Between Dusk and Dawn

The forest was silent, if not for the trees that groaned and howled in the breeze. With every rustle and snap of a branch, Asephia could feel her stomach drop lower and lower. She shouldn’t have gone this deep into the woods, but if she hadn’t then maybe her keepsake would be lost, forever buried underneath the dead of leaves that scattered around the soil. That thought alone was what kept her from giving up and turning back.

“These. Damn. BUSHES!” She shouted in frustration. She didn’t care if any beast heard her at this point. She didn’t care much at all anymore. Except for her mother’s handkerchief.

She pushed through what seemed to be miles and miles of bushes in front of her before stumbling into a clearing, she yelped as she tumbled forward. Water splashes echoing in the silence and a chuckle.

The wind scattered as she stared at him. The sound of crickets filled the air with wonder and mystery. He smiled back at her, an item of her belonging in his hands. The handkerchief.

“Is this yours?” He asked in a soft voice.

She wondered how she had been able to stumble upon such a strange, yet beautiful man.

His bangs covered his eyes, but when the wind had kissed his face Asephia noticed his beautiful jewelled sapphire eyes that seemed to shimmer in the moonlight.

She couldn’t look away, or speak, so she just stood there in awe, nodding while letting the midnight crickets answer for her instead.

He walked towards her, easily navigating through the sea of branches and bumpiness of the landscapes, and placed the embroidered handkerchief in her hands.

“Here.”

She woke from her trance, and stumbled over her words. “T-thank you!”

“You best get going now. It’s not safe for a young girl like yourself to be out in the woods this late at night.” He told her.

“Yes, I definitely should. If I knew the way back.” She sighed, “this is my fault, I impulsively entered this place without a second thought.”

“It must’ve been an important keepsake.”

“Yes...it was my mother’s. Thank you for finding it.”

A silence ensued, as Asephia remembered her mother’s freckles, her smile, her warm hugs. Her mother had died in an outbreak a couple years back and Asephia had been alone ever since.

“Well, then I’m glad I was able to return it to you,” he smiled.

Asephia had stared at him once again. Something about him was so ethereal, as if he didn’t belong to this world. Maybe it was the dark of the forest, the full moon’s light bathing him in a mysterious glow, or the reflection of the river that shone as if it were a painting.

“Yea,” she said simply.

“Come on, I’ll lead you back.” The mysterious man said to her, with an outstretched hand. And without a thought, she grabbed it, his hands were cold and calloused. Maybe it was due to the coldness of the river, but her hand was warm enough as it was. It was mostly silent, as she had her eyes trained on his back, as he softly hummed a song. It was so calming, and sincere.

Soon enough, after weaving through the branches and bushes they were finally at the entrance of the forest, in the outskirts of Valeria.

“Go on, then.” He smiled as he softly let go of her hand. It.. felt empty.

She slowly walked away, before turning around and calling for the handsome stranger.

“Um, w-what is your name!”

The man gave her a closed eyed smile.

“Akaal.”

Akaal…

~*~

It was the next morning, the sun shined brightly through her windows as Asephia arose from her bed.

Was it all a dream? She wondered as she put on her dress. No, it couldn’t have been. She thought, as she looked at her mother’s keepsake. She picked it up from its place on her desk. Staring at the dirty fabric and messy embroidered rose.

Blue, like his eyes…

Knock knock.

Asephia looked out the window to see a blonde haired male waving at her shyly.

“Good morning to you Grace!” She said with a smile.

“Good morning, phia! You have a letter!” The man said to her.

Asephia smiled happily as she jumped out of her window excitedly. This however, was not very fun for the anxious Grace who was afraid of her hurting herself. It’s not like she hasn’t done it before. Asephia had always been reckless. Even as a child, always jumping down trees and windows, It scared her mother half to death, seeing the amount of cuts and scrapes she always came home with.

“Who is it from?” She asked excitedly, unbothered by Grace’s worry.

“Jeez, you never learn,” he whispered as he went through his bag of mail and pulled out a rustling piece of paper.

There was only her name, sealed with a foriegn stamp that none had ever seen before. Asephia used to think it was strange, as she asked many of her fellow townsfolk, but never really got a response from any of them.

She was always curious, but never wanted to ask the sender.

Her mysterious penpal.

“Thank you! I’ve been waiting for his response for a while!” She smiled, holding the letter up in the air, twirling around.

“How do you know it’s a man?” Grace asked, fumbling with his fingers.

Asephia looked at him with a knowing smile. “I just do.”

Grace frowned slightly at the response, as he stared at her happy expressions she opened the letter up and read it. A slight blush on her face.

His stomach churned.

He should be happy to see her with such a happy expression, yet his jealousy only kept him wishing that he was the one who made her smile that way.

Grace never thought that he would have to worry about a man that neither of them had ever met, destroying all of his chances with Asephia like this. Yet he couldn’t help but still be relieved that Asephia would never know who it was that had been sending her letters.

For all he knows, he could be a suspicious person. He would rather keep them away from each other, rather than destroying her happiness.

Her wide smile and flushed and freckled cheeks, her long curly red hair that cascaded like fire down her back. She was the most beautiful when she was happy. And that’s all he truly wants for her.

“I better go deliver the rest of these letters. I’ll see you later!” Grace said to the girl who was entranced with her letters

“Take care!!” She said, waving at his receding figure.

Asephia excitedly ran back into her house—through the window, since she had forgotten she locked the door. She settled into her desk to read Saphire’s reply.

She didn’t know who Saphire truly was; they started exchanging letters 2 years ago, after she had found a note in a bottle with a magic stamp. After asking a travelling mage of its usage, she found out it was made to teleport letters to the sender. Though it was only a one way teleport. Which was quite inconvenient at times.

Sapphire would get her reply right away, while she waited at least a week or so for his reply to be sent back. Quite inefficient really.

She opened the letter once more to read it properly this time.

Dear Ruby,

I must say, the drawings you always send in your letters are nothing short of amazing. I can see how much you pay attention to details, even in your smallest of sketches. It's quite a wonder that your talent has not been scouted as of yet!

On my end of things, life continues to go as usual, though I feel I may have a chance encounter soon.

I usually make very good predictions, who knows maybe something good will come across both of our paths.

May you continue to shine brightly today,

Sapphire

"That Sapphire truly is a one of a kind wizard." She mused, laying her head on her hand.

Thank you for reading! I initially wrote this for my Writer's Craft class but had fallen in love with the idea. I thought a lot about turning this into an animated project. Maybe sometime in the future, you never know!

But let me know your thoughts on the story!