Neverwood |h.s.|

25

It has been days, if not weeks, since.

Time is a construct that has never mattered in Faerie. I suppose it has also become muddled in my mind.

My mind.

My psyche.

It slips more and more every day.

I'm seeing things.

There are moments of absolute clarity. Where I am with Hew and we go about business as usual. Gardening, planting, catching fish, skinning rabbits, cooking, cleaning.

But then, there are these distinct lapses in time, where I am transported somewhere familiar and yet altogether foreign to me.

I was in the middle of cooking one day, a combination of hare and vegetables growing in the garden, when the first one hit me.

I had felt frozen, unable to move like I was in some waking sleep paralysis. My body was there, standing in front of the stove, and yet...I was somewhere else.

There was a young man standing in a meadow before me. Chestnut curls hung below his pointed ears, skin glowing a healthy pallor. A youthfulness poured from the inside out. If I'd had to guess, he was around 16 years old.

I didn't realize who I was staring at until I saw those black wings fluttering in the sunshine before he tucked them gracefully behind him.

He was sat on a hillside of light green that matched the colors of his irises as he looked up in the direction that I was observing him from. His eyes lit with recognition, a peachy color blossoming onto the apples of his cheeks as he called for someone. For a moment, I was sure that he'd seen me. That maybe I was transported into the past but then I saw her.

A young girl about the same age as Harry tip toed out of the forest line and over to him. She had long blonde hair that fell past her waist in gentle waves and eyes the color of sapphires under refracting light. As she sat down beside the young Harry, she tucked a long strand of hair behind a very human ear, folding her legs to one side so that she could lean towards him and place an innocent kiss to his lips.

His eyes widened infinitesimally before he settled back down as a wide and shy grin painted across his mouth. She fluttered her long lashes at him with a sly grin, took his hand, and placed a silver rose shaped ring into the palm of his hand.

In an instant, I was standing back in the kitchen, my hand frozen on the wooden spoon that had been stirring the stew into a boil.

Since then, there have been a great many visions.

One of Harry as a man, stood outside of his home, pacing frantically back and forth, his hair curling well below his chin. A worried look crossing his face as he anxiously anticipated something, or someone. His attention only turned towards the silver ring on his finger, the only thing that seemed to calm him. When the girl had arrived, she too had aged. A young girl had turned into a woman of distinct beauty. They had enveloped each other into loving arms, showering one another with kisses.

That image had faded away when he had tried to invite her into his home but she had declined. A look of worry falling upon his features before the vision had floated away.

Several more like this, some hinting at an impending doom. Secrets being kept from Harry as he fell more and more in love with that human girl each and every day.

I didn't mention these visions to anyone. Not that Harry was ever around. I hadn't seen him since the altercation in his room. He was hiding from me and...that was fine. I was so angry at him. So bewildered and hurt and angry but also...a smart part of me was frightened.