Author's Note: A storm hits the island, releasing some primal instincts. Jessica comes to a decision, and turning the other cheek has its own rewards.
Chapter 4 -- Eye of the Storm
The long-awaited typhoon finally hit, as if it had amassed all the energy of the storms that had failed to form earlier in the season. The relatives helped her stock up and prepare the property for the coming storm. It was sturdily built, having survived many seasons of such weather so no one appeared worried. Still, preparations were frenetic and some heeded warnings to evacuate to the big island although most stayed. Jessica had considered flying out to join James in the capital for a brief moment. His voice had been cold and distant when he had called her earlier in the week. Something had shifted in side of her, causing her to insist that she'd stay to keep an eye on their home. His protestations seemed obligatory, or so she had felt as she had brushed them off.
Great grandmother came to visit as the sky turned darker. She said, "It's a great sign, my daughter. The great dragon is hungry, and he must be fed. Do not worry, for he will not take your life. I've lived here a long time. He prefers to steal our men from us in his jealousy. We are the mountain upon which his anger will struggle and fail, as it always has. James will be safe on the mainland." She patted Jessica on the shoulder. "The great sea dragon's desire must be strong this year. Open your arms to him, and he will sleep in your bosom."
If this cryptic message made any sense to her, Jessica did not express it openly. She held the image from her dream in her mind. If he came, she would accept him, she had decided. Had she ever really loved James? He almost seemed to be a stranger. Her suspicions that he was fooling around with at least one of his office mates seemed almost guaranteed.
As if reading her thoughts, the old woman kept up with her mystical prattle, "James will do his duty. Your life is now much bigger than just the two of you, as is the will of this place. The great sea dragon will make you part of us, a great thing. Once you understand this, you will take my place as one of our own. I will add you to the family register."
"But I'm not even a native," she said.
"That does not matter. It is up the Dragon King to choose his brides," the old woman winked.
While there was still power and communication, she decided to call up her cousin back in the states once more. Bethany had been apprised of her overall situation and did not approve of it. She kept insisting that Jessica should pack it in and come back home. Jessica had avoided contact for a while because of this.
Bethany insisted, "I just don't understand why you're staying on that weird island. If they build a giant wicker man, watch out." She was only half-joking.
"Sure, their view on feminism is probably really backwards but hey, the weather is nice!" She joked back just as a gust rattled the windows. It would time to close the storm shutters very soon. "Look, I won't be alone--Yuna and her friends said they will stay over to keep me company."
She hadn't told Bethany about catching them fucking on the beach as she'd know her cousin would redouble her efforts of convincing her to leave this place.
Honestly, Jessica had no idea what she would do with herself after separating from James. The future seemed murky which made her indecisive. It was one of her traits that she knew was a problem: stress made her hunker down instead of run.
Bethany continued, "If you ever hear I am shacked up with some religious cultists out in Montana and forced to make babies for the cause, you'd come and save me, right? So, keep me in the loop or I'll have to force an intervention on you."
"I'm fine, just a fish out of water. They're not bad people, just some odd traditions. Even the mainlanders think they are country bumpkins. I think it's charming more than disturbing."
"I think you're way too obliging. Just stay safe," Bethany put emphasis on the latter part.
It was raining steadily when the girls tumbled in. The three goddesses minus Minsoo arrived with good cheer. They helped close up the shutters and secure anything that could fly loose. The trees in the courtyard were swaying in the wind. Board games were brought out as they camped out in one of the central rooms deemed the most secure. Yuna had brought a portable two-way radio if the landlines totally died. They were on a shared channel with others in the area who had agreed to help each other if disaster struck.
After some games, they put on a movie as the wind grew to a roar outside.
Mira said, "This is fun!" She popped some shrimp snacks into her mouth as the bass rumble of the generic action movie seemed to match the hammering of the typhoon. Juliette was more nervous, grabbing onto Yuna as the noise rose to a crescendo.
Yuna said, "Probably a tree branch or something. As long as there is no flooding, we should be fine. I've been keeping an eye on the reports. We should be safe from the worst storm surge."
Juliette didn't seem totally convinced. Jessica had experienced major rainstorms in her life; however, she'd never lived in hurricane country or tornado alley so this type of severe weather was new to her. The lights flickered but didn't go out while they were awake with the worst of the storm expected to hit in the early morning while they attempted to sleep. They put down blankets and huddled together in the middle of the room.
Somehow, they managed to actually slumber for a while despite the thunderous activity around the villa. Jessica snapped awake in the wee hours, noticing that the power had finally gone out. There was a banging on the doors to the inner patio.
Jessica padded from the central room to the one connected to the courtyard. At first she thought the sound was caused by the typhoon, until she momentarily saw the shape of a person. Heart pumping, she leapt up to unlatch the sliding door. The full throated roar of the typhoon blasted its way into the house. There was a heavy duty storm shutter that protected the sliding glass from debris. The man kept banging on the metal frame although against the background howl she could barely differentiate it. In a city, she might have hesitated to open a door to an unknown person, but village life had already induced her to let her guard down.
When she opened the shutter to let him in, she saw that it was Ahn Jin, soaked to the bone. He helped her close everything back up.
She exclaimed, "What do you think you are doing?"
He grinned, "Got worried. You wouldn't answer your radio. Power is off all over the island and the storm surge has probably wiped out the bridge. It's too late to move to one of the shelters, so it's best to just stay in this spot. We're high up enough to avoid most of it, but there might be some flooding."
