Listen Closely - Halloween 2023
Story by KitFox on SoFurry
Sometimes paying attention can be very important
Sometimes it's a good idea to pay attention to details
Listen Closely
Halloween 2023
The night was chill, but Jeremy was fine as he walked in the darkness of the city park. Lights brightened the sky above, blotting out the stars and filtering down through the tree, giving the lonely man enough light to see by. He knew each side path and each hidden route by heart, and for some reason he was immune to the swarms of bugs that kept the homeless from setting up camp. Tonight he paused though, looking at the narrow split in the foliage. That looked like a path, and not one that he had seen before. That wasn't right.
The branches of the trees and bushes were easy to push aside and he saw no thorncanes, so he followed the path into the deeper darkness. Soon enough it opened out into a clearing. Space between the trees that something in his mind insisted shouldn't be here, as there was no room for it.
Other things would strike him as distinctly wrong if he noticed them. The star-filled sky with an impossible aurora. The flash of tiny glow bugs that didn't live anywhere near here. But his attention was fully held by the beautiful woman sitting in the soft illumination between tiny, luminescent mushrooms, her legs curled to the side and her back to him. As he took a step closer, she looked over her shoulder and smiled at him. A radiant smile that made his heart skip a beat.
"Well met, friend," she said softly, standing in a fluid motion. "I am Elaina. I have been watching you for many months as you visit these woods. I have a trade to make with you. But you must listen. Think. Pay close attention." She emphasized the last bit substantially.
"This can't be real," Jeremy murmured.
"I am real. You are real. For the trade, I will give you a wish," she said, pulling out a scroll and starting to unroll it. "But hee..."
"I wish to feel true love!" he blurted out, interrupting her.
Her eyes widened and darted about rapidly, then her face ever so briefly showed sorrow before she smiled once again. "Then so it shall be," she said softly, a tinge of sadness in her words.
The world around them dissolved into nothing and faded to black, then back in as a luxurious room. Jeremy gasped and took a step back as he realized he was in a resplendent castle. Servants took note of his arrival and whispered happily, speaking of his presence.
"I am yours," the woman's voice said from behind him as she wrapped her arms affectionately around his chest.
It was some time of panic, then denial, then finally acceptance as he realized that he was living in pure luxury now. He had no idea where the castle was. The lights were magic, the surrounding countryside was breathtaking, and the woman bore no equal in her beauty, personality, nor intelligence. She was supportive of him and helped him calm over time. She was not a possession. She was his partner, and each day brought new wonders for them to share and new experiences to brighten his heart.
Over many extraordinary years, they grew closer. He learned early that she was fae. Her joy was infectious. But every so often, he spotted a tinge of sadness bringing her down, only ever when she didn't know he was looking. This flicker of melancholy nagged at him, and finally his heart demanded that he ask, so that he could make her whole.
"I see the haunted look on your face, and the despair in your eyes, ever so briefly," he said as they bedded for the night. "It's caught my attention over time, and now it eats at me more than anything. I must know what saddens you so."
"Why?" she asked softly, gazing at him in the flickering light of the fireplace.
He drew a deep breath as he worked to put words to his feelings, and finally spoke. "You mean more than anything to me, and it devastates me to know that anything hurts you. I understand it now. You are my true love, and..."
She reached over and put a soft fingertip to his lips, silencing him gently with a haunted gaze. "Hush. It is late. This is all you wanted. Now sleep."
His mind drifted and his eyelids drooped as he sunk back into the soft bed, falling asleep.
A musty scent tickled his nose and he sneezed. Then he shivered and tried to draw the fine furs of the bed closer to warm him. But as he did, he heard a rip and the fur came apart in his hands. In an instant he was awake and on his feet.
The castle was decrepit and falling apart. Curtains hung in tatters and small pieces of stone littered the dusty floor, fallen from the walls and ceiling. Once rich wood was cracked and split, and no fire warmed the halls. And his beloved was nowhere to be found.
He sought her out desperately, looking everywhere. The world outside was gone, the castle surrounded by a menacing black fog that turned him around in seconds no matter how straight he tried to walk. The ramparts were crumbling and only the room he'd woken in was somewhat put together.
Jeremy didn't know how long he searched before he found himself at the beginning. The room they'd first appeared here in. The surprisingly-intact paper caught his attention. A hand-scrawled note.
"You must ensure he understands that his wish must be something that can be worked for, but never completed. It must be a wish without end. That is the only way you can remain with him. Always remember: Words have power."
Then he saw the dust-covered scroll of parchment. His heart sinking, he unrolled it slowly and took in its contents.
In consideration for trade, accepted by both parties:
Elaina will give: One wish
In exchange
Jeremy will give: His mortality
So shall it be.
What's next?
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