Dawn seem to break out earlier than I expected. The sunlight somehow was able to leak inside, hitting my eyes, warning me it was time to get up. I groaned and mumbled curses under my breath, not wanting to wake up in fear I was be awaken from a marvelous dream, but finally I surrendered to the sunlight and slowly opened my eyes.

The reason I was so hesitant was what happened…the hot love that was made seemed so far-fetched, so unreal I half-heartedly believed it was nothing more than a dream and I was back home, in my bed sleeping. But then, it took me awhile to realize, instead of my head resting on a soft pillow, it was resting on soft, bare skin. Lifting my head up a bit to look around, I saw the fire was still going, our clothes were scattered all over the floor, the after-effect of sex was still going on strong and the sweat that was dripping on our bodies cooled down, and she was awake, too, looking up at the ceiling while her fingers were still stroking my hair.

It really wasn't a dream.

"Morning." She murmured, her eyes dazed and still looking up at the ceiling.

"Morning," I replied. "So…did what happened really happened?"

She shrugged, still refusing to look down at me. "Depends on what you mean. If you mean did you come to my house after finding out my little secret, then yes that happened. If you mean did we get angry with each other and yelled, then yes we did. And, in the end, did we end up making love out of anger and desire, then yes we did."

I gulped in anxious as those memories were rushing back to my head, wrapping her arms more tightly around her.

"In case you're wondering, you were my first," Shocked, I lifted my head up to look at her, and she continued. "The farthest I ever gone with any of others was strictly kissing. Nothing more, nothing less. That's the honest truth."

I was infuriated by the though they were others before me were also granted access to her sweet mouth, but the anger slowly cooled off by the fact they weren't given access to her body, weren't the first ones to give her pleasure, and that made me feel a bit better. But it still wasn't enough to make up for the fact she held back important information she knew I would want to know.

"You said you were going to tell me the truth," I murmured. "Were you honestly going to?"

"Yes I was." She answered without hesitancy, true sincerity in her voice.

I was about to ask her another question, questioning why she didn't tell me sooner but then suddenly I remembered the last words she whispered to me so softly before I fell asleep. She murmured she loved me. At first I was so sure I was just hearing things until I realized she actually said those three little yet powerful words I've been praying to hear from her voice since the moment I met her. "You said you loved me."

For a brief moment she was caught off guard as shock and recognition was written on her face, but as quick as it appeared it was also gone in an instant, her face hardening into stone. Without saying a word, she pushed me off het gently, grabbed her dress and underwear but left her bra alone, and changed into her clothes in front of the fire with her back turned to me.

It was obvious she didn't want to talk about it either because she was still mad at me for all the horrible things I said to in anger last night or maybe she wanted to forget about it herself. Either way, she still refused to talk to me and focused her attention on brushing her hair in front of her small mirror, not acknowledging my presence. But just because she wasn't in the mood to talk about it, it didn't mean I wasn't.

"Flora," I said. "Were you telling me the truth when you said you loved me? Did you really mean it?"

After wasting a good five minutes brushing the left side of her hair, she fluffed it up a bit before moving onto the right side. Ignoring my hot gaze was burning holes into the back of her head.

"I'm just going to keep staring at you until you tell me," I said, still getting no response or reaction. "Really hard."

She sighed, finally (and thankfully) giving up, placed her brush on a nearby table, and whirled around to face me with her arms folded against her chest. "First you get dress, then we go on walk, and I'll tell you everything."

It didn't seem like an appealing offer, but since it was the only way for her to tell me the truth I gave in. I quickly dressed in my clothes, and followed her out the door, her leading me through the bitter cold to the deep area of the forest. The same place where we first met.

"Do you remember my reaction when you first told me you loved me?" she asked as she walked over to a weeping willow, which she told me was one of her favorite trees, and placed her hand on it and slowly stroked the bark.

I nodded. Boy did I ever. I could never forget how she jumped away from me like she was shocked, stunned into silence for a moment and was saying how I couldn't have been in love with her. It didn't make any sense to me then as it did now. "You were shocked. You seemed scared."

