Eyes

Aeriel stood on a tall, sunwarmed rock in the middle of a stream. She was an elf, a wood elf, around a foot and a half tall. Like most elves, her skin was tanned golden and her hair was a glossy aubourn which fell in thick waves to her waist. Her ears were delicately pointed and aligned neatly with her head. Her face was flawless, features delicate and on the whole she was a beautiful elf. Yet her eyes were a pale, rather insipid blue - almost grey. Most elves her age (around 60 years, late adolescence) had eyes like that. It was a special feature found only in elves: the eyes would become only their true colors when they saw the one they were meant to spend the rest of their life with. Until then, the eyes would be pale and almost colorless. The faeries (a general term for elves, fairies, goblins and such) were a special bunch. They fell in love once, and only once, and when they did - it was magnificent.

Aeriel frowned - she had been thinking about 'elf eyes'. "You'll feel a little dizzy for a few seconds," the teacher had said about them changing. "Yes, you'll feel dizzy, and your vision will blur momentarily. You'll blink, and everything will seem much brighter, sharper and oh so colorful. And then you'll see him [it had been a girl's class]." The teacher smiled. Her own eyes were a deep, warm brown. Aeriel shut her eyes tight.

Aeriel had seen many other elves go through The Change, as it was called. It was the final stage of elf puberty, and all elves anxiously awaited it. Except Aeriel. There was a reason for this. Once, not so long ago, she had visited another elf community. As she wandered around aimlessly, she felt a sudden urge to turn. She turned, and there, sitting on a branch, was a boy elf. His eyes were swirling pale blue and deep ultramarine. He was going through The Change. And he was staring right at her. But this was what scared her: Aeriel herself had not changed at all.

Aeriel never saw the elf again.

She was afraid the same thing would happen to her, that she would fall head over heels in love with some elf and he would stare colorlessly back at her from the cool cliff of impartiality. Some elves wandered the lands, eyes wide, looking for the elf who would make them Change. Aeriel stayed home and wore the elven equivalent of sunglasses. And a hoodie.

She sat cross legged on the rock and squinted up at the sky. She wanted deep, calm blue eyes when The Change happened, as she knew it eventually would. Eyes like the sky. At the moment though, she was fine with the eyes she had - they went with almost anything she wore. Right now, she was wearing a simple moss colored dress tied with a strip of plain leather round her slender waist. Aeriel stood. It billowed about her as the gentle breeze played with the green cloth. She laughed, a note of clear music in the forest silence.

It echoed among the trees until the long, clear sound was broken by a rustle. Aeriel froze. Slowly, she turned.

Standing there, his face pale in the dim light of the forest, was a human boy.

Aeriel began to grow dizzy.

***

His mouth dropped open. A beautiful creature - an elf - was standing on a rock in the middle of a stream. He expected her eyes to be as lovely as the rest of her but as her gaze met his he saw they were a watery, pale blue. She swayed slightly, her eyelids fluttered. She looked at him again. He blinked. Her eyes were now an intense green, deep and vibrant like twin pools of molten jade.

"Who are you?" he asked.

***

She recognised the symptoms. Aeriel knew what was happening. But how? It was a human, not an elf, standing before her. The human had short brown hair and a few freckles scattered across his nose. He was of average height by human standards, but his muscles were well-developed and he was fit.

The teacher had been right. The forest had never looked so beautiful. Her vision was sharper, much sharper. She could see the boy clearly now - she saw that he was about her age, in human terms. She saw that he was handsome. She saw the heaviness in his pale blue eyes. And she loved him.

"Who are you?" the boy half-breathed in wonder.

"I'm Aeriel," she replied. She didn't know what else to say. She leapt down from the rock and landed lightly on the bank of the stream. "I'm an elf."

The boy nodded silently. "I'm - I'm Calvin." He stepped closer to Aeriel. "I'm a human," he added unnecessarily. "Why - why did your eyes change color?"

Aeriel was unsure. Should she tell him? Finally she beckoned. Calvin knelt in front of her.

"When an elf's eyes change color, it means-" she swallowed - "It means they've found The One."

The boy sat back on his knees. "Wow." he breathed. "I wish it was that obvious with humans."

He hadn't fully realized the meaning behind Aeriel's words.

"Why?" she asked curiously, not wanting him to find out just yet.

He sighed. "There's this girl at university - her name is Jane. I've liked her all year - more than liked her - invited her out several times, but she's utterly ignored me."

Aeriel nodded absently. 'University'? 'Inviting out'? These terms meant nothing to her.

"So, this morning I asked her straight out whether she liked me or not. She got so mad with me. Told me to stop pestering her. Told me she already had another boyfriend, that she was expecting-" He sighed. "You probably think I'm overreacting. But I've never felt these feelings before."

"Neither have I," said Aeriel softly. "But I'm about to find out."

Calvin suddenly realized.

"Your eyes changing - that - that was because of me, wasn't it?"

Aerial nodded, a faint smile on her lips.

"Whoah." The boy sat back in wonder. "So - you love me?"

"With all my heart."

"Wow. Is there anything I need to do? I mean-"

"Love me." she said simply. "There's nothing else anyone can do."

"Oh."

Aerial looked up at Calvin and unconsciously laid a slim hand on his knee. "You don't think you can do that?" she asked, a faint blush suffusing her cheeks. "This is a new area for me too."

***

Can I love her? the boy asked himself. He thought of the way she looked when he saw her. He thought of the way she seemed as nervous as he did, yet sure of her love for him. He thought - he stopped thinking. He felt.

And he felt love.

***

Calvin lifted Aeriel's chin gently. He gazed into her eyes. Slowly, he bent and kissed her.

Aeriel felt fireworks inside her when their lips met.

Calvin gently separated himself from Aeriel. "There'll be a time for this later," he said softly. "Aeriel, we can't keep this a secret."

She suddenly laughed delightedly. "We won't need to. Calvin, look!"

She pulled him up from his kneeling position and kissed him again, this time wrapping her arms around him. Calvin suddenly realized.

"I'm - I'm an elf!" he cried. "But how?"

Aerial shrugged helplessly. "Does it matter?" Then she studied his face. "Calvin - Calvin, your eyes have changed." His eyes were now golden amber.

"They have?" He grinned. "Aeriel, you are the best thing that ever happened to me."

She laughed.

Two pairs of eyes - one green, one deep amber - gazed into one another with pure love.