

### FOREVER ELF 1

### A. Blackwelder

### Enter a World of Elfin Romance

### Smashwords Edition

### Copyright© 2009 A. Blackwelder

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

Edited by Eloquent Enraptures

Copy edited by Magnolia Belle

Cover art by Eloquent Enraptures

Praise:

"I really like how you capture Michael's trepidation about asking Evelyn out, the angst, the worry. He is an interesting character. Certainly something the YA's could sink their teeth into. –Diane

"Great characters with a well-defined love story." -Amanda

"Well drawn characters, and skillfully painted scenes make this an effortless read." –Mick R

"You have a good plot line here, as outlined in your pitch, and two interesting characters in Michael and Evelyn. Michael is a very likable character, a potential poet who is also athletic, quite unusual." -Gerry McCullough,

"This is a fine piece of writing. It is romantic, thoughtful and engaging. There is a good premise here and a confident execution."- Michael

"Let me start with telling you that you write well. You capture the scenes and make dialogs sound real. Teenagers, boys and girls alike, will most certainly love this. Michael is a bit of a strange boy, but he is someone likable and that is what this is about." –Peter

That seems to be the way into their hearts and you seem to be on the right path with these novels. I think it is neat to have this incorporated into high school and the drama that ensues is humorous and heart warming." -T.L Tyson

"I'm not used to the melodramatic descriptions in the narrative, but I think that's what attracts the teenaged girl in all of us. In any case, it's juxtaposed pretty nicely with the high school setting". –John

"I have to say that your writing is most impressive. Your characterization is superb, these are characters that all young adults will relate to. You have described the setting vividly." -Patrick Armstead

When a human and an elfin fall in love, what happens in forbidden romance?

Within the small town of Green Mountain Falls, Colorado, there exists a quiet forest where a world undiscovered awaits. When soccer player, Michael Cole, of high school Green Mountain Falls sees the new girl Evelyn, coy yet intoxicating, walk into his senior English class he is forever changed.

His passion for her takes him deep into her heart and deep into her mystical world. Will their forbidden love be able to sustain them as their separate worlds collide, taking Evelyn and Michael on a magical journey into adventurous and perilous realms where dangerous creatures are determined to defeat them?

High school will never be the same...

There are four books to this series and each novel is comprised of two books. This is the first novel.

The Gate of Lake Forest

Book One - Spring: Three months of seasonal birth of Evelyn into Michael's life

Book Two - Summer: Three months of seasonal departure of Evelyn from Michael's life

Prisoners of Pride

Book Three - Fall: Three months of seasonal death of Evelyn's world

Book Four - Winter: Three months of seasonal rebirth of Evelyn's world
For Connor

The Gate of Lake Forest

Book 1: Spring

MONTH ONE: MARCH

Evelyn

Forest

Kiss

Waiting

Family

Closer

Folklore

MONTH TWO: APRIL

Brother

Questions

Tensions

The Practice

The Gate

Magic

MONTH THREE: MAY

Floating

Danger

Aspen

Rival

The Game

Shadows

Protecting
Preface

I awaken at the sounds of clawing and howling in the night. I hear it. It is so close now. My body is sweating as I jump up from my bed. My heart is beating fast, faster. My eyes widen as I walk to the window and look through the clear glass. I hear clawing outside, and a rustle in the trees. Then I see it: a dark shadow in the tree outside. Under the light of the moon, I can make out long, sharp teeth resembling blades, glistening and shiny, and long ears covered with black fur. Its face is blue-black leather with stone-dark eyes and small red pupils; its stare pierces through my darkened window. The face is like a child's, and yet wolfish like a monster. Its paws are huge, and it has dark fur covering its body. It opens its mouth and howls, one long, dark howl meaning...attack.

I remember the first time I saw her, meandering like a ghostly vision up the hallways of Green Mountain Falls High. Like an artist or a writer, I noticed all the details others missed. My father used to tell me, "Michael, you'll make a great poet someday." I didn't know then it was she who would inspire the poetry in my own life.

Poetry of passion...

Poetry of torment...
MONTH ONE: MARCH

Evelyn

Her brown snow boots cover her feet and her high white socks stick out over the top. White leggings are snug, and wrap around her lean legs until they disappear underneath her blue jean skirt. A small fragment of her white shirt can be seen underneath her avocado colored jacket. Beach-sand hair is highlighted by the late morning sun shooting through the English class window and into the hallway.

She hides behind her long hair, as if to conceal her beauty, but there is no dimming her effervescence, shining like a lost jewel discovered for the first time by all the eyes upon her. Whispers echo through the halls in wonder. Plump rose lips glitter with ruby tint. Emerald, almond-shaped eyes speak to me as I stand paralyzed with my mouth agape.

Head cheerleader of our school, Tanya, pushes her way through the crowds gathering in the halls before the next class bell. A clique of jocks stands at one end while alternative' cliques huddle in the corner. Girls giggle in secret near their lockers, covering their mouths as they peer at the new girl. Dropping her class schedule, she and bends to pick it up. Tanya's athletic shape bumps into the new girl and she falls over hitting her knee.

I rush to help her back to her feet, extending my hand. Tanya smirks and we all know she did it on purpose. My heavy glare makes Tanya hurry away from the scene. Knowing Tanya well, I don't want an incident. Tanya's large frame is the perfect base for the cheerleader's pyramids, and the streak of blond she added to her chocolate hair was the talk of the town last month. It doesn't take much for gossip in this town. Tanya attends all of the sports games. I play on the soccer team. Head cheerleader often attends games to gawk at the athletes when she isn't practicing cheers with her squad or cheering for our football team.

"Are you alright?" I speak the words without elegance or eye contact, too taken aback by her presence for that kind of innocent intimacy. Placing her hand in mine, her touch is like a thousand waves crashing over me. I help her up and notice her tall, lean figure, which appeared frail from a distance, is sturdy with well-toned muscles. Glancing at her schedule, a silent grin defines my lips and flushes my cheeks as I take her to the English classroom.

Her presence in the room is fresh, like the beginning of spring after the heavy snowfalls of winter. Snow is still falling in Colorado, despite the start of spring, and seems it will continue falling for a while. It will be a couple more months before we can see what flowers bloom in our small town. Like the new spring flowers each year, this new girl is a flower of her own kind. She walks towards the back of the classroom and plops into a seat.

I settle for the seat in the front row where I usually sit next to Robby. Robby's disheveled brown hair is a mess. Of course this is nothing new. He pays less attention to his appearance and more attention to his academics and beloved soccer game. We've played soccer since we were kids and making it on the high school soccer team was a dream of ours that came true for both of us.

The class bell rings and the students file into the room, leaving their last moments of freedom behind. They sit studiously and focus in their seats, knowing Mr. Roth takes no excuses for tardiness or misbehavior. In this honors English class we all take education a little more seriously. His wide frame is always dressed in an impeccable suit and his dark blond hair is immaculately combed. Mr. Roth adjusts his spectacles and gazes over his attendance sheet to read her name, Evelynia.

"Class, please, say hello to Ev-e-lyn-ee-a." He slows down each syllable to pronounce it correctly. "She has just moved here from Alaska and will be joining our Senior English class." As she corrects him, I know my life will never be the same.

"Please, call me Evelyn," she says succinctly, as she tries to hide behind her hair again. The class turns around to see this new spectacle in our school, our typically quiet, boring run-of-the-mill high school. Settling into her seat, she realizes she has drawn attention to herself and squirms with an awkward smile appears as if to say, "Okay, you've all looked long enough, nothing to see here, turn back around now."

A few of the kids giggle while others whisper, all but me. I gaze around the classroom from my desk while Mr. Roth focuses on the papers on his desk. Leaning back in my chair, like I am about to yawn, I roll my head in her direction. I take in the subtle heart shape of her face. Glancing up at me, I am uninvited in her space, and chills rush up my spine. Emerald eyes dart down to the quiz in front of her and I roll my head back in retreat. The class is quiet; it feels like we have been here for a long time, too long. When the bell rings, everyone jumps up, ready to head to lunch. Robby is full of vigor and slides towards Evelyn. I watch in humor as he takes her book bag from the back of her chair, in a most cordial and old fashioned way.

"I've got it, thanks," Evelyn says, struggling to pull the bag back. She manages to squeeze between the classroom wall and Robby to make a quick exit out the door. Robby winces as he watches her delicate features vanish from his line of sight.

"Nice try," I tell him. "Next time, don't scare her." We walk down the hall, watching her as she glides over the floors. Everyone tilts their heads as she goes by, gossiping, wondering. It is not just her drawing the attention of so many eager faces, but the idea of something new to our lives - something to break the monotony of our everyday. New is exciting. New is different. She is both.

Walking angelically, as if sailing down the halls instead of walking, she moves. But of course one foot does go in front of the other. I lose sight of her as she turns a corner. Robby is anxious to get into the cafeteria to eat lunch and I sacrifice my curiosity for satiating Robby's appetite.

We join our four other friends at a table. I sit between Laura and Sarah. Robby sits across from me between Taylor and Lee. Laura strokes her blond hair with a wooden comb, which she claims refines her locks for her role as most popular cheerleader. She has a crush on Taylor and says his dark chocolate skin tastes sweeter than a Mounds candy bar (not that she has ever had the opportunity to test this theory). I try not to keep that mental image in my mind for too long. As I sit down, she is quick to tell me her thoughts on this new girl.

"Did you see her? Her skin is ghastly." Laura sounds like a wounded bird in pain, which I can only deduce is from her extreme jealousy. Placing my lunch tray in front of me, I grab the plastic covered sandwich.

"She's in my English class," I say plainly, as I unwrap my sandwich. Sarah starts to eat and listens intently. She brushes her elegant, long brown hair away from her face and behind her ears. With her hair pulled back I see the few freckles across her nose and cheeks, which she tries to hide with make-up. "I thought she looked nice." Nice is an understatement, but I don't want to give Laura any more fuel to be jealous.

Taylor turns my way when I say nice because he knows that is my word for hot. Of course, he would just say hot, he has no inhibitions. Taylor is another soccer player on our team. He sits across from Laura every day at lunch and is still oblivious to her preoccupation with him. When lunch is over, he will head straight to me and try to weasel out information about this new girl. The blond highlights in his dark hair marks him from a distance. If Laura and he ever finally get together, they may just be the quintessential jock couple of the year.

"You are going to have to show me her sometime. Everyone is talking about her." Taylor pauses in thought and then continues, "I know, tomorrow I'll meet you outside English class before heading to lunch."

"Wait at your own risk," I retort with a hint of humor. Taylor knows my interest due to my description of her appearance as nice, and he smirks before eating his cafeteria food. Sarah crunches down on her apple and studies the variety of vegetarian delights on her tray. She smiles at Lee who sits across from her.

"I saw her in the hallway before lunch. I thought she looked sweet," Sarah defends. Her words speak less about Evelyn and more about herself. Sarah is as naïve as anyone can be at seventeen.

"Always seeing the best in people," Lee adds eagerly, because it means conversing with Sarah. Lee's Chinese heritage has endowed him with dark, almond-shaped eyes. He is gifted with computers, a typical cliché. We used to joke with him about it when he first joined our soccer team, but since he hacked into the school computer network last year and was suspended for a month, the jokes have become more like praise. Reaching across the table, he grabs a few carrots from Sarah's tray.

Her lips purse and she speaks a French phrase that none of us know except Lee. From Sarah's tone, and Lee's hasty retreat, it must have meant something like, "Don't touch my food!" Sarah's long brown hair sits perfectly trimmed, like she used a ruler as she cut to make the edges straight. The fashionable appearance is only trumped by Lee's designer jeans and Laura's school cheerleading uniform.

Lee and Sarah are the only two at our table that speak a foreign language. Lee knows Mandarin and French, and Sarah speaks fluent French. They never have much in particular to talk about in French, but they seem to enjoy the little French they do communicate with one another. I think Sarah just likes the idea of all things foreign.

