By Bette Lee Crosby
A new crop of Lei Crime Kindle World (#LeiCrimeKW) novellas and stories hit the Amazon e-shelves last week. Here’s a sample of one by bestselling author Bette Lee Crosby.
The dream wakes her two hours before dawn. She feels the chill of an evil wind whistle through the open window and bolts upright. She calls her husband’s name. “Keoki,” she says, “Did you feel that?”
He is turned on his side with his muscled back to her and doesn’t stir.
She touches her hand to his shoulder and gives a gentle shake. “Keoki?”
“Auwe!” His eyes spring open and he turns to face her. “Why you wake me in the middle of night?”
“Did you feel it?”
“Feel what?”
“The wind of the storm.”
“There is no storm,” he grumbles and again closes his eyes.
Esther knows better; she has seen it in the dream. It is not just a storm, but a storm that will tear the island of Kauai apart. She saw trees that have stood for centuries downed and broken into splinters. Whole houses blown away, fields flooded, crops destroyed.
This isn’t the first time such a vision has invaded her sleep and forewarned of a disaster. Years earlier she saw Lilinoe’s diabetes; it happened a full month before she sat beside her sister and listened to the doctor tell of it. And before that she’d begged young Lono not to take his boat out on the weekend. In her dream she’d seen the boy floating face-down in the bay and she’d warned him. But youth believes itself invincible and he refused to listen.
This knowing is a gift that Esther can neither explain nor wish away. It simply is what it is, but she has learned to heed its warnings.
She slides from the bed and silently pads toward the kitchen. The sky is still dark but on the edge of the horizon a silver strand of light is already feathering the blackness. Within the hour it will be daylight. She will allow Keoki to sleep until then. This will be a long, hard day and it will go better if he is well rested.
Esther fills the coffee pot with water then adds the rich Kona blend coffee and sets it to brew. The powerful aroma drifts through the hallway and tickles Keoki’s nose. He rubs the sleep from his eyes and swings his feet to the floor.
When he appears at the kitchen doorway, Esther smiles. “Good,” she says, “you are up.”
He nods sleepily, then lowers himself into the chair opposite hers. She pours a cup of black coffee and sets it in front of him.
As a sliver of steam rises from the cup, he takes a small sip and then waits for it to cool. After the third sip he says, “Now what is this nonsense about a storm?”
“I saw it in my dream,” Esther replies. “Terrible destruction, crops ruined—”
Keoki interrupts, “Eh, not so. The radio weatherman says there is a storm but it is far south of the islands. You worry without cause.”
“No, I worry with cause,” Esther replies. “This is what I have seen. It is what I am certain of.” Her words are solemn and without apology or hesitation.
“This is a knowing?” Keoki asks hesitantly. It is the word they have ascribed to her visions because there is no other explanation.
She nods. “Today we have much work to do.” She speaks of the supplies to be gathered, the crops to be harvested, and the animals to be stabled or brought inside.
As soon as the sky turns light, Esther begins telephoning friends and neighbors. She warns of the coming storm but few listen. Like Keoki, they have heard the weatherman saying the hurricane named Iniki is four hundred miles to the south of the Hawaiian Islands and expected to continue westward.
For most of Kauai, this is a day like any other. A bit breezy perhaps, but with a blistering sun and puffy white clouds dotting the sky. There is no hint of rain but still Esther and Keoki work at getting ready for what she knows is coming.
Plucking the ripe breadfruit and mangoes from the trees, they harvest what they can and carry it to the storehouse. They work through the afternoon and into the evening, bringing in everything that cannot survive such a storm—beans, corn, green onions, tomatoes and squash. Some of the produce is not fully ripened, but still they gather it. Even though much of it is not ready to be harvested, it is better than losing everything to the storm. Keoki climbs the trees and tosses the lychees down to Esther and she fills basket after basket. She knows that great hunger and need will follow the storm, and she is determined to save all they can.
That evening they sit at the kitchen table and listen for news of the storm, but there is none. There are bits of local news, word of a new farmer’s market, a prediction of increased sugar cane prices, and an ongoing stream of music, but no one speaks of the storm.
“Are you certain what you saw is a knowing?” Keoki asks. “Maybe it was just a dream? The aftermath of a late-night snack?”
Esther gives a solemn nod and again explains the vision. “It will be a storm such as we have never seen,” she says. “The ocean will roll ashore with waves so tall they cover a tree and the wind will tear across the island with a force that lifts houses from their foundations.”
Keoki hangs on every word. Although there is no mention of the storm on the news, he knows the power of Esther’s gift and he believes in it.
That evening she cooks the guava and makes it into preserves that will keep for a long time. When that is done, she cooks and pickles the mangoes that are still green. Tomorrow she will start early and make jam of the lychees. It is after midnight when Keoki finally convinces her to go to bed. Esther’s hands ache from the work of cutting and cooking, but she is resolved to start again in the morning.
About Esther’s Gift
A Lei Crime Kindle World (#LeiCrimeKW) novella
In the days before hurricane Iniki hit the island of Kauai the forecasters predicted it would stay south of Hilo. But Esther Ka’awai, a psychic and gifted wise woman of the ancient culture has seen the future. She knows of the devastation that will come to the island. She has warned those she loves; now all she can do is pray.
As she struggles to accept this gift of knowing, Esther discovers that even the most wonderful gift can sometimes break your heart.
A story of love, faith and a belief in the future.
About the author
USA Today Bestselling Author and Award-winning novelist Bette Lee Crosby brings the wit and wisdom of her Southern Mama to works of fiction—the result is a delightful blend of humor, mystery and romance along with a cast of quirky charters who will steal your heart away.
“Storytelling is in my blood,” Crosby laughingly admits, “My mom was not a writer, but she was a captivating storyteller, so I find myself using bits and pieces of her voice in most everything I write.”
Crosby’s work was first recognized in 2006 when she received The National League of American Pen Women Award for a then unpublished manuscript. Since then, she has gone on to win another twenty-four literary awards, including the Royal Palm Literary Award, The Reviewer’s Choice Award, the FPA President’s Book Award Gold Medal and the Reader’s Favorite International Book Award Gold Medal.
Her published novels to date are: Cracks in the Sidewalk (2009), Spare Change (2011), The Twelfth Child (2012), Cupid’s Christmas (2012), What Matters Most (2013), Jubilee’s Journey (2013), Previously Loved Treasures (2014), Blueberry Hill, A Sister’s Story (2014) Passing through Perfect (2015) Memory House (2015) The Loft (2015) and What the Heart Remembers (2015). Crosby also authored “Life in the Land of IS” a memoir of Lani Deauville, a woman the Guinness Book of Records lists as the world’s longest living quadriplegic.
Where to find her:
And don’t forget to follow her on Twitter @BetteLeeCrosby and sign up for her newsletter, Words, Wit & Wisdom.
About Amazon Kindle Worlds
Kindle Worlds is an Amazon initiative that allows authors to publish stories set in another author’s fictional universe. The Lei Crime Kindle World #LeiCrimeKW is based on the Lei Crime series, created by bestselling author Toby Neal.
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I can’t wait to read this masterpiece. Ordering off the menu at fast food restaurants and old dangerous playground equipment have to be in the book!