No Ordinary Love

Tonight’s #Tweetplay is a bittersweet fairy tale of a young man’s first and most mysterious love.

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Sometimes…

Sometimes, when the wind blows through the garden just right, I can almost hear her whisper

I had come to Dublin on a music scholarship, and it was my first time away from home

Like most students, my first weeks were spent hanging out in the pubs, learning to fit in.

I was shy, and had trouble making friends, so I spent many days alone, watching others walk by

I spent hours in the library, which had become a Cathedral of sorts. A house of hope and mystery.

On the weekends I travelled the countryside, letting my eyes wash over the scenery like water.

It was on one such journey, to the Hills of Tara, that I met her. And my life forever changed.

I’d been alone on the hill most of the day but, towards dusk I heard her voice for the first time.

“Hello,” she said, “Isn’t it a lovely evening for a walk? Do you mind if I join you?”

I nodded silently. It was the first time anyone had spoken to me directly. She took my hand.

Without letting go, she rose and we talked as a small flock of sheep moved past

Golden light shone from within her, and as we continued to talk, I took peace from her presence.

As we sat by a stream, I found myself unable to keep from telling her my whole life

Her smile… Oh, her smile…

We sat and talked for hours. She slipped off her shoes and we walked for what seemed like miles.

As we explored a ruined church, she spoke of the sidhe, telling of their halls within the hills.

She told of how they never grew old, and how they would never know the cold stillness of death

Of how they were known to nature, and how they watched over the land like a lover

She brought her hand to my face and caressed my cheek. It was as delicate as the wind

She raised her lips to mine and we kissed as soft as mice, her breath filling me with warmth.

And I discovered love within her arms beneath the silent eyes of an ancient lord.

Later, as we lay side by side, she turned to me. “Come with me to my hill,” she whispered.

“Come with me and be with me forever.”

“We need only pass through that gap in the wall, and we’ll be within my homelands.”

“Where a golden light shines year round, like the love that blossoms within our hearts.”

“We can build a home by the lake, where we’ll live without fear of death ever finding us.”

“Come with me…” she whispered.

I at silently for the longest time. Watching as she slowly realized what my answer would be.

I left Dublin some months later. Under a golden sky filled with the promise of her offer.

As the ship sailed, I wept for my foolishness. And I wept for her broken heart.

Sometimes, when the wind blows through the garden, I can almost hear her whisper.

~~ THE END