4 comments/ 18834 views/ 4 favorites Four-Crossed Lovers By: SandraMustard [This is my entry into the "Halloween Story Contest." Please rate this story at the end of the last page. Comments on the reading page are welcome but cannot contain email addresses or URLs. I will respond to feedback if you provide your email address by being logged in or inserting it within the feedback text. I wish to acknowledge the collaborative efforts of my husband in writing this story. It was his idea to wrap a story around the tragic event that occurred twenty years ago. He collected all the technical information used herewithin. All I had to do was make up the human relationship tied to a timeline of events he laid out. All characters in this story are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. I always acknowledge proofreading help provided by volunteer editors who work without compensation. Improving the grammar and mechanics of this story was the effort of PatientLee. Four-crossed Lovers - Fours haunt the siblings. ©Sandra Mustard 2014] Li Ying learned to be superstitious from her family while growing up. She was particularly tetraphobic, which is common for her nationality. Similar to Americans who consider the number thirteen to be unlucky, the Chinese fear the number four because as in most Asian languages and dialects, the word for four and death are nearly indistinguishable. Li became dependent on the fortune telling of Madam Wu, an elderly lady in her neighborhood who was both feared and respected for as long as Li could remember. She would not consider planning any major event without a reading first. As soon as 1994's Year of the Dog took over from the Year of the Rooster, Madam Wu became mysteriously reluctant to discuss her reading for the young woman. Her excuse was that her future was too dark to see. Such myopia by the aged reader was far more unsettling than grim facts until finally, Li demanded an answer as to what the old woman did see. "Sì." "Sì?" Whose death? The seer spoke of animal images. A pig and a sheep would pass from this world from influences of a dog and a bird like the turning calendar. No one in Li's extended family was either a pig or sheep. Her American born boyfriend, Bobby Chen was born in 1967, a Year of the Sheep and presented the only possible connection to her future. Li herself was born in 1969, escaping the fulfilling match by two years. Now her problems deepened. Bobby was annoyed with her superstitious ways and rebuked her sharply when she tried to discuss interpreting the future. His reticence and the mysterious other soul kept Li from speaking out about the visions reported to her. * * * * Bobby Chen had been fortunate to rise through management swiftly, movement fueled by dedication to hard work. His bilingual abilities made the natural fit for his promotion into his company's Hong Kong operations two years ago. He had met the beautiful Li Ying at a theatric production just months after arriving in the city. Their relationship flourished, leading to co-habitation and talk of marriage. He admired her intelligence and capable independence but had no patience for the immature beliefs that controlled her decisions. As plans for 1995 took shape, the company needed a strong infusion of American talent with Chinese cultural ties like Bobby. The company scheduled a recruiting seminar in Chicago to begin November first. Invitations went out to graduates of many institutions of higher education in the United States while Bobby was selected from Hong Kong's executive ranks to lead the seminar. Because his work in mid-continent America would put him just two hundred miles from his sister, Lilly, he planned a week's vacation before the seminar to visit her. Overseas phone calls between the siblings always had to be arranged. Time zone differences were the major concern; being home to receive the calls avoided missed connections. The usual appointed time was 6 p.m. when Lilly came home from work, with Bobby's call originating where it was already 7 a.m. the next morning. He planned to use this arrangement to surprise his sister by showing up at her door when he knew she'd be home to receive his call. The morning he prepared to leave, Bobby noticed Li was moody. She summoned what courage it required to ask if he would listen to her one time. A glare was his answer. Obedient even in the face of losing him, she hid her concern and wished him safe journeys. The next morning, almost as Bobby was landing in Indianapolis, Li sought the visions of Madam Wu. Her advice was grim. He would not return to Hong Kong. She must prepare for life without him. * * * * Bobby's third flight of the trip landed a little before noon on Friday, the twenty-first. He had over six hours to prepare but desired a long nap to supplement the minimal rest he accumulated on the twenty-two hour journey. After