The Stranger

“Who is that man, Geena?” Cousin Jason asked curiously. I scanned the crowd of friends and relatives for the person he was talking about. 

There.

The man in question was well-dressed in a suit and tie. He was quite attractive with strikingly green eyes and a sharp haircut to his black hair. His height was also impressive on his leanly muscled body. Standing at seven feet at least, he towered over all the other guests. The strangest thing about him was how the other guests instinctively avoided him as they leisurely interacted with each other. No one made eye contact if they could help it. And for all of his attractiveness, the women weren’t checking him out either. Which - considering my friends - was just madness. 

Who was he? 

He wasn’t standing close enough to anyone to be claimed. He was just there. Lazily nibbling on a teacake and looking around the manor. Seeming to feel the weight of my stare, his head swiveled to mine. My breath caught. In his eyes, I saw all my secrets laid bare. All my thoughts were made plain as my lithe body heated up almost unbearably. No wonder no one would meet that fathomless gaze! I stood frozen, too terrified to move or even breathe too hard. Then something else caught his attention and his intense gaze left mine. Instantly, the spell was broken. I bent over a little to catch my breath. 

“Are you okay?” Jason asked in concern. I nodded quickly, not wanting to admit that something was wrong and ruin the party. This was the first time I’d opened my home to anyone in the three years since my parents passed away. After a slick road had claimed them one balmy Spring day in Hawaii, I’d lost the will to exist. We’d been so very close - three peas in a pod all my life. Going off to college at 17 had damn near broken the three of us, but we’d survived. Barely. Then, ten years after my graduation - two years after I passed the bar and moved back home to practice law - they were gone. They died on a date night for them. The irony that the last thing we did was argue about my single status was not lost on me. 

Thanks to their substantial life savings and insurance, I no longer had to work for a living. It often felt like they were haunting me in this giant house. Everything here reminded me of them. Maybe that’s why I never left. I liked it. I loved feeling their presence as if they were still around. I didn’t date. I didn’t go out with the girls for drinks. I just wandered the halls or read in the library. It was a restful existence; I thoroughly enjoyed the quiet. 

“Geena, darling! I simply aDORE what you’ve done with the place! Who helped you? I’ve been dying to redecorate my condo.” ‘Aunt’ Terrence had a great deal more to say about my place, but I tuned her out. Something about the look of my walls was bothering me. It felt like I was looking at a mirage for a moment. Then everything settled and I let the soothing flow of multiple conversations flow over me. Everything was fine. It was just the shock of seeing some strange dude I didn’t invite to my house. “So… who is the yummy man over by the piano?” Aunt Terrence’s question grabbed my attention.

“I haven’t a clue,” I shrugged, forcing my voice to sound nonchalant instead of borderline frantic. “I did invite a bunch of my friends from the law office. Perhaps one of them brought him as a plus one.” This appeased my uncle-turned-aunt and she smiled at me happily. 

“It’s so good to see you interacting with the world again, darling! I was so worried that you would just continue to waste away in this Manor. What prompted you to throw this holiday bash? An attractive young man, perhaps?” She glanced at the stranger coyly but averted her eyes just as quickly. That was odd for her. Aunt Terrence loved to ogle men. And one as young and distinguished as the stranger should have been prime real estate. In fact, why was she over here? The woman should have been over there staking her claim since she finished her transition. But here she was, covering her nerves by being extra charming with me and my favorite cousin. 

I watched as one of my uncles approached the stranger. His movements were jerky and reluctant, almost as if he didn’t want to go over there. What in the world was going on?

“I think Uncle Bill might be a little drunk. I’d better go rescue him before he embarrasses himself to the stranger. Excuse me.” I put down my flute of champagne on a passing tray, took a fortifying breath to settle my nerves at the thought of approaching the stranger, and walked away from my stammering aunt and gaping cousin. Although talking to the two of them was safe and comfortable, I needed to be a good hostess and circulate through the party. Ousting a guest who was clearly making everyone uncomfortable was a good start to my hosting duties. I blinked and Uncle Bill was gone. Huh?

“He wanted some air,” an unfamiliar but soothing bass voice sounded in my ear. I whipped around and the stranger was behind me. I felt his hands in my curly locks and shivered. How had I ever been afraid of this man? He pushed my thick hair off my pale shoulders and I shivered at his touch. Who was this man?

“Are you ready to go?” he whispered in my ear. I shuddered from the pleasure of that deep, soothing voice, then blinked as his words registered.

“I… I um…” I cleared my suddenly dry throat and tried again. “I’m the hostess. I can’t go anywhere.”

“Oh, but your guests are taking care of themselves, Lovely.” My body once again heated up. His arms wrapped around my middle and I shivered. His touch felt familiar. Safe. 

“Who are you?”

“You know who I am, Lovely,” he murmured against my neck. “You have longed for my embrace for so long…” His hands…

The music was suddenly louder than before. 

“I should… I should turn that down,” I said disjointedly. Why was I in his arms? I didn’t even know his name. Hell, I’d never seen this man before tonight! Yet, I was so tempted to lie peacefully in his embrace.

Something is wrong with the music…

It wasn’t my mix of generic Christmas tunes. It was… loud and chaotic. Instead of the dancing from before, it looked like… running…

Was that smoke?

“Come away with me, lovely one,” he coaxed me. I shook my head and looked closely at my party. It was a mix of calm conversations and complete pandemonium as all the people packed in the manor attempted to escape the burning inferno that my house had become. I gasped and the burning sensation on my skin increased a thousand-fold. I cried out in pain and then it was gone.

“Shh… it’s alright.”

“WHAT? What’s-” The party was back to the way it should be. “How did you- What did you- How did this happen?” I finally settled on. I was suddenly in the kitchen, where the old-fashioned burners were left partially on along with the oven. The fire started, consuming everything in there before running out of oxygen. I watched myself open the door and take the full brunt of the backdraft as the fire rushed out to fill a new room. My body hit the back wall and burned as everyone panicked. 

Looking at myself burning alive, I shuddered. But the Stranger was there to comfort me. “It’s alright. Are you ready to come with me now?”

The floodgates opened and I started sobbing. I sobbed for my parents, who I still missed. I sobbed for every wasted minute of my life up to this point. I sobbed for what could have been and what would never be. But more than anything, I mourned the loss of life and limb my innocent blunder would cause in the people that I cared about. My Stranger held me through it all, letting me cry as if He knew that I needed this. 

After weeping for what felt like decades or centuries, I whimpered and fell silent. He squeezed my middle comfortingly. “Better, Lovely?” I nodded, not trusting my voice. “Are you ready to go?”

“Yes,” I hiccupped. He produced a napkin from nowhere and wiped the tears and snot from my face. “Why bother?” I asked in a tiny voice I didn’t recognize.

“You should look your best for this, Lovely,” He said teasingly. Once I was cleaned up, he took my hand and kissed it. “Come with me, little one.” I nodded and took my first step into my new journey, confident that as long as the Stranger’s hand was in mine I would be okay.