They both always come to school impeccably dressed, something Robby could never aspire too. Robby twitches his nose when he's lost in deep thought, which is too often for most of the students here. His verbose way of speaking lacks the local colloquialisms necessary for keeping the attention of most girls here, but he impresses the teachers, with whom he spends much of his time.

He plans to attend Yale upon graduating, a school I have longed to get into most of my academic life. I have lived in this small town for the majority of my youth and I am itching to get out of this place.

Across from our table is where most of the cheerleaders sit, including Tanya. Laura would normally sit with them, but her focus has been on Taylor these past few months.

Like Tanya, Laura is quick and efficient at defending her turf. The cheerleaders are the talk of the school, and if someone else takes that attention away from the cheerleaders they are very effective at putting them back in their place.

On the other side of the cafeteria is another table filled with ripped jeans, concert shirts, greased hair, and tattoos. Near the wall of the lunch room is the large table full of football and soccer players –the athletes.

I sat with my friends there last year, but this year has been different for Robby, Lee, and me. We try to buckle down on our studies to ensure an acceptance from a top ten school. We avoid the parties and loud lunch hours in hopes that our sacrifices will pay off in the end. Interspersed throughout the rest of the cafeteria is everyone else, neither notable nor influential, but filling in the spaces.

The bell rings to announce the end of lunch and we split up as we each head to our next class. Mine is Phys. Ed. I head to the gym to change then walk outside to the track and field. That is when I see her. In a white gym uniform, she sits on one of the benches, waiting for her name to be called. It hasn't been but about an hour since I saw her last, yet I feel like I've missed her.

"Evelyn," the coach calls, and her piercing eyes dart upward. She lines up in the third lane spot, where Mr. Phillips points.

"Michael," Mr. Phillips calls again. I jump off the bench and stand next to Evelyn in the fourth lane. We all have our positions on the track. Standing next to her, it is difficult to concentrate. She smells like jasmine flowers. Our gym instructor, Mr. Phillips, wants to assess our running. We need to run once around the track against the clock. If we cross the finish line in under five minutes, we pass, if not, we fail.

I never have a problem running as I practice every other day with my friends. When we aren't playing soccer on the soccer field, we are playing hockey. The whistle blows and we attempt to outrace the others. Evelyn and I run side by side with only white chalk lines dividing us. We run together for the first two minutes, then I smile and wink as I pull past her. She returns my gesture with a shy laugh that she hides by looking at the ground. I clock in at three minutes and thirty seconds, the fastest in the class.

Completing the run in just over four minutes, she ranks eighth. Not bad for the new girl. I gasp for air as I exit the track and sit on the benches. Evelyn breathes softly and I notice there is no perspiration on her body.

"I hear it's cold in Alaska," I say to her. Tousled hair fits in with the rest of the girls in the Colorado wind. The next group line up for their assessment. Mr. Phillips blows his whistle a few times, indicating false starts. Evelyn shuffles her feet over the dirt ground, kicking at the sand with her sneakers. Her arms are resting on each side of the bench.

"Yes, it is." Her voice is warm like lemon tea. Her coy smile fixates on me before she turns away.

"You must be used to the cold weather in Colorado then?" I ask clumsily. The sun glistens over her caramel skin which draws a jewel like substance out from underneath her complexion. Emerald eyes look to the shadows on the field from the afternoon sun. Hair drapes over her cheeks like a canopy as she basks in the sun. I stare at the jewel tone of her skin, but it passes, along with the sun. "My name is Michael." I swallow hard, "You are Evelyn?"

"Yes." She looks like she is about to say something more but then the bell rings. Class runs inside for showers and she follows behind the other girls. The next two classes move boringly along until the final bell rings. I pack up my things and leap into my Chevy truck to head home. My mom and dad, Sue and Henry, wait for me at the dinner table. Arriving late, I stop by the local library to pick up a few books we have to read for our English class. Despite what jokes my athletic friends make, I am studious and preparing to go to Yale after graduation.

"I've made your favorite tonight, steak and potatoes," Mom says, standing over the kitchen stove. "Take a seat and I'll be right with you guys, my two favorite men in the world."

"So, how are things going Michael?" Dad says, and begins eating since Mom has joined us at the table. Dad is a man of few words, and when he begins eating, I know the conversation on his side is soon ending.

"It's fine. I did well on my English quiz today, and picked up a few books for our reports due next term." Though I speak about school, all I really think about is her.

"That's good, glad to hear it." Dad smiles and continues eating.

At night I am haunted by her. Intoxicating. I head outside to kick my soccer ball on the driveway to cool off my mind and let the chilly breeze wash over me. Then I head back inside for a restless sleep.

The next day I spend an extra ten minutes in the bathroom getting ready for school. For me, that is a lot more extra time than usual. Washing my short, dark hair twice, I stare into the mirror on the wall. Rubbing my fingers over the two pink pimples against my nose, I wince. At least my blue eyes are strong in color to distract girls from the imperfection. I shave my chin as I do every morning and spray on my cologne.

When I get to school, I wait anxiously for my first three classes to end so that I can go to English and see her. Heading to the back of the classroom, I await her arrival. She ambles in just as the bell rings and returns to her seat from yesterday. I awkwardly gawk as she politely smiles in return and try for a conversation, but my throat tightens.

Normally, I would have no problem talking to girls, I am quite popular. But she is different. When I am near her, I feel different. I sit quietly, smiling at her for the rest of class until the bell rings and everyone leaves. Noticing Taylor looking at me, signaling for me to go over to him quickly or all hell might break loose, I push through the crowd and manage to get to him before Evelyn disappears completely.

"So, where is she?" Taylor asks in impatient anticipation.

"She left the room already. Didn't you see her?" I retort. By the look on Taylor's face it is obvious that he didn't. In obligatory surrender, I point to the tall, lean figure in a blue jean jacket turning the corner at the end of the hall.

"The girl dressed from the 80s?" Taylor giggles. I hadn't noticed it, but he is right. She is dressed like she is from a different time. Taylor digresses from his attack on my affections for Evelyn and concedes, "You are right. She is hot." He presses his lips like a kiss, "Damn, those long legs are fine."

For the next few weeks all I think about is her. I manage to say something in the second week like, "Ah, um, do you need my notes?" She shakes her head no. Undiscouraged, I eagerly rush to open the classroom door for her as she exits along with three other students. Today these three block my path keeping me from watching Evelyn's delicate figure. They stop in the middle of the corridor to chat and I become stuck behind them. Evelyn turns the corner and disappears.

It is the beginning of the third week when I mutter something like, "Do you need any paper?" as I drop my own paper on the floor distracting her from saying anything to me. I look up at her with puppy dog eyes and manage to squeeze out, "Would you like...", and then the bell rings. I want to invite her to lunch. Too late. At the end of the third week, I finally muster the courage to ask her out on a proper date without feeling she will reject me completely. I see her pencil break half way through lecture notes, and I pull an extra one out of my bag.

"Would you like to go out tonight?" I speak slowly, not realizing fully that I am actually asking her out, and she is actually listening. I might be imagining it as I do so many times in class. "I mean, if you're not busy over the weekend." The words fly from my lips in anxious anticipation.

"Where?" she asks. My eyes open up wide with excitement as she talks to me, and it hits me that this is real, not in my head. I am mystified by her presence.

"The Main Star Cinemas. It is up the street from where I live, thirty minutes from the school." She hesitates to answer, and then says apologetically,

"I...I can't. I'm sorry." She seems to desperately want to say yes, but can't.

"Perhaps you would rather go with some other friend?" I play with the pencil in my hand.

"No, that's not it. I'm just...I would rather do something closer to home." She looks away then returns a smile.

"Ok," I say, hopeful with widening eyes, "Where do you live?"

"Across from Lake Forest." She tilts her head, exposing her jaw line.

"Way over there?" I ask.

"I like to stay as close to home as possible in the evenings, if you don't mind?" Her tone grows austere.

"There is a movie theater across from Lake Forest. We could go there?" Evelyn ponders. "Is it a date?" When she returns my smile it is confirmed. "I'll pick you up around seven," I conclude and Evelyn hands me directions to her house. Elation ignites me and I wait for her to gaze at me with her emerald eyes. Unfortunately, we are interrupted as the teacher calls her name to answer a question.

Anxiously, I drive myself home and park the truck in the driveway behind my Mom's Volvo. I race up to my bedroom and into my closet, passing over the array of clothes I have collected over the years. Nothing is right. Don't want to appear decadent. Don't want to appear casual like I don't care. Finding a dark blue pair of jeans and a nice brown wool sweater, I hope that might look nice; causal, but expensive. I stare at myself in the mirror and notice my hair is a disaster; always messed up when I leave my truck windows down.

Fixing my hair, I shave again just in case any strays have grown in the last seven hours. Heading downstairs, I eat dinner and then rest in the lounge until time to leave. Time passes slowly while I tap my fingers on the table, and though it must have only been about an hour of waiting, it feels like a day.
Forest

Pulling up to her blue and white house with a picket fence across from Lake Forest, I slowly park near the curb. My watch shows 6:55 pm. I stroll with tried confidence up to the mahogany door and overhear a noisy conversation from the nearby open window. A male, raspy voice says,

"You need to be careful, Evelyn." He speaks with authority. A soft, female voice interrupts,

"Evelyn can't stay locked up forever. She is young and she should be enjoying her time here."

"For now, but he must not ever find out Evelyn. It would be too dangerous for us, for him. You must fulfill your duty in the end. We can't have the council talking about it." Then the conversation ends. I knock twice on the door and Evelyn opens with an irritated expression. As she sees me she smiles, and I let out the breath I have been holding.

"Would you like to come in?" she asks.

"Of course," I say with too much enthusiasm.

A tall woman with a pale face gazes at me. She has a few dark freckles across her cheeks, and long jet-black hair that hides her ears. Perfect, almond-shaped eyes of emerald green, she stands next to a cream sofa in the living room. A tall, lean man with similar eyes and shoulder length white hair stands next to her. As he reaches his hand toward me, I notice a scar deep in his right cheek stretching from his lip to his lower eye.

"Michael, these are my parents, Eve and Nile." I politely extend my hand.

"It's a pleasure. I'm Eve, Evelyn's mother," Eve says. As I shake her hand, I note her hands are warm and her smile is inviting.

"It's a pleasure to meet one of Evelyn's friends." Nile nods his head, but behind his eyes is careful suspicion. A tiny girl, about three and a half, skips into the living room. Long, wavy, dark hair brushes past my knees. Her emerald eyes peek through her hands and he speaks so quickly, I can hardly keep up with her.

"Mommy, is this Michael?" She glances at me. "Michael! Michael! So nice to meet you. Evelyn told me you were coming tonight. I hope you like our house. I'm Venda. I live here too." I stifle a laugh with my hand over my mouth. Eve runs her fingers through her daughter's hair and draws Venda to her.

"This is Venda, my youngest daughter," Eve says with a giggle. Nile's stern expression fades. Venda's plump cheeks and infectious giggles ease the tension.

"What time is the movie?" Nile asks.

"Begins at 7:30 pm," I explain." I will have Evelyn back soon after the show." We say goodbye and I usher Evelyn to my worn Chevy, which I vacuumed and washed for this very occasion. After opening the door for her, I watch her delicate frame enter into my life.

"Tighten your seat belt," I smirk, "This is going to be a fast ride." Evelyn fastens her seat belt over her body with a confused expression. I study the crooked lines in her forehead. The cinema is about five minutes away. As we drive, Evelyn is quiet.

"Your parents seem nice. Venda is delightful!" Evelyn turns away from the window with a quiet laugh.

"Yes, Venda is quite a mouthful, Lucky for you, you don't live with her. I am sure after a week with her you would be gnawing on your own wrists." She laughs again.

"Are you comfortable?" I ask.

