Lilies And Hurricanes I

865 A.D

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Tomorrow was the anniversary of the day Hannah and Garin arrived in Amania and he had a special surprise planned for Hannah. He decided to keep her in the dark for the entire day so he could get everything he needed in place for tonight.

Garin was supposed to go to work today but he decided not to so he could plan his surprise instead. If everything was to go smoothly, he would need some help so he asked a few of his friends to help him out and their most important job was to make Hannah think that Garin was going to be at work so she wouldn’t suspect that he was planning anything.

They arrived at his house in the morning to “get him” so they could “get to work” on some new projects. Hannah was all dressed and ready to head out to her school for the day but seeing the two men at their home so early in the morning aroused her suspicion.

“Fara, Abu, what brings the two of you here this early in the morning?” Hannah asked after she saw them in the living room speaking to Garin.

“Oh, good morning Hannah,” Fara answered.

“We were on our way to the site and we decided to pick Garin up on our way. We need our Master builder with us at all times so we can build the biggest ship this land has ever seen,” Abu said to her.

What he said wasn’t technically a lie because the people of Amania were planning to build the biggest ship the world had ever seen and Garin was chosen as the lead builder to oversee the project. The process had begun but today wasn’t a work day thankfully for them, Hannah didn’t know that.

“It’s a bit ambitious but I believe we can do it,” Garin said and went over to Hannah.

“So, when will I see this ship?” Hannah asked as he encircled her in his arms.

“No one but the builders can see the ship until it’s ready. So, I’m sorry but you’ll have to wait just like everyone else,” Garin said and kissed her.

“So, what’s the point of being the wife of the Master builder if he can’t bend the rules for me?” Hannah teased.

“Come on,” Garin laughed, “You should get going. You’re going to be late for school.”

“You’re right,” Hannah realized she was getting late, “I will see you at sundown. Have a great day at work, honey,” She walked toward the door.

“You too, baby,” He replied.

She walked out the door and Garin quickly went to the window to see how far she had gone. He watched her until she was out of sight and after she was gone, he turned to face his friends.

“Men, it’s show time,” He said.

“Great! Let’s do it,” Abu said.

“You all remember the plan, right?” Garin asked.

“Of course, we do,” Fara said, “We’ll begin building the gazebo at the back of the house while you…what are you doing again?” He wondered.

“I’m heading to the edge of the river on the other side of the peninsula to get some Angel Lilies. Hannah loves them and this is the only time of year they bloom which perfectly fits the occasion,” Garin said as he prepared to leave.

“So, you’re saying that you’re going to walk that many miles to get a bunch of flowers that stay alive for just a day to surprise your wife for your anniversary of arriving in Amania?” Fara asked, trying to understand.

“That’s right,” Garin said with a smile.

“If that’s not true love, I don’t know what is,” Abu said.

“Make sure you design the gazebo exactly as I drew it out, guys. This is really important to me,” He said as he left the house to go get the Angel Lilies.

“Would you do that for your wife?” Abu asked Fara.

“What? You mean, run off to Koki River for hours to get a stupid flower? No way,” Fara replied with a scoff.

“Hmm, I guess we can’t all be like Garin. Come on, let’s get to work,” Abu said and the two men went to get their materials out of their barrow so they could begin the work.

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Garin began his long trek to Koki River to get the lily for Hannah. He remembered the first time they stumbled upon the rare flower and how much Hannah loved it. When she found out it was called Angel Lilies, she loved it even more. He had made a habit of getting her Angel Lilies on special occasions and this was no exception.

Garin walked very far and the bright day began to dim down a little bit the farther he got. The clouds began to cover up the sun ad darken everywhere and by the looks of things, it was going to rain.

“Where did this suddenly come from?” Garin asked himself but he didn’t let the sudden change of weather stop or deter him from getting that flower; if anything, it encouraged him because it was looking like his perfect evening with Hannah would not happen as he had planned so he would need something special to salvage their night.

Garin finally made it to Koki River and the rain hadn’t let down a drop yet. He went to the edge of the river and grabbed a handful of the rare flower and smiled happily as he imagined the look on Hannah’s face when he would give them to her.

Suddenly, Garin sensed something he hadn’t sensed for a long time; a sensation tingling his spine, a zing in his ears and what felt like reptiles in his stomach. Someone was watching him and he knew it was one of his siblings and based on his experience, whenever a demon showed up, something terrible was about to happen.

“I know you’re here! Show yourself,” Garin demanded to whichever of his siblings was watching him.

“Oh Garin, your perceptiveness always amazes me. I still have no idea how you managed to retain that trait despite not being a demon anymore,”

“I should have known it was you, Zarif,” Garin said to him.

Zarif made himself visible and stood right in front of Garin with a single Angel Lily in his hand.

“Who else could it be? I’m the only one who seems to care that you even still exist,” Zarif said just as the flower withered and died in his hand.

“I want to ask why you’re here but I’m sure it has something to do with me. Is Father still upset that I’m well and happy? Did he send you to come here and cause me harm?” Garin asked.

“Oh, Garin,” Zarif sighed and took a step forward, “You seriously need to get over yourself. Just because you’re the first demon to fall in love with an angel since the beginning of time doesn’t make you special that Father would spend so much of his time obsessing over you.”

“If you’re not here for me, then why are you here?” Garin was running out of patience.

“I’m here to enjoy the show live and direct from the source,” Zarif answered mysteriously.

“What show? What are you talking about?” Garin didn’t understand what he meant by that.

“It seems you need a reminder of the reasons demons come to the Earth,” Zarif said.

The weather was starting to get worse as the trees shook around aggressively because of the violent howls of the powerful winds.

“I remember quite clearly; to cause chaos or to watch it unfold…” Garin said and immediately understood.

“There it is,” Zarif said when he saw that Garin was starting to get it, “Something big is coming, Garin and a lot of Amans are going to die and I for one, am going to enjoy every single second of it.”

The demon looked up at the sky and it had gotten even darker as the storm clouds encased the peninsula and as far as the eye could see. The first few drops of rain fell on the Earth and hit Garin on the shoulder and as he felt the water, he knew that the coming storm wasn’t going to be a small or normal one; it was going to be massive and severely destructive.

“Good luck, brother. You and your wife will need it,” Zarif said before he disappeared in a puff of dark smoke.

“Hannah.”

Garin dropped the bundle of lilies and began running back to the village to get to his beloved wife. A hurricane was coming and it was going to be the biggest they had all ever seen and Garin could only think about getting to Hannah and keeping her safe.

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Back in the village, the rains had begun pouring so heavily and yet, it was just the first stage of the hurricane. Thankfully, the people had already prepared for such a catastrophe and with Garin’s help, they had constructed a sturdy hurricane shelter for the entirety of their population.

The building was already filling up as Hannah and several other women helped others get settled inside it. Fara and Abu had left the work they were doing for Garin and arrived at the shelter just in time and Hannah was one of the women to receive them.

“Fara, Abu, get inside quickly,” She said and then noticed that Garin wasn’t with them.

“Where is Garin?” Hannah asked the men but they remained quiet.

Hannah could feel it in her heart that something was wrong and the men’s silence only made her worry a lot more, “I asked the both of you a question. Where is Garin? Where is my husband?”