CHAPTER 1 – AWAKE
You could instantly tell that they were a couple. A breathtakingly beautiful couple. He was tall and slender, though well built. There was an air of strength and authority about him, but not arrogance. His honey blonde hair was swept back under a fedora hat, and his jaw strong and masculine. His eye colour was not clear as he gazed down lovingly at the tiny, pixie-like girl beside him. She must have been less than five foot tall, with short, black, spiky hair and tiny, perfect features. She was painfully thin – as though she had been undernourished for years - with large, amber eyes. Her skin, like his, was translucently pale and perfectly smooth. They both had dark, purplish bruises beneath their eyes, as though they had not slept for days, but they otherwise didn't look tired. Quite the opposite, in fact – they looked radiant. She was leaning her head on his upper arm; she was so small her head didn't even reach his shoulder, and his hand was wrapped comfortably around hers.
They were both impeccably dressed in expensive looking, tailor made garments. She wore a blue-grey, strapless silk gown which skimmed her slim calves and royal blue peep-toe shoes. He wore a well-cut, double-breasted grey suit with crisp white shirt, brogues and, of course his grey fedora.
The original assessment that they were a couple didn't seem to reflect the depth of their now obvious relationship. They looked similar, yet different, but very much like they belonged to each other; they complemented each other perfectly and were totally at ease together. It seemed as though they were complete in each other's company. They were sun and moon, heaven and earth, yin and yang; they were soulmates.
I opened my eyes to the dark, quiet room. The image was so real, and the overwhelming feelings it had generated suggested that it was so much more than a dream; the couple really existed, and I knew that the girl I had seen was, in fact, myself. Myself and my soulmate, the beautiful, unnamed boy. I wondered briefly where he was as my eyes brought the dark room into focus.
Gazing upwards, my senses sharpened, as though I were waking from a long, deep sleep. The ceiling above me was made of rough-hewn timber, hand fashioned into lengths and packed closely together. Heavy beams crossed underneath, supporting the entire structure. The wood was so – beautiful. The grain mesmerised me, flowing in long lines with subtle changes in colour and texture. It seemed to come alive and dance before my eyes.
I shook my head, and squeezed my eyes closed for a moment. Where was I? I couldn't remember. A more distressing thought occurred to me – Who was I? I wracked my brain trying to find some answers, but nothing occurred to me. I couldn't recall anything, but the image of myself and my partner. Before that... nothing.
A loud bang from somewhere nearby startled me. In an instant I had whirled sideways off my resting place and was half-standing, half-crouching against the wall furthest from the noise. A guttural growl built deep within me and escaped through my bared teeth. My hands were raised protectively, fingers bent into claws as if to gouge at the perceived threat. I strained to listen for more.
A breeze outside blew lightly, rustling the leaves in the overhead trees. A river, no... smaller; a brook nearby babbled as the water flowed over the rounded pebbles. A tiny fish flipped its tail, making a small splashing noise. A frog croaked, the sound swelling in its throat again and again as it breathed in air to replace that which mixed with the noise. Millions of crickets, rubbing their legs made a deafening noise. An owl called to another. How had I ever thought it was quiet? The sounds betrayed the time of day, and I recognised the night noises.
The breeze blew again, and the bang that had caused me to jump up sounded again. My ears were more attuned, now, however, and I recognised it to be the loose door banging against the frame in the wind. There was no one here. No one but myself. I straightened up into a standing position, confident that I wasn't in any danger.
The smells of the forest, and closer, the wood cabin and its contents, now became clearer. The most pungent of those smells seemed to be coming from my own clothing. I looked down, to see a worn, dirty, grey smock covering my thin frame. The smell of sweat and mould and starch burned my nostrils. How repugnant.
Suddenly, and without warning, the scene before my eyes changed.
The pixie-like girl stood in a forest, her feet bare against the forest floor. Her face was raised slightly towards the sky, as though she were absorbing the cool, clean air through her pale skin, and her eyes were closed. If it weren't for the dank grey smock she wore, she would look like a beautiful marble sculpture. Behind her, the woodsman's timber cottage cast shadows in the moonlight.
I recognised myself now, and knew somehow that this was my immediate future. I flitted to the door and raised it a crack, looking out at the scenery that I had, just moments ago, seen in my mind.