The Ghosts of Aquinnah Read Free Page A

Christopher’s mouth. “Swallow that.”
    The woman took a cloth from a nearby basin and gently rested it on Christopher’s forehead. “I think he’s running a fever, Josiah.”
    “ Of course he is. Listen to that coughin' and wheezin'. He'll be lucky if he doesn't end up with consumption.” He looked down at Christopher. “How’d you break that arm?”
    Christopher closed his eyes and tried to remember. He felt a fresh blast of pain as his mind flashed back to the wave picking him up and slamming him into the rescue boat. “The waves,” he said. “They tossed me into the side of the boat.”
    Josiah nodded. “Well we got it set. We’ll do right by ya.”
    The man busied himself with a medical bag as the woman continued to press the wet cloth to Christopher’s face and forehead. She smiled down at him.
    “ We will,” she said.
    Christopher noticed that the man looked more like the woman’s father than her husband. He was more than twice her age, and had to be at least 40 years old. He also seemed to be nearly twice her size. The man was tall and heavyset, and he cut an imposing figure in a black woolen suit. He had thick black hair with a mustache and sideburns to match and brown eyes so dark they were nearly as black as his hair. By contrast, the woman was thin and petite, with small hands and delicate features. She wore a long-sleeved white dress that buttoned up to her neck. Christopher could see waves of auburn hair pulled back from her face and hanging down her back
    He tried to lift his head and see if anyone else was in the room with them, but didn’t have the strength. “The rescuers,” he said, remembering the men in the boat. “Who rescued me?”
    “ Mr. Mayhew and some of the Gay Head Indians,” Stella answered. “Mr. Mayhew is the keeper of the lighthouse. We’re in his house now.”
    Josiah came back into Christopher’s line of sight. “We set up a hospital here for the survivors, but you’re our only patient.” He turned to his wife. “I need to head back to Chilmark and check on Mr. Lambert. You keep an eye on this one here and give him more of the laudanum when he needs it. I’ll be back for ya.”
    Stella nodded and pulled a small wooden chair up to Christopher’s bed. He wanted to ask her what her husband had meant about him being their only patient. Had no one else survived the wreck? He was sure he’d seen another survivor on the rescue boat with him. And he remembered the men who had hung beside him in the rigging. Had they all fallen and drowned? Or frozen to death before they could be rescued?
    Christopher wanted to speak, but he couldn’t form any words. He felt so sleepy, and so very hot. His body was burning inside, but he was shivering as much as he’d shivered while he was hanging on the rigging with the frozen water drenching him. His eyes grew unbearably heavy.
    The woman named Stella sat beside him and pulled a blanket up around his shoulders. He heard her softly humming as she caressed his forehead with the wet cloth. He turned his head towards her, and drifted off to sleep.

 
     
     
     
     
    2013
     
     
     
     
    “ I ’ve seen her three times now. It’s so bizarre.”
    Hannah sat at the Red Sox Café and wolfed down her grilled chicken salad. She had been eager to meet her old friend and former coworker Sarah for lunch, and now that they were seated in the noisy café she felt as if she hadn’t eaten in days. It felt great to get away from both her computer and her writer’s block.
    “ Are you sure there isn’t some kind of historical re-enactment thing going on on the island right now?” Sarah asked.
    “ Not that I’ve been able to find. And I would imagine an event like that would be advertised on the website. Plus, I’ve never heard of anything like that being held on the Vineyard.” Hannah shook her head. “I can’t imagine why she’s dressed like this.”
    Sarah took a bite of her cheeseburger. “Maybe she’s just very