The cliffside rose thirty meters above the sea at high tide. The waves crashed against the rocks below and Áine stood along the edge. After six years of coming out here to the edge, she had become familiar with the winds and the shape of the ground. Any fear that may have once held her back was long since replaced with the certainty that came from an intimate bond with the world around her.
She stood on the ledge, her toes hanging over, dangling in the air, her arms held out to her sides. With her eyes closed and a strong wind blowing rain into her face, she imagined falling to the waters below. She was a bird, and the sea was her sky. She could plunge to unfathomable depths then return to the surface and leap into the air, only to be cradled once more in the loving embrace of the waves.
She leaned back and fell into the grass, blissfully unaware of the world around her, entranced in her own imagination. Then she heard it.
"Áine!" Was the sea calling her name? Had it finally heard her prayer and come to take her to Tír Fo Thuinn?
"Áine!" She opened her eyes to see a woman standing over her. It wasn't the sea or a beautiful Merrow. It was only her mother, her hands on her hips, clearly annoyed.
"I am sorry, Máthair."
"I know, Iníon. You shouldn't be so close to the edge. One change of wind, and you could fall."
"If I fall, the sea will catch me. Besides, I know these winds like a sister. They would never betray me."
Her mother shook her head. "Come. Supper is ready, and then to bed."
JE LEEST
The Waves of Éire
Kort verhaalTired of being trapped on the shores of Éire, Áine wishes nothing more than to be a Merrow, swimming freely through the ocean and exploring the mystical world of Tír Fo Thuinn.