"I'm good. Thank you for inviting me," she says sincerely. "I don't get to go out often. My parents don't like me to. They want me to stay close to home." She speaks in short, curt sentences, like she doesn't want to say what she says, but feels compelled to explain.

"Protective?" I ask, and she shrugs. "I hope you like the movie. This small town can be pretty boring."

"Yeah, my parents like boring. That's why we moved here." She turns to the window. "They worry so much."

"About?"

"Everything." She stares at the forest as we pass.

At the theatre we see a dark comedy. I watch Evelyn laugh and I grin every time I see her smile. The movie is an hour and a half, but with her it feels as though it's just minutes. Our time is over too soon.

"That was hilarious," she says, with her eyes cast to the floor. I know already if we never see each other again I will greatly miss her coy mannerisms.

"It was." My arm brushes against her as we walk out of the theatre. "Would you like to get something to eat before heading home?"

"Sounds nice," she says. I drive her to one of my favorite weekend cafes. There are lots of books on the shelves, paintings on the walls, and an eclectic mix of music from around the world playing in the background. We sit at a table near the window; we can see Lake Forest just a few walking blocks from it. I noticed her looking toward the forest as we drove past and now again at the café. She continues gazing out the window of the café.

"Is there something about that forest?"

"What?" she says, shaken from her reverie.

"The forest," I smile, "you enjoy looking at it."

"I'm a nature person, I guess." She shrugs. Her face leaves the seriousness behind and reflects humor, quickly realizing I've noticed her preoccupation. "You can pull the girl out of the country, but you can't pull the country out of the girl," she says with a smile.

"Something like that," I smirk. Traditional coffees are brought to our table, no order is needed, there are only two items on the menu: the Special Lake Forest coffee, and the Special Lake Forest coffee cake. When we came in, I pointed to both listed on the side wall as the waitress, Gloria, passed us.

Gloria's reddish cropped hair slides across her shoulders as she brings us our coffees and cakes. I notice her black and white waitress uniform hanging on her thin body. I have been here many times, accustomed to this café. Sometimes groups of students smoke in the back while drinking coffee mixed with a touch of rum from a bottle they have brought in under their arms.

Poetic crowds from school hang out on lounge sofas reading poetry, and every Friday night is open mic. Someone will inevitably make a fool of themselves reading a poem they wrote. Usually entertaining. The café puts out a magazine and they publish one local submission every month. This gets the creative minds into a frenzy of poetry writing.

I amble to the bookshelf and dust off a few of the local magazines. There is a story on hunting and another on cabins. I return them to the shelf and grab a few books because from the look on Evelyn's face, I know she isn't interested in hunting and cabins.

"Find anything?" she inquires.

"I think I have." I place the books on the table. "Why did you move here anyway?"

"Our family needed to relocate."

"What do your parents do?"

"They are in the conservation business." She glances at the books and her fingers fumble over the first few pages. "What do your parents do?"

"My mom, Sue, is a teacher at the local university. My dad, Henry, works as a ranger."

"So your Dad is into conservation too," she says with a knowing smile that seems to imply more than she is letting on, and I stare at her with a questioning eye.

The coffees are warm against our hands on this cold Colorado night. They taste like butterscotch and mountain air. None of my friends from outside of state can ever imagine what it tastes like.

Evelyn touches the edges of a book on local traditions and cultures. Underneath is another book on local folklore. The cover is ocean blue and pale green. Angels and fairies intertwine on the page like they are dancing on water. She scratches her shoulder and I notice her first imperfection: a deep scar on her right shoulder bone, hiding underneath her silky green blouse.

"Look at this." I pull the book out from underneath her hands. The book is thick and probably very old. I flip open to the middle page. "Look at these pictures." There is an image of little people hiding under a log. Another page shows a pale-faced fairy with a purple silk dress and white wings. I watch Evelyn as a mysterious smile spreads across her face, a smile I have not yet seen. I flip the book to another page.

"Look at this," I say with a serious tone and forget my humor for a moment, fascinated by the mystical images. A creature, half horse and half man, leaps into the air holding a golden sword. On the next page is a delicate, tiny girl with a melancholy face, almond eyes, and long, wavy, sandy-colored hair.

I glance up at Evelyn, but she has turned away, gazing into the forest and so I stare into the forest to see what she sees, but all I find are trees.

"Evelyn?" She looks my way again. "You seem preoccupied."

"I'm sorry, it is just..."

"You would like to get going now?"

"Please."

I drive, though we could have walked. Knowing how anxious she is to get home, I don't want to delay her any longer. Stopping the truck, I walk her to the front door. We stand under the moonlight and a blanket of stars waiting. I am not sure what we are waiting for, but we wait. Silence fills the air and Evelyn fidgets. A million thoughts race through her mind, but in the end only one dominates her.
Kiss

Behind her eyes she calls to me. I softly pull her head to mine, and like a flower blowing in the wind, I press my lips gently to hers. Lasts only a few precious moments, yet feels like the entire night. This is what we were waiting for. Our fingers intertwine as we say goodnight. She walks inside her house and closes the door. I can hardly remember anything else. All I see is our kiss.

Our first kiss. This kiss is not a dream I share with my closest friends. This is not a hope I imagine in class. The kiss is all real and I am smitten. I am not the same Michael I was when I walked out the door at 6:30pm this evening. I will not be the same Michael ever again.

Falling to my bed, I close my eyes, and immediately fall asleep. I don't have to dream about what it is like to kiss her, I know. My dreams can't be more vivid. This kiss will stay with me forever, of that I am sure. There is nothing strong enough to make me forget the memory of our kiss on her porch under the starlit night.

Saturday morning I quickly shower and eat the cereal Mom sets out for me. I head out the door to my truck and drive toward Evelyn's house. Seeing her standing at the edge of the forest, she wears a long, green, silk dress that falls to her ankles, with a thin white rope tied around her waist. Eyes glisten under the sun. I see her slip into the forest, she disappears in seconds.

Stopping my old truck on the side of the road, I race after her. I notice her sandy hair behind the trees in the distance and know I shouldn't follow her in there, feeling where this is taking me. She might wonder if I'm some sort of stalker, or I will see something I don't want to see, something that will take me away from our perfect union.

But I don't listen to the voice inside my head telling me to turn around, I can't ignore my curiosity. I am too entranced, I have to know the truth. As I follow her, her pace quickens. The trees surround us like a blanket, hiding us in secret from the rest of the world.

Evelyn moves deftly through the forest like she has lived here all her life, like she knows which turns to make, where to jump, what to miss, and where to land safely. I think I can keep up with her, after all, I did beat her on the race track at gym. I was first. No one is faster than me. But here in the forest I can't keep up with her. Soon, I can hardly make out her silk dress sandy, golden hair as she draws further and further away from me.

Then I freeze in my tracks and look around me \- confusion. I am lost. I walk in circles until eventually I see a dim light shining through the trees. Looks like it's the light from the cinema; Perhaps I can follow the light to find my way out of here. How poetic: the light of our first date is the light that guides me.

The forest is dark under all the trees, but the light from the cinema shows the way. Takes me about twenty minutes, though running after her felt like five. I step off the forest trail and onto the pavement. Across the street is Evelyn's house. Before I know it, I am walking toward her house and knocking on the front door. Eve opens and the lie flows out as quickly as popcorn from a hot pot.

"Hello, Michael."

"Hello, Mrs. Eve. Is Evelyn here?" I already know the answer, of course she is not here.

"No, I'm sorry she is not. May I leave a message for her?"

"It's urgent. Do you know where I might find her?" Another lie, but I have to see if they know where she really is.

Eve's eyes trail off into the forest and she pauses before she answers. "I believe she said she was going to the library. Perhaps you can stop by later?"

"Do you know when she will be back?"

"This afternoon."

"Thank you."
Waiting

The day is restless, waiting for Evelyn to return from her journey in the forest. But I patiently kill time at my favorite café, sipping coffee, listening to the café's soft music- saturated with slow guitar strums- and reading a few of the books off the shelves.

Questions flood my mind and I don't take long to miss her. Then I remember the book we looked at here at the café. As Evelyn turned the pages, she had seemed so distant.

Gloria brings me my coffee with a flirtatious smile. "No date today?" she asks. I glare. Her hair is short, hanging just below her ears. She wears the black and white staff uniform, which looks too big for her thin figure. I don't take much interest, I just sip my coffee. Standing, I reach for the book on the shelf.

Still here, and still captivates me. I run my fingers over the thick, leather- bound book as if a magical secret will seep out. Laughing at the thought, I gently open the book and skim the first few pages, studying intently the images of nymphs, fairies, and trolls. I read the next page twice:

This book contains Folklore brought to us by our ancient ancestors, passed down from generation to generation. The following are stories and accounts of the town's legends of magical worlds mixing with our own.

From the time humans discovered the forest they had a longing to learn its secrets. This obsession drove them further and further into the forest, destroying the woodlands as they went. For some, their explorations led them to the discovery of a world unlike their own. So intertwined were the two worlds, it was hard to know where one ended and the other began.

Entering into this world could be as simple as stepping over a fallen tree. Suddenly the forest became a different world full of beasts and angels revealing their secrets to these humans.

This other world had a sky filled with purples and oranges, glittering like gold. The air smelled fresh and free. There were endless green meadows, and shimmering silver lakes, the homes to creatures beyond imagination. When humans entered this world, they felt stronger, more vibrant; something inside them began to grow.

But as humans explored this new world, their world declined. The existence of this magical place was a secret no longer, but the humans wanted this world for themselves. The mystical creatures banded together and created a beast, a beast so dark and dangerous they were afraid of its very existence. However, they feared if they did not create such a thing that man would destroy their forests, and their world would be forever lost.

The mystical creatures established a boundary separating their world from the human world. At the entrance to their world they created a golden gate. No human would be allowed to pass through the gate from that time on unless they could prove they were no longer an enemy to the creatures and forests of magic.

I close the book and take in a deep breath. Mythical or not, this is a lot to take. I glance up at the clock hanging over the menu on the wall, a quarter to twelve, but it's usually ten minutes fast. I wonder if Evelyn will be returning home soon. A nudge in my back tears me away from my thoughts.

"What are you doing here?"

"Robby," I say with disappointment.

"I'm just waiting. What are you doing here?" I ask, trying to deflect the focus from me. I didn't want to go into the details with him about my evening with Evelyn. He likes her and he is my best friend, and yet I do not regret going out with her, but Robby doesn't need to know any of this.

"I'm just hanging out with Lee and Taylor," he answers, and points to the two of them sitting on a sofa. Lee gestures with his hand, motioning for me to come over. I stand up with the book under my arm and sit next to Taylor, who is already on his third piece of cake.

"You really shouldn't eat like that, Taylor," Lee says concerned. "Our game is coming up and you need to be in top shape. Remember, the game is against our worst enemy this year," he says with a serious face. "We have to destroy them."

"Yes, leave them with their heads hanging in shame." Taylor pushes the third piece of cake away and looks up at me.

"So, what did you do last night? I thought you were coming out to practice with us?"

"I was going to, but something came up. Next time?" I think about the long night of sweaty practice and my night out with Evelyn: there is no comparison.

"Are you not going to tell us what you did last night?" Robby asks suspiciously as he sits down with a cup of coffee next to Lee.

"It was nothing." I can see the answer is not going to satisfy them, "Really, it's just..." Another lie, I feel the deceit coming out no matter how hard I try to keep it locked inside. "My mother wanted me to help her with some work around the house. I couldn't get out of it."

Robby's head shakes back and forth, like he understands, even sympathizes with my plight. Lee and Taylor say in unison, "That must have sucked." They believe the lie. They don't know my mother prefers I stay out of her way. Could have been true in another house, another family, another universe.

"So, you'll be out later tonight for practice? We can't get the game together without you there." Taylor piles the guilt on thick. He looks like a concerned teddy bear, all the girls would agree.

"I'll try," I say with determination. But I also know a bigger part of me wonders what I will be doing tonight with Evelyn.

