His Eyes/The Triumph of the Jet

I had forgotten that I had written this...

His Eyes

Anna Rohaly

Blue eyes,

the color of

the sky before a storm.

These eyes pierce me

like a ray of light

through the clouds.

They look for me across

the room, drawing

my gaze to meet his.

His face softens

and the clouds

drift from his eyes,

blue eyes.

 Its been a while since I posted so I'll put this up too :-)

The Triumph of the Jet

Anna Rohaly

Maria was pushing the cart while her two children trailed along behind her. Four year old a Sarah was trying to put cereal boxes into the cart, revealing her sweet tooth in her choices. Lucky Charms, Coco Puffs, and Trix were all dragged behind her as she toddled towards the cart. Maria sighed as she refused the cereal for the third time.

“Jeremy can you – ” She turned to see that he was gone again. She heard little “hero noises” coming from the other side of the wall. She left the cart and walked around to the other side of the isle. “Jeremy please stop disappearing and stay with me!” The eight year old boy turned to face her, making his superhero cape flutter. He caught the edges of the red cloth and ran towards her so that the cape flew out behind him. Maria smiled and together with her goggled son turned back to the cart and – Sarah! Maria flew around the corner but it was too late. Sarah was already gone.

~*~

Henry looked up and saw the young woman and her be-goggled and caped son come running around the corner, he assumed that she was the mother of the child who had been there just a second ago. He turned to see where the child went and understood the mother's worry. The girl was gone.
“Did you see my daughter?” She asked, fear creasing her face in the most unattractive way.

“I did and I thought she was just behind me but she's gone now,” Henry said apologetically and watched as the pair rushed off. He turned back to look at the wall in front of him, not really knowing what he was looking at. He had never backed a cake and his wife Amy's birthday was tomorrow. He wanted to do something she would consider sweet. He sighed. They hadn't been doing so well lately and he really felt like she was just a few more fights away from leaving him. He had wanted to buy her a beautiful cake from the bakery, but with his medical school bills coming in to bite him, he couldn't afford one of their cakes and a present. Besides, she would enjoy his attempts to bake even if he failed miserably. He sighed again, staring at the boxes of cake mix, vaguely hoping the easiest one would just hop off the shelf and into his basket for him.

“Excuse me, sir?” he turned to see a beautiful woman, a few years younger than him, walking towards him. She was wearing the store uniform and her golden hair sparkled under the florescent lights and her name tag glinted “Allyson.” She looked remarkably like Amy as she smiled at him. “Did you need help with anything?”

Heat flooded his face as he had to stop himself from checking her out. She was gorgeous and it made his head reel.

“Um, yeah, if you know how to bake a cake,” He said, feeling like an idiot. He looked over his shoulder, just to make sure Amy wasn't in the store watching him. He turned back to Allyson and put on a charming smile.

“I think I might remember how,” She said, “Lets see what we've got.”

Together they turned to the cake mix and Henry looked with new fascination as she pointed out a chocolate cherry cake on top. It was Amy's favorite cake, it occurred to him vaguely as he tried not to imagine Allyson's mouth.

“Alright, this recipe calls for some eggs and milk, so we have to head to the other end of the store,” Allyson was saying. Henry nodded and fell into step with her as she turned to walk down the isle. On the way there, they passed the woman with her daughter by the vegetable stand and vaguely wondered how they had found her before his thoughts turned again to Allyson.

~*~

Maria had left the man standing in front of the cakes feeling quite annoyed as well as worried. If she had seen a child wondering around a store she would have stopped them and asked if they were lost and talked until a parent arrived. Apparently he did not know the first thing about children.

Her panic was rising as she and Jeremy raced up and down the isles and Sarah was no where to be found. Reaching the other end of the store, she turned back and ran towards the manager's station where she knew Michael would be working.

She had met Michael shortly after her husband had died. He was a nice man and she knew that he would be willing to help her look for Sarah.

“Michael!” She called to him. He turned and waved, then paused, seeing her face.

“Michael, I can't find Sarah, she wandered off while I had my back turned and I can't find her. I've looked everywhere and I – ” Michael was already on his way out from behind the counter. He put his arm around her shoulders.

“Breath Maria, it's going to be alright,” His blue eyes looked at her, “We will find her. I promise.”

They went off towards all of Sarah's favorite spots in the grocery store. They sprinted to the cereal isle, to the candy isle, and to the dairy section before going back to comb the rest of the store with Jeremy and his cape flying out behind him. Michael was making an announcement over the loud speaker as the man who had last seen her baby walked past. Maria could not help but wonder if he actually knew where her child had gone.

“Maria, lets go look in the cart, possibly she dropped something in there,” Michael said taking her hand and leading her back to the cart. “Is there anything missing?”

Maria looked down into the cart and began checking off the items in her mind.

“The vegetables,” She cried, “The vegetables are gone!”

“Maybe she went in that direction then,” Michael replied and together they took off down the isle to look for her.

“Sarah!” Maria called, panic rising when she did not see her daughter. Michael held up his hand for a moment, pausing as an idea struck him. He headed towards the table holding the apples and Maria followed closely. As they approached the table Maria could see the cloth runner move. Diving to her knees she ripped back the cloth and was met with her sight of her daughter trying to shove carrots down a floor drain.