waking from several hours sleep, he felt disorientated by the late afternoon sun. An invigorating shower did not cure his jet lag but helped awaken his brain. He was dressed by the time room service finally delivered a cup of tea he ordered right after he awoke. The American tea disappointed him. Bitter with a processed after-taste, he left it unfinished when he went down to the lobby. He had arranged to take a cab from the airport hotel to his sister's apartment for several reasons. First, he was acclimated to using public transportation in crowded Hong Kong. He was not qualified to lease a car because of his overseas driving license. Additionally, his mental fatigue made him ill-prepared to deal with right-side driving so soon and finding his way in the unfamiliar city. Lilly was waiting near her bedside phone when she heard her doorbell. Dinner hour seemed rather late for a sales or evangelism visit. Opening the door, she observed a person of indiscernible gender standing on her front porch, dressed in a bright-red Chinese kimono, their head bowed humbly and hidden under a conical hat. "Can I help you?" The hat tilted up to reveal the grinning face of her brother. "Hey Babe, expecting to hear from somebody tonight?" "Bobby! You son of a ..." Her accusation was never finished as she leapt into his embrace. Her mouth plastered his with a hot tongue kiss that surprised him. He had taught her how to kiss that way just as he had mentored many things during her formative years, but he had ended their nearly intimate involvement and she socialized with adult male companions in the years since then. After the kiss, Lilly hugged him forcefully, pulling him against her firm breasts. She had always been affectionate toward him but he wasn't prepared to experience her exuberance after their long separation. Lilly was four years younger than her brother. Quiet and shy, she had relied on her protective sibling to shield her from aggressive boys in school. His stern reputation stifled them so completely that she didn't have a suitor until after she graduated from high school. Even then, the impeccable manners of young men she met respected imagined boundaries that left her disappointed and completely mystified about sex. She turned to the only person she trusted for answers. Twenty-three, college educated, and sexually experienced; Bobby accepted his role as her teacher as an extension of his familial responsibilities. Despite his honorable resolve to be strictly educational, her feminine charms affected him and she enjoyed his tender techniques. Her sexual education began with kissing but evolved to include tongue play that naturally aroused them both. Because of the communal bathing culture of their nationality, moments of household nudity were common for the siblings and their parents. She used their comfort about anatomies to press her brother for knowledge about sexual arousal that led to frank instructions about and demonstrations of both male and female masturbation. At first reluctant to go beyond discussion of mutual sexual acts, Lilly eventually persuaded Bobby to allow genital touching. It wasn't until their experimentation led to orgasms that Bobby got nervous about getting into an incestuous relationship with her. In his mind, they hadn't crossed the line so he stopped all further instructional play. Lilly wanted a complete education from her brother. She even asked Bobby to take her virginity. When he refused, she went to bed with the first young man who would. It was a disastrous experience for her as were most of her subsequent encounters with men. No one seemed to be able to excite and please her. Four years had passed since his mentoring and now they would be together for ten days. Lilly still had a yearning to know her brother. Bobby still feared the pull of his sister's desire. He knew she would ask him to stay at her apartment. She could offer a comfortable sofa ... or share her king size bed. Since he technically was on a business trip, Bobby used his expense account paid room as an excuse to decline her invitation. All he had left to cope with were her passionate hellos and goodbyes. Because of her brother's unexpected arrival, Lilly called her current boyfriend to break their dinner date for that evening. She had worried over his recent waning affection toward her, made worse when he seemed unperturbed by her last minute cancellation even before she explained her reason. Her consternation quickly dissolved, replaced by euphoric reminiscing as she spent the evening with her brother, dining at her favorite restaurant. The sparkle in Lilly's eyes suddenly turned to tears. She didn't give Bobby an explanation, instead, begged him to take her home immediately. She was too distraught to take the wheel of her own car so he had to cope with driving after all. His extreme caution caused