"I'd better get going," I tell them. "I have to pick up some books and study for a biology exam. I'll catch up with you guys later." I can't believe it. My buddies always have my back and apparently all it takes is Evelyn for me to betray them. I'm not going to the library or even to study. I don't even have an exam. I'm heading to Evelyn's home to find out if she returned.
Family

I knock on Evelyn's door and her father Nile answers. He eyes me suspiciously before turning around, allowing me some room to breathe.

"Evelyn," he calls. Savoring the sound of her name, I close my eyes for a moment before Evelyn appears. She smells of lilacs today.

Her skin tone surprises me: much darker than both her mother and father's pale skin. I keep thinking I'll eventually grow numb to her dangerous beauty, but I never do. She is more stunning than I remember, though close up I note another imperfection: a minuscule, almost invisible, thin white scar on her chin.

"Michael?" She still smiles. This is a good sign.

"Would you like to hang out somewhere this afternoon?" I ask.

"Would you like to come in first?" She leads me inside; I follow her with a timid curiosity. The house is more inviting today. Her young sister Venda waits by the door to greet me. "She misses you. She likes you very much." Evelyn giggles at the expression Venda imitates. I try hard not to burst into laughter myself.

Venda sticks out her tongue and puts her thumbs into her ears and wiggles her hands back and forth. I hold my laughter until it pops like a balloon. She races into the long corridor that leads to the kitchen and then returns; she is fast too.

The way Venda moves reminds me of Evelyn in the forest this morning and I think their family must have won some kind of genetic lottery in running. Venda is clearly trying to get me to chase her, but I am hesitant. Uncertain of the rules of Nile's home.

Evelyn reads my expression. "Go for it," she tells me. I burst forward, chasing Venda up the hall and back down into the living room.

Venda bounces onto the couch and I tickle her until tears run down her pink cheeks. I stop only to let her breathe. Evelyn plops next to me with an approving smile while Venda tries to recuperate. Nile and Eve come into the room.

"Are you kids having fun?" Eve asks. Nile simply smiles and throws a serious look at Evelyn.

I notice a wonderful aroma coming from the kitchen. "Smells delicious." I say.

"Would you like some?" Evelyn asks. "It's soup, My Mom makes delicious soup; her special recipe. You will love it. I promise."

I nod yes. How could anyone ever say no to such an angelic creature? "I would love some."

We come off the sofa and help Venda to her feet. She is very light for a girl that spits out words by the pounds. Walking into the dining room adjacent to the kitchen, I notice six place settings.

"Is there someone else joining us?" I ask. Nile and Evelyn glare at each other in a way that tells me they don't want to speak about it. Venda climbs into her seat with an extra cushion, so she can reach the table. She sits patiently with her hands in her lap.

"The other setting is for Wind," Eve explains. She serves the soup out of the main bowl into the smaller individual bowls decorating the table. "He'll be coming by later tonight. He is Evelyn's brother. Did she tell you she has a brother?"

"No." I glance at Evelyn; she appears annoyed.

"His real name is Kyelin, Ky-el-in." She says slowly, so I hear the name clearly. "But everyone calls him Wind because he thinks he is so fast, faster than anyone else."

"Well he is, Evelyn," Nile retorts.

"He brags too much if you ask me," Evelyn responds with a roll of her eyes.

"Your family seems to have a natural inclination for running," I say to Nile. "I myself am a very good runner. I have always come in first in my class since elementary school."

"Really?" Nile sounds surprised. "That is good to hear. We don't get enough disciplined young men these days." He puts his spoon into the soup. "Everyone is so irresponsible. Wasn't that long ago men were more reliable."

"What makes you think we have a knack for running? Did I do something in gym to impress you?" Evelyn asks with a smirk.

"You always impress me," I say without thinking, and she blushes; a beautiful color on her skin. Now that I've discovered her blush, I'm already thinking of other ways to embarrass her.

"What is that grin on your face?" Evelyn asks. She doesn't really have to ask because she already knows.

"Nothing." I blush, caught in the act and try a spoonful of soup and the flavors explode in my mouth; I taste herbs I can't identify. "This is amazing. I have never had anything quite like it. What ingredients did you use?"

"My own special herbs from my own special garden," Eve says, and everyone at the table chuckles, including me, though I am not quite sure what the joke is. Everyone finishes eating and I turn to Evelyn.

"Do you want to get going?" I ask. My watch shows 2:45pm.

"Sure," she says. Nile and Eve say goodbye as Evelyn and I leave the house. Venda sticks her tongue out at me and pouts.

"You'll see him again," I hear Eve say to comfort her as Evelyn and I walk away.
Closer

It takes about thirty minutes to get to my house, which is close to the park. Already three-fifteen, Mom will be home.

"Is that you Michael?" Mom calls out while I walk to the front porch.

"Yes Mom." I roll my eyes. Evelyn and I follow her voice to the study, where she usually works on her hobbies, sometimes sewing quilts or organizing photos.

"I want you to meet Evelyn," I say. Mom draws away from her books and piles of yarns. Her face brightens for the story about this new creature to our small town.

"Sure nice to meet you," Mom says with a warm smile. "Where have you been hiding her?" she says. It's a small town, so you can't hide anything from anyone here.

"She just moved here three weeks ago."

"Where did you move from?" Mom asks inquisitively; this is much more interesting than what she had been doing before we arrived. Evelyn shies away from the question. Mom will be disappointed for not being able to converse with the one new arrival to this town in the past year, and the one new girl I have brought home in just about the same amount of time, but I draw Evelyn away with a hand on her shoulder.

"She is from Alaska. Her family moved here to relocate for work. They are into conservation." Then I turn, even though I know Mom will be disappointed without more details. "We are going to head upstairs. I'll see you later." I pull Evelyn's tiny hand into mine and lead her into my room.

"Your Mom seems nice." Evelyn speaks softly.

"She is."

"She is a good conversationalist. I'll bet her and Venda would get along great," Evelyn says with a tender laugh. Evelyn glides around my room, gracefully examining my life, running her fingers over a gold medal I won in a race last year and looking at the glass cabinet filled with other awards I won in athletics.

"You weren't kidding; you are a fast runner," she says. I smile softly and she continues with her thorough inspection. She studies some paintings I bought from rummage sales, pictures of trees and mountains. She looks out my window and notices the park. For a few moments, she is lost in its view.

She sits on my bed and gazes up at the glow stars stuck to my ceiling. I put them there when I was in middle school and in my "curious about the universe" phase and haven't taken them down yet. Standing to pull out a handful of CDs from one of my dresser drawers, I ask if there is anything she likes.

"Soft melodies."

I pull out my Phil Collins and play "Against All Odds." The song always reminds me of my longing for the one who will fill my soul completely, the exact match to my heart: to find her, to know her, to love her. I always thought about how that reality would, in fact, be against all odds. Returning to the bed, I and Evelyn lie on top. Our eyes stare up at my ceiling as we listen to the music. Hands touch and fingers wrap themselves around each others. The lyrical words fill my room:

"Take a look at me now/ I'll still be standing here/ and to wait for you is all I can do, and that's what I have to face/ take a good look at me now/I'll still be standing here/ and you coming back to me is against all odds/ but it's a chance I have got to face...."

As old as the song is, it is still one of my favorites. As the song ends, a tear from Evelyn's eye rolls down her flushed cheek. She wipes the salty tear before I might notice, but when it comes to her I notice everything. We lay still like that on my bed for what feels like eternity, hand in hand, eyes to the ceiling, with a secret tear between us that I pretend not to notice.

"Michael, are you upstairs?" Mom calls, and I prop myself against the head of the bed.

"I told you I was going upstairs, Mom. What do you want?" I shout.

"What do you want for dinner?"

"Anything is fine, Mom."

"Is Evelyn staying for dinner?" I hadn't thought that far ahead. Was she?

"Would you like to stay for dinner?" A smile on her face says she does, but she is worried. She thinks for a moment.

"Could I call my parents?"

"Yes, of course." I smile big. I prevailed in the battle of whatever she was debating inside herself. I give her my cell phone and she makes a call.

"No, Nile. I am not coming back soon. I realize it is getting late, but I am here with Michael and I want to stay for dinner." Evelyn pauses. "He can take care of that tonight. He doesn't need me there all the time. I know it's been," she looks over at me, "different lately, but if you're concerned, maybe you should stay with him tonight.Okay, I'll see you around seven. I love you too. Bye."

I am content, knowing I am on the winning side of her argument, but surprised, because as long as I have known her the past three weeks, I have never heard her so forceful and headstrong. I did not know her shy demeanor and cautious words could ever be anything but gentle.

Mom prepares the meal downstairs, and at five-thirty Dad comes home and we sit around the table. Dad hangs his winter coat on the coat rack near the door and pulls off his heavy boots. Though spring has begun, a chill rushes outside from the winter weather just a few weeks earlier, and Dad always bundles up as a result.

"We have a guest today," Mom shouts across the room as Dad makes his way to the dining table.

"Oh, we do?" Dad's mood lightens at the sight of Evelyn, like he has finally gotten over me not having a girlfriend for the past year. He heads to his seat and Mom sits to his right. Evelyn sits across from him, closer to me. "I'm Henry, Michael's Dad," he says before sitting and shakes her hand.

"I'm Evelyn." She smiles awkwardly, keeping her eyes to her plate of food. We each take a bite. Evelyn enjoys the veggies, but pushes the meat away. Mom made pot roast and boiled vegetables. As great as my Mom's cooking is, I cannot help but remember Eve's soup, and how, in comparison, the pot roast is missing something.

"So, I hear you are the new girl in town. What brings your family here?"

"Dad!" I interrupt with a stern expression. "She is from Alaska. Her family moved here to relocate for their jobs." I know how Dad hates to make small talk, and Evelyn's seems to hate idle conversation even more, so I hope after the formal greeting and quick introduction into her life that the conversation will become non-existent. But somehow Mom has a way of reading my mind, and she is bent on embarrassing me as much as possible.

"So, you know our little Michael here was winner of the soccer competitions all through elementary school. He just adores the sport," Mom says with a smile on her face.

"Really? That good?" Evelyn looks to Mom then me. No, Mom is not going to let this go. She has been alone in the house since she got home and loves nothing more, aside from her beloved projects, than to talk about her little boy. Except that I am not little anymore, and every time she uses the words "little" and "boy" I feel hairs on the back of my neck stand. I slide slowly down my seat and my face turns red.

"I remember when he first started walking. He was such an agile little boy. I couldn't keep up with him. He wanted to run around everywhere and get into everything." She smiles proudly like I had achieved something great at that age. "But that is Michael, always trying stuff out. He loves to ski you know, and he helps Henry out at the ranger station too." She makes her googly eyes at me. "Such a helpful little boy," Mom says. I scream in my head, "Little boy? I am seventeen!"

"I can't tell you how proud we are of him. Some boys get into so much trouble, but not our little Michael. Even when he was seven, he knew the difference between right and wrong. One of his friends, Robby I think, stole a candy cane from a candy store. It was December, when everyone was busy getting ready for Christmas with decorations and Christmas trees." Not this story too!

"Michael marched right up to him and told Robby to return the candy cane or he might lose presents from Santa come Christmas time." I lower my head in shame. The story is all wrong.

"I didn't actually believe in Santa at that time. I knew he was a fraud since I was five," I retort.

But she isn't going to let me get out of here without embarrassing me. If Evelyn was at all unsure of where she stood on her feelings with me, I'm sure this will seal the deal. Dinner takes hours to get through in my mind, but it must have only been about an hour because after dinner I look at my watch and see 6:30pm.

After much gritting of my teeth, my face flushing red, and corrections to my Mom's stories, I suggest Evelyn and I take a walk outside: Evelyn seems to enjoy the idea. The neighborhood streets are quiet and give me time to flush out memories of embarrassment at dinner.

"Your mom and dad are nice people," Evelyn says. "Your home is comfortable there. Very..." she scrambles for the right word, "normal." She is satisfied with the word she chooses.

