Just A Dream ch. 3

         When I arrived home, my sister was crying and Mother and Father were by her side. I came to her as well.

         She sobbed, “Why won’t he talk to me? He will hardly glance my way.” My father did not like this one bit. He was a simple man who did not like to be troubled by things. Seeing my sister so heartbroken bothered him more than I knew.

         “Where is he now?” my father asked.

         It was hard to make out exactly what my sister was saying, but for the most part, these words were audible, “I’m not sure.”

         Something like anger flared in my father’s eyes, “Then I’ll have to find out.”

         “No, Father don’t!” cried my sister. “Please let him be. I don’t want him to be forced to marry me or feel like he has to. If he loves me, then he’ll come, but please do not talk to him. Do not hurt him either. It would pain me only more if he were hurt.”

         Reluctantly, my father submitted to my sister’s plea.

         Mother said to Helen, “Perhaps you should lie down and rest. If you aren’t going to eat your body will be too weak to function. Rest your head for a while and maybe then you’ll feel well enough to eat something. How does that sound?”

         Helen nodded and Mother led her to her room. It was just me and my father now. He spoke to me then, “I don’t want you seeing Timothy anymore.”

         I couldn’t believe his words. It shocked me so much that I had to question them, “Father, what?”

         “I know Timothy well enough to know that he will do the same. He’ll hurt you, Elana, and you’ll be the next one spending the day crying.” He was firm, unbending in his false judgment.

         I stood taller trying so hard not to be frightened by my father, “Yes, you do know him. You know him well enough to know that he will not harm me. Never, Father. He is not the one I wish to marry. Perhaps if you cared about me at all you would know that.”

         I had never seen him so enraged. He came very near to me and with such aggression in his voice he said, “Do not disrespect me in this house ever again. I do not care about you? I do not care about you?" He started yelling, “If I didn’t care so much about you or your sister do you think it would bother me so to see her cry? It is because I care too much that I cannot bear for the two of you to be hurt. It is my job to protect you, keep you safe, make sure that no other man will hurt you. And you think I do not care?”

         I shrank beneath him as I wiped the tears from my face. With a small voice I said, “I’m sorry Father. I did not think-“

         My words did nothing to calm him, “Of course you didn’t think. Your tongue flies faster than your head!”

         Tears soaked my dress. Mother came rushing after she heard the yelling. She said to my father, “Why are you yelling? We already have one daughter crying because a man has broken her heart, we don’t need another one crying for the same reason.”

         This did well to shock him out of his rage. He saw me trembling. My father was a calm man, but when he was angry, he frightened me more than anything else could.

         He looked away from me and motioned for me to go. I ran to my room and fell into my bed. My crying was so fervent that I didn’t realize I had fallen asleep. The bitterness of my tears mixed with the sweetness in my dreams.

         He did come as I had asked. I was glad for it. He stood outside my window waiting for me to come and greet him. My dress was a dark lavender this night.

         My tongue was swifter than his and I spoke first, “Good evening Ian. I am very pleased to see that you have obliged to my request.” But the night's events still lingered in my mind. Though I was thrilled to see Ian, my father's anger did more to affect me.

         He bowed in greeting, “A true gentleman does well to not leave a lovely lady waiting for him.”

         “You are too sweet,” I replied.

         His grin sent wonderful chills through my body and I soon forgot my hurt with my father. “My only intent is to bring you happiness and love,” he said, which only added to my happiness and forgetting all that had previously happened that night. He then leaned in closer to whisper, “And to fulfill your greatest wishes, most inner desires.”

         His forwardness was shocking, but still stirred pleasurable feelings within my heart. I had to know, “Why do you come to me with this intent?” It was the first question I was able to ask him. Perhaps this time it was his will that I should know.

         He stepped back to analyze me in the darkness of the night with only the moon shining on us. His eyes took him to so many places. They searched my face, my eyes, my soul, my heart. He looked up at the moon, turned around to the forest, then finally looked back into my eyes with his beautiful grey ones.

         His voice was so soothing to me when he spoke, “I came to you not knowing your mind, your life, nor even your very name. I saw you and you were beautiful. Twas my intent to search your heart. It is, after all, what I am most in love with. Your heart and your beauty make me want to give you the world, and I can in this very place.”

         I was left without words but again. Oh the irony that he says I make him do these things when in truth he makes me mad for him. It is so hard to restrain myself from running into his arms this very moment.

         “Do you speak the truth when you say you love me?” I asked.

         With such sincerity in his face he answered, “I do.”

         My heart was overflowing with such sentiments of love that I could have very well fainted in that very spot. I tried hard to keep my focus clear when I stated, “When you say that you can give me the world, you mean you can give me the world only in this dream.”

         “For now,” was his simple remark.

         “For now?”

         “Yes.” I knew that was the end of this matter. I would have to wait until he was ready to disclose more to me.

         He held his hand out towards the woods, “Tis a wonderful night for a stroll, would you care to walk together? I still have many questions for you.”

         “That is a lovely idea.” I held out my hand so that he could take it and lead the way, but instead he left my hand where it was.

         “I am sorry, my lady, but we cannot touch. Please do forgive me.” His eyes told all. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to. Oh no- he desperately did. But it just couldn’t happen for what reason I did not know. I was so eager to find out if he was real and the only way to prove this was by touching him. Placing one finger on his smooth, dark skin, or having my hand in his. Neither of us was looking to seduce the other, but it is only natural to want physical contact.

         I let my hand slowly fall to my side. He could see that this tore me inside, but he still did his best to make the night grand.