two normally patient Hoosiers to honk their horns at him. Only after they were home did she give the reason for their departure; her boyfriend had entered the restaurant with another woman. What had begun as a joyful reunion became a painful examination of her relationship troubles. Over two bottles of yellow wine, she poured out her emotions on the shoulders of her confidant. She tried desperately to receive countenance from her brother; he tried valiantly to maintain decorum. Her warm body filled his arms; her supple flesh yielded to his hands; her compliant lips melted against his mouth. He wanted to soothe her but urges to unleash his passion troubled him. The hunger in her kisses wore him down and the wine weakened his resolve. As a tongue kiss deepened, his hand rested on her bare thigh. She straightened her body while her arms pulled his head down to continue their kiss. Leaning over to his side to follow her head, his hand slid up her thigh and under her skirt. Her legs parted invitingly. When his hand reached her damp panties and pressed the material into her slit, she tilted her pelvis to push back. Mindless passion coaxed his finger to work under the panty hem. Pushing between her labia, he circled her clit until she squirmed. When his finger followed her cleft down, it slid into her wet vagina. With a moan, Lilly pleaded, "Oh Bobby, I want you." Her words shocked him back to reality like a slap on the face. He pushed her off his lap and stood up. His own arousal was visual evidence that desire was gaining control of his body too. "We cannot do this. We are brother and sister. Our family would be shamed. Please call a cab for me, I better return to my hotel before we do something we would forever regret." Lilly did not share her brother's aversion but obediently submitted to his demands. * * * * Bobby arranged for his sister to pick him up Sunday morning at his hotel. They spent the day together, shopping, taking in a movie, and had dinner again. Sleep had calmed emotional issues for her and adapted geographic change for him. Conversations avoided the touchy subjects, even when they spent the evening hours in the privacy of his fourth-floor hotel room. They remained physically separated on the settee until it was time for her to return home. Her goodbye kiss was intentionally seductive but did not produce an equally heated response from him. As the emotions of the siblings fairly trembled with conflict on Sunday, so too did they on the weekday evenings that followed until Thursday. Already an hour past the appointed time for Lilly to pick up Bobby, she called his room. Her tearful voice said she was too distraught to drive. Bobby promised to be there as soon as possible and immediately called for a cab. He let himself into her apartment and found her curled up on her sofa, a field of tissue blossoms scattered on the floor. As he knelt to hold her sobbing body, she explained the reason for her despair. Her boyfriend had finally called and they had an acrimonious exchange. He claimed he needed time to sort out his feelings and wouldn't take her to a Halloween party on Saturday. When she confronted him with knowledge of his other lady friend, he coldly admitted that he was ending their relationship to pursue the other woman. The heartache for Lilly was her belief that no man found her worthy of being loved. Even her brother who professed love was unwilling to demonstrate that he did when pressed for proof. Accusing her brother of abandoning her was unfair but turned out to be very effective. Torn by honor and desire, he could not bear to see her suffer. He slid his arms under her back and lifted her to his chest. His lips met hers with all the feelings he had held back until then. His passionate kiss fanned her desire until it pulled the breath from her lungs in long moans. After his arms released her, he slid a hand inside her robe and found her naked breasts waiting with nipples eager for his touch. The red nubs stiffened between his plucking thumb and finger; her chest rose and fell dramatically. His lips kissed their way down her throat to her breast to bring his mouth to her soft mounds for more erotic caresses. His wet tongue danced around each nipple before he sucked them past his lips. Freed from duties at her chest, his hand slid down her torso, parting the flaps of her robe until it reached her naked sex. Raking through her course pubic hairs, his fingers slipped between her swelling labia and rubbed her feminine jewel. Lilly shivered with excitement under her brother's tender caresses. All her problems faded into the recesses of her mind as she focused on the exquisite pleasures he was producing. She had always felt that only the man now at her side could satisfy her. She needed to prove it to herself and convince him that he should never deny his love again. If their passion was