I reach for Evelyn's hand and hold her cold palm in mine. If we were able to get close on my bed, getting close on the street ought to be easier. Evelyn holds my hand tight and we stroll further down the road toward the park. She brushes a stray hair away from her lips and I help her with one loose strand. My fingers brush over her tender mouth and her lips press in unconscious nervousness.
Folklore

"I knew you would like it. I was going to bring you here earlier, but you weren't home."

"Thanks for the thought," she says with a grateful smile. We sit in the silence of nature, under a sleepy sun sinking behind the mountains in the distance. The dark blue sky will soon fade away into a blanket of darkness and stars. We lie on the moist grass, only this time the stars above do not glow like stickers on my ceiling. They are real and shimmer above us.

"I love that star." Evelyn points to the constellation that appears to be the Big Dipper and she picks out the brightest one. "In the mix of all that is going on up there, in the middle of all the starlight chaos, this star burns brightly to be seen and noticed."

"And she is noticed," I whisper to her, as if she and the star are one and the same. She leans into my lips and kisses me. The wind blows gently across our warm bodies, and her scent, like honeysuckle today, smells so sweet. My blue eyes must be something she adores because instead of staring at the beauty all around us, she is lost in my eyes for the first time too.

The sun sinks further down into the sky, telling us goodbye, and the dark blues fold away as a blanket of brighter stars appear in the night sky. I know she will have to go soon, but I can't pull myself away from the moment that fits like a perfect puzzle piece. When she pulls herself up, she pulls me up too, not because she has my hand, but because the force between us is so strong.

"I have to get going. I wish I could stay, but it is all so complicated," she says, almost as a side note. We return to my house and get into my truck. Driving her home; just about seven o'clock and I know Nile will be pleased since Evelyn told him that is when she would be home. Hoping my responsible behaviour means he will let me see her again, I drive up.

Saturday night my soccer friends want to practice, and I remember that earlier I said I would try to go out to tonight. I call Robby and he contacts Taylor and Lee. We meet at a vacant field near the school, about fifteen minutes from Lake Park and Evelyn's home. It's dark out, but the field is lit up by the street lights in the parking lot and around the field.

Taylor drives up with Laura in his truck. Robby, Lee, and Sarah pull up in another car. Taylor throws up the soccer ball and kicks with his knee. Laura cheers for him with such exuberance that I can tell she must have found her way into Taylor's arms. He can keep the ball going far longer than any one of us, and he has the record for keeping the ball in the air.

Sarah plays with us for fun, though she is not very good at the game. Lee enjoys having Sarah around and runs with her up the field, showing her how to pass the ball back and forth to the players. Robby waits impatiently at the goal for the ball to come his way so he can dive and block before the ball penetrates the net. Taylor and I fight for the ball, playing against each other on the field, perfecting our defensive game.

We play until eleven, when the bugs begin to circle the lights like the last supply of food on earth. Taylor drives Laura home, and Robby takes Lee and Sarah home. I drive home alone with only my heart, hoping I will see Evelyn somewhere outside, but my mind knows better; I know she will be somewhere closer to her home.

It's Sunday morning. I awaken to the sounds of my own voice shouting Evelyn's name. "Are you alright up there?" Mom yells from downstairs. She's in the kitchen preparing our traditional Sunday morning breakfast of eggs and toast. Takes me a moment to realize I am in my own room, my own bed. It was a dream. I can't remember the dream. I only remember feeling helpless and losing Evelyn. I shower, dress, run downstairs and quickly eat breakfast.

"What are you up to this morning?" Mom asks inquisitively. "Dad is still in bed sleeping, typical Sunday morning."

"I think I'll give Evelyn a call." Mom's eyes glaze over as I say those words, and a smile crosses her face. I call Evelyn.

"Hello?" Nile answers the phone.

"Hi, it's Michael. Is Evelyn home?" I hear a rustle in the background as the phone is passed. Then I hear someone whisper, "Just tell him."

"Hi, Michael." The sound of her voice is like the sweetest symphony. "I'm not sure I can make it out today. I have a lot to do. Perhaps I'll see you at school?" That is it. I won't see her today. I miss her already.

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow then. Have a good day." I hang up and Mom sees the expression on my face is not one of happiness.

"Maybe you should try Robby today? You've missed him several times this week. Usually you two hang out all the time?" I have to admit, not a bad idea. I have been neglecting my friends this past week. But I did see them last night. Not like I have forgotten them altogether.

I don't want to return to my world of soccer and friends in boring Green Mountain Falls. I want to be a part of Evelyn's world. Driving my truck to the café where we had our first coffee, Gloria notices I am alone again and flirts as she brings my coffee. Ashamed to admit, I hardly notice. Pulling out the old Folklore of Colorado book resting on the shelf between two other books, I open the pages at the table by the window where I sat with Evelyn. Flipping the book to the page with the creature that is half horse and half man, I cringe and see the delicate looking girl on the opposite page.

The fragile Elfin

Born of the sun, of the moon.

Stardust dancing under their lights

Mingling together,

Formed a rare beauty of light.

She sits waiting for her bloom.

Half of her pulling towards her human self,

The other half pulling towards her Elfin kind.

She was born in unity of both sun and moon,

Of both man and angel,

She will bring unity

To two separate worlds.

I pass over the other pages and make my way towards the middle of the book. Glancing at a few pictures of larger male elves with broad shoulders and athletic bodies, I stare. There are a few smaller elfins that seem much smaller next to their male counterparts and more agile in appearance because of their lean bodies.

They are all drawn with long ears, pale faces and long hair. Their hair is black, white, or blond, but always long and straight. Their eyes are turquoise or emerald, and always almond-shaped. I read a short poem, an excerpt from a larger piece of writing:

Protectors of our world and theirs,

They wave their hands,

Complexions fare,

From nature to magic,

The gates they turn,

The forests hide them,

Their world won't burn,

Beasts lurk in the night,

Keeping watch,

Kept at ranges tight,

Battles ensuing,

Claiming rights,

Human wailings,

Angels fight.

I close the book in haste and know my curiosity has driven me over the edge. Beasts, angels, elves, half horse- half men, mystical lands, magic- I have to get out of the café. Gloria watches me as I leave suddenly and walk down the road. Next week at school, I think I will be drawn closer to the reality of the world I have known my whole life, which will allow me to forget the silliness of magical lands, elves, fairies, and my intoxicating fascination with Evelyn. But her presence at school somehow makes forgetting impossible.
Month two: April

Brother

The beginning of the new month falls on a Monday. My hope is that sitting next to Evelyn will quench the thirst, the desire, and somehow put everything back to normal. But being so close to her only makes me long for her more; I want to know everything about her. Everything she does captivates me. The way she slides into her chair coy and quiet, the way her eyelashes bat when she is flustered, the way her lips puff up when she disagrees. Slowly my goal of getting into Yale falls into the backdrop of my life.

Tuesday I try to focus on my English lecture notes, but her sweet scent keeps me preoccupied. Gym is always a difficult time to talk with her because the coach separates us into girls and boys and watches us like a hawk. Between Nile, the coach, and my various teachers loading me with homework, I feel like there is an unspoken social decision to pull her from me. Like when your mother says you can't eat that cookie: all you can think of is eating that cookie. Doesn't even matter that you are not hungry, and doesn't even matter that there are other cookies at a friend's house. It is that particular cookie you need, because you were told not to eat it. Evelyn is my forbidden cookie.

The English teacher weighs me down with homework. The gym teacher separates us. Nile keeps a close eye on me when I am with her. Regardless of their intentions, this separation makes me need to be with her all the more. Our eyes gaze at each other and my desire grows.

Wednesday after school as I'm driving Sarah home, we pass Lake Forest on the way to Sarah's house, and I see her. She wears the same green silk green dress that falls to her ankles and is wrapped tightly by a thin white rope around her waist. Crossing the street, she heads into the forest. My eyes are drawn to her. I tell Sarah I forgot an important paper back at school and ask if she won't mind walking the rest of the way home, since she lives just a few blocks from the café. She grimaces as she gets out of my truck and I drive behind the café to park out of sight.

I know now how quickly Evelyn runs, and I also know the forest a bit better. Hoping I might be able to keep up with her, I follow her past a few trees and bushes, but then the forest grows thick and dark. Though the sun is above us, the trees act as a canopy hiding the sunlight. I run, knowing at any moment I can lose her in these thick woods, but I have to know where she is heading and why she loves the forest so much. For a moment I am jealous–jealous of the forest and of the passion Evelyn has for it. I wonder if she has any feelings as strong for me.

I watch her leap over a log and suddenly I feel someone pull me backwards. Crashing to the ground, I hit my back to the soil. Glancing upward to the heat of the sun, beating through the thicket of trees, a blond robust figure becomes clear. Thick shoulders, a pale face, and almond eyes that reminds me of Evelyn. I lay on my back, vulnerable to the unknown assailant, and for a few moments my life flashes before me. My face cringes and fills with fear. Then, I hear her, and everything is quiet inside me.

"Leave him alone!" Evelyn shouts to this man twice her size. Before I can tell her that I will handle this fight, I ask myself how this tiny creature can be so brave. "If you don't step back, I will make you."

"He is following you. He is going to find out about you and we will all be in trouble," the unknown figure says. His ripped jeans and dirty white tee shirt lead me to believe he has been in the forest for some time. I notice his feet, dirty and bare; for some reason the sight bothers me. How his feet can bear the rough terrain, the wet soil, thorny twigs, and hard rocks? I imagine running through the forest shoeless: my feet would be torn to shreds and I would be more tired than I am. But there is no blood, no tears, no sign of exhaustion. "He is no trouble. This is Michael. He is my friend." She lowers her hands to me and pulls me to my feet easily, as if lifting a feather from the ground. "Sorry about that Michael." Standing next to her, my fear slowly fading; having her beside me is calming. "This is Wind. He can be over protective."

I remember his name mentioned once before at her home. His eyes are like Evelyn's, but his hair is blond, and the color of his pale face, like her parents, is vastly different.

"So, this is Michael." His words sting like a scorpion. His raspy voice sounds upset. I can't help but gawk at him, and try to avert my eyes from him to avoid confrontation. He stares like a wild animal waiting for its prey to give in and turn away so he can charge and attack.

But he does not seem as big and frightening as he did when he stood over me. When he looks away to Evelyn, his eyes fade to blue, and then return to their former emerald color. A slight change, but I notice and wonder if Evelyn's eyes ever change color too.

"What was that about hitting me?" I defend myself against him.

"I am sorry. I am nervous when it comes to Evelyn. I have to watch over her. Sometimes she has so many distractions; she does not see the danger coming," Wind says.

I can understand that. I have seen her oblivious to danger at school and on the streets, as if she is in a world of her own. A big brother protective of his little sister- makes sense. But there is something in the way he says, "So, this is Michael," and something about the look in his eyes that tells me he is more. As Wind brushes the twigs from my hair and helps dust off my pants from the scuffle, these suspicious thoughts fade.

"What are you doing here, Michael?" Evelyn asks me.

"I saw you from across the street where I was having coffee and I wanted to talk to you." Evelyn smiles at the thought of this and Wind looks irritated.

"So, you're a friend of Evelyn's?" Wind interjects. "You are a friend from school?"

"We have English class together at Green Mountain Falls High School." My careful tone against his dominating presence suddenly makes me feel as if I have betrayed Evelyn in some way.

"So, you are this new trouble in our lives," he says aloud. I'm not sure he meant to say this out loud. Evelyn draws close to me to defend me.

"He is a good friend." She whispers something inaudible into his ear. Wind's face reddens and then his agitation subsides. "Come on, Michael. We may talk now. Wind will be leaving." Her lips grow taut as Wind flees without looking back.

