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Chapter 3

Uncertainty, doubt, apprehension… So many feelings crowded inside, struggling with each other, making her hesitate. The man sat in a relaxed posture, slightly reclined, one knee over the other and his hands calmly resting on top. Waiting, with observant eyes seeking hers, completely attentive as if he had expected her to come. All of a sudden she became very tired, drained as if coming home after a long and difficult journey. Without any words being exchanged, she sat down beside him and leaned back.

He slowly turned towards her and said, "I'm glad you finally decided to come."

Her rational side told her that she ought to be terrified. At the same time, deep inside it was as if she had expected him to say something similar. Trying hard to retain her composure, she turned to face him noticing how tall he was. Although they were both sitting down, she barely reached his shoulder.

"You have been waiting for me?" she asked with a voice more unsteady than she had wished.

He nodded slightly in reply.

"I know you from…" she hesitated, unsure how to say what she herself had a hard time believing. She finally continued in almost a whisper unsure if her voice would carry, "…from my dreams."

He lowered his head while raising his right hand to his heart, "I am Elrond." He said his name in a matter-of-fact tone, as if it would explain everything to her.

She opened her mouth slowly, hesitating to tell a stranger her name, "Well, my name is…"

He silenced her with a raised hand. "I know your name, but more importantly…" his eyes drilled into hers as he asked, "Who are you?"

Confusion and fear started to tumble inside, her mouth dry and her heart thundered in an uncontrollable rhythm. 'Who are you?' That question belonged to her, she thought. Who was this man, this man that had invaded her dreams and now sat so calmly beside her in broad daylight? How did he know her? Why did it appear as if he had been waiting for her, expecting her to come?

"I don't know." She managed to stutter, feeling even more confused than before. "How come you know my name?"

The man smiled at her, almost amused. Despite the mirth in his eyes, she did not feel like a fool because his demeanour remained open and friendly.

He ignored her question and lifted his hand to her face. She automatically flinched because old habits are hard to break, and he stopped his hand just an inch from her chin. "Why are you afraid of me?" He asked, still smiling down at her while his hand resumed its movement to touch the side of her face. The memory of the dream came back to her. She remembered how 'this' hand had felt on her cheek. She recognised his touch, and how warm and dry his hand had felt while it rested against her skin the previous night.

She shook her head, not in reply or to remove his hand, but to try to rid herself of the overwhelming sensation that she was losing control. She realised that she was starting to succumb.

"Are you feeling ill?" Elrond asked with concern in his voice.

"No, but I feel so strange," she replied, swallowing hard. "I feel like I'm losing control," she added quietly and honestly, mostly to herself.

He must have heard her though. "Do not be afraid," he tried to calm with a tender voice. "I mean you no harm."

The concern in his voice irritated her, and she reacted the only way she knew how, with anger. "I'm not afraid of you," she bit back with a firm tone. She then realised that she probably sounded more confident than she must have appeared. Her hands were now shaking uncontrollably and she tucked them between her knees in an effort to hide them.

He did not reply. There was no need for that. He just reached out his arm and wrapped it around her shoulders. "There, try to calm down," he hushed as he pulled her body close to his side and with his other hand leaned her head to rest against his chest. "Everything is alright. Everything is just as it is supposed to be," he whispered, repeating it over and over again while stoking her back as one would to calm a scared child.

She found safety and protection in this stranger's embrace. Her ear rested over his heart and through his chest, she sensed its beats so similar to the sound of waves breaking against a distant shore. The sound was comforting and called out to her, and soon her own heartbeat slowed to become one with his.

"I have heard your call for some time now, but the walls you have built around yourself have been hard for me to break through," he explained while still stroking her back, her hair. His words washed over her heart like warm water over a block of ice, and hopeful little rivulets poured like tears out of her eyes as her stoic resolve melted away. At that moment, something stirred deep inside of her… as a wish she had hidden for so many years… something she never would have dreamed to admit losing, not even to herself... Hope!

