.  You will write a voluminous amount 
of diverse material and eventually they will become regarded as 
classic.” 

“I don't believe it.” 

“You must believe it,” she said harshly.  “You must not jump off this
ship and kill yourself.  You need to write. Stevens finds some of your 
works when he's in high school and college and soon he's devouring 
them.  When he comes back with us, your name becomes a household word 
on two different planets.” 

“But I'm not going to live to see any of this, how will I know when I am
supposed to die?” 

“You aren't supposed to know, but I can tell you it's not from suicide.
You live many years from this point and you write a great deal of 
stories, essays and books.  Even about baseball, which becomes a 
popular pastime on Charboydis by the way. Right now this minute, Tony 
Cielo, YOU are the best hope of man.” 

“So you came here to tell me this?” 

“I came here to stop you from killing yourself and to motivate you to
write.  I might be in trouble for telling you the entire story, but it 
was my decision to make.  I doubt very much that people of this world 
will believe you should you decide to tell it.” Erinome kissed his hand 
and smiled. “I'm an Earth specialist in my world and we have long since 
mastered time travel and other modes of movement.  You can hardly 
imagine the possibilities.  I was thrilled to get this assignment.” 

Tony was dizzy. Could all this really be happening?  He leaned against
the railing.  “Is this real?  Please tell me if this is a joke of some 
sort.” 

Erinome turned his face to hers with a gentle hand, looking at him with
pale white glowing eyes which then turned black, not a dangerous black, 
but a soothing darkness like sleep.  She kissed his mouth and he was 
lost in her once again. 

As the sun rose over the sea, Tony and Erinome, the earth specialist
time traveler from the distant world of Charboydis, made love again in 
his cabin.  It was a volcanic, sensual coupling of two souls from two 
different worlds and two different times.  He had no idea how long it 
went on before he collapsed in a deep, contented slumber. 

*** 

Tony awoke and realized he'd slept all day, for it was night once again,
seeing the darkness through his window. 

“Erinome?”  He sat up in bed, looking around, eyeing the open bathroom
door.  Unless she was in the closet she was gone.  Getting dressed 
quickly, he went out on to the decks to try and find her. He loved her, 
he knew that.  How was it possible? Was she even a woman as he knew 
one?  Her true form was obviously not that of the Erinome he knew.  
What he did know is that he wanted to be with her, and he had so many 
more questions. 

It didn't take long, however, for Tony to realize she was gone.  People
were talking about the bright sphere happening again just as the 
previous night but that this time it was going in the opposite 
direction, straight up. 

He spent the night wandering and looking at the stars, thinking of the
story she'd told him, and trying not to cry.  Tony loved Erinome, she 
must have known that, but she was from another world and another time.  
Perhaps her staying here would alter some other incremental step that 
would throw off the destiny of these two worlds. 

“It doesn't matter,” he said to himself aloud.  “I love you and I want
you here. Please come back.” 

Tony knew he would never see her again, though.  It wasn't part of the
destiny. Making his way back to his cabin, he held it together, smiling 
weakly at people walking by, thinking that he knew something they 
didn't.  Was it a curse or a blessing? 

Inside his cabin, Tony broke down and wept. The past twenty-four hours
had turned his world upside down and he had no clue where he was going 
from here.  Once he managed to dry his eyes, though, he pulled out his 
laptop...... 

Tony began writing. 

TC


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