socially taboo, at least it was physically appropriate for their feelings. Bobby was truly making love to his sister's body but doing so provided the only means he had to satisfy the aching in her soul. He played the erogenous instruments of her body to nurture her emotions inside. Sensing her orgasm building, he pushed his fingers into her vagina and curled them back to press against the front wall. Her lubricating fluids wetted his hand as his palm applied pressure on her clit. She held his head tightly to her breast as her hips began to buck. Mews and moans strengthened into cries and gasps. He felt her vaginal contractions pulling on his hand, an internal manifestation of the convulsions her entire body experienced. As her orgasm subsided, Bobby knew his healing work had only begun. One does not give a thirsty person only a sip of water. He moved around to lay his torso between her knees. She prepared to accept him by spreading her legs to open her vulva. She hooked one leg over the seat back and let the other slide off the sofa. Lowering his face onto her open womanhood, his tongue tasted her arousal and his nose drank in her scent. His tongue pushed under her clitoral hood and squirmed on the firm button. His mouth sucked the nub past his lips where his teeth could touch the specialized bundle of nerves. He pressed his face hard against her sex and shook his head firmly, bumping teeth, lips, and tongue in quick succession on her clit. She responded by clamping her legs around his head and pulling his head against her vulva with her hands. He could hardly breathe when her violent orgasm thrashed her body while she leg-locked his head. Bobby no longer considered his sister a lesser sibling that required sheltering from the cruel world. She was a mature woman who aroused his desire. He needed her as intensely as she did him. His hard cock pressed against its confinement, eager to sample the forbidden fruit beneath him. He did not fight the urge. Rising up, he undressed while Lilly watched and waited. She smiled when she saw his aroused cock and felt a warm flush of anticipation. He knelt between her legs to position his penis at her opening. She held out her arms to welcome him as he settled onto and into her body. Hot wetness surrounded his manhood as he slid into heaven. Her arms folded behind him as she hugged him against her. "Bobby, I love you like no other. I can't help it. I always have." "I know, Babe. I can't deny my love for you anymore. Our passion was meant to be shared and it will be from now on." They began the rhythmic thrusting that consummated their love. With their bodies especially attuned to each other, they produced passion only the closest of lovers can experience. When she felt his semen fill her vagina, it finally vanquished her doubts about finding fulfillment. Bobby was true to his vow. He did not return to his hotel as they spent the night enjoying the honeymoon of their new relationship. When passion overtook them again in the morning, she called off work so they could have another day in each other's arms. They managed a short intermission during which they went to his hotel so he could check out and bring his luggage to her place. He hardly needed his clothes because they stayed naked for long hours. Even their conversations occurred while they huddled skin to skin. * * * * Saturday was a day full of passion enjoyment as well but a chance to attend a Halloween party led them to plan at least a temporary departure from their Sybaris dwelling. Halloween was on Monday in 1994 but many adult parties were held on Saturday to allow a day of recovery for participants. Lilly had been planning to attend one with her ex-boyfriend until he scuttled the date along with their whole relationship. The couple that hosted the party were mutual friends and it was possible her ex-boyfriend would still show up albeit with his new companion. Because she felt at peace in her life with her brother at her side, she was over her ex already and relished the idea of demonstrating that by attending the party with Bobby. She didn't plan to disclose anything about her sexual involvement with Bobby because public knowledge would make her an outcast. As it turned out, her costume hid her identity so thoroughly that almost no one knew she was there and nobody guessed her companion was more than that. The siblings shopped for costumes early in the afternoon. Lilly decided on a Babe the Gallant Pig costume for several reasons. The childhood story of a pig named Babe, won at a fair by a sheep farmer, became her favorite story to read to youngsters she cared for on occasion. Her nasal renditions of Babe's dialogue and oinks delighted the children such that she earned the nickname Babe that Bobby had adopted too. The one-piece costume was essentially a pink sleeper that covered her entire body. Pig