Sighing sadly, she tore her eyes away from the tree and turned to me. "Scared yes, and shocked most definitely."

"But why?" I questioned, my confusion deepening, and then bitterly I added "You obviously had other men who were head over heels for you, and doubtless said the same thing to you."

Of course I expected her to nod and then tell me about all the suitors before me, how they were and what they did to prove their love to her. But she surprised me into a stunned silence when she slowly shook her head back and forth, whispering "No, they haven't. No even one."

"What?" That made little sense to me. She was the infamous Spirit woman who always made men desire her with all their hearts and beings, able to make them fall hard for her with one smile or look upon her face. It would only make sense she has been told over dozens of time she was loved by someone else, or people. "But-Grandfather told me you made their hearts bleed for you-"

"Out of lust, not love," she interrupted, correcting me. "Lust and desire is all they felt for me, Helia, and it's not the same as love. They may have desired me, but only out of lustful affection. They said they desired me, wanted me, needed me, but never loved. Not a single man ever said that to me."

"Not even Damon?"

"Not even Damon," she confirmed. "Your Grandfather thought I was some kind of vampire who jumped Damon and sucked the life out him, but he never understood the true story."

"Which was…?" I asked.

She locked her emerald eyes right on me, gazing deeply into my eyes but looking at me with daze, almost if though she was back in time and Damon was the one standing in her place. "There was a horrible storm, and they were collecting wood together until they got separated. Like you, Damon wanted to collect as much wood to help survive the winter, but soon he fell down a high hill and hit his head. When I heard him scream, I came out to help him. And…I guess you could say it was love at first sight, at lease for me."

So she fell in love with my granduncle? It was clear the others didn't mean that much to her, but from her body language and the sadness growing in those daze eyes Damon was a whole other story.

"But…?" I interpreted. "Usually in tales like these, there's always a but attached near the end."

She smiled at me a small smile, but it was a smile without humor and dry like bone, and the cause of the awful sadness growing in her eyes. "Indeed but," she said. "Although I felt something strong for him and he seemed different in the end, he wasn't."

"How so?" I asked.

"Even though he treated me like a princess, unlike the others, he still felt nothing but desired lust for me. The same lust as the other forty-eight before him," I winched at the number of that many men from her past, and she shot me an apologetic look as she continued. "I could tell it was going to end the same way as before. So I left."

"But he searched for you," I told her. "He wanted to see you again and look for you."

"True, but it still wasn't right."

She told me even though she left him; those strong feelings never went away and deepened over the years. Until I came into the picture, and she found herself falling in love again. "With you." She said.

"Why? Because I look like Damon," A part of me still couldn't let go the reason why she cared so much about me only because of my resemblance to Damon, the first men she ever loved but was never returned the same feelings for her.

"No!" she sighed, shaking her head and then lowering her eyes, avoiding eye contact. "Because you were always so sweet and a complete gentleman. You always had laughing at the silliest things and made wish the time I spent with you could last forever. And when you told me you loved me, despite the fact I was shocked, I believed you immediately."

For a moment I couldn't say anything, mostly because I was in a stun silence and didn't know what to say. All this time I thought I was the only one falling in this relationship when she was also falling, too. And I could tell she was speaking the truth by the way she spoke without hesitation and true sincerity heard in her tone.

"You're a spirit, right?" I asked her.

She nodded. "When I told you a fire broke out in my home, I was lying to you then."

"About what?" I asked.

"About what really happened and the whole story." Taking in a deep breath and looking down at her hands, which were held together in front of her, she explained. "In December 12, 1832, which was the worst snowstorm ever, at a small cottage in the outskirts of a small town twelve miles north from Ivy Gomes, a horrible fire broke out. Apparently someone foolishly left a candle-lit lantern in the middle of the night when everyone was sleeping; the lantern knocked down to the ground, and sparked a fire that burned down the entire house."

As I listened to her go on, I swallowed down a lump wedged in my throat. I could already tell I really didn't like where this was going.

"Miraculously, mostly everyone was able to make it out alive in the fire. All expect for on. A young seventeen year old girl, the middle child of the family, who couldn't bear the smell of the thick smoke any longer and perished in the flames."

