Shine

I was overwhelmed by the sudden warmth.

The woman took off her shawl and gently wrapped it around my shivering body. Without her shawl I glanced at her dress that ran to her ankles.

Her hair was red and curly and long. She had freckles that pranced all over her face and her eyes were so blue. They were almost as blue as the water in the caribbean. I felt extremely lost in them. I noticed a young child sitting on a chair made of a thick wicker.

He had a curious little look on his face and was holding a handmade teddy bear. He smiled at me and suddenly a pair of wings sprouted outward from his back.

My eyes bulged open.

Those could not be real, could they? They were multicolored and beautiful. I had never seen anything so beautiful in my life. They fluttered and he grinned and began to giggle. His head cocked to the side and he clapped his hands together. I pressed one of my hands on the soft couch for balance. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

“Keehlan!” The woman scolded from the kitchen.

She had placed a small tea pot onto a little stove that looked very similar to one I had in a Barbie dream house.

Not that it was tiny, but it was very fake looking.

“What have I told you about controlling your wings!?” She said and left the kitchen. Keehlan frowned and his wings suddenly disappeared back into him. She picked him up and bounced him on her hip. “I’m so sorry to alarm you dear. He’s just realized he had them. I’m sure you have known the feeling?” She laughed.

I stifled a nervous laugh. “Uh..yeah.” I nodded.

“You look so chilled.” She said touching on of my cheeks with her free hand. “Please, do sit.” She gestured towards the couch. “You have so much to tell me. Are you lost, child?” She asked and went back to the kitchen, the boy still on his hip.

“Yes.” I replied trying to hide my muddy feet from the nice woven rug.

“Where are you from?” She inquired as the tea pot began to whistle.

“I uh-“ I didn’t know how to respond, in fear she would think I was crazy and throw me back to the rain. “Ava.” I replied.

She looked at me confusedly. “Ava?” She laughed. “Darling, this is Avalon. I’ve never heard of someone refer to it as Ava. Is there another fae village called Ava?”

Fae village? What the hell is a “fae village?”

“Are you ill, child?” She asked looking concerned as she poured a cup of tea into an oddly shaped tea cup. I shook my head.

“No, I am just so confused.” I grasped my now aching head in my hands. “One minute I was home, and then I was falling through a tree.” I sighed.

“A tree?” She questioned and held out two lumps of sugar.

“Just one please.” I smiled. She nodded and dropped one into the cup with a plink. She continued to pour her own and then sat in the wicker chair with Keehlan. “Yes. A tree.”

“Hmm. Well that certainly is original.” She laughed. I frowned, it was ridiculous falling through trees.

Then again, I had just seen a baby sprout wings.

“I know it seems crazy.” I said basking in the warmth the tea had brought me. She smiled at me again, this time sympathetically. She looked over my muddied feet and wet appearance.

“Well, you could use a bath.” She said and put Keehlan in a little makeshift play pin. I followed her up a set of rickety steps and into a small room. It contained a bathtub with a pipe from the wall running into it.

She lit a small fireplace and I stood awkwardly waiting to be instructed on what to do next. “I am so terribly sorry, I have forgotten to introduce myself!” She laughed again. Her laugh was beautiful. She turned a small knob on the opposite side of the room and steaming water shot from the pipe into the tub.

My muscles contracted in the warmth. I let out a huge relieving sigh. “My name is Morgan.” She said and then briefly left the room. I looked around and then stared back at the hot water luring me in. Morgan came back with fabrics in her hand. “It’s a shame you’ve gotten so lost, in your undergarments no less!” She chuckled. I felt myself blush even though sweatpants and t-shirt were quite appropriate from where I came from. “Blue? Or gold?” she asked holding out two different fabrics.

“Gold?” I replied. I always loved warm colors.

She put the blue fabric down and then let the gold one roll out in her arms. She took another look at me and then looked back at the fabric. She chuckled again and pulled what looked like confetti out of her dress pocket.

She closed her eyes suddenly and blew the confetti all over the fabric. Before my eyes the gold fabric had contorted itself several times, before forming itself into a beautiful gold gown. I gasped and stepped backwards. I could feel the rim of the tub behind me but before I could grasp the edges I fell in with a splash. The tub was deeper than I had expected and my entire body was engulfed by water. I rose to the surface and grabbed each side of the tub.

“Oh my goodness!” Morgan said laughing hysterically. “I didn’t mean to scare you!” She said. “Hasn’t your mother made a dress for you before?
”
“Not like that.” I muttered spitting out scorching water. Morgan placed the dress on a rack.

“I’ll be downstairs if you need me.” She said and I heard the creaking of the steps as she walked down them. I felt the mud crack and give under the water and I let myself relax into the tub. For a minute, I felt safe, and even though I was extremely far from my city, and my house, I felt at home.

I felt at peace with everything. I peeled my wet clothes off of me and threw the drenched garments into a corner of the room. I sank down deeper into the tub and watched the rain drip from the roof to the window pane. The water felt strange on my skin, as if it was all sinking into my body, making it feel heavy.

I was tired, and felt like I was drifting off.

“He didn’t even say anything, Morgan.” A male voice rang, coming closer and closer towards the door. My whole body tensed in the tub, and I worriedly pushed bubbles around to hide myself. I heard the door latch slip open. I stifled a gasp. “I wasn’t even- GOOD LORD!” He yelled spotting me hunched over in the tub. His hand went over his eyes and he shifted his gaze across the room. I felt the blush rise in my face. “I am so sorry!” He stuttered flabbergasted. He maneuvered over to the rack where my dress was on and grabbed a hand towel.

“I uh…. Umm…” My words had lost me. He shifted over to the rack and grabbed the towel and then shifted back to the door.

“I’ll just um…yes…” He waved, still not looking, and slammed the door behind him with a bang. I jumped at the noise. “You didn’t tell me we had company!” He belted, to I assumed Morgan. I heard the faint cry of Keehlan in the background.

“You didn’t ask.” She responded giggling slightly.