Evelyn grabs my hand and shows me the array of forest trees. I am lost in the feelings that wash over me, the same feelings I have whenever I am near her. She moves like she is one with the forest, like the forest is one with her. I know for the first time that she not only gazes at the forest as a man admires something foreign to him, but she looks at the forest with the same kind of love one has for family. There is a protective and subtle warrior feeling that encompasses her in the forest. She is stronger than she appears, at home here, and sure of herself.

Perhaps the feeling is something similar to what my father has for the forests of Colorado. He loves the woods and nature, which is one of the reasons he moved here with Mom when I was born. He dedicates his life to protecting the forests from being destroyed by all its enemies: man, disease, bugs, and fires. Being a ranger is not just a job to him, but his life. In that way, I understand Evelyn's passion for it.

"Where did Wind disappear to?"

"Heading home."

"What did you whisper to him?"

"I told him I would be home soon. I am very capable of taking care of myself."

"I guess we shouldn't wander around too late then?" She watches a few birds stretch their wings overhead and flit away in the distance.

"I should be heading back, but let me walk you out so you don't lose your way." She makes a face at me.. She guides me out of the forest and I return to my truck as she heads to her house. At home, Mom sits at the dinner table with an anxious face.

"Where have you been? Your friends Robby and Taylor have been calling you and I didn't know what to tell them. You weren't out with them? I thought you were going to practice soccer with them today?"

"Well..." I fumble for words. How can I convey to her what my heart feels? I know my explanation will fall terribly short. "I was going to go out with them, but we only just practiced last night."

"So where were you? I was getting worried and thought you had been in an accident or something."

"I drove Sarah home." I felt good about that part being the truth."

"And?" And what, she wanted more? "Why were you so late? It's dark out, and Sarah does not live that far from the school."

"And," I could feel it coming up again, "I went to the café to study a bit and have a coffee."

"I wish you would have called to tell me. It is getting late, Michael. I realize you are in high school and that growing boys need their space, but I am still your mother." Cringe. Yes, that part is still true, but how can I explain to her how involved I have gotten in my pursuit of Evelyn, of my need to know where she is going and what she is doing?

The rest of the week is slow while I wait for the weekend to be with Evelyn. The only moments I have with her are in the two classes we share and the occasional glances and laughs. Sometimes we nudge each other in the hallway and I accompany her to class.

At lunch she is always missing; we never eat together. Thankfully, I have her to myself on the weekend, time to be with just her. When the weekend arrives though, she tells me she is too busy and that she's sorry. I can't help but go over every moment we shared, trying to figure out what I did wrong.
Questions

The morning is warmer than usual for the past few months. Sunlight streams through my open window and spills over my bedroom floor, enveloping my bed and warming my face. I enjoy the sun, but I miss the winter. Winter lets me sleep in and allows me to forget that I need to wake up. This morning I have been lost in my dreams of Evelyn, the forest and folklore, and I am not sure I want to get up. The sun beats down upon my face and lets me know I need to move.

I am anxious, not just because I will see Evelyn, but because I want to ask her questions which have been weighing on me. We have been awkwardly smiling at each other since she told me she could not go out with me last weekend, and I am looking forward to breaking the ice and speaking with her before we grow into full-on, friendship mode.

In English class, I wait at the back of the room for Evelyn to arrive and sit next to me, like we have done for the past month. Mr. Roth has grown accustomed to my new seating arrangement, and because I am a major soccer player for the school and have been relatively responsible so far all year, he allows me get away with it...until now. I wish he had not spoken up today, because Evelyn is now going to have to make room for Yale.

"Michael, I need you to move to the front." Mr. Roth rubs his blond mustache. "Your grades are slipping and I can't have one of my star athletes fall by the wayside."

I forgot about my education since the first day I saw Evelyn in the hallway. She takes my breath away and I don't have time to study anymore. I do try to find the time and I tell my parents and friends I am studying, but as I replay the past month over in my mind, I cannot remember a time that I actually did sit down and study. Moving to the front of class grudgingly, I sit. Once settled, I flip open my folder and glance at the past few quizzes and numerous red marks on each one of them. My jaw drops.

Evelyn strolls into the room as I close my folder. I can't deal with grades right now; too many questions circle my mind about Evelyn.

After class, I follow her out of the room and ask if lunch is a good time to talk. I know her routine: she ditches lunch in the cafeteria and reappears for gym. But I can't wait for gym. She smiles and tells me she will meet me in a minute. Finally, I will share lunch with Evelyn. This is something I never thought of before, because there was no reason; she is never here for lunch.

When she returns, I sit at my usual table with Taylor, Laura, Robby, Sarah, and Lee. We have grown accustomed to our table of six, but when they find out I have saved a seat for Evelyn, it elicits concern on Laura's face. She is easily threatened by new girls, afraid someone will steal her hubby Taylor away from her, though he isn't even her boyfriend. I save a seat for Evelyn, despite Laura. I can't worry about Laura. I have my own concerns.

I am surprised when Evelyn taps me on the shoulder and takes her seat next to me. She walked up and I hadn't noticed her until I felt her hand on my shoulder. Scent of jasmine with a hint of lilac today. Laura's tense face reddens when Evelyn sits down. Evelyn is very beautiful. I would venture to say the most beautiful girl in the school, but then I am biased.

"Nice of you to grace us with your presence." Robby's face beams with approval. "It's nice to finally share a table with Evelyn." Evelyn smiles in her coy manner and Robby is exhilarated by her presence. Laura glares and wraps her arms securely around Taylor. "She a friend of yours, Michael?" Robby's casual tone fools everyone else, but not me.

Robby has been my friend since Elementary school; I know better. In the back of his mind is a voice he wishes was not there, but it is. It is a voice of rivalry. Lee and Sarah simply smile at each other, oblivious to the change in mood between Robby and me.

"So, how are you finding it here at Green Mountain Falls?" Lee asks Evelyn.

"I like it fine. Everyone is very friendly." Evelyn tilts her head towards me.

"It's nice to meet you finally. I'm Sarah." Sarah smiles freely and Evelyn returns the gesture. There are a few moments of awkward silence, and then my five closest friends return to their usual routine of conversation and complaints. Evelyn slides toward me; she is so close her lips touch my ear as she whispers to me delicately.

"What is it Michael?" she asks. I want to speak carefully- I know how reserved she is- but the questions flow out of me like a dam bursting.

"Where do you go for lunch? Why are you never here?"

"Is that it?" she laughs with surprise. "Venda doesn't like to be away from her family for too long. She worries about me and has been having nightmares." She rubs her forehead, heavy in thought. "So, my parents bring her to the park across the street during my lunch hour so we can spend time together." She resettles in her seat. "It's helping her adjust to this move and has helped with the nightmares."

"She must be going through a lot."

"Yes," Evelyn says, but quickly closes her mouth to hide any more answers.

"Why do you go into the forest so much? What is it about that place?"

"I love nature. I enjoy the sounds and smells of the forest, and I miss it when I am not there."

"Why did your brother look like he was going to kill me when I told him my name?"

"He is over-protective of me. That is all." She says this, but it doesn't feel like that is all. None of her answers really answer my questions at all; they only keep them at bay.

"It seems like something more." My mind races and more words pour out of me. "I can't help it Evelyn. Everything about you seems like so much more then you are telling me. How do you know the forest so well that you can prance through it so quickly if you have only just moved here?" The words slip; she doesn't know I followed her.

"Prancing?" She glares at me with a wrinkle in her forehead and her cheeks flush. "I'm sorry. I should have told you I saw you the morning after our first..." I scramble for words, "date. You weren't at home, but then I saw you running through the forest. It was like you have lived there your whole life. But you have only been here a month." Looking into her eyes, I beg for her to understand, but she fights a stronger anxiety underneath. "I'm sorry. I should have told you, but I didn't want to embarrass myself so soon after finally getting the courage to ask you out." She smiles at these last words.

"I am an agile runner like you Michael, surely you can understand." She makes it sound all so normal, like I am noticing things that aren't actually there. "But how did you see me running through the forest? Were you...were you following me?" I don't see that one coming. I am comfortable admitting my eyes had fallen upon her on a perfectly innocent visit to her house the morning after our first date. But admit to following her?

It might send her over the edge and force her to get a restraining order against me. I am not sure what to say and am sure I can admit the truth to myself, that she overwhelms me. Cradled with the truth for a moment, I can't keep the truth from her. That isn't fair since I demand truth from her.

"Yes. I'm sorry." These words become second nature to me. "I didn't mean to. It's just that I saw you and you seemed so unreal. I was compelled to follow you, compelled by you." I get ready for her to stand, slap me, and walk away for good. My heart races. Then my heart stops with one word from her.

"Ok," she says in her sweet voice. There is anguish in her, though she tries to hide it; all she wants me to see is the forgiveness. I don't want to cause her pain; that is not my intention, but I see agony in her too. I do not know the cause of her pain. Is it because I followed her, or because I found out she is a better runner than she lets on, or because she is going to leave me and never speak to me again? I hope it is not the latter.

"Are you... Ok?" I ask tentatively. I'm anxious to hear her feelings on all of this, but she only nods her head.

"I really should be going. I told Venda I would try to see her before gym." She answered my questions, but the answers feel unfinished and the truth haunts me.

"She seems pleasant," Sarah says when Evelyn has disappeared. "You ought to invite her to join us on one of our skiing trips."

The six of us spend at least four weekends a year skiing in the Aspen Mountains. We ski and roast marshmallows; it is our little get away from the boredom of our small, insignificant town. I know Evelyn will love it and I smile from ear to ear at the idea. Then I fret at the thought that she may have just left me for good
Tensions

Friday is filled with anxiety. I only receive a few fleeting smiles from Evelyn in English and gym and worry everything between us is crumbling. We did not go out on the weekend, and this week is full of silences and awkward smiles. I followed her, bombarded her with questions, and then didn't fully trust the answers she gave me; can't blame her if she wants nothing to do with me.

After English Evelyn approaches with her flawless skin and hidden imperfections, an easy smile, and glistening eyes; my tension eases. She invites me to the forest before she disappears for lunch. I notice her briefly, among a cluster of girls, in gym class.

When the day finally ends, I meet her at Lake Forest and we stroll to an orange blossom tree. She pulls a yellow and purple quilt, with bits of unraveling thread, out of her backpack and lays it on the grass under the tree. We sit on the quilt in comfortable silence. The tree has fully mature leaves, unlike those around it which are just beginning to bud. I don't question it today; being with her is enough.

We lay side by side like two flowers growing in harmony: growing to know each other, yearning to be close, feeling that if one were to be plucked away something inside the other would wither and die. We lay there for some time lost in our thoughts of each other. Every now and then our feet brush against each other innocently, like children. How I long to be inside her mind to see what she is thinking.

"Do you have any more questions for me?" Evelyn asks. I shudder at the thought. The last set of questions did not end well for me and I don't want a repeat. Still, another part of me is desperate to know more, but I hesitantly say, "No."

As the sky's colors of orange, purple, and blue mix, I feel as if the forest is flowing into me, beckoning me, drawing me to it. I realize it is no longer a feeling I have only for Evelyn and begin to understand the longing she feels for the nature around her. The setting of the sun tells us it is time to leave the forest and head home. It is not much of a journey for her, but for me it will take at least thirty minutes. I hope she will not leave, but I know she will. A reality more and more familiar to me. We will spend time together; we will grow close; she will leave I will yearn for her. It reminds me of the life cycle of life a frog or butterfly: birth, growth, death. The cycle repeats.

Friday evening we go to her house and her Mom prepares a meal that tastes better than the last mix of exotic herbs and flavors. Nile, Eve, Venda, Evelyn, and I all sit at the dining table like a family that has been together for years. Familiar and comfortable, and Venda's laughter and antics always ease any tensions Nile and I bring to the table. Somewhere between finishing my meal and helping to clear the table, Wind saunters inside the house. He comes into the dining room and finds us all laughing. His face grows angry; his deep purple lips are pressed hard together making them appear very dark against his fair skin.

