A LEAP OF THE EARLY BIRD

The serenity's embrace...

There is an unspoken peace that comes upon a restless heart during the calming hours of the quiet night. The darkness of the night that lays to rest the bustling cities and relieves the tensions. Something else happens during those hours when the night bespells a heart that yearns for answers, yearns for love. It allows the heart to quiet down enough to hear its voice, its one true voice. A voice that speaks to the soul, and lets the heart decide what really matters in life...

Sanem was a stubborn creature. Stubborn beyond words, stubborn beyond all reason. And she never met anyone who could neither match nor surpass her stubborness. Until her path crossed that of Can Divit himself. They matched each other like no one else they knew before. Both were just as stubborn, yet both yearned for the love their hearts already felt. The only problem was, though they knew they loved each other, they were uncertain of the other's intentions. Or their future. As a result, as in any love that has yet to be fully estsblished, they chose to bud heads instead of letting their hearts lead the way...

And yet.. The serenity of the silence of those long night hours let their hearts speak up, and speak out. As much as Sanem would have preferred to yell out her heart's intentions, insecurities, and hopes, it was in that calm voice from within that her heart was beginning to show her the way. She sat down to create her potions, as she usually did in the evening, and let her heart dictate her thoughts. And they all revolved around Can and her take on love itself. What was love, in reality? Was there such a thing as the concept of love? How did it happen? How did start? Apparently, love just happened. And the fight one waged was not with one another, but with themselves. And Sanem truly fought a tough battle. Because she fought with herself to stay away from Can. That battle was as lost as it may have been won. Because to stay away from Can meant to stay away from his love. And that was the most painful aspect of it. The most intolerable aspect of it. As much as she wanted to prove to him she could stay away from him, she hoped he did not see that in her eyes, and that he did not see that she purposefull was pulling away from him.

She tried her best to convince herself that she could endure that pain in her heart. Pain of staying away from him. Pain of not feeling him close by her side. She would endure that pain, as long as she would not look upon him, or into his eyes. But the true struggle she felt was with making her heart obey her. Because it would not. Not now, not ever. Because there was no one else like him. He was all things to her, without limit, without abandon. His voice, his courage, his openness... His hands, his eyes - there was simply no one such as him. If he was not there, she was nothing. If it was not for him and his love, she would have felt nothing. If it was not for him, there would be no one else for her. And if he would much rather choose to fight with her, let it be so. She would much rather feel the passion of his temper than face life in seclusion of his cold shoulder.

Her heart spoke softer to her than ever before. If there was anyone to have ever offended her, let it be him. If he was ever to forget her, she knew how empty and void of all things her life would be. She at least wanted to capture his scent. To hold it close and dear to her heart if he was ever to part from her side. She made endless attempts to match his scent. To no avail. It was no use. Though she came close, she was never quite able to match it. To capture it. To duplicate it. Because it could not have been. She mixed herbs, flowers, and oils to recreate his scent in all the places and moments they shared. Agva, the sea, the hammock, the camp... Those scents all bore a scent so close to his, but they failed to capture the essence of his personality. Of him. But in all of the hours of working with Can on her mind, one thought was constant and as raw as their temper that day. There was no use in trying to escape her feelings for Can. The only thing she could do was to surrender to them, and to him and his love...

As she worked on her potions, she was unaware of how close Can's thoughts were to hers. He sat in silence of his home. And he felt more lonely than ever. No melody of the music, and no words written on paper in his favorite book offered any solace to what he felt. He opened his heart to Sanem. He admitted his feelings to her. But she was either to shy or too scared to admit hers to him. And he was as stuck as he was lonely. Should he abandon his pursuit? Should he give up? Should he fight for his love? Their love? If so, how long should he fight for them? He searched for the answers deep in his heart, but his heart fell silent. And then, he remembered he still held the mysterious envelope Sanem had hung on the Tree of Desires. He pulled it out. Held it in his hands. The nerves tingling underneath his fingertips felt unbearable. Was he man enough to dare look inside? Or was he a coward enough to let her desire be hidden from him? That thought frightened him. He was no coward. But he also was no fool. Whatever the envelope would contain, he would follow that lead. Whatever that meant. Wherever it would lead...

He unsealed the envelope. Opened it. Pulled out the note. And suddenly the voice deep within his heart screamed louder with encouragement than ever before in his life. C. C! That was all the note contained. It was all it needed to contain. It told him everything he needed to know and needed to feel. He would keep on fighting. Because he figured out her deepest desire. And he realized he needn't to have worried if she ever had feelings for him. Because she did. Long before she found out he was her albatross. Long before he let his feelings be known to her. And he finally understood that the peace of the night, the serenity's embrace, was all that he needed to feel to hear the voice within his heart. That strong and confident voice telling him to hold on, to keep going, and to trust in their love...