         “Please,” he said, “Let us make the most of such a fine night. It is not cold like other nights and a walk would do us both good.” He gestured for me to follow him into the forest.

         How could I not go wherever he may lead me? I came to his side and we basked in the enjoyment of one another’s company. He inquired of my family. I revealed all. It must be safe if he truly does only exist in my dreams. If he was more than a dream, I trusted him either way.

         We talked of my family, my interests, my friends. He took great interest in all that I had to say. He was also quick to compliment when appropriate, but not too much as to spoil me. Any traces of sorrow I had felt about him or my father all vanished. It was so nice to talk to him this way, confide in him as I do in Timothy.

         Our stroll ended somewhere in the depths of the forest. I asked him to promise me this, “Please, come back to me every night. Do not stay away for too long for my heart will ache for you terribly.”

         He faded away with his enchanting smile as he promised, “Every night you will see me. A pleasant awakening to you, Elana.”

         Oh, how I loved for him to say my name. I awoke with such happy feelings. The sun did not bother me this morning. No, this morning it had a warm welcoming for me.

         I came down to breakfast before Mother could yell for me. On seeing her appearance, it was clear that she was more distressed than usual.

         “Are you alright Mother?”

         Distractedly she answered, “No, Elana. It does not do a mother well to know that her children fell asleep with tears.”

         “Do not worry so Mother. My night was filled with pleasant dreams. And Helen… she just needs time.” I thought of my sister’s broken heart. Her night most likely was not as pleasant as mine.

         My mother’s distressed expression told much. “She hasn’t left her room all morning. She says she wants to be alone.”

         How hard it must be for my sister now. “This is much to ask Mother, but let her be alone. For a while only. It may do her good to think on matters for herself.”

         “It is so hard to not be able to comfort my daughter, stop her tears.” I could see her own tears form in her eyes now.

         I hugged my loving mother, “Though you are wise and strong, perhaps you are not meant to end her pain, but know that you have comforted her.”

         Father came into the kitchen to witness us embracing one another. I let go of my mother when I saw him. The events of the previous night made this moment awkward.

         “Elana, let us talk before we have our meal,” he commanded.

         By no choice of mine, I followed him out of the kitchen.

         “Sit.” I sat. “Being your father, I know best. I am wiser, more capable of many things, and strong willed, though calm I appear. With all this being true, I am subject to mistakes and acts of misconduct. It is not often that I act in such a way, but last night’s events prove that it does happen. I want to apologize. I am sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you as I did and allowed us both to sleep with ill set feelings.”

         My father loved me and my sister. It was evident in all that he did. I harbored no ill feelings from one night’s troubles. Though I was shaken at the time of the occurrence, it did not bother me further. I ran to my father as to embrace him in one of his giant, comforting hugs. “It’s all right, Father. I have already forgiven you. Please forgive me also. I am truly sorry.”

         “Let all be forgiven and forgotten and let us go and have an enjoyable breakfast,” he said with a grin.

         After breakfast, I knocked on my sister’s door to inquire if she could accompany me on my way to school. She was not in the mood to go anywhere, she said. I journeyed to school alone thinking thoughts of my sister.

         Of course some of the high class snobs simply had to greet me on my way to class. “Are there wedding bells in the future of you and your betrothed? It is quite cute how playful the two of you are,” one of them mocked.

         Another added, “Yes, I do say that the two of you were getting a tad bit too friendly for public display what will all the kissing and all.”

         “They were friendly gestures, Felina,” I said to the ladder girl who spoke.

         “Too friendly,” she felt she must add.

         The former girl who spoke, Claradine, asked, “And what of the flowers?”

         Just then I saw Timothy’s supposed love, Esmeralda, and remembered my promise to him. “It is nothing for you to mind. I must go.” I took off with good speed, but made sure not to run or else a teacher might have noticed.

         “Hello Esmeralda,” I said to her.

         She flicked her hair as she turned to greet me with a smile, “Why how do you do Elana?”

         “Quite fine, thank you. And yourself?”

         “Fine as well.”

         “Wonderful. Would you like to accompany me to class? We do have our first one together.”

         “That would be nice.” She said her farewells to her other friends and we walked together.

         “I hope you don’t mind my wondering what compelled you to want me to accompany you. I mean this by no rudeness, it is just a very out of the ordinary thing,” she said sweetly.

         “Yes, please excuse my out of the ordinary behavior. I did hope to inquire something of you.”  I hoped that for Timothy’s sake this would go well.

         “Yes?”

         “Do you know my friend Timothy?”

         “Why, I know of him, but we’ve never spoken a word to each other.” Timothy would argue the falseness of her words. According to him, they have spoken exactly twelve words to one another in all the time they’ve known each other.

         “Oh, that is too bad. He’s a wonderful person. Perhaps some time we could all spend an afternoon together, you, Timothy, and I. It has been some time since the two of us had spent time together and I do think you would like my friend,” I said with the most persuasive voice I could achieve.

         She cheerily replied, “I wouldn’t mind such a thing at all, but did you say friend? Everyone at school seems to think the two of you betrothed. Is this true?”

         Some people had such nerve! “No, this is not true. Timothy is just my friend, my very good friend, and nothing more. Please do tell anyone who says otherwise.”

         “Oh, I’m sorry for the mistake. I definitely will do this for you. Now when we will be meeting together?” We discussed all of the details in class seeing that we had just arrived at the door.

         It was all settled then. Timothy will finally be able to prove himself a man.