Fayre

Chapter I - The Longing Like Poison

The sky is clear blue. Fluffy white clouds drift by slowly. The birds are singing nearby. The lake is calm and the water is glittering under the early summer sun. The leaves rustle softly as the grass whispers in the breeze. I look up at the big weeping willow tree looming over me. Its branches sway and the low hanging ones sweep the surface of the lake.

Something stirs in the murky depth of the lake, so I kneel by the river bank to peer in. There they are, under the willow tree by the lake, a little 8-year-old girl with hair of light golden halo and a 10-year-old boy, hair as dark as a moonless and starless midnight sky. Their attention is on each other. The sky is blue, the green grass of the meadow is swaying in the breeze, the birds are singing, the lake glittering...

"...with this ribbon, I will entwine. Our love I will forever bind, our fates are one from now until the end of time," recites the little girl while she carefully winds a silky pink ribbon around their entwined hands. She then tucks the end into the loop, securing it. "This spell is bound, and will not to be undone. It is my will and it is done." She lifts her bright green eyes up to the boy expectantly.

He brings up his free hand, his open palm facing upward. They both turn to look at it. The tips of his fingers slowly glow red, then a flare of white light erupt before a small flame suddenly ignites, engulfing his whole hand. The boy shifts his attention back to the girl before he solemnly says, "I'm yours till the end of time, Fayre. Till the end of time. This, I promise you."

The girl stares at his hand. She seems captivated by the fire. A few seconds tick by and the boy frowns. "Now, it's your turn, Fayre. Say it."

She turns her gaze back to his face and flashes him a cheeky but delighted, charming smile. "And I'm yours till the end of time, Ciarán. Forever and ever and ever."

"Promise?"

"I promise," she earnestly says, nodding.

He curls his fingers into a fist and the flame disappears. His dark eyebrows furrow. "No matter what happens, we're together, Fayre. You and I. No matter where you go, I'll always find you."

He slips off the necklace from his neck and places it around hers, then he adjusted her hair. A shiny, star-shaped copper pendant hangs from a black leather string. One side is carved with the image of the sun while another is a crescent moon.

The girl's hand flutters over it. Touching it excitedly. "It's beautiful, Ciarán. I've always liked it."

"I know," he says. A tiny smile curves the corners of his lips.

She pulls something out of the pocket of her lavender dress. A bracelet made of a row of shiny black onyx beads. She carefully ties the string around his wrist. "I made this myself. Do you like it, Ciarán?"

"I love it," he says.

A strong gust of wind blows in from across the lake and she gasps. Her long, light golden hair dances across her face.

She pushes it away and gazes up into his face. Her bright green eyes are brimming with hope. "Are you coming back to play with me tomorrow, Ciarán?"

"Not tomorrow. Trouble is brewing..." Black clouds roll in. The sky turns dark all of a sudden and he looks up. The wind grows stronger. The pink ribbon flies up and flutters aimlessly in the wind.

Suddenly, the boy is standing all alone.

"Fayre?" he cries, alarmed. His eyes searching. "Fayre!" he yells. "Fayre! Come back, Fayre!" His cry grows desperate. "Fayre!"

Suddenly, he's staring at me and I gasp. Blue. His eyes are bluer than the sky. They pierce right through me. "Fayre, come back to me!"

He extends his hand towards me and I reach out. I keep reaching to him until I'm kneeling precariously at the edge of the grassy river bank. Closer. Closer. Our fingers almost touch. The tip of my finger touches the calm glossy surface of the lake and it ripples, skewing his beautiful reflection. The water turns murky and he's fading. No, no no!!! A fine film of mist drifts in, covering the water, floating over the surface. The fog grows thicker until he's nothing but a hazy rippling silhouette. No!!!