Melons and Emeralds, The Green Eyes Series

It was Devin’s second weekend at PIGC and he was on the island of Kona in the town of Kailua-Kona with many of the students. It was PIGC’s monthly trip to the island designed to give the children’s mind a break from their studies.

Devin loved seeing people of so many races on the island. Everyone was so friendly to the children even the shopkeepers.

Devin decided he would send souvenirs to his mother and Sheila. He and Lillie went into a shop that sold a wide variety of items. As he was looking at some nice necklaces a young woman came up to him.

“These are very nice aren’t they?” she said to him.

“Yes, they…” he began as he looked up into her face. His words stuck in his throat. He could not take his eyes off of her nor could he speak. She was a very beautiful woman with brown skin but not like the Hawaiians. She smiled as she stared into his eyes. Devin didn’t smile. As he looked into her eyes he knew they were the same color as his father’s eyes. They were just like his own eyes. Her nose was like his father’s but her lips were thinner.

She turned away from him and looked at the necklaces laid out neatly on a table.

“My brother Kevin got one of these for his wife years ago.” She lifted a necklace made out of shells. Devin looked down at the necklace and remembered a similar one his mother treasured.

“Where is he?” he whispered finally finding his voice. He gently placed his hand on top of her hand.

“He’s watching but don’t look for him. If you concentrate really hard you may see him and hear him.” She paused then said with intensity in her voice, “Those dreams are real.” She took his hand and squeezed it. The warmth of her hand traveled up his arm.

“How did you know?”

“You’re my nephew and you are as special as your family.” All this time she never looked back at him but kept her eyes on the jewelry. She turned away from him and let go of his hand. Devin watched as a folded slip of paper fluttered to the floor. He bent down to retrieve it. When he stood up she was gone.

“Those are pretty,” said Lillie coming up behind him. Devin slipped the paper into his PIGC pants pocket.

“I think I’ll get one for my fiancée,” Devin said turning to her.

“You’re too young to have a fiancée.”

Devin smiled and picked up the one similar to his mother’s. He couldn’t wait to get alone so he could read the slip of paper.

“Did he have contact with anyone?” Trent said exasperatedly.

“He talked to a lot of people sir. All of the kids did.” Carl didn’t understand why he was being questioned about Devin.

“Well did his mood change or did he do anything unusual?”

“No. Not at all except…”

“Except what?”

“Well, come to think of it, he and another student threw some paper into the ocean. Mr. Clark talked to them about polluting the waters.”

“What kind of paper?”

“I don’t know. Maybe receipts they had ripped up. I really just don’t know. It all seemed innocent to me. Wasn’t it?”

Trent sighed. He knew Carl was confused and decided to let it drop. “I’m sure it was. In the future just let me know in advance when the children are going off this island. Devin is a very special boy and I guess I’m just overprotective. Thank you for answering my questions, Carl. You are doing a great job at this campus.” He patted Carl on his back.

“Thank you, Mr. Gaydos,” Carl smiled. He really liked Trent and the compliment went straight to his ego.

“Write a new letter to your mother. Give it to Mr. Jones.”

Devin saw each letter that had been on the paper as clearly as if he were looking at it. After the instructions to write a new letter was an urgent request for him to destroy the paper.

The request he had accomplished on the boat but he had not written the letter yet.

His mind refocused on his aunt. He’d never met any relatives on his father’s side. His father’s side of the family was even a mystery to his mother. Now of all the places in the world, he meets an aunt in Hawaii.

“He’s watching but don’t look for him. If you concentrate really hard you may see him and hear him.”

What did she mean? As he laid on his comfortable bed he closed his eyes and thought about the last dream he’d had about his father. She had said the dreams were real. Had he really been seeing his father all these years?

He concentrated on the dark face with the shining green eyes he had seen in the dream. In his mind, he urgently called out to the man with the braids. After a few minutes, he gave up, thinking he was acting crazy.

“Try again!” a voice in his head demanded.

Devin bolted up in his bed. He looked around the room but he knew it was the same voice that guided him in the library.

“You must try again Devin!” the voice commanded urgently.

Devin scooted his back to his propped up pillow. He closed his eyes and tried to find the voice.

“Concentrate.”

“I am concentrating!” he shouted in frustration, opening up his eyes.

“You are so much like your mother,” the voice laughed.

“So I can really hear you?” Devin whispered.

“Yes, but you can’t seem to see me unless you are sleeping.”

“You can see me?”

“I’ve always been able to see you.”

“Can you see mom?”

“Only when you are near her. She does not have our green eyes.”

“Her eyes are brown.”

“Her eyes are beautiful.” There was silence as Devin and Kevin thought about Belinda. “Chris is coming back from the lab. Go to your desk and write a letter to your mother. Tell her everything.”

“Are you leaving me, Daddy?”

“I’ve never left you, Devin!” There was pain and sadness in his voice. It brought tears to Devin’s eyes.

“I guess I always suspected that,” Devin said softly as he got off his bed and sat at his desk.

“By the way, I think Sheila is a perfect friend for you.”

“We are going to get married when we grow up. Will you come to the wedding?” There was silence in Devin’s head. “Daddy? Dad, are you here?”

“I’m here Devin … son. Somehow I’ll be there at your wedding. I promise. Chris is at the door. Start your letter.”

Devin rewrote his first letter but added his experience talking to his father. As he wrote he wasn’t sure his mother would believe him. Everything seemed so crazy. Even he had a hard time believing his father was talking in his head.

As he finished the letter his father urged him to write a P.S. He was embarrassed to write the gushy words of love his father said to his mother but he knew they meant so much to his father and would mean even more to his mother. He sealed and addressed the letter then stuck it in his backpack for when he had a chance to give it to Mr. Jones.