The Moonlight Boy | Ferry's Tale # 1

Behind the veil (part two)

Ferry couldn't believe his eyes. He didn't know for how long he'd been watching the strangely beautiful creature in front of him. Her long, silver hair was falling all the way to the ground. Her skin was pale, almost luminescent and her eyes were studying him spreading icy-blue sparks with every flutter of her long, white eyelashes. The boy didn't have the strength to think or react in front of such an amazing apparition.

She was wearing the same dress of a dark-purple color, rustling as she was stepping closer to him.

When in front of him, she put an incredibly white and delicate hand on his shoulder and told him in a soft voice, "Come! We have a lot to talk about."

And Ferry obeyed, incapable to withstand. Was he under her spell? The fairy—for he wouldn't know to name her otherwise—showed him one of the chairs where he took a seat without saying a word. And whilst he was still trying to get over his astonishment, the fairy put on the table two porcelain bowls and silver tableware. Then she filled up the bowls with the soup in the cauldron and offered one to Ferry. The frail steams of the soup were spreading the most inviting flavors.

"Eat, you must be hungry," she kindly asked him. "You've been through a lot today. This soup will make you feel better."

That's when he noticed the room wasn't dark anymore. It was softly lit by the shimmering, flickering light of dozens of candles, decorating the walls with trembling shadows, like in a sacred temple. Even the leaves and flowers on the walls looked as if scattering a dim light around. Ferry looked at the silver spoon in his hand. It was adorned with skillfully crafted engraving, representing a winged fairy—although Lavender Sky had said that fairies do not have wings, he was too stunned to think about that—and Ferry took the first sip from the steaming bowl. An explosion of flavors, some of them familiar, others strange, yet delicious were blending in a taste he had never met before. And without even thinking whether the soup was enchanted, he sipped from the inviting liquor, the color of honey. He looked at Lavender a bit fearfully, but the fear vanished when the fairy smiled at him. She was sitting on the other side of the table and she was also sipping from her bowl.

"It's been so long since I had a guest..." she said. "I almost forgot what it's like to have someone invited to dinner. It feels nice..."

Ferry had already finished his soup, and he thought it would be nice to have another one, but he wouldn't dare. And then he realized he wasn't afraid anymore. As if the soup had taken away any fear or worry.

The fairy poured him another bowl with a copper ladle as if knowing his thoughts. Then she placed the bowl in front of him and encouraged him to eat. Ferry tasted the soup as if he hasn't already; the flavors seemed even more intense.

"It's a recipe I learned from an old fairy. It must be thousands of years old. That was a long time ago, back home," she sighed. "It's made of parsnip, carrot, celery and parsley roots, and other vegetables and herbs you won't find around here, only in fairyland. I've saved some seeds, then planted them here, in this garden."

Ferry thought it would be appropriate to say something polite; that was what his mother taught him. "I've seen your garden," he said in a low voice. "It's the most beautiful I've ever seen." And he wasn't lying. But his words seemed as bringing even more sadness to her face. She forced a smile, but the smile melted. She was looking at Ferry, but somehow she was seeing through him, lost in thoughts.

"It's beautiful, isn't it? I've tried to keep it the way it was when he was still alive... But with each day, I feel like it's losing the beauty it had. Time is ruthless, did you know that? It steals your most precious treasures, even the most beloved memories. Sometimes, I realize I don't even remember his face. I know he had dark hair and green eyes, and his skin was sunburnt. But I can't remember his face. Time is trying to take that away, too... But it can't take away how I feel. Nobody can." And a silver teardrop fell from her beautiful eyes, scattering in tiny drops of light when it touched the table's surface.