Looking at the girl in front of me and quickly put the pieces together, my eyes widened in shock.

Flora was the one who died in that fire, and, given the age she was when she died and the date when that horrible fire took her life, it meant she has been walking among the earth with the living for over a century.

"Why still stay here with the living when you're already dead?" I asked.

"I honestly don't know," she confessed. "When I died, they said it would take awhile for me to move on. Many years have passed, and yet here I still am, waiting. But I have a feeling it's not going to be long."

"What do you mean by that?"

She looked at me for a full minute, and then turned her eyes away, deliberately choosing not to answer.

"Okay then," Since she wasn't going to answer that one, I decided to ask her a question that seemed less difficult to answer. "How is it I'm able to see you and touch you? You're a spirit. I'm not even supposed to be kissing you, much less see and hear you."

"Well, I was a nature fairy when I was alive and a fairy in death. Over the years I was able to perfect my magic, and learn a few skills on communicating with the living. Whenever I focus my concentration hard enough and us all the energy in my body, I'm able to solid my body. But in order for me to have that solid body, I need to always focus my concentration. If I break that concentration, then…" Her voice trailed off she held her left hand in front of her and stared at it for the longest time before she was reaching out for me.

But when her hand reached for mine, it completely went right through it. As shocking as that was, nothing was more shocking or terrifying than the touch of bitter, unbelievable frost-bite clawing inside me. Chilling down my veins and running my blood cold, numbing my body completely from the inside out in less than three seconds.

I was in such relief as her hand was slowly pulled out from me, feeling the circulation of my body slowing moving again and body warmth gradually making its' way in.

"If a spirit remains in spirit form, they can choose to be seen and heard by a human," she told me. "Only problem is the person will feel a terrible frost-bite chilling their bodies."

Sheepishly I nodded in agreement after my unforgettable experience with that.

"Anymore questions you have for me?" she asked.

"Just one." I took step forward to her, slowly lifting up her chin, and caressed her cheek while looking at her right in the eyes. "When you told me you loved me, did you honestly mean it?"

Taking one tiny, baby step forward to me, closing the distance between us, and holding my hands in hers, she looked me right in the eyes and said without hesitance or blinking, "Yes, I did. I love you, Helia. I love you with all my heart and being. I love you so much."

I titled my head back and moaned a bit, feeling such pleasure and warmth from hearing those words. I then stepped forward, pulled her into me, and enveloped her petite frame in my arms, holding her tightly and never wanting this moment to end. As I laid my head on her head and she nuzzled against my shoulders, tears of joy were leaking from my eyes and oozing down my cheeks in streams from the utter disbelief and joy I was feeling from hearing those magical words she told me.

I could also tell I wasn't the only one crying, Feeling moisture wetting my jacket, I could tell Flora was also crying for the same reason I was, which made me ten times happier than before. I pecked her cheek and her ear, whispering "I love you, Flora. So much."

She gripped my shoulders, burying her face in my chest and crying harder, much harder than I was. "I love you, Helia. More than anything else in the world, I love you so much," She surprised when she slowly pulled herself away from just a bit, deeply gazed into my eyes without saying a word for what felt like a slow century, and slowly took steps away from me. "Which is why I have to leave you."

At first I was sure I was hearing things, and then decided she was only playing around with me and I chuckled a bit, though it was forced. But when I saw the expression of utter seriousness on her face, the firmness in her eyes that hardened everything else, it took me a while to realize she really wasn't kidding. "What?"

"I'm leaving, Helia." She said.

"What? Why?" I demanded.

"Two reasons," she answered. "First because I could already feel my soul losing ties to this world, which means I'm moving on. Second, I love you too much to be anymore of a bother to you. And it is because of that reason I refuse to stay here."

"A bother?" My insides were already numbing again, but not from the cold. It was getting numb from her words. "If it's because of all those awful things I said to you, then I take them back. I was angry, I was idiot-"

"Helia," she cut off. "It's not about that. That doesn't even matter because I know you didn't mean them. This is about me doing something for someone I love and care about."

