Rain

Chapter 2: Magical Wonders

Elation. Such a word could only describe the feeling which built as the nights passed. A week had gone by since that wispy night, as she came to refer to it. No one besides her knew the presence of these ancient lights in her forest, nor of the shadowy figure that had been watching her, but every night since she had smelled the rain, even if the sky didn’t seem to agree.
She had been working every night since the mysterious encounter. He mother had surprised her the morning after with setting up their studio/ workroom while she was sleeping. When she awoke that night, the first sight out of the darkness she saw was her very first corset, an authentic design from the early 18oos, the only thing different was that it was made with a modern sewing machine. Since that night she had been designing and experimenting, and her creations seemed to create their own spirit.
The light that guided her through the forest and those eyes that called to her subconscious were now frequent figures in her dreams, and somehow her creativity seemed to be amplified ten-fold. She knew that inspiration had been awakened in her soul; her art now possessed an otherworldly feeling. Her designs had always been more Halloweenish than the usual clothing of today, but some creations that she made, even she couldn’t wear unless it was Halloween. One piece in particular stuck in her mind: a corset covered in eyeballs; it gave a whole new meaning to “all seeing eyes.” It had started out as a canvas corset, but instead of leaving it blank or painting it the night sky like the others, somehow she had started painting eyes. She loved it, but she felt like it was more something to be displayed rather than worn.
She had been so busy working, not only making her wardrobe but repairing the castle as well, that she had not the time to go exploring again.
They had made immense progress since they first came to the castle. There was now plumbing with running water flowing to the kitchen and bathrooms, as well as many other improvements inside. But repairing the castle from the inside out had taken up most of her time, and what time she had left, she spent making her wardrobe, eating, and sleeping. From dusk till dawn, her agenda was full.
On this night, however, the instant she woke she yearned to go outside.
She decided to see her mother before venturing out; she knew that if she didn’t see her mum and her room was empty if someone came to check on her, she might frighten them. So after getting dressed in a simple peasant dress and a corset, she ventured through the castle. Her mother was set up in the studio making trees and wands. Wanting to contribute to their mini forest collection of items, she stayed and talked for a while, helping to create the little copper creatures. One hour and a few conversations later, a tree that had eyes as branches and pairs of eyes had been made of her mother’s heart, star, and shamrock wands.
After telling her mum about her intentions and promising to be back by dinner, Ceridwen grabbed her cloak, sketchbook, and camera, put her camera’s strap around her neck and set out. The artistic inspirations of the castle held no bounds. She had wanted to climb to the top of the tower, but instead of her feet following the path to the stairs, she found her feet making their way out to the bay.
She looked up toward the sky, this was the first night that she had been here that the sky did not contain one cloud. Most of the time she had been here the sky had been obscured with dark clouds. Instead, tonight millions of stars filled the celestial field and the waning moon smiled widely down at her. Never in her life had she seen so many stars; they shined so bright the reflected back on the water below. She felt so serene in this moment; the waves softly rolling onto shore lulled her into a deep realization.
She knew that these pictures she took, and the paintings that resulted, could quite possibly go down in history. Her castle was a crumbling historical monument, and she and her family were restoring it to its original condition, with some essential modern improvements. They had decided to document every stage of the development. Ceridwen’s role in that aspect was taking pictures during the night, and then painting them later on.
Though they had been improving the castle every day and night since they first got there, the only difference you could perceive from the outside was that the ancient walls were no longer being eaten by Ivy, and the plants that had not grown there before.
Take for example, the pumpkin patch, she thought to herself. They are young, and barely noticeable, but one day we will have pumpkins. And berries, we still need to plant berries, as well as other plants, of course. Like Rosemary, Lavender, Sage, Thyme, mandrake…
Still, the historical castle was undergoing a transformation, and she knew that representing it was how she would be remembered.
Her castle held so much wonder, and in the moonlight it looked as if she was in a magical world; a world where anything was possible. She did not know if her pictures could convey what she saw, but she tried her best to make the lens an extension of her eyes. She almost became one with her camera, and had she not been the one to take the photographs herself, she could have sworn that someone manipulated them with Photoshop.
Snapping pictures and not really paying attention the where she was going anymore, she came to a stop she heard a sound like fluttering wings, but with a mystical tune that sounded like chimes in the wind coming along with it. Turning the flash off on her camera, she slowly turned and took a picture of the source of the sound. Another light appeared floating in the forest different from the first she had seen. This light was bigger than the last, and was a beautiful emerald green compared the soft gold of the former.
This light surprisingly did not disappear after it had its picture taken, and in fact did not move until she came to the border of the woods. Still though it had started, the instant her toe broke the border, the glow beyond the veil slowly started to move. It seemed aware of her every movement; the whole journey if stayed within 5 feet of her, guiding her with its beautiful melody. It was not until the opening of the trees signaling the clearing was near that the light evaporated.
Knowing the faery wisp had led her here for a purpose, her feet deliberately walked into the clearing, stepping softly as to not disturb anything.
