The Tears of Time

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Elanor slept, the weary burdens she had carried for the past few days slipping away in unconsciousness. The part of her which had changed closed off, and her human self re-emerged, quiet and innocent. She smiled slowly in her sleep, revelling in the peace which swept her away. Her unconscious mind began to filter through the days thoughts, combining in an odd mix of pictures and feelings, until she slipped into dreams.

Ella skipped wistfully down a supermarket aisle, absorbed in the normality of the setting. She glanced from shelf to shelf, smiling at the toilet roll, washing up liquid, frozen pizzas… it was a world away from where she lay now.

Then something changed in the airy, white shop, and a thrill of fear went down her back. She spun round, to suddenly face a raging wall of black, nothing creeping through the building with the destructive ease. Ella stopped, fear rooting her to the spot, all understanding and peace deserting her. For a brief moment she stayed, rooted to the spot by the spectacle that rose towards her. Then she ran.

She came to a halt in front of a shelf full of books. She frowned, picking the books off idly, throwing them away after a brief glance at the cover. She knew she was looking for something, but couldn’t figure out what. Then her hand touched a cracked black leather cover, and she recoiled, panic spreading through her limbs.

The book fell off the shelf without her touching it, the pages falling open at exactly the wrong page. Her own face screamed out at her, and she tumbled backwards, tripping over the pages of the books she had discarded. She struggled, panicked amongst the drowning sea of pages, trying to close her eyes, but unable to stop from seeing. Another picture, one of a woman’s face, water pouring out of her mouth to sweep away whole villages fluttered briefly like a paper butterfly in front of her face.

Then the water began to pour physically out of the paper, and the pages were swept away in a tide of floodwater. Elanor struggled again, forgetting she was dreaming, and refusing to breathe in the water.

Something solid suddenly grasped her arm, a hand wrapping around her wrist. The water exploded away from her and solid ground spread out under her feet. Strong arms caught her around the waist as she choked, smoothing the wet hair away from her face. She sobbed uncontrollably, leaning against the welcome chest, as whoever her saviour was clutched her to him, rocking her back and forth like a child.

“Shh,” he whispered in her ear, “Shh…”

“I can’t- I can’t,” she sobbed, her tense muscles shivering.

“Shh, it’s ok.”

Elanor shivered, forcing herself to stop, taking deep breathes. Grass sprouted up comfortingly around her fingertips, and she trailed them through the tender shoots quietly. The arms around her loosened as she relaxed, one resting around her waist still, the other on her shoulder.

Elanor’s mind flickered, and she changed the surroundings purposefully, clinging still to the fragile dream state, but remembering that she slept. Some part of her unconscious mind flickered briefly, then returned to its senseless state. She smiled as her familiar willow tree glade burst into life around her.

“Elanor?” came a soft, familiar voice.

Elanor started, looking up at the face she had become so well acquainted with over the past few days. The detail shocked her. Unlike most people in her dreams, Raphael’s face was pure and uncontrolled, its features true to those in life. His dark brown eyes looked inquiringly down at her, unsmiling and yet glowing with tenderness.

“Hello,” she whispered, touching his face with a cupped palm, the feeling of his skin so real. She sat up on her feet, kneeling to face him, and watched at his expression as she kept her hand under his too-real chin.

“You feel so real,” she questioned her own mind, breathing in his scent, and infusion of dusty earth and sharp citrus.

“So do you,” he answered, similarly confused, “Though…”

“Though what?”

“Your eyes are back.”

“My eyes?” Ella queried.

“Yes,” he laughed, tracing the line of her eyebrow across from the centre of her forehead, to the temple, “They’re that beautiful brown again.”

“You always were beautiful,” Ella answered, looking deeply into his.

“I must be dreaming,” Raphael laughed. Ella frowned, unsure of how her unconscious mind could have made up that answer.

“How can you be dreaming?” she asked.

“You would never call me beautiful in real life,” Raphael sighed, pulling her close to his hard, warm chest.

“But-” Ella started, unsure of where she was, “But I’m dreaming, not you.”

