The Sibylline Oracle (26 page)

There was a fog and darkness and then his beautiful face.

The nurses had learned that visiting hours didn’t apply to Alex as he stood watch, day in and day out, by the glass wall that looked in on the isolation ward. He watched as nurses and doctors—dressed in full protective gear—entered her room to adjust equipment and change out containers of various liquids. Alex longed to touch her, to feel the life in her. But he
could
wait now—she was alive!

Alex and Mani had hoped that having survived the three hours in the water, Valeria would heal within twenty-four hours, like an immortal. Though she hadn’t, Alex didn’t give up hope.

Valeria had suffered from many complications; but the hypothermia had actually saved her life. It had shut down all of her organs long enough that there didn’t appear to be any brain damage from the lack of oxygen. Still, she suffered from kidney failure and would require dialysis for at least a few weeks, or until her kidneys returned to their full function. Valeria’s sternum was cracked and would be painful until it healed. The plague was being managed with antibiotics. And Alex’s love was alive and beyond her twenty-seventh birthday!

Sitting on the stool outside of her room, near the nurse’s station, Alex found that several times a day sobs of joy would overtake him. There didn’t seem to be any end to it. Few could understand all of the years of yearning and loneliness that had absorbed his existence. And all of that was coming to an end, it seemed. He would have her with him for eternity. Alex took a deep breath and closed his eyes. A nurse passing by touched his back and again told him that she was doing fine.

That comment never helped. He couldn’t seem to leave her. He had purchased a motor home to park in the hospital lot so that he could sleep and shower closer to her, and then bring her home in it when the time came. But he found that he ached when he left her. So, a few times a day, he would lie down on the couch in the waiting room and try to shut his eyes. He forced himself to shower and he went to the cafeteria or Mani would bring him something to eat. Then, thanks to Mani’s influence, the hospital allowed him to return to his seat by her window off from the ICU.

Mani assured Alex that Valeria was doing extremely well considering all that her body had been through. Still, it had been almost two weeks and she remained mostly unconscious. Occasionally, her arms would go into attack against an unseen villain. The pneumonic plague had created a severe infection in her lungs and the bacteria in the saltwater had not helped. Valeria suffered from pneumonia and Mani prepared Alex that she might have a few more rounds of it due to her lungs’ weakened state. Alex watched it all as her body deteriorated and she lost fifteen pounds from her already small frame.

It had taken three hours of Alex doing CPR and Caleb paddling the rubber dinghy, without much progress, for Ava to locate them floundering against the waves and currents of the Adriatic. A Coast Guard helicopter had flown Valeria and Alex to the hospital in Venice, while Caleb was loaded onto Ava’s boat.

They held Alex in isolation for a few days until they determined that he carried no sign of the plague. During that time, he occupied himself by reading every book by Jane Austen. They would probably never be his favorite, but he enjoyed them because she had read them.

And he waited…

At last, the hospital removed Valeria from isolation. Knowing he wouldn’t want to leave once he was with her, Alex had showered and taken a brief nap. When he returned, Mani told him that one of the nurses had actually spoken to Valeria and that she had responded but was now, again asleep. Although Alex was ecstatic, he knew that if it had been any of the nurses who knew him, they would’ve sent for him immediately so that he could see her.

Entering her room for the first time in ten days, Alex drew a deep breath, knowing he had to calm himself before facing her. Then he sat next to her on the bed, enjoying the feel of her hand inside his as he held it—waiting for her to again wake. He desperately wanted to take her in his arms but her damaged body had too many tubes running into it. He kissed her forehead and she began to move slowly, pulling against the tubes and wires. At last, she was breaking through the fog.

“Hey, beautiful!”

With great effort, Valeria forced her eyes open. She could see him. She looked around the large room. Her bed was in the center, surrounded by equipment, many of which were attached to her or could be moved easily, should the need arise. The glass wall in front of her led to a nurse’s station. She couldn’t recall how she had gotten there. She remembered a moment when a nurse had asked her if there was anyone they should contact for her and Valeria felt as if she’d done the right thing.

Alex watched as she took in her surroundings, and then suddenly he noticed her eyes. They were that the rare combination reserved for them. It was the color that he had painted her so often—oracle blue.
Her
color
.

Just then, Mani entered. “How is my favorite patient?” Valeria smiled and her eyes went back to Alex. She took a deep breath and coughed, then winced. “Sore,” she managed.

Valeria looked around at the wires and tubes coming from her, but she became distracted when she heard someone throwing their weight around at the nurse’s station. It wasn’t the first time Alex had heard it.

“It’s very good to see you alert!” Mani said. “The last few days you have been in and out of consciousness. How much do you remember?” Valeria shrugged.

Mani continued, “We’ve kept you here in the ICU because of the plague isolation. But really, the fever has broken and I think you are doing well. I’d like to see you out of here in a few days.”

“I want to go home,” Valeria said, her voice hoarse but stronger.

“Yes. I imagine you would! And there’s someone else who has been especially anxious for you to leave here.”

Valeria smiled sweetly at Alex. Both Alex and Mani held their breath to see if there was recognition.

Before she could answer, a chalky-smooth tenor voice dominated the room. David rushed to her.  “Darling! How are you?”

At first dismissing Alex and Mani, he smiled down at Valeria. His eyes narrowed when David realized that Alex was still holding her hand.

“Do you mind?” David asked impatiently. “I understand from the nurses that you saved her life but, frankly, you should have phoned me immediately. After all,
I am
Valeria’s fiancé!” He glowered at Alex, and then snapped, “How about some privacy!”

Valeria squeezed Alex’s hand slightly. He looked at her but it was David she was smiling at. Alex rose, uncertain of his new role in her heart. David immediately moved in.

“Valeria, I am taking you home!” He kissed her head. “
The plague?
See what happens when you run off on your own!”

