The Stolen One

Chapter One

The tall grass of the meadow slashes against my bare knees beneath my summer dress. I'm smiling so widely that my cheeks ache. Joy fills my heart. I'm with my best friend in the whole wide world. Finn McHail. He and I hold hands as we run together, each step in sync with the other's. Our dark hair dances in the wind. Our voices commingle, carrying the tune of an old Irish folk song on the wind.

Finn and I had always been close, so much so that it often felt as if we were two halves of the same person. We liked and hated the same things, finished each other's sentences, and I'd swear that our hearts beat in the same rhythm. I hardly went anywhere without him. People who weren't familiar with us, often mistook us as twins or at least brother and sister, even though we looked nothing alike.

I loved him with every breath in my body and I was sure that we'd never grow apart. But…sometimes…the people most important to you get ripped away from you… no matter how much you love them.

Ending our song, he lets go of my hand and runs towards the tall tree on the hill at the center of the meadow. "Catch me, Willow!" He yells as he dodges ahead.

"Stay away from there, Finn!" I call out after him, running to catch up. "That's the fairy ring!" Finn and I had grown up listening to my grandmother's wild tales about the Fae and the magic they possessed. Around this specific tree was a ring of mushrooms. According to lore, this ring was a portal to the world of the Fae. Through them, they could come into this world and steal people away. We were warned never to go near the things.

"You don't honestly believe those old wise tales, do you?" Finn laughs. He reaches the tree and grabs a hold of it's trunk. His feet pass into the fairy ring. The ground beneath his feet lights up with an ominous red light. Finn lets out a scream. "I-I can't move!" He cries.

I stall where I am. I can't move. I'm too scared.

Finn's screams intensify as pale arms reach through the ground and grab him by the legs. Sharp nails dig into his legs, slicing red lines of blood across his skin.

I watch on helplessly, as my best friend, my surrogate brother, and my other half, is dragged into the earth and vanishes into thin air.

I jolt upright in bed, gasping for breath. My hand clutches at my chest. My ribs feel like their about to be shattered by my thudding heart.

"Mmmmm." The man beside me grumbles as he stirs. He lifts his head up, his eyes still drowsy. "You alright, babe?" He asks, his words slurring.

I run my hand through my sweaty, tangled hair, trying to calm myself down. "Yeah. I…I'm fine…It was just a bad dream."

"You sure have a lot of those." His head falls back onto his pillow like it's full of lead. He's back to sleep in milliseconds.

I stare at his sleeping face. His face is as blissful as a sleeping baby's. It must be nice, being able to get a full night's rest without waking up three or four times a night. With a heavy sigh, I carefully climb out of bed. I find my discarded clothes and pull them on as I walk out of the bedroom.

I make some tea and drink it as I watch the sun come up again.

A few hours later, Danny finally rolls out of bed. He buttons up his shirt as he leaves my bedroom. "Christ, I overslept again." He mutters to himself, angrily. He runs his hand through his short blond hair to make himself look halfway presentable.

"Want something to eat?" I ask halfheartedly, knowing what the answer will be.

"Sorry. No can do." He replies right on schedule. "I've got to get back to take Jenna and Kyle to school."

"Oh." I sigh, taking a sip of tea so I can swallow the ache in my throat. I don't like to be reminded of the family I'm destroying. "When's Laura getting home from her visit with her mom?"

"Tomorrow, I think. It may be a couple of days before we can go out again. Is that alright?" He shrugs his jacket on and smiles at me. He's so charming and good mannered. Hard to believe a guy like him would have the guts to cheat on his wife. He's good at the adultery thing. I'm not the first girlfriend on the side. I definitely won't be the last so long as Laura's in the dark.

"That's fine. Call me when you can." I say. He leans over the headrest of the oatmeal colored couch and kisses me goodbye.

I watch him leave and I'm happy when he's gone. Danny's just the latest in a line of dead end boyfriends. It's never anything serious. It's just sex. Just a way to get my mind off of my pain…the pain of a heart that's still broken. I guess dating random guys is my way of trying to find my other half again, but I know that' s impossible. The only person who could ever fill that void is Finn and it's been thirteen years since I last saw him. I don't know if my memories are right anymore. My parents always told me that it was shock that made me think up such a crazy scenario. All I know for certain is, Finn is gone and I'll never have him back.