“Thought I’m not sure my mind would make you quite so real…” Raphael continued, speaking to himself. Elanor’s breathing quickened, her heart fluttering, though she knew this couldn’t be real.

Raphael leaned forward, their noses almost touching, so close that she could make out each individual eyelash. His hand moved from her shoulder to the back of her neck, his fingertips brushing against her scalp. Elanor couldn’t bear it any longer, and she leaned forward to kiss him, longing for the solid feel of his body against hers. It came, so real she almost laughed, and Raphael fell over backwards in surprise, his fall cushioned by the long grass which now grew above their heads.

“Definitely dreaming,” he whispered, as Elanor drew away.

“Why do you keep saying that? I’m dreaming, not you,” she cried, annoyed at him. She pushed him back down into the grass, attacking him with another kiss, willing his too-solid form to dissolve into the grass. But it didn’t, and this time he kissed back, the rough feel of his lips on hers not at all dreamlike. With a wrench of confusion and displeasure she pulled away, rolling off him and into the grass. She stared angrily at the sky, her forehead tense, her jaw line taut with annoyance. Raphael lay on his back, confused, before swinging himself around, resting his weight on each arm either side of Elanor’s face.

“Even in dreams you’re still unpredictable,” he said, leaning down to kiss her again.

Ella lashed out, the movement catching Raphael by surprise, tumbling him sideways into the grass. He lay there surprised, as Elanor jumped up. He stood as well when she began to walk away, reaching out to grab her hand, but she was gone. Just like before.

“She’s as hard to lay a hand on as a ghost,” he whispered to himself, “Even in dreams she won’t stay with me for more than two minutes…”

Elanor woke up, confused and frightened. Why on earth would she try to kiss Raphael? Of course, he was handsome, and strong and… utterly tempting. Ella realised with a start that she had, at least, her human self, had become quite entranced by him. She realised suddenly, that the feeling of nothing which had lingered with her yesterday had slipped away. She felt behind her back, and her wings had disappeared, un-needed for the moment.

The room was dark, no windows to let out light. Ella sighed, realising that her task would never be over. She walked, unthinking, through the wall, into the passageway which stretched through the first level of the citadel. She walked head down, towards the exit. A door opened to her left, and someone stepped out in the corridor, almost colliding with her. She sidestepped, stopping to look up at who it was.

Raphael stared, a look of guilty surprise on his face.

Elanor gulped, wide-eyed, stepping backwards into the wall. It came up solid against her back, her surprise leaving her stranded with no where to run. She realised with a start that, they had just shared the same dream, waking at exactly the same moment.

“Um-” Raphael began, pausing when he saw the look on Ella’s face, “What?”

“I didn’t just… oh god,” she whispered. Raphael snorted, sudden realisation hitting him. They stood, watching at each other, undecided expressions on each face.

“I’m sorry,” Raphael said after a moment, “I thought I was dreaming.”

“So did I,” Ella answered, still backed up against the wall.

“You just kiss people you see in dreams then? Or was it just me?” Raphael asked, a crooked grin spreading across his face. Ella looked down blushing, not the reaction he had expected.

“I- I don’t know why, I did that,” she answered, still looking down at her feet. Raphael took a step forward, lifting her chin up to look at her eyes.

“Your eyes are back,” he said.

“My eyes?” Ella asked, startled by the repetition.

“They’re that beautiful brown again.”

“You always were beautiful,” Elanor breathed, her heart beat rising almost painfully into her chest. Something apprehensive stirred inside her, a tight coil wound almost to breaking point. Her breathing came out ragged, shaking slightly.

“I love you,” Raphael whispered, his hand warm against her suddenly cold face.

“I-I,” Ella tried to say, but her mouth didn’t seem to be able to form the words. Raphael smiled, not needing to hear the rest of the sentence, then his lips crashed against hers.

The world stopped.

The passing of seconds, minutes, hours, completely halted. The entire world stopped revolving as the flood of emotions sprung into life inside Ella, her body responding to Raphael’s instinctively. Her fingertips tingled, her limbs suddenly on fire in the heat of passion, which took completely over her mind, leaving little thought for anything else but the feel of his body against hers.