~*~

“You'll need two eggs and and some milk,” Allyson said, flashing Henry a smile that consumed his attention far more than her words. Still, her smile brought a sweet memory of Amy from before they were married. He pushed the thought away as Allyson began to tell him step by step how to create this cake. As she kept talking he came to a decision. He wanted to see her again.

As he opened his mouth to mention to her the possibility of meeting later at a bar just as her cell phone started ringing.

“Oh, it's my sister, excuse me for just a second,” Allyson said, her face looking worried. “We haven't talked for years.” She flipped open her cell phone and turned away from him.

“Hello?” Allyson said hesitantly. She was met with an audible stream of tears. Henry had to stop a moment, pretending not to be listening. The crying sounded vaguely familiar. The woman on the other side of the phone started talking.

“Ally its Henry,” He started at his name. “I don't think he really loves me anymore” and she burst into tears again. He did not need to hear Allyson's next comment to know who it was.

“Aw, Amy I'm sure that's not true!” Allyson's voice had softened.

It was his wife. Allyson was his wife's estranged sister. Henry picked up a carton of eggs, feeling shame fill him as his ears filled with the sound of his wife's desperate tears. He no longer wanted Allyson's company. It was time for him to go home. He had a cake to bake.

Turning away and leaving Allyson behind him, he walked away to go home to his wife. It was then that he heard the shots.

~*~

While his mother had been searching for Sarah, Jeremy had grown bored of searching for his sister behind mother. He would search for her himself. After all, he was Jeremy Jet, the superhero of the century! Holding his cape out behind him he began sneaking through the store, whispering and calling his sister.

As he approached the dairy section, he saw an old woman leaning over the yogurts. She looked nice. He began creeping closer and closer, practicing his invisibility powers to get near her. He watched her and as he watched, he noticed a man walking quietly towards the woman. The man looked suspicious. Jeremy Jet would keep watch over the old lady.

The man walked up to the cart and reached into her purse and pulled out her wallet, glancing at the license. Jeremy gasped as the man pulled out a gun and aimed it at the old woman's back.

“NOOOOOO!” yelled Jeremy and he ran out from behind the shelves, flying towards the man full speed. The man whirled around, shock on his face. The gun went off and Jeremy Jet fell from the sky.

~*~

Henry ran through the store towards the sound of the gun shots. Turning around the corner he felt the air in his lungs freeze as he saw the bodies on the floor. The woman's son in his cape and goggles was lying floor blood pooling out around him and a man, a gun in his hand, lay on the floor with a bullet hole between his eyes. An old woman stood holding a smoking gun. Michael held up his hands.

“I'm a doctor. Can I please help the boy?” he asked, hoping he wouldn't be shot. The old woman knelt down next to boy and, reaching up, pulled off a wig.

“CIA,” she said pulling out a badge, “Please help him.”

Henry dropped down to his knees and began to do CPR while the CIA agent put pressure on the bullet wound.

~*~

Three months later, Maria and Michael sat on the floor of Maria's living room watching Sarah play with her toys. On the mantel above them was the picture of Jeremy that they had used at his memorial service. Maria tried to avoid looking at it when the doorbell rang.

“I'll go get it,” she said quietly, and before Michael could give her a worried look, she got up and walked stoically to the door. Pulling it open she found a lovely young woman standing on the doorstep, her blond hair reaching down to the middle of her back, a black velvet box in her hand.

“Ms. Mortel?” She looked hesitant and sad as Maria nodded. “I'm Special Agent Heather Couff from the CIA. May I come in for a moment?”

Maria opened the door and let the guest inside. She lead her into the living room where she sat down on the couch with Michael and called Sarah. She came and sat on Maria's lap.

“I'm not sure if you recognize me,” Heather said, “but I'm the agent that Jeremy saved from getting shot in the back. I'm so sorry...”

The young woman looked down at her hands and blinked hard for a moment. Maria sniffled and hugged Sarah too tightly while Michael put his arm around her. Heather looked up again.

“I wanted to get this in time for his memorial service, but I did not receive it until today,” She handed Maria the velvet box. Inside was a medal, the Medal of Honor. “It took me a while to get permission as Jeremy was not in the military,” Heather explained, “It's a medal signifying an act of heroism. Because the man who shot him was a high end security risk and because Jeremy's sacrifice made it possible for the man to be eliminated, the government has decided that Jeremy deserves this medal. I'm so sorry that we cannot offer you more.”

The conversation continued for a while before Heather left. They shared stories of Jeremy's time as a “superhero” and the rest of his childhood. When Heather left, they sent her on her way with the picture of Jeremy.

“Thank you so much,” Heather said, cradling the photo in her hands. “I'll keep this on my desk at work. It will be a nice reminder.”

When she returned from seeing Heather to the door, Maria stood at the entrance to the door. Walking over to Jeremy's picture, she placed the Medal of Honor next to the frame.

“You will always be my hero,” she whispered quietly, brushing the frames with her fingertips.