The Tale of Life’s Lover
Long ago, I fell within a tree, dreaming and waking to the same dream and to the same reality. How long have I been falling? I thought upon awakening from another long dream. I’m taking far too long… Not so long after becoming aware again, I safely landed without impact, the wind itself a cushion for my fall. I slowly touched the rough wooden ground with the tip of my toe. It had been so long since I had touched solid ground that I couldn’t be sure if what I felt was real or not. I stood up straight and raised my hands up to stretch. She’s waiting. I thought to myself, and entered the bark-bound hall before me.
I wandered the endless corridors of temporal worlds and hidden things. Small green sprites faintly illuminated the way. Brushing my fingers across the sylvan rifts with each step I took, I reacquainted myself with the place outside places… My dearly missed home. With each strum upon the walls, occasional reverberations were created on the strands between spaces, like millions of tiny strings on a lute. The scent of moss ridden bark was quickly replaced with the aroma of dying leaves and freshly bloomed flowers as a gust of wind flooded the hall. A court of trees, drenched in sun ray of both a morning dawn and an evening dusk appeared within the great halls, and I stepped forth to greet it.
My other was there, waiting for me, as she had always done so before. “What took you so long?” She asked, slowly getting up from the worn table she had been sitting at. She moved toward me, coyly grasping her hands behind her back. A gentle breeze picked up, enticing petals to drift and leaves to fall, Spring and Autumn greeting each other in this place without sense of time. I replied by embracing her tightly. I breathed in her hair, the scent of the sky itself. Sorry I took so long… I thought to myself, but refrained from speaking. I was too captivated and too comfortable to say anything. …I’ve missed you so much.
“I have to show you something!” She said, and revealed a small book that she had been hiding behind her back, placing it in my hands. The book was riddled with keyholes through its leather cover and spine. The book had a familiar feeling to it, one that I couldn’t quite place. “Where’s the key?” I asked. She shook her head. “There isn’t one…” I held the book up to the strands of sunlight beaming through the foliage and saw that the keyholes ran straight through the book, exposing tiny paper tunnels. “What’s the point of a keyhole without a lock?” I said as I peered through the book with one squinting eye. “So you don’t need to unlock it, silly!” I looked at her with a sarcastic smile that said, of course, how could I be so foolish? It was warm to the touch, and felt as if it shifted in weight from time to time. Another Oddity, then? I thought to myself.
I flipped through the pages, and found nothing but blank paper. “So… What does it do?” I asked. “You write in it, you read it… You could eat the paper of course, but I don’t think it would taste any good…” She replied with a teasing smile. “You know what I mean…” I said as I chuckled. I looked around the court and found the same desk I had constructed long ago from a wind-felled tree. “Well… Since there aren’t any words to read, I suppose that leaves me with one other option, doesn’t it?” My other ran to the old table she had been sitting at and came back presenting a silver fork and knife clasped in her hand, glee written over her face. “Funny…” I said with a smirk. “Alright, alright. Here it is…” She reached to the back of her head and plucked out a long, odd-looking feather that kept her hair loosely tied back. As she did this, her wild umber hair elegantly spilled to her fair shoulders. “Here you go… Bet you missed this, huh?” “Yes… I’ve missed both you and Quill beyond what words can possibly say…”
I made my way to the desk that stood at the foot of the largest tree of the court and took a seat, that all too familiar spot of mine. The ivory “tree” was a strange sight to behold, having never quite got used to its otherwordly presence. It was much older than the ancient forest of the court, which in and of itself, was as old as the eldest of the Gods I had met in my many travels. My other skipped to where I sat, making the leaves under her bare feet crunch with every hop. She leaned in and peered over my shoulder. “So! Who’s story are you going to write next?” The wind hushed as if holding its breath, listening intently…
Choose your story, fellow wanderer…
Other stories:
The Confounding Oddities of Lachesis Grim (Coming Soon…)
Oddities: The Tale of Nearly Thomson
The Tales of Nameless (Many more Coming Soon…)
This is marvelous. I hope it’s part of a larger work… I’d love to see where it goes!
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Your words are incredibly inspiring… It is indeed part of very large pieces of work! The formation of this universe and book series is many years in the making.
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wow… compelling!
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Thank you, Gail!
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🙂
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well hell. Now I’m entranced and there goes the neighborhood. I’ll never get anything done now.
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Hah, you made my day!
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Words that flow so smoothly and are sweeter than honey.
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I enjoy reading your style, it’s fluid and descriptive. May I ask who your influences are?
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Chris, that means a lot, truly. I suppose Tolkien, Kipling, Herbert, Doyle, Lovecraft and a few anonymous poets were my foundations… Who knows.
I would say my greatest inspiration would be most of the mythology, theology, and fairy tales of our world. I’m an absolute sucker for fairy tales. I don’t want to giveaway the inspiration I took from mythology that this series is attributed to, though, at least not yet! Though I will say it is heavily influenced by Norse and Celtic mythology.
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Hey, no worries man. I wish I knew more writers like yourself because its nice to relate to those whom have the same aspiration as I do. I’ve recently finished a manuscript based in the fantasy fiction genre and after reading this entry of yours, I started second guessing my style. I am a sucker for Lovecraft as well; great stuff.
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To continue my response (I accidentally sent it before I was finished) . . . I just wanted to say thank you for the thoughtful response and this may not go very far in saying this, but you’ve given me a bit of inspiration. Keep writing and I hope to see more of your material. With that being said, please (when you have the time) check out mine.
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It goes a very long way, my friend. I did get a chance to read one and I really enjoyed the one about the Daemons! Malebolgia… Is that from Dante’s Inferno? It sounds very familiar. I haven’t read that in quite some time. I can’t wait to read more, I just have to focus on NaNoWriMo, but I’m going to keep your page tabbed so I can read more stories.
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Thank you Sayer, that’s out-of-this-world awesome! I completely understand your priorities and do not wish to take you from them. I would love to read your book and will keep myself updated on when it becomes available for purchase. The deadline said November 30th on your site (I like how easy it is to follow things on your website)? You’re the man and thanks again!
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Yes, that’s when the first draft must be complete, I’m hoping to edit it through the next several months and then I’ll try my hand at the rejection letter game. I’ll post updates on its progress and expected dates. Thanks again for the encouraging words, Chris.
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Hello there! I do so enjoy reading your blog. I find your writing style and eclectic collections very inspiring indeed. I have taken the liberty of nominating you for a Liebster Award, which is an informal award given from blogger to blogger and I have included info about this and a link to your website in my latest blog post here – https://sarahjustinepackwood.com/2018/02/23/wayfaring-sarah-has-received-a-liebster-award-and-bends-the-rules/
Keep on writing! Sarah
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Wow, Sarah, I’m incredibly flattered! I appreciate the read and your write up!
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Reblogged this on ReBirth: The Pursuit of Porsha.
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Interesting introduction, cool easy style, I like it.
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Thank you sir, I appreciate your kind words.
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Could I have your email please? I would like to send you a copy of my new book.
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That is kind of you, and much appreciated, but I have to tell you my current reading list is long.
ceayr99@gmail.com
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Not to worry. Thankfully mine is a shorter read, so when you’re caught up, this will be a breeze.
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Thank you for the follow, at a glance this seems like it will take some time to get my sad brain around, believe me i will, I’m away now to hit the follow button and will spread the good news.
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