"How can this possibly be for someone you care about when you causing you pain? And me?" Her arms were wrapped around her body as she cried hard, the endless tears spilling from her eyes and dripping like heavy rain down her face. But she wasn't the only one crying. I was trying to hold in the tears, but I failed miserably as I felt them rolling down my cheeks. "Don't you want to be with me?"

"Of course I want to be with you!" She seemed shocked by my question, as if such an idea was unthinkable. "But we can't. I'm a spirit, you're human. Its forbidden, and we can never be together."

"Can't you wait for me?" I asked.

She smiled that same small smile she gave me earlier, much sadder than the last time and weak. "I wish, but you deserve someone else. Someone who is just much better than some slutty whore who has been playing love games for so long, it took such a long time for her to realize love was actually real when the right person came along."

It was one thing to hear me say those cruel words, but it was quite another to hear them coming her own mouth. Hearing her said them was heart-breaking, making me feel so horrible for saying them in the first place.

"But I love you." I closed the small distance and cupped her tear-streak, wet face in my hands, wiping (and sometimes kissing) away the tears.

"And I love you, too," she whispered. "So much, so much and more than anything else. But I also love you too much to be selfish with you. I care about you so much; I'm willing to let you go. I have to."

I opened my mouth to protest, to tell her if having my soul would keep her here then it was hers to take, but then I closed it again when no words would come out. It was clear nothing I said was going to change her mind since her mind was always made up. No matter how much I wanted her to be with her, I realized that would be selfish because she deserved to move on and I couldn't take that opportunity away from her.

"If that's what you want." I told her; trying to keep a straight face on despite the fact I felt so much agony inside.

She shook her head. "It isn't what I want, but it's for the best. But can you do a small favor for me?"

"Anything." I vowed.

"Promise me, you will never, ever do anything stupid and please keep yourself safe."

Nodding my head, I made a vow to myself to live up to that promise. "Can I ask you for something in return?"

"What?" she asked.

She shivered by my touch as I caressed her cheek, and then lowered my hand down to her neck, slowly caressing it. "Kiss me."

She didn't even needed for me to ask the question twice; before the full sentence could come from my mouth, her lips were already pressed against mine and I kissed her back. We've kissed over dozens of times before, but always did I felt that current of fire running between us, connecting us into a deeper bond, and we were wrapped in a safe cocoon of sparks dancing around us, protecting us and making everything else fade away expect for the moment we were sharing and the feeling of our lips pressed together.

Everything intensified as I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her closer to me, and she encircled her arms around my neck. Our kisses were passionate, ravish with hot desperation and desire, and we mustered everything we felt for each other, including our love, into those kisses.

Finally she detached our lips, but I quickly stole one last kiss before she pulled away. "Goodbye Helia."

She was gone.

And that was the last time I ever seen her again.

Seventy years have passed since then, and I was now an old man being taken care of by my grandson and his two young children. In some ways much has changed in Ivy Gomes since then, and some hasn't.

Eventually Arthur has forgiven me for all the times I lied to him, even though I could always sense he felt the love she and I shared was fake. He was now married and lived in a small house in the town, while I still lived in our family's cottage in the forest, with his wife of fifty-eight years, Megan, their three children, and their twelve grandchildren. And like my brother, Timmy was also living in a small house in the town with his wife, who was Tecna of course, with their children and their grandchildren.

When she left, there was a lot of first. It felt life has lost meaning of itself, and I couldn't go on. There was a burning hole in my chest, as if someone stick a searing hot poker through my heart, aching her more than anything and the pain was often time too much for me to move on. But despite all the heartbreak and pain that came along with it, I would never trade it for anything because it was part of my memory of her.

The infamous La Belle Dame Sans Merci. The woman from my grandfather stories, and the only woman I ever have and will always be in love with.

My name is Helia Gabriel. To my best friend, I am dreamer who needs to get my head out from the clouds. To my brother, I was an idiot for going out in those words in the first place. But to me, and also to her, I was the victim who fell in love with her, the infamous heart-breaker and heart-desire, but in the end I was let go gently and allowed to live out my life.