ears on the hood and a pig-faced mask complete with a snout left only her mouth exposed. Bobby was daring enough to choose an adult Lil Bo Peep costume for his attire. White stockings and arm-length white gloves covered his arms and legs. A big hat and yellow wig covered is black hair. He borrowed a bra stuffed with tissue to give the illusion of breasts. When Lilly helped apply white-face and lipstick, the transformation was complete. At the party, he adopted female mannerisms and spoke in a falsetto voice such that everyone assumed he was a woman. Four-Crossed Lovers When they discovered their anonymity was so thorough, they kept everyone guessing. It served them well when her ex-boyfriend did indeed arrive dressed as a Doberman guard dog replete with spiked collar. His new lady friend was dressed as an airline stewardess; her outfit may have been more a uniform than costume. Only the hosts knew Lilly was there but they agreed to keep her secret. They avoided any conversations that included the other couple and kept drifting to other clusters of partygoers. Alcoholic beverages flowed freely and Lilly's ex quickly got hammered. He was loud and boastful. When he said something that disturbed his companion, she tried to pull him aside to settle him down. Instead of being embarrassed and apologetic, he became belligerent and insulting. Finally, his companion could take no more abuse and left the party in tears. When another woman tried to suggest his behavior was inappropriate, he turned his insults on her. Within moments, he was in a loud confrontation with several men and the hosts who combined efforts to eject him forcibly from the party. After witnessing the altercation, Bobby realized his sister had always made friends with men who invariably turned into losers. He was glad he had stepped up for her. Beyond being her lover to show her the best life had to offer, he began to wonder if he could be her provider for the rest of their lives. If she was to join him in Hong Kong, they could easily hide their common birth parents and openly have their sexual relationship. That night, in between love making sessions, he spoke of his ideas about her living in Hong Kong with him. She immediately agreed she would uproot her life to be with him. It would take time to settle her American life and apply for a passport. They would work out the details after he completed the seminar. * * * * A strong weather system was moving across the Midwest, bearing down on Chicago Monday afternoon. The storm was more typical of a mid-Winter blizzard than a rainy, Fall front. High winds and chilling rains were already producing air traffic delays at Chicago's airports. The weather would ruin trick-or-treating for children that evening. It also disrupted Monday night's football game at Soldier Field between the Bears and Packers even before the first snow of the season fell during the fourth quarter. A blustery band of showers from the same system pushed into the Indianapolis area by late afternoon. Lilly waited in the departure area at Gate 4 with Bobby until his plane arrived late from Georgia. She was sad that her brother was leaving, ending the passion that had filled the previous days, but she had the dreams of an exciting life with him in the Orient to occupy her mind. They said their goodbyes when boarding finally began. She stood at the rain-pelted window hoping to see Bobby until the plane was pushed back for departure. At four minutes to four, American Eagle flight 4184 lifted off the runway to begin its thirty minute flight to O'hare. = = = = Daisy Harvard climbed into the cab of her Mack truck in Plainfield, a small town Southwest of the airport. She made regular produce deliveries to grocery stores and had just finished her last stop before heading back to the distribution center. She turned on the heater to dry her sweater-vest and counter the damp chill the rain had brought. Turning onto highway US40, she pointed the bulldog hood ornament of her truck toward home. Switching on her CB radio, the speaker immediately crackled with heavy communications from nearby Interstate 70. Traffic was almost at a standstill. When she learned a produce truck had overturned after colliding with a car in the rain, she grabbed her mic. "Break one nine. Any driver got a handle for the driver wallowing with the four-wheeler? Lil Bo Peep shouting, come on back." Daisy had changed her CB handle when she learned that Daisy Duke's handle on the popular Dukes of Hazard show was Lil Bo Peep. With the same first name, it was a good fit. Daisy listened for a response but lots of drivers and motorists were looking for answers and alternate routes so transmissions walked on others. She called out the same inquiry again. Some long-hauler with a power booster drawled an offer to bounce her call. "My boyfriend and I drive for Acme Produce. I hope