Wandering Giants

The kiss of the golden flame caressed her moon-bathed silhouette, her skin aglow with the warmth of the hearth. Her dance was one to enchant many, but there lay a hidden eye in the shadows of the adjacent wood. James was kept cool by the canopies, but his skin was alight with the same kiss that Faryn now shimmered in. They both shared in the fire on that eclipsed eve, but it wouldn’t be for many moons that they would finally meet.

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As the sun made its appearance in the east, Faryn locked the last grow house and began her walk northbound. The breezy September morning sent a chill along her spine as she made her way home from work. The autumn air carried a secret Faryn was yet to know, but she sensed this foretold of change. She walked briskly, eager to meet the sheets of her beloved, Tracy, for her day’s rest. She turned right, down Lois Ln, and stepped to the edge of the pavement’s end just a half mile up. Immediately ahead presented a gently encroaching forest, with a wide but barely visible path before her. A fire trail. She entered the threshold of the forest and walked on toward her humble abode.

The bright tunnel of trees guided her to the fork in the road and verged left as she did each day. Just around the bend from there was Tracy, Faryn’s 12’ by 8’ trailer, camouflaged by the brush she collected and draped over the steel frame. Standing guard was a massive oak tree, providing shade on the hottest of summer days, but still allowing quite a bit of light to filter through the windows and to charge her panels even in the winter soon approaching. She ducks under the archway she fashioned out of branches, and gently swings open the door of her beloved sanctuary.

“Tracy, I’m home” Faryn sings into the cozy space. The peaceful silence greets her and she is enveloped in bliss.

She constantly marveled at how the past year of chosen isolation brought her such deep satisfaction. Although she was just 10 minutes from the cityscape, it was unbeknownst to anyone else where she had herself tucked in. Fayrn opens the skylight hatch and reaches around for the solar water pack, passively heated to boiling temperatures without the need for electricity or gas. She poured the water over a pitcher of fresh rosemary and dandelions she had gathered along the way. The scented steam meeting her face immediately melted her into relaxation. She indulged in a bowl of lentil soup with a side of blackberries and pomelo, freshly picked and gifted by her friend Luna.

Perusing her selection of wines from Bright Cellars, she realized now that it was time for another delivery, as there seemed to be only a glass remaining in each of the bottles. She shrugged. They knew her tastes so well, she had enjoyed them all to herself—almost. She settled on half a glass of Obscura and sat down with her latest grab from the neighborhood library, 'The Bloom Book' by Heidi Smith . The cover art alone had her completely captivated. Though enamored with what she was learning, at about 11am her eyelids struggled to keep open, so she slipped in her hand-painted cardboard bookmark, brushed her teeth, and snuggled into her nook.

She awoke to a thunderous blow atop her skylight, followed by the groans of a wounded..…ogre? Faryn froze. It was a quarter to 7, and the sun had made its way west, almost obscured by the mountains. She grabbed her canteen full of water, the only weapon in sight. The groans continued. She kept silent. Faryn heard deliberate movement from the uninvited guest trying to find their feet, and she could no longer restrain herself. Faryn shoved the skylight open and hit James dead in the forehead.

He screamed in agony.

Completely shocked, Faryn gasped and dropped back into her wheeled cottage, one hand over her mouth and the other covering her eyes. Anxiously hopping from foot to foot, she braves another opening of her once undiscovered hideaway. This time, slowly. She is met by his furrowed brow and clenched jaw, blood dripping down the bridge of his nose between his tightly shut eyes.

“Good morning,” she sheepishly exhaled. “I’m so so sorry, I really didn’t intend you harm—are you alright?” She outstretched her fingers in his direction.

His furrow deepened, concealing his amber eyes. She reached for his forearm.

“I think you mean ‘good evening’,” James replied with a glance to the darkening sky as he propped himself onto his elbows.

“Ah. Yes. Well, this is the beginning of my day, so. Good morning.” Faryn waved her hand with this second greeting. “How’d you manage to crash down on my roof?” she promptly interrogated, eyeing for evidence.

With pursed lips he pointed to the hammock hanging from the oak tree fifteen feet above them, swinging in the wind. A silent thrill ran through him as he recognized her face. He asked himself the same question. How did he land himself on top of the enchantress he had been mesmerized by all those months ago?

“Hmm,” he considered, “well I climbed up around 5:30, to read a book and enjoy the sunset. I must’ve fallen asleep but it looks like I woke up just in time.” he finished with a smile.

“Yeah quite the rude awakening.” The blood trickled further down his face. A strand of black hair falling from his bun was about to be saturated with it. She followed his gaze to the painted view, “But yes, just in time.”

“So,” he paused, waiting for her to turn back to him. “Would I be able to get this cleaned up, or?” he motioned away from her as if to leave.

“Oh. Right. Please come in. I’d say I’d bring you through the front door but the ladder down is blocked. The gooseberries have managed to climb their way up. So the only way out is through.” she propped the window open and stepped back for him to drop in.