The meadow looked different that it had before. Though she knew that she was the only human to have been here anytime recently, she knew that the wisps were not the only faeries to visit. The ground was almost luminescent in the moonlight. Tiny sparkles seemed to be reflected on the grass and mushrooms. The whole entire area looked like a nook out of Neverland. What had happened between her previous visit and her current one she could only guess, but magic had touched this place, that she believed.
She was busy snapping away, when that all-too familiar feeling crept up her spine yet again, just as the smell of the rain start to tantalize her nose. She felt a little unnerved, but what was more surprising to her was a feeling that she did not expect to feel: peace. Why should she feel peaceful when she was being watched, she did not know. And honestly, it was more her lack of a panic reaction that got her frightened. She was scared of her body betraying her. Why would I be relaxed if there is quite possibly a giant beasty waiting to devour me? But she knew that that reaction was just a little bit of an overreaction. She knew hunters usually liked to stalk their prey. But did they become complete stalkers? She wondered. She came to the conclusion that if it had wanted to kill her, she would already be dead. So instead of running away like the scaredy cat she could easily turn into with too many horror stimulating thoughts, she focused on taking pictures. She made sure to once again cover the entire field, and all the way through her photographic expedition, her mystery visitor never left.
She had always been connected with nature in a way that she did not truly understand. Growing up, she had lived in a place that was more conducive to a cactus than a shamrock, and the soil was poor and didn’t grow much. And the plants that did grow, which although was the most amount on the busy street they lived on, could not satisfy her need for a garden and for nature.
This place, though, called to her, and here she could create the world that she wanted.
A happy feeling overwhelmed her for a second, and she knew that she had to stop for a while. Gently lying down near the outside ring of faery rings, she gently set her head on the soft green, mossy grass.
Interesting to see a view as if you are 3 inches tall, she thought, so she picked up her camera once again and took the picture of the faery rings from what would have been their perspective. She knew there were some that were bigger than that, but the faeries that had appeared in her childhood were mostly of this size. This perspective was her favorite composition as well, because the mushrooms looked like the giant mushrooms of Wonderland.
She lie there for a while; the soft bubbling of the current, the sounds, and the fragrant smells coming from the forest lulled her into a peaceful state. Her heart felt light and airy, and she felt like she could fly if she chose to. She could have stayed there forever, but her stomach has other ideas. The hungry monster came rearing its ugly head, but she had been awake and walking for a few hours, so it was to be expected.
She sat up slowly, but that didn’t stop the head rush that came after. Trying to ride through the head pounding feeling and all of the lights that overwhelmed her vision, she sat there for a second to breathe. When it passed and she had her vision back, she slowly got up and head back to her castle. She was feeling fine as she passed through the trees, smelling what she thought was rain, but what must not be. She loved the sights, sounds and smell of the forest; she could smell even smell the cedar and other trees nearby. There were so many smells; she thought her mind could be tricking her. But right now it smelled like a forest by the sea when it was raining, although it had not rained all day or night that she knew of. Except, now that she looked back up at the sky as she passed the trees, she saw the clouds were blowing in from the direction of the sea. So maybe my nose was right after all.
As she got further and further away from the trees however, her heart seemed to change beats, beating the irregular fast heartbeat she had before. She hadn’t realized that her heart had literally calmed down, until it was back to the way it had been before.
I need to eat, she thought as her hungry monster reared again, but it was lucky that she got back when she did, because dinner was ready and waiting for her as she entered.
She told her family about how she had gone exploring in the small patch of woods. She was going to tell them about the magical clearing she found as well, but something was stopping her. Not right now, she thought, I’ll tell them later.
Though after eating and having her medicinal herbs she felt better, her head continued to hurt and her heart continued to beat painfully in her chest. At one point she couldn’t take it anymore, so she opened up her curtains and window and let the cool, sweet night air blow into her room for a while. She knew that she only had a few hours, but she needed her windows open right now. It did make her feel better, and at one point her heart seemed to settle again.
The clouds had one again covered the night sky, and the soft rain was pattering on her window pain. She was sketching her castle to prepare to paint it, and she was having difficulty because her hands were shaky and her proportions felt off. Almost ready to stop and wait from a better moment, a gust of wind blew in from the window, tickling her back with the cold air. Rather than startle her, the air seemed to be refreshing, like she had been running a fever. Her hands gained new confidence, and the lines seemed to flow on the page. She was so lost in her work, that by the time she came to a stopping point, the sky outside was a deep purple she signified the coming dawn.
Ceridwen went over to her windows and once again prevented any sunlight from entering the room when it became time. She went through her nightly routine and climbed into bed before the sun had once again taken its perch in the sky. And as she lie there, too tired to write with the laptop that sat closed on her bedside table, her mind started to enter into dreams. The most wonderful part of her dream, however, had to be the arms that encircled her protecting her from any nightmares wanting to invade.
That night she experienced the most relaxing sleep that she had in all her life yet, filled with magic and wonder, and a pale, blonde, blue-green eyed boy leading her through the magical forest…