Three years ago, I fell in love.
It was a lazy afternoon in the forest. The trees were tinged with gold from the late afternoon sun. Aside from the chirps of the birds and the steady rhythm of the flowing river nearby, all was quiet.
I was tending to a wilted shrub when I heard his voice. It was rare to have people in the forest, much less someone who caught my attention with his alluring voice. It wasn’t singing… just a normal speaking voice…
I waved my fingers over the wilted shrub and its leaves turned bright green, its flowers bloomed again.
“Take care, my little friend,” I said. I stood up, brushed some fallen leaves from my green dress.
His voice still floated through the air, a symphony that made my heart flutter against my chest. I walked barefoot down the path where the voice seemed to have come from.
The path opened to a clearing. A blue façade stood in the middle of the clearing. The walls were as blue as the sky. The windows were open, making the lace curtains flutter in the breeze.
And sat on the front porch was him.
I wasn’t really sure if it was him I heard. He was quiet now.
He was pretty for a guy. His eyes were the color of a raging storm, though they showed none of that rage. They were glinting with delight and amusement. His cheeks were flushed. He was grinning like mad.
He swept his hands through his dark hair and said, “Oh come on, Noelle. Bring my shoe back. Or else, little sister, I will eat your part of the dessert for dinner.”
Indeed, his other foot was missing a shoe. He was wearing dark jeans and a dark blue flannel shirt. But, he looked funny without the other shoe.
He had a lanky build. He was tall. But there was something about him…
A radiance that was somehow a contrast to his eye color and the way he dressed.
A little girl with brown hair emerged from one of the trees, like the one I was standing behind of, surrounding the house. She ran to her brother, a shoe in her hands.
“I will not let you eat my part of dessert!”
Her brother took his shoe from her and carried her in his arms. He set her down on the grass and tickled her. Her giggles filled the summer air.
“Stop it, Rowan!” she managed to say. Finally, he let her go. She ran back to the house and stuck her tongue out at him.
He laughed and lied back on the grass, staring up the peachy sky. He looked so at peace then…
Suddenly, he was staring right at where I was standing and just then did I realize that I had stepped out from behind the tree and announced my presence.
I was rendered speechless by the way he looked at me. His eyes were wide with shock. He opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it and kept quiet. He didn’t seem to be awestruck by what he saw. He rather seemed… flustered. I swallowed my feelings ad started turning back but he caught my arm. His touch sent a jolt of electricity up my arms, making me gasp in surprise.
“What—I mean who are you?”
“Say it. Say the first question that came to you. I want to hear it,” I replied, my arm still shaking under his grasp.
“Wh-What are you?”he asked hesitantly. His eyes didn’t show any confusion now. He seemed more… curious.
“I’m a creature of the forest that you know as fairy,” I said. He studied me: my pale skin, my pointy ears, my silvery eyes, my green lips, my teal-colored hair, my green dress, the vines that wrapped around my ankles and wrists.
“You’re pretty…” he stuttered, staring intently into my eyes.
“Says the one who looks like a fairy prince. I should probably go. I’m sorry for watching you earlier. I was… curious. I was in the forest when I heard your voice, and… Anyway, I have to go. You should probably go inside, too. You don’t want to be caught talking to a filthy creature like me. Good bye, my fair one.”
“But—“ he sighed. “Okay. Just… you are not a filthy creature. You are the fairest lady I have met, so to speak. We shall meet again. But for now, good bye,” he bowed, smiling as he ran back to his house.
We shall meet again.
That never happened. I never went back there. He never came looking. I loved him, but I wasn’t destined to.
Three years ago, I fell in love with someone I wasn’t supposed to love. And never will I repeat the same mistake.