HotFlashFiction

Romantic Vignettes

The bald eagle flew through a hole in the sky. Then, all went black.

The newlyweds had been watching the sky froth and boil all morning. By noontime, there were just a few patches of blue sky visible. The sun had already been swallowed by a curling wispy finger, but bright streaks of light pierced through the openings, striking the distant mountains. Only, now those last few windows were rapidly closing. In panic, they gasped as first one, then another filled in until there wasn't anything but a dark, thick undulating cloud mass.

Farrah reached over and took Sam's hand. He had been looking up, gaping, as she had been and now stared at his wife trying to make sense of what they'd just seen. It was as dark as dusk, and as new clouds rolled over the horizon, it grew darker still. Can't say that they weren't both a little worried. Because, they were.

They had decided to climb Tijeras Peak on Mount Herard for their honeymoon, and had been slowly making their way back down the mountain, past crystal alpine lakes reflecting wildflowers and snow capped peaks. They had been hiking for nearly a week and had come through Mosca Pass yesterday, winding through the aspen forest, the trail covered with their fallen yellow leaves. Today's goal was Star Dune, the tallest sand hill in the country. They were perched on it's crest surrounded by 30 miles of dunes as darkness enveloped them.

The man and woman had been considering what to do given the change of weather when the first lightning strike hit. The Colorado dunes were littered with fulgurites, melted masses of sand left behind from previous strikes. But, once the first bolt zapped across the sky, thousands of others followed suit.

"Holy Shit! Farrah--we've got to get off this thing. NOW!"

Sam grabbed her hand and launched them down the dune. Leaping onto their sandboards, they plunged down the 750' dune, looking frantically for cover. Farrah knew if they made if out of this alive, they'd be beyond lucky. This was the craziest storm she'd ever seen. She turned when she heard Sam call her.

He was motioning for her to follow him around a bend into a ravine where there appeared to be a lip. Together, the couple scrambled under the overhang, tucking themselves against the back wall, barricading the entrance with their boards and packs.

"What the hell?! What WAS that?"

"I have NO idea, babe. But, we were almost fried out there. Did you see how many arms of lightning there were?"

"Too many!"

Sam dug out his flashlight and they sat in their makeshift hovel glaring at one another. Farrah's jacket sleeves were smoking and San's hair had literally be singed! Both had soot on the palms of their hands.

"Hold me?"

"Yeah--of course. Come here."

They sat huddled together for a long time, but still the sky cracked and crashed and roared above them.

"When will it end?" Farrah asked.

"Soon I hope."

Sam looked at his wife. She was petrified and because he had been shocked himself, he had done little to calm her. He reached out to touch her chin and sparks flew. Though she yelped at the shock, she smiled. They had somehow become electrically charged. He leaned in hesitantly for a kiss and sparks stung their lips when hers touched his.

"I have an idea," Sam said smiling while he slid Farrah down beneath him.

"Seriously?" she asked. "Now?"

"Seriously."

Scrambling out of their clothes, they made love, igniting the sizzling sand with their frantic friction. When they woke hours later, the storm had abated and pushing their bags aside they saw that the sky was lighter than it had been. The storm had passed and when they dressed and backed out of their shelter, they saw that they had made their very own lightning rock. And dead center was an entombed Tiger Beetle.

Farrah slid her hand over the freshly made glass, and handed it to Sam. Sliding it into her pack, they made their way to Medano Creek. They both had had enough of camping, and had no desire to test their fate by returning to Star Dune. The visitors center was in smoldering ruins. Sam rummaged through the wreckage but no one was left alive. The cars in the parking lot had all been hit and lay in a smoking, crumpled heap.

"Zapata Ranch?"

"Worth a shot." Before they turned out onto the highway, Sam pulled Farrah into a hug and held onto her for dear life. "Baby, I don't know what I would have done if..."

"Sam--we made it. We lived through something incredible. Something we'll be able to tell our children about someday."

He had tears welling in his eyes, and she kissed him. She felt his lips part into a smile and heard his guttural laugh.

"Ain't no way I'm ever telling THAT story!" He whispered against her mouth, still kissing her. He tapped their pilfered fulgurite, and they both laughed as they started down the road.

"Some honeymoon!" Sam said a while later.

"The Best!" Farrah agreed.

Nine months, however, he found himself willingly sharing their remarkable story as he held his beautiful red headed daughter, Blaise.