"So, this is it then," he says in a stern tone. "This is what it has all come down to." Our heads turn to him; Eve and Nile look filled with concern. Venda leaps out of her seat and runs over to Wind. She throws her arms around him, only she is so short she can only reach his knees. Evelyn spins around and pokes him between the eyes.

"Why do you have to make everything so difficult?" She lunges at him with her words.

"Me?" He is startled. "You haven't fulfilled any of the promises you made to the elder council. They are filled with worry. You are here to protect the forest, the gate from...from...the likes of him," he says pointing his finger at me. He seems to regret what he said, as if a secret has been revealed.

But his lack of judgment continues. "You go towards the very ones we are supposed to avoid." Nile and Eve stare at Wind, shaking their heads. Wind blushes, like he has betrayed them. "I'm sorry...but I just can't do this in anymore."

He turns away and storms out of the house slamming the door behind him. I look to Evelyn, Nile, and Eve; their expressions reveal that there is more on their minds, more than concern for a son who has momentarily lost his temper. Evelyn walks away from her parents and ushers me upstairs to her room. As we escape from the dining room I notice the concentrated disapproval from both her parents, yet they say nothing to her.

The first time I see her room is not what I expected. I expected something dreamy, something beyond typical. But the room is simple and comfortable; the room of a high school teenager. CD's are stacked on shelves and a big bed rests in the center of the room. White curtains are drawn over the windows. A few books lay on the floor next to her school books and folders. The only things that stand out are the paintings of the forest she visits: Lake Forest. They look like originals, with thick paint dried on white canvas, and they decorate most of her walls. Evelyn pulls me to her close enough for a kiss, but instead whispers to me.

"Please, sit on my bed. We have to talk." I am not sure I am ready to hear the words aloud: words I know to be true, and yet words I fight to keep in the back of my mind, hidden in the crevasses where I shoved the nagging questions for so long.

"I guess I don't have to tell you that Wind is not my older brother. But what you might not know, although might have suspected on some level, is that he and I are...well, we...were together." There, she said it. The words are out and she cannot take them back no matter how much my heart fights.

She braces me, holding my shoulders while she stares into my eyes. "There is more. I'm sorry if this hurts you, but it has to be said. I don't want to lie to you." I swallow hard. "He and I are...were actually intended to be married." My eyes widen in shock. Married?

"But you are only seventeen." The words slip out unconsciously. Her arms drop from my shoulders to her sides. Her eyes are intense the color brightens.

"I know this is hard for your kind..."she bites her lip, "for you to understand. It has been arranged since my birth. We were expected by both our families to eventually begin our own family and follow in the traditions of our kind..." she bites her lip again, "our people."

"So, you are getting married," the last word leaves a knot in my throat as I try to swallow, "at seventeen?"

"No, no. It was kind of a prolonged engagement. We were to be married sometime later. So, you can understand why he is so angry around you?"

"Yes...that makes sense. I could see something was going on with him." That is an understatement. "But why tell me he is your older brother?"

"Wouldn't it have hurt you to know the truth?" she says honestly. "Why tell you anything when I myself do not know where this is going. You were just a friend, and then you were so much more. None of us know how to approach you about Wind." She gazes at me with regret. "I'm sorry it took me this long to tell you that part of my life. I just didn't want to hurt you, or him, and I didn't know how to go about it without hurting someone."

Watching her sit with me on her bed for the first time, I am struggling to be angry with her. I understand why she kept the secret from me and why this secret was so important to her.

"It's okay," I say, remembering the forgiveness she showed me. We have gone through a lot today and I don't want to raise any more opportunities for confusion or angst. I forget my questions and enjoy the embrace we share on her bed.

"Do you have to go?" she asks as I pull away.

"I promised Mom. She is worried about my academics after receiving a personal call from Mr. Roth. I have to stay home most of Saturday and study," I say with disappointment.

"You should get going then. I have a lot of explaining to do with my parents. I will be pretty busy tonight with..." she struggles to find the words, "certain things." We say our goodbyes, never my favorite part of being with her, and I head home.
The Practice

I stay home Saturday and study as promised. Sunday, my friends call. We have a game coming up and we all want the opposing team to burn down in flames. Therefore, essential for us to practice with each other as we have prior every game this year. We practice on the streets outside my house and pass the soccer ball to one another as skillfully as we can to outwit the others. But we have come to know each other's tactics and facial expressions so well that while playing it is difficult for any of us to outsmart each other.

"So, you and Evelyn are dating?" Taylor asks without hesitating as he kicks the ball to me.

"We have been spending some time together."

"She seems sweet, and she's gorgeous too," he says. I force a smile, and in the corner of my eye I see Robby wince. "You always get so lucky with girls. You draw them to you like a magnet.

I think about trying to explain that with Evelyn, I have a deeper relationship than what appears, but this is Taylor. He doesn't understand feelings; he understands reputation. Not that he is especially shallow, he's just not capable of anything deeper.

"So, are you two an item?" Robby asks, trying to conceal the rivalry between us. The girls at our high school think he is attractive, and he is an outstanding athlete, but his neglectful attention to his appearance and his high IQ seem to turn off the girls. He is only able to hold their attention for short conversations, and after the novelty of being with a popular athlete wears off, they face the harsh reality that they cannot relate to him and don't care for his lack of fashion.

Fortunate that he is a good soccer player because this assures he doesn't end up a social outcast; he is always invited to the most popular parties. I hold back as I answer him, knowing too many details will annoy him and cause jealousy. Neither of these I want. He always has my back.

"We have been hanging out. I don't know if you can call us an item." No, we aren't an item; that much is true. We are more than that. We are more than Taylor or even Robby can understand.

We continue to play for several hours under the dark night sky while I secretly listen to the night, wondering if the evening will tell me any secrets about Evelyn I desperately want to know. But the sky is quiet and keeps its secrets far from me. Robby kicks the ball at me hard. Not sure if he is agitated because our year end game is approaching, or because he is frustrated with me for not telling him about Evelyn and me. I focus on my game instead because I have been neglecting practice; I know how important this game is to the team, the school, and Green Mountain Falls.

Lee's focus is better than usual. His eyes are fixed on the ball and he is much fitter than the last time we played. He keeps up with me, which is difficult for most players. Robby lets Lee run the ball with me as he falls behind us. We race for a while up the street and away from the house, kicking the ball back and forth to each other. Taylor dashes up behind me, steals the ball, and kicks in the other direction towards the house. Robby laughs and chases the ball with Taylor. Seems our practice teams have formed: Taylor and Robby on one side, me and Lee on the other. My house becomes the goal for Taylor and Robby; the house at the other end of the block is the goal for Lee and me.

We make it to the other side of the street without interference from Taylor or Robby. I hit the ball past the invisible goal post and I score the first goal of the night. When I look back, I see Lee breathing heavy and struggling to keep up with me. I realize then how much I have improved over the past weeks, racing after Evelyn, even though I have neglected both my studies and soccer practice.

After reaching the goal, I slow down for Lee. Robby seems less agitated, taking his stress out on the game; he scores his team's first point. Sweat drips from our faces, and our tee shirts are soaked with perspiration, but we are used to this and love the game. We play in rain, snow, and in the heat of the sun. We play in all seasons, in all weather types, and never let ailments get in the way of our game. We are loyal to two things: each other and the game. Until recently, I did not think it was possible to be loyal to anything, or anyone, else.

But Evelyn is someone I wasn't expecting, when she entered my English class that first day in March. Even then, I knew my loyalties were torn. There are some things stronger than friends, stronger than the game. There is a force I don't know how to describe, and until recently, I did not even recognize.

When Dad calls out to us, we finish our game and pack up our gear. My friends return to their homes and I head inside. I find Dad reading the newspaper at the dining table.

What is happening in Colorado's Aspen Forest?

Gradual, long-term changes to the forest and recent wide spread death of Aspen trees. Death of many century-old Aspen trees is changing the appearance of some of Colorado's landscapes. Is man to blame? Is nature? Are they both? How can we save our forests? Take an in depth look at how our forest is changing and why, and what we can do about it.

"How did your practice go, son?"

"It went well. We will be ready to win our game this May." I pour a bowl of cereal and eat with Dad at the table.

"That's good. The whole town is watching you. If you can pull this off, we may win back our respect." Dad winks at me. I nod my head in response and end our conversation; then eat in silence. I head upstairs to shower, standing under the rushing water with my eyes closed, taking it all in. Then I go to my room, shut the door, and put on some music. Listening to the mellow sounds of John Mayer and Jack Johnson, they somehow, they take me away to a place of calm, and I can forget about everything around me. I can forget everything but her, because I do not want to forget her – ever.
The Gate

Sunday morning the light trickles over my face and tickles me awake from a funny dream. I wake up laughing, with a need to go outside. The air whispers to me to follow. After shower, I dress in jeans, heavy boots, and a winter coat. Like Dad in that way; I enjoy bundling up for the chilly weather. Spring brings warmth, but the cool breeze always reminds our small town that winter is still here.

I slide into my truck and drive to the forest, waiting. I'm not sure why I wait here It's as if somehow I know I will see her. Don't have to wait long; Evelyn leaves her house and walks toward the forest. She wears a long, dark shirt, which falls just below her knees, and a tiny gold belt around her waist.

This time I will catch her and finally know what she is doing and why she is here. I know the forest much better now, and the places Evelyn likes to wander. She has shown me a few of her spots on our excursions. I know her speed, and I am learning how to keep up with her. Watching her move gracefully through the forest, she is like a deer, hopping over tree stumps and grassy mounds without pause, then freezes, surrounded by lush trees and bushes.

She passes the grassy area where she laid the patchwork quilt a few nights earlier. Waving her left hand over the air in circular motions, bigger and bigger, she opens a bubble of air, a hole. She glides into the hole and disappears, vanishing in the spot where we sat on her quilt, next to the overgrown orange blossom tree.

My eyes feel as though they have deceived me, and takes a minute for all of this to register. Pushing myself into the glowing hole, the circle shrinks. I roll clumsily onto the green grass on the other side. The air is fresh and the sky is light. Evelyn runs over the light green meadows with pink and blue flowers, as swiftly as she darted through Lake Forest. When I look back, I see a golden gate and an orange blossom tree hanging. I glance back at Evelyn; she's standing on a hill in a thicket of bushes and I scramble to my feet.

To my left is a huge boulder, about the size of my house and red-brown in color. As I stand, the boulder lifts. Stone arms and legs begin to take shape; the boulder starts moving forward in the direction of Evelyn, turning down a distant hill.

Blue lights flicker about me, whispering something I cannot clearly hear. The blue and orange sky sparkles as I race over the meadow towards Evelyn.

White horses with maroon manes run in the distance, faster than I have ever seen. A few large birds, like eagles, fly over me, with long, blue wings and white bodies. "Caw, caw, caw," they sing. Mushrooms, the size of my head, sit in patches of the dense forest behind me. I creep up behind Evelyn. She spins around, grabs my arm, and pushes me to the ground. She holds me down, with my face to the grass. Her sandy-gold hair dangles over me, and I wonder if I am in pain or ecstasy.

"Who are you? Why are you following me?" she yells.

"I followed you from your house. I'm sorry. I just had to see where you were going."

"Michael?" She turns me over to see my face. The truth of me being there registers. She helps me to my feet easily, like she did when Wind threw me to the forest floor. "Then you saw everything. You saw me open the gate?" She says this with a mix of fear and happiness.

"I saw something like a bubble, a hole. I don't know if I would call it a gate...' I stumble over my words. "I saw it over there." I try to point with my finger, but my arm is still held in her hands. I didn't know if I should try to escape or just enjoy being close to her. "Could you...do you think you could let me go now?"

"Sorry," she says, and releases her grip.

"You sure are a lot stronger than you look, Evelyn."

"We all are stronger than we appear."

"What do you mean 'we'? Who are you?" Her emerald eyes glow bright; she somehow seems stronger than she did yesterday.

