A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM.
On the shortest night of the year,
When the crescent moon shines bright and clear,
Come bathe beneath my silver beam,
Of your perfect lover you will dream.
"Mary, this is just peachy perfect," Popuri squeaked, clapping hr hands together in delight. The other girls crowded around the book as Mary read out the ancient spell. Written on yellowing parchment, the intricate script seemed to virtually writhe on the heavily decorated page. The page was staggeringly beautiful; whoever had written this was a real artist. The flowing waves and glittering stars flowed around the words in intricate patterns.
" Does it say anything else? " Elli asked anxiously. Although the manuscript was beautiful there was something about it that disturbed her.
The girls had been fooling around at the beach, bored when Mary had remembered that it was Midsummer. Immediately they had decided to do something to celebrate and Mary had the remembered the old book of days she had found in the library. That had been enough to send them all searching and, after about twenty minutes, they had found it in a dusty chest at the back of the storeroom.
The book was quite large and covered in a fine-grained black leather, darkened with age. On the front the book boasted corners of blackened silver with a central silver plaque containing a stylised sun and moon. In awe the girls had watched as Mary undid the heavy silver clasp and turn to the right page.
"Dream about your perfect lover," Ann mused. "Mmm tall, dark and handsome."
" Cute with a tight little butt and muscles," Popuri added.
" Intelligent and romantic," Elli whispered.
" And ready to party the whole night long, if you know what I mean," Karen laughed.
" Karen !!" Mary sounded shocked.
" Oh, don't be so soft," Karen scoffed. " I bet you wouldn't say no if a certain young blacksmith… I'm only kidding," she said at Mary's teary eyes and put her arm around her.
" Well, it's tonight so what are we going to do?" Ann asked.
" A picnic," Popuri clapped and danced around the room. " We can take wine and swim in the sunset. I want to dream of my lover."
" I haven't got a swimsuit," Elli moaned.
" Me neither but who needs one", Karen laughed.
"Yes." Popuri and Ann joined in. " That'll be so cooool."
" And it may help the spell," Mary added, closing the book as, laughing and gossiping, the girls left the library.
Rock came out from behind the shelves where he'd hidden, a smile on his face. It was amazing the things you heard when no one knew you were listening. Ruby had asked him to collect a book of curry recipes and he'd been looking for it when the girls had arrived. Skinny-dipping by moonlight! Now that should be interesting.
He was supposed to be arriving home tonight but the following day would do just as well. He would ring Ruby and say he was staying with friends. He could sleep on the beach after all it was a warm night. Yes, he'd do just that and see what there was to see. Dream of a perfect lover. Now that was a laugh. Daft girls nobody believed in rubbish like that anymore. It should be a good laugh though.
As the day began to more towards evening Rock said goodbye to his friends but instead of heading out of town he made his way down to the beach. It was hot and cicadas chirruped in the scrubby trees. The san scorched the soles of his trainers. It had been a long day and Rock felt drowsy. Settling down in the dunes to wait he opened up the bottle of wine he had brought with him. The gentle wash of the waves soothed and calmed while a playful breeze stirred the grasses around him. Rock felt his eyes grow heavy, his senses became confused and he could feel himself slipping into sleep.
Sometime later, he wasn't sure how long, he heard the girls coming down the wooden steps to the beach. He could hardly open his eyes but he groggily crawled forward. He daren't get too close but he had a clear view of the water's edge. There was lots of giggling and clinking of glasses as the girls made themselves comfortable. The sun was now a mere scarlet wash across the horizon and Rock couldn't seem to lose the strange lethargy that possessed him. With a daring laugh Karen stripped off her clothes and ran to the water's edge Ann and Popuri quickly joined her. Rock wasn't surprised how curvaceous and beautiful Karen and Popuri were but Ann was a real surprise. Mineral Town's tomboy had the most delicious little body with high firm breasts and a tiny waist. Rock licked his suddenly dry lips and leaned closer to try and catch sight of Mary and Elli.
Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder and he became acutely aware of someone beside him. He scrabbled backward in panic, terrified that he had been discovered. He looked up, his arm up to ward off a blow we he found the most beautiful girl he had ever seen leaning over him. He waited for her to cry out to the others but she merely smiled and pressed a finger to her lips. Rock couldn't believe how she had managed to appear so silently, where had she come from? All thoughts of the other girls on the beach fled from his mind. He had never seen anyone so astoundingly beautiful. She had a heart shaped, fine boned face with pure porcelain skin. Her face was dominated by huge eyes of an impossible aquamarine, more green than blue, fringed with long, long lashes of the deepest black. She had full rose red lips that parted in a slight smile. She had clouds of fine, dark hair confined by combs of silver set with tiny shells and what looked like pearls. To Rock's disbelief she reached out and stroked his cheek with a slender finger and then she wound a lock of his hair around it.
" What..?" he finally stammered out, catching hold of her hand.
"Sssh," she whispered, her voice musical and low. " So beautiful, we need to be alone."
Before Rock could answer she moved closer and kissed him, passionately, winding her fingers into his hair. It was so unexpected that it was several seconds before Rock actually responded. As he put his arms around her it was then that he became aware of the fact that the girl was entirely naked. He pulled back slightly to look at her, aware that all the time she was covering him in light, rapid kisses she was also undressing him. Her skin seemed to glow from within like a burnished cream pearl. She had large, firm breasts with coral coloured nipples. There was a narrow waist banded by a thin silver chain and long athletic legs. Her skin felt cool and yet it seemed to burn his where it touched. In a daze and feeling as though he could barely breathe Rock realised his clothes were almost gone and he casually stripped off the rest with the girls ardent help. All he could do was moan as she ran her hands over kiss naked skin, kissing him passionalty and whispering how beautiful he was. It was so dreamlike and yet his body responded in a way that was all too real. She loosed her hair from its pins and a dark cloud enveloped them. Rock lay back in the sand with her and made love to her beneath the silver beams of the moon. It was all so perfect they might have been the only two people in the whole world that night. There was no holding back, no being careful anything but complete and utter surrender seemed wrong. At the climax of their passion Rock cried out at the sheer power of it all and then immediately felt the strange lethargy he'd felt before overwhelm him. As his eyes closed he felt her lips brush his and then he knew no more.
" Rock,ROCK!"
The words pulled Rock from the depths of sleep and he murmured, stretching out a hand to his wonderful lover but feeling nothing. She was gone; nothing remained of their night together. Someone was shaking his shoulder and he looked up into the faces of Gray and Kai.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Kai asked.
" Oh… I… I.." Rock stammered.
"Come on man, " Kai smiled, " How about some breakfast?"
" Where is she?" Rock asked scrambling to his feet and whirling round but there was no one there but the three of them.
" Who?" Gray asked.
" I don't know," Rock confessed. " I don't know her name but she is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen."
"Who? Karen? Mary?" Gray questioned.
" No, none of those girls."
"Manna then," Kai laughed.
" No." Rock pushed the laughing Kai. " She was just so…" He gave a deep sigh.
" I think you'd better tell us all about it over breakfast," Kai said, punching Rock in the arm and leading the way into the shack.
On his way home Rock went over and over what had happened on the beach. He just couldn't believe it, no one, no one knew who his wonderful goddess of a lover was. He'd described her but no one had ever seen her let alone knew her name. It was as if she had never existed. He could still feel the touch of her on his skin but it had such a dreamlike quality now. It had to have been a dream, so many thing pointed against it being real. He'd woken up fully dressed and he couldn't remember getting dressed for one. How did she know him when no one knew her? Where had she come from? and, more to the point, where had she gone? It could only have been a dream but how could a dream have been so real?
As he walked along he put his hand in his pocket to check for his keys and wallet and his fingers encountered something hard and round. As he drew his hand out he opened his fist and there, on his palm was a large golden coin. It was an ancient doubloon, weathered and encrusted with small sea creatures but nonetheless real gold. Rock stood still staring at the ancient coin, a smile growing on his face, until he flipped it into the air caught it as it spun. Yes, what a dream! He'd never forget it and as for the coin, well, he'd get a hole drilled in it and wear it for luck.
Far out to sea mermaids sat on a ring of rocks and combed their long hair. Last night they'd all gone hunting, the one night of the year when they could exchange tail for legs. Some had been lucky and they regaled their sisters with their tales. Pia brushed out her long dark hair with her coral comb and related her story. She'd had a good night; yes, a really good night and she hoped that this child would have that beautiful golden hair she loved so much. Yes, golden hair was so beautiful.