Replaced, Alex watched painfully as David sat in the spot he had just vacated, and took Valeria’s hand in his. Alex thought something about David’s affection looked unnatural. Looking up from Valeria, David said coolly, “I believe I asked you for some privacy.”

Knowing that Alex was still watching, David leaned in to embrace Valeria. She winced. David laughed. “I guess that isn’t such a good idea yet!”

“No. Not a good idea,” Valeria rasped.

“Don’t worry, dear! I’m taking you to Prague this afternoon. I’ve cleared it with customs and I have an air ambulance that will transport you. My staff will gather the remainder of your things.”

Alex started to protest but Mani stopped him with a pat on the shoulder and slight shake of his head. David turned toward Alex. “Oh! You’re still here?” His smile stopped just short of his eyes. “I trust my staff won’t have any problems retrieving Valeria’s possessions?”

Biting his lip, Alex stared into Valeria’s eyes for anything that said that she objected to David’s plans. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

Finally, Mani spoke up. “Of course not.” Alex’s heart felt as if it had dropped through the floor. Valeria seemed all right with David’s plans. Mani paused a moment, then asked, “Mr. Wiley, how did you learn Valeria was here?”

David looked surprised by the question. “Why, when Valeria regained consciousness, she asked the nurse to phone me as her next of kin.” Then David looked at Valeria. “You caused me quite a scare in the meanwhile!”

Completely disregarding Alex, David continued, “Doctor, she can leave with my medical team, can’t she? I’ve already cleared all the documentation required.”

Mani nodded slowly. “Yes. However, she has been quite ill. I recommend that she stay here a few more days so that I can continue to follow her progress.”

“Thank you, doctor. I’ve done my research and, while it does seem that you’re qualified, I’ll be bringing in my own team of experts. I can bring them
here
, if necessary.”

Alex started to speak up, but Mani took his arm and guided him from the room. “We’ll give you some privacy.” Stopping at the nurse’s station, Mani gave instructions for Valeria’s release.

Alex and Mani walked through the double doors and into the corridor. A glassed hallway overlooked the parking lot and the hills to the north of Venice. Alex began pacing. “What’s going on Mani? How can she leave with him? He didn’t even notice her eyes. He doesn’t
know
her! He doesn’t love her. And
she doesn’t love him!
” His face contorted with anger. “Please! You’ve got to stop this.”

Mani patted Alex’s back. “My friend, I do not know what to tell you. She has not said anything to me that indicates that she recalls any of the past few weeks. After all, it was quite a physical trauma with the disease and the hypothermia, to say nothing of the drowning. We spoke of amnesia. We knew it was a risk.” Mani stopped to gauge Alex’s reaction. “Sometimes after a trauma, a person loses their memories surrounding the incident; sometimes, it can be as far back as the months leading up to the incident. Very occasionally, they don’t recall their life at all. So it is a good thing that she remembers David.”

Alex started hyperventilating, his breaths growing short as his heart accelerated. “I could have sworn I saw familiarity in her eyes when she looked at me!” He searched for Mani’s agreement.

“I was not so certain.”

Alex’s pace quickened as he grew more frantic. “Well, is she…one of us now? I mean, she's past her twenty-seventh birthday. That has to mean something! And her eyes...”

“I’ve looked at her blood from before the drowning and after and—”

He interrupted Mani. “And?”

“They are identical.”

Alex shook his head in disbelief. “Do you mean all of that was a waste? It can’t be! She’s alive!”

Mani continued, “Both tests indicate that her DNA is the same as ours—immortal. I do not know what changes have taken place within her. I cannot be certain about her memory, and I do not know if she is now truly immortal. I apologize.”

Finally, it all sunk in. She had lived past her twenty-seventh birthday, but she didn’t seem to remember him. It appeared that she was immortal, but there was no way of knowing if they’d lifted the curse, unless she aged or died. Would she still reincarnate if she did? These were all unknowns. And now she was leaving to marry David. Alex dropped his head in despair.

He heard the doors open and saw David enter the hallway. “Excuse me, doctor,” David said, grabbing Mani’s attention. “We really do need to leave now. Can you release her? Or should I bring my people in to handle this? Also, I’ve brought her some clothes. Please have a nurse dress her.”

Mani nodded, patting Alex on the back before returning to the ICU. Alex sat down on the bench, weak from the realization of his new reality. Less than thirty minutes later, David was pushing Valeria past him. She wore her hair in a ponytail. The slacks were dressier than he knew she would like. She would have preferred jeans and a T-shirt. Despite that, and everything she had been through, she looked beautiful. But she also looked terribly fragile. Valeria seemed to give Alex a sympathetic look as David wheeled her past him.

Before he could stop himself, Alex was standing by her side at the elevator. “Val, I want you to know that…” He squeezed his eyes shut and drew in a deep breath. “I want whatever is best for you,
even if it’s David
.”

“That’s very kind of you,” David said coldly, as the elevator door opened and he started to push Valeria’s wheelchair forward.

Without looking at David, Alex placed both of his hand on her chair, blocking its forward movement and then kneeled down to Valeria’s eye level.

“I’m not done yet!” Alex said, shaking slightly from his outburst. He turned his attention to Valeria.

“Beautiful, things may change for you as you heal. Just
please, do this for me
…it’s the only thing I’ll ask of you. Don’t make any major decisions about your life until you’ve had a chance to heal.”

Alex saw Valeria wince as a flicker of pain crossed her eyes; they softened as she said, “I’m afraid it’s too late for that.” She brushed her hand through Alex’s hair. With that, David pulled the wheelchair back and maneuvered around Alex to board the elevator. A few minutes later Alex watched helplessly from the second floor window as the black limo pulled in front of the hospital’s entrance.