Surreptitious

Chapter 15: What Dreams May Come

A/N – “Shadow” by Birdy. Do it. This chapter made me fall in love. I hope it does the same for you guys.

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Hope slowly wandered along the beaten pathway that curved and twisted along the bubbling brook, enjoying the soothing sound of the water as it ran over rocks and sifted through pebbles. It was night time, but somehow it wasn’t quite dark. A luminous full moon lit up the sky and cascaded soft blue light all through the forest. In between the trees and plants, the small flickering lights of fireflies could be glimpsed as they danced around in the warm breeze.

When she reached a massive weeping willow standing proudly by the side of the stream, she took a moment to pause and gather in the beautiful sight all around her. In a sort of half circle around the tree was a clearing filled with soft undergrowth and an array of small flowers. Hope leaned against the tree and allowed her eyes to wander the peaceful setting, breathing in nothing but sweet-scented air.

She hadn’t felt at ease in so long that she had almost forgotten what it was like. Her emotions over the past few days after waking from her long slumber were an absolute jumble. She had felt such intense sadness over Landon’s death. He was supposed to have been that epic love that her mother would talk about. He certainly was her first, but their time had been cut heartbreakingly short. She would still wonder for a long time what could have been between them. Would he have been able to grant her the semi-simple and sort-of normal life that she craved? Would he have been able to re-establish her trust in people, or remind her what unconditional acceptance and love was like? Would he have been able to grant her the faith she felt she had lost in most of humanity?

Alas, the ‘what-ifs’ were nothing but dried up words, like leaves having fallen from the trees in autumn. They would seem pretty at first, alluring even, but eventually they would crumble to dust.

Then there was Josie…

For the life of her, Hope simply could not put into mere simple words what exactly was happening between her and the witch. Of course, she had experienced fumbling and emotive reactions to Josie before when she had briefly found herself experiencing feelings for the younger girl some years ago, but nothing quite like what was busy happening in the present. It seemed like every single day that passed only served the single purpose of drawing her closer to the siphon, and she had no say in it.

Under normal circumstances, Hope knew she could easily have fallen in love with the girl; Josie was sweet and kind and smart and strong and absolutely beautiful. And just so many other wonderfully expressive adjectives! Hope could write poetry about Josie. Hell, she could paint her a thousand portraits – each one more breathtaking than the last.

As she considered these “normal circumstances” and how quickly her feelings seemed to escalate into the stuff that sappy romance novels were made of, Hope quickly realized and had to admit that these were most definitely not “normal” circumstances. To try and explain these newfound emotions she felt for Josie through the use of words like “love” just seemed dull and insincere. What she undeniably felt for Josie was not love – or, if it was, it was most definitely not your average every day kind of love. To even compare what she was starting to feel grow and twist and blossom inside of her to the concept of “epic love” that she was supposed to have shared with Landon was even insufficient and demeaning.

This… whatever it was… it was all just so much more than mere mortal language could even describe. Deep within her soul she could feel that she was made for Josie somehow, and that Josie was made for her. Deep within her soul she could feel the puzzle pieces fall into place whenever Josie was near her. And when they touched… it felt like deep within both their souls there was an astral combustion of metaphysical proportions, interlocking their lives in transcendental significance.