As he landed, she turned away in search of a clean towel and fresh water for what promised to be a memory never forgotten. The gash above his left brow threatened to become a scar. He sat down. She handed him the cloth and water.

“Would you like some tea?” she asked as she poured the brew she had prepared earlier. “Oh and I have some alcohol too if you’d like that for your—.’’

“Well well well, don’t mind if I do.” James smirked, pulling out the ‘Wandering Giants’ Merlot from her unshared collection.

“That,” she removed the bottle from his hand, “wasn’t what I was offering.” She replaced the wine with a spray bottle of isopropyl and an aloe-calendula balm.

“But nice try. Besides, this is what I drink for breakfast, and it’s what I had offered you.” she said sipping the tea from a jar.

“It’s looking like dinner time to me.” James mused dubiously as he cleaned his forehead.

“I’m on a different clock,” she countered.

“I’m on the same clock as you darlin’. I’ve been up since 5pm.”

“Okay cowboy, you’re an early riser.” her eyes narrowed, a slight grin touching her lips with her implied sarcasm.

“Yeap. I gotta get ready for midnight’s performance. You know, lunch.” he revealed with a wink.

“I see Cupid’s in your breast.” She observed the embroidered backing of the Cupid’s Cavern logo on his sleeveless black uniform. For some reason he was wearing it inside-out. The eatery was a short walk from her grow houses, but she hadn’t set foot into the domed building yet.

“Oh.” It took him a moment to register what she was referring to. “Yeah that’s where I’ll be…tending the bar.”

“I heard they have karaoke there.”

The idea of wine was beginning to appeal to her senses.

“Yeah I’d say it’s more of an open-mic, and that’s where I’ll be later. It’s actually my night off.”

“Doesn’t sound like you get out of there much.”

“I guess you’d have to be there to know there are very few reasons to leave.” he touted softly, arousing Faryn’s interest, though she didn't let it show.

She faced the counter and bit her lip, pouring the remains of Wandering Giants into a single glass.

“I’d love some tea, by the way.” his voice floating over her shoulder.

She turned from the counter and eyed him suspiciously with an arched brow.

“I’ve already poured this for us to share, but I can certainly send you off with a mug of that as well.” she hummed as she placed their shared spirit on the table and perched herself on the seat across from him.

Surprise flashed on his face, and for a brief moment he beheld her in his view. She emanated of wild rose, the tones of her skin and hair, her scent. It took most of him to remain tempered in her presence.

“So where are you off to this evening?” James nodded toward the glass, for her to take the first taste.

“I’ve had most of the bottle already. Please, be my guest.” Faryn gestured in return.

He took his sip. She continued.

“I’ve been working alone on some personal studies. Growing oyster mushrooms with a new material, and observing the effects of the moon cycles on the process.”

“Intriguing, a scientist.” He sampled the wine again. “And would you ever consider an assistant alongside you, for your research?” James tried not to sound too overt.

“Not yet. It’s still so new to me. I’m just getting a handle on the process.” She used her hands to speak. She looked back at him. “I prefer solo experiments, for now.”

“Understandable.”

Faryn tilted the glass back to enjoy her half. She slid it back to him.

“It’s all yours. How do you like it?”

He thought it was as heavenly as she looked.

“I can taste the cherry.”

“Mmm yes that’s my favorite part, though it wouldn’t be the same without the vanilla.” Faryn got up to put on a pair of stockings and a coat over her nightgown, and he finished their violet nectar.

“It looks to me like you’ve gotta be on your way. My thanks for your hospitality. Shall we?”

As she jumped into her boots, she opened the door and led them back through the archway. They quietly made their way to the fork in the road.

He noticed a posted sign painted in acrylic, entitled Tracy Place, and it pointed the direction they came from. Her youthful genius inspired him and he smiled until he saw her taking a right, to the city. He stopped.

“So I’ll be at the cavern later, if you’re looking for a bite to eat.”

Faryn waved over her shoulder and headed to the streets, but swimming in her mind was—

“Agh.” she let out as she realized they hadn’t introduced themselves.

James ambled the opposite way, thinking this forest fairy went by the name of Tracy.

The full moon rose higher into the sky.

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Faryn’s stomach growled with hunger as she stepped back into the woods, on her way home for the lunch bag she forgot to grab. Her path was fully illuminated as she came back to that fork in the road.

She notices new shapes in the trail next to her street sign, but it isn’t until she’s within a few feet that she can see there are new ones. Standing with ‘Tracy Place’ are now two arrows pointing right, one labeled ‘Sweet Sands’ and the other, ‘Cupid’s Cavern’.

There is a post-it attached, reading;

To my fellow forest walker,

If you’re hungry, you know where to go. Follow the signs.

-James

Looking around, she wondered if he was close. She did have nearly all her work done.

She chose the path to Cupid’s.