AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My eyes areclosed tight as I rest my cheek atop Rey’s head, holding her as she succumbs to the emotions Mari’s words have pulled from her, as I’d known they would.
It would be impossible foranyonewho’d seen the love they shared to have been unmoved by that damn green book.
I open my eyes when I feel the boat tilt to the side slightly, knowing from my previous research that we should be rounding the edge of the bay now, but even so, I’m unprepared for the sight that greets me.
“Look, Rey!”
At my request, Rey lifts her tear-stained face from my chest, and when her eyes land on the bay before us, her expression shifts to sheer wonderment.
“Is that…are we…?” She turns wide, hopeful eyes to mine.
I nod easily, and those chocolaty orbs fill with fresh tears.
“Yes, baby. It’s Playa Conchal.”
The idyllic shoreline grows nearer and nearer until the boat moors on the empty shoreline.
The entire strand is devoid of all signs of life except for a small white gazebo that’s set up away from the shore, the white fabric sides gently fluttering in the breeze.
This day has been a while in the making. Having read the green book in the days after Mari’s passing, I’d gotten the ball rolling on securing this beach for our private use.
One special day for closure.
For Rey.
And for Mari.
I disembark, holding a hand out to assist a wide-eyed Rey as her eyes devour the scene before her.
“No wonder it was her favorite place.”
Her words are softly spoken, and despite the tears glistening in her eyes, her mouth draws up like a bow with a smile so dazzling I’m mesmerized.
“I canfeeltheir presence so powerfully.” She looks around the empty strand, her eyelids softly closing as she raises her face to the sun's rays.
“They’re here.” Her chin tilts down, allowing her eyes to find mine. “Do you feel them?”
She reaches down to slip off her sandals as I stand awestruck by how this trip has buoyed her. I watch silently as she digs her hands into the unusual sand before glancing back up at me with her head tilted to the side in an unspoken question that I’m too happy to answer.
“This place is a white shell magnet.”
Her brows gather as her eyes glisten with unshed tears. “Oh my God.”
Her breath catches on a sob.
“All of my life, I’ve wondered why she called me her pretty little seashell—mi conchita linda—and now Ifinallyunderstand.”
She looks back at the white seashells beneath our feet, dashing away her tears before smoothing her palms across the sand. Then she laughs aloud, grabbing a handful and grinding it in her fist before she looks up at me once more with a bright, wondrous smile. “It’s out of this world. She never spoke of this before.”
Wistfulness flits across her perfect face, and I quickly reach down to intertwine our fingers, gently tugging her against my side.
“Come on. It’swaypast lunch.”
We journey closer to the white gazebo, and when she spots two smiling attendants waiting, she stops dead in her tracks to turn to me.
“Alex, today…today—no, thisentire triphas been amazing. It’s too much! It’s—”
I cut her off, pressing my index finger over her lips firmly. “It’s nothing less than you deserve, Reyna Mar…” I trail off for a beat, but quickly readjust my words to reflect my thoughts.
