ONE
She sits alone on the summit … a raven stands unnoticed close by, watching her with its piercing eyes
A gust of wind blow her hair across her face, but she barely notices for she is in another world
She senses him nearby, somewhere … she hopes he has answered her call
But its hard to tell … for her loneliness continues and his absence in her thoughts is the reality she faces …
She stands … and walks inside the tower and sits on the stone seat … and closes her eyes
The cackle of a raven from above her head alarms her slightly … and then she sees the old man entering the tower
He offers her a warming smile … and touches her arm … he understands, he hears her thoughts
And then he is gone … a ghost … a spectre in her mind perhaps … it matters not ….
For Naomi, it is hard to determine which of the realities she is seeing at any one time …
She shifts her position on the seat as a sudden burning energy begins in the base of her spine and reaches the top of her head.
TWO
He sits in silence within the sacred gardens … the sound of the waters calm his senses
Earlier, he’d washed in the chalice waters and felt revitalised after his long drive down …
Now, after a time in contemplation … he feels the compelling, again, to go to the summit of the hill
He senses movement … opening his eyes .. to see an old man … standing in front of him …
His appearance resembles that of ‘old one eye’ himself … complete with long white beard and worn hat
He catches the smile … and the whisper on the wind. ‘Naomi’ and then he is gone …
He feels troubled then by the sudden visitation … and the sense of entrapment … as fate once more calls the shots
He stands … wanders to the trickling waterfall and washes his face in the red water …..
The iron taste brings him to his senses … and he knows what he has to do ….
He walks out the gardens, turning left … and then makes his way up the lane on foot past the chalice well …
THREE
Naomi feels his presence close by, suddenly ….
And knows where he is … as the vision of the shapeshifter fills her mind …
The strange image … shows him walking slowly up the lane alongside the hill …
But, she sees it through the mysterious gaze of the Raven …
And then she watches as the vision changes … the raven is leaping from its viewing point …
She hears its cackle as it soars into the sky … and then the vision is gone …
Excited … she stands and walks out of the tower and makes her way down the steep steps onto the path …
Making her way down the hill, she soon reaches the bottom … and makes her way onto the lane …
She checks her progress, coming back into the human reality ….
Very soon … he will be approaching her on the lane …
FOUR
He stops her ahead … on the lane near the gate at the base of the tor …
She is looking his way … he can feel her beating heart even from that distance
He
notes her wind blown black hair … her familiar face, the look of relief; the passion in her eyes
She is smiling … then looks away … he follows her gaze and sees the women that is standing behind her …
He knows she is another ghost … and both of them can see her …
The woman is distressed … and behind her is a young child … the young girl is crying …
And then … they are both gone …
And Naomi is there in his arms …
He cannot resist the temptation to kiss her … to hold her …..
And to whisper in her ears that he is there for her … and they will end the curse together.
Written by Matthew James - taken from 'The Chronicles Of The Storyteller'