"I'll succumb," she sobbed. "I will succumb!"

***

She didn't remember how long she cried. It felt like an eternity. Eventually the tears subsided, and she found herself content in leaning and resting against the stranger's chest. His hands were still on her body, one on her lower back and one on the right side of her face. It didn't, however, make her feel awkward. It felt like the most natural thing in the world. It felt right.

After a while, he slowly pushed her away and took her face between his palms, and with a tender touch turned her reluctant head to gaze into his dark, grey eyes. She was stunned at what she found there. Her own reflection stared back at her and she was beautiful, a beauty that came from within. Her face radiant with harmony and content, her wrinkles and worry lines were gone and her eyes glittered, as if they had captured stars. She found herself speechless. He just chuckled, delighted at her astonishment.

"You will get used to it," he told her. "It is called peace of mind."

He then released her face and rose to his feet, all in one swift move. "I must leave you now," he explained.

The moment was gone. The magic was broken, and with that came the sound of the winds rustling through leaves and the spring-delirious twittering of birds. She hadn't realised that they were gone, not until the moment they came rolling back crashing toward her senses again. She felt utterly spent and empty, drained of all energy and to top it off, she had no idea where she was.

"But first I will walk you back," he smiled reassuringly in response to her bewildered expression.

He gently placed his hand under her elbow and silently started to guide her down the path she had followed earlier, and this time she took notice of her surroundings. The man who called himself Elrond walked her through a landscape that captured her with its breathtaking charm. Soon she felt her body being filled with new energy and strength. After a while, she felt quite rested and Elrond let go of her arm. The woods gradually grew thinner and passed over into green hills. Gently rolling they went on towards the horizon, covered in a deep and lush verdure that were only occasionally interrupted by copses and birch groves.

A feeling of great joy slowly overcame her as she walked alongside the strange man. She noticed that as far as she could see, there where no signs of civilisation. She had never known that such a serene and undisturbed area existed here. Sure, she thought. She realized this was the countryside, but thought there ought to be cultivated land somewhere nearby. As soon as I get back home I will have to find this area on the map, if for no other reason than to return and better enjoy it in solitude.

As they walked together, time once again seemed to have ceased to exist. It ought to be late afternoon by now but as she turned her head up towards the sun, she could see that it had not yet reached noon. She had not eaten nor taken her medications this morning, yet she could feel no hunger or pain in her body. Eventually her body took its token, and she began to tire, and found herself falling behind. She tried to hasten her steps to walk beside him and in a breathless voice, talk to him and ask questions. He seemed to take little or no notice of her though, so she spent more and more time viewing Elrond's backside rather than her surroundings.

They walked for what seemed like hours and all the emotions from earlier started to surface again. Fragments of memories appeared so vividly she felt she could reach out and grasp them… but then they would fade and disappear like something or someone erased them from her mind. In their place came old, deeply buried and since long ago forgotten memories from her childhood, memories that made her remember how it was to feel loved and secure. However, with those flashbacks came the disturbing realisation that it was she who allowed the things that had happened to her later in life.

She tried to clear her head and reason with herself. There was something that did not add up. She thought that, at any minute, everything would return to normal, and the day and its events would have a perfectly valid, reasonable explanation. She once again lifted her eyes and looked at Elrond as he walked in silence in front of her. He walked without effort, his steps were soundless and at times his feet did not even touch the ground. At least, that was how it seemed to her. She felt a sting of envy as her own legs and feet now grew heavier with each step, and she frequently stumbled on each small obstacle in their path.

Finally, Elrond halted. He turned around and smiled towards her. "This is where our little journey ends," he told her. "Time is growing preciously short and I must leave." He reached out his hand and slowly stroked her chin. "But we will soon meet again," he added with a nod. He turned around and walked towards the trees in the small grove next to the pathway. Before she had time to react or speak, he was gone and out of sight.

Chapter 4 --