that ain't him rubber-side up. Lil Bo Peep looking for Lettuce Head. Thank ye, darling." The hauler's distinctive 'ping' when his mic was keyed was followed by a clear voice relaying her search. She listened to her radio intently, hoping to pull the response she wanted out of the weeds. Her distraction almost involved her in an accident. A traffic light started to change at the worst decision point possible. Asphalt roads that accumulate dust and oil films are notoriously greasy when rain first begins to fall. Daisy tried to brake easy but powerful airbrakes don't grab easy; her trailer wheels locked. Her empty trailer had little traction on the pavement and threatened to jack-knife. Even as she was sliding, an impatient car shot out across her path at the first instant it had a green light. Somehow, the car passed before her rig slid into the middle of the intersection. "When will they learn?" she lamented. Gasping to fill her lungs, she waited for two other cars to go around her before she shifted into low and straightened her rig. She decided caution was more important than getting off work early. She held her speed to 40 mph as she drove on. "{Ping} ... Break one nine for Lil Bo Peep. Snakebite telling ya Lettuce Head is already at the barn waiting fer ya. Y'all have a safe one." "Oh, bless your heart, sweetie. Do you come thru the Circle City often?" "{Ping} ... Not if I can help it. Sweetie, you called me? You should talk to my ex. She gave me my handle. Snakebite out." = = = = As soon as she saw the traffic on eastbound I70 all but stopped dead, Lilly wished she had gone the other direction to go around. To head away from the city would not have been intuitive so all she could do now was join the traffic jam. Inching forward a car length at a time, her old wiper blades made a streaky blur of the vehicle in front of her. She couldn't see that all lanes were trying to get off onto I465 that circles around Indianapolis, hoping to get past something that blocked I70 heading toward downtown. Lilly's thoughts were about a future in a faraway land as she mindlessly followed other lemmings down the highway. She also relived the passion she had shared with her brother, imagining many more experiences with him when they met again. Stop and go traffic continued along the ramp and onto I465 where the heavy traffic dumping into the highway produced more slow moving congestion. An hour had passed before Lilly made her way down the exit ramp to Washington Street as US40 was known within city limits. Lilly was the first in line waiting for the light to turn green. = = = = As soon as the plane broke through the cloud cover, the pilot came on the public address speakers to announce flight specifics. Normal flight times meant they should arrive around 4:30 but he warned that weather conditions in Chicago were forcing increased plane separations that had flights stacking up at the busy airport. Bobby busied himself writing notes he would use at the seminar. The flight was bumpy as turbulent air mixed around at all altitudes. The seat belt sign never went off and no refreshments were served. The 200 mile flight is known as a hop because descent begins almost as soon as cruising altitude is reached. Flight 4184 contacted the Aurora flight center for descent instructions at 4:13 p.m. They were directed into the first of four holding patterns, essentially circles in the sky that spiral down and closer to the airport. = = = = Lilly remembered the joy she felt when Bobby's cock was inside her. "I love you, Bobby," she said out loud. A car horn tooted. An advertising sign flashed green through the streaked windshield. Lilly's foot moved off the brake pedal and pressed the gas. Daisy's Mack truck was already entering the intersection when she saw the small car pull out a dozen feet ahead. Even at 40 mph, her foot didn't reach the brake pedal before 20,000 pounds of steel tore into the glass and sheet metal of the driver's door. Lilly's neck snapped, instantly killing her before her head smashed against the truck's steel bumper breaking through her car. = = = = Bobby's plane had just spent 10 minutes flying through a layer of super-cooled rain droplets that were forming into ice on the wings and control surfaces. De-icing boots were shedding the ice except for a ridge that formed on an aileron hinge. Just as they reached their fourth hold altitude of 8,000 feet, the plane dipped and the aileron jammed. The plane did a complete barrel roll. The experienced pilots managed to stop the roll but before they could assess the problem or declare an emergency, the plane rolled again. This roll became an uncontrolled, inverted dive. Nothing could save the aircraft from that low altitude. Bobby experienced ten seconds of pure terror before the American Eagle flight buried him and 67 others in the cornfields of Roselawn, Indiana.