"My eyes, who do they tell you I am?"

"I...I don't know."

"Look closely. Look at me." She stares into my eyes intently. "I did not want to endanger you by bringing you here. I didn't want to involve you in any of this." She brushes her hair away from her face. "But you are drawn to me, as I am drawn to you. I can't hold you away from it any longer." She walks to the next hill, and below is an emerald lake, the color of her eyes, glistening under the sun.

"I come here for my strength. When we are gone too long we lose our vitality, our abilities weaken, and our bright eyes grow pale. Maybe you noticed the change in mine yesterday?" I did not want to admit it, but I did notice. I did not want her knowing that I noticed every detail about her, since the first day she walked into English class: the color of her hair, her eyes, the clothes she wears, the smell of her skin on a particular day. But I did.

"Yes. Your eyes looked tired last week."

"It's because I had not been here at this Emerald Lake for over seven days. The lake is connected to us." Like watching someone sleep for hours and awaken feeling refreshed. "My ears." She tucks her hair behind her ears, and I see them for the first time: elongated with a point at the end. "My eyes." She opens them wide for me, highlighting their almond shape. "My agility."

She bolts from me then darts back. She stands in front of me with her nose close to mine, and her lips barely touching my cheek. "Do you really not know who I am?" Ideas enter my mind almost as fast as they escape. Looking at her makes it hard to hold onto any one of those thoughts for too long. The mythical stories of all the mythical creatures I read about in the café fill my head. I can't open my mouth to say the words.

"You know who I am," she says. "You've always known." Her eyes open wider, her pupils pierce mine. "I have wanted to tell you for so long. Couldn't you feel me telling you? Everyday you'd watch me and every day I wanted to tell you, but couldn't explain with mere words. I couldn't break the code." The code? "Leaving Wind was hard enough for the council, and then this, in love with a human," she whispers.

"But you don't need words do you?" She was right, I didn't. "You can see me. You can hear me without me even speaking to you. You know who I am." She smiles with assurance and leaps into one of the trees above me, like a cat, climbing with no effort at all. Her feet dangle off the branch. "You know who I am," she whispers to me, as if I have to say the words aloud to make them real.

"Yes," I say, with my eyes closed, and then I open them to see her. "I know who you are. I know you." Mystified by her words "in love with a human"; mystified because she loves me too; mystified because if I am the human, what is she? Then the words that were tucked away in my subconscious mind slowly make their way to the surface. So clearly, and without regret I say, "You are an Elfin." She smiles contently.

But even as the words roll off my tongue, I speak them with disbelief, as if being here in this magical world somehow allows her to break all the rules of nature, to be anything she wants. She can be an elfin and have mystical powers that I can never even imagine. But once we return to the gate, and to my world, she will have to resume being Evelyn, who sits in the back of my English class in Green Mountain Falls, Colorado.

"Now we don't have to live in secret anymore, and I haven't broken any codes. You followed me, I did not invite you. You knew who I was, I did not tell you. We don't want to break the codes. I don't want to put your life into danger.

"Danger?"
Magic

My body lightens like a feather and I float into the fresh air.

"What...what is happening?" I ask nervously. Evelyn laughs harder than I've ever heard.

"Embrace it, Michael. Fly."

"How is this happening?"

"You're in my world now. My father told me once that humans will each react differently to our world, depending on who they are. Some will develop abilities to fly; others will be able to run faster than us; some will gain incredible strength. My father says it was written that a human had the ability to become invisible. He was a great threat to the elves here, and he had to be destroyed. I don't know all the possibilities, but I do know you don't need to be afraid of it." She chuckles, watching me grow from amazement to fear. "Don't worry. It will only last as long as you stay here."

"That's good. I don't think I could manage this in Colorado." My body floats up into the sky and I hover over the hills and the Emerald Lake below me. I try to move back toward Evelyn, but I keep unintentionally pushing myself forward. She laughs again.

"Silly boy." There's that word again: boy. I'm reminded of my mother's tone, and I am ripped back to reality. Evelyn leaps ten feet up into the air, higher than I could ever reach, grabs hold of my jeans, and yanks me back down as she lands on the hill below us. "You've got to get a handle on this thing."

"Boy? Do I really seem like a boy to you?" I ask. She grins, and her curly hair frames her heart shaped face.

"Sometimes," she says, and then pauses. "I forget about your world, your time. It is different than mine."

"Your time?"

"We age differently in this world."

"How?"

"This place, its magic, the lakes, it keeps us young. Time moves much slower here than in your world. A month passes in your world, and it is like a day to us in ours." I try to quickly do the math up in my head. She is seventeen. If one month to me is a day to her, a year to me would only be twelve days for her. I gasp at the thought. A year to her would be, I estimate, about thirty years to me. Thirty times seventeen is about... five hundred years old in my world.

"You are five hundred years old!" My eyes glaze over in amazement.

"Five hundred, yes," she says, with a sparkle in her eyes. I try to grasp the reality of her answer, but she changes the subject. "Maybe we ought to fly somewhere, and you can practice your new gift?" she says. We race over the hills of undulating flowers, and when we hit the greenest meadows, I leap into the air and fly. I carry myself up into the sky and roll about like I am playing in hay. Laughing this time instead of cringing in fear, I hear Evelyn laughing below me. Makes me smile even harder.

"I'm starting to understand this now." I push myself downward and fly past her. She races on the meadows to keep up with me, and I show off my new found ability by flying even higher into the sky. I eventually fumble and crash into a bush. Evelyn rushes over to me with tears of laughter, and I can't help but grin at my own idiocy.

"Are you okay?" I am stunned at her question; as if any of this is okay. I pull her into my arms and roll with her over the damp green grass. When our laugher fades, she looks at me with seriousness. "You're the only one who really knows me at all. No one has ever been this close."

"I thought Wind...?"

"No," Evelyn says sharply. "He was arranged for me. He doesn't know me. We grew up together, and we truly are more like brother and sister than anything else. Just expected to be together." She smiles at me. "But I can't be with someone I don't love, and I can't pretend I don't love you the way I do. Like I'm just waking up for the first time."

With all her words, and all her lack of words, I know the feeling completely. Even though language cannot convey everything, I know how I feel with her, and without her. To me she is like the sun rising, and when she leaves, like the sun setting on the horizon where darkness begins.

We walk to the edge of the hill and I fly her down clumsily to the lake below us. She dives into the fresh water with her clothes on; I dive in after her without delay. Kissing more passionately then I have ever felt, our embrace is more intense because there are no longer any secrets between us.

"How long do you live in this world?" I question.

"We live to be 70 years. That would be about 2,100 human years in your world." She speaks casually, as if this is normal. I guess for her it is. "We have lived here long before your kind ever arrived. All your stories about myths came from your early man encountering us on his journeys through the forests and mountains long ago. Our legends are thousands of years old."

"How...when was your kind created?"

"We have stories telling us of your species wandering around 50,000 years ago. The stories say a few of your kind stumbled upon two lakes: a turquoise lake and an emerald lake. But these lakes were different then, laced with a white covering." As she talks she gestures with her hands to draw a picture. "The few that drank from the lakes soon discovered magic within themselves. They found youth was prolonged, and agility, speed, vision, and hearing improved. The nearby forests were also laced with magic, steaming up from the lakes. All of our ancestors came from these few early men. Power in the lakes dwelled in their blood, and was passed down to their children, and then to their grandchildren. The power is still in the blood."

Thoughts of her own parents are clearly on her mind. "This is why I can be born from my elf father and elfin mother without ever having to drink from the lake. Their blood has passed on to me, and their parents passed it to them. The lakes are not laced with a white coating anymore, so man is not able to drink from it and become an elf, like they once did long ago. But our kind is still permanently linked to the lake, needing the fluid to strengthen our gifts."

Evelyn glances away into the forest, like she is telling me a deep secret and she does not want anyone to hear. I listen intensely to her stories, longing to draw closer to her and her world. The stories are fantastical, yet somehow here with her they seem so real.

"Other men came, discovering what the early men had found, and began to covet our world and what power we had. We had to separate ourselves from them, our kind from yours. They thought we lied, that we were hiding the secrets of our power from them. In their desperation to find its source, they destroyed much of the forest at that time. But how could we explain to them that the secret was used up, that early man had already discovered the lake and drank from it, and the power was now only in our blood?"

We climb out of the water and I follow Evelyn up a winding path and onto the meadow surrounded by forest. We fall onto the damp, bright green grass and into each other's arms. Evelyn rolls on top of me. Her face delicately wrapped in my hands as my body presses against the soil beneath. We lay there under this magic of her world; I don't want this moment to end.

"I would never hurt you or your world, Evelyn."

"I know," she says softly in my ear. After a while we get up and start walking again.I have to adjust to walking separately from her, after being so intertwined; I almost forget how. We amble towards the hill and head back to the gate.

"All these mystical creatures living here in your world, are they formed by the lake's power too?"

"Yes, the lake gave something not only to humans that drank from it long ago, but to all the animals that drank, and any plants and rocks nearby. Everything gained some kind of power, some kind of gift." She touches objects as she speaks. "Rocks began to awaken, plants began to move, and the animals...they were magical. Everything was magical. Men walked through this forest and drank from its lakes' they gained its power long ago. Everything is linked to these lakes and to this forest."

"No wizards?" I ask in laughter.

"No wizards, no spells, no potions, no sorcerers," she says plainly. Living in this world all her life provides her with a soft and pleasant reality, while my reality crumbles. Not sure if for the better or for the worse.

"No half horse-half man?"

"No," she giggles, as if an obviously silly question. "Those are just imaginative drawings in the books you read. I have never seen one here."

The dirt path we are on is narrow and surrounded by long, piney trees. As we walk along the path over the hill, I notice two children about the age of ten in the distance. When we get close, I see their ears are like Evelyn's; their eyes are like hers too. These two children, elfin and elf, play like children in my town do and never mind the intrusion by me, an uninvited visitor.

"Freshy and Ford,' she says pointing, "are from my clan. They are about...ten now. You know they are from my clan, because of their emerald eyes. All of my clan have eyes this color. But there is another clan," she says with hesitancy in her voice, "and they have turquoise eyes." Freshy and Ford walk underneath a waterfall shooting out from the side of a mountain. Water rushes over them as they laugh and play in this newly found basin.

They jump in the puddles, splash, and throw water at each other like brother and sister: rivals determined to outsmart each other. Their light elf clothes are soaked and droop under the weight of the water. There is something magical about watching them play; they are oblivious to my presence, determined to have fun. They forget there is anyone here to see them, and play with unadulterated joy. Freshy has long, dark black hair and her mannerisms remind me of Evelyn. Ford, the boy, has short dark hair and is very vibrant.

"Our two clans do not mix, but we are friendly with one another and keep peace here in our world as well as your own world. Long ago, the turquoise-eyed clan formed the turquoise lake, and the emerald-eyed clan formed the emerald lake. The emerald lake is much bigger than the turquoise lake, so there are many more emerald-eyed elves than turquoise-eyed elves."

"Keep peace in my world?" My ears perk up,

"I didn't want to bring danger to you Michael. This is the reason I couldn't tell you anything earlier. The elder council and all the magic of my world have only ever drawn men to harm our world."

"What do you mean?"

"By bringing you into my world, I endanger you. We watch over my world to keep peace, because there are the beasts, the dark ones who will destroy peace to gain ownership of these lands. These are magical lands and they covet them like your kind once did, believing the lands belong to them from long ago. This interferes with your world because the two are connected, and they do not stop at destroying peace in our world to conquer these lands. Sometimes they make their way into your world too." She sighs tilting her head.

"This is why I have to be in the forest. This is why I have to protect it." Her story overwhelms me; I forget I am here in this world, I only see her. "There are only a few ways the beasts can enter your world. These entrances are marked in the forest and watched by the emerald eyes. The council long ago declared that the emerald eyes were the rightful guardians, and so we have been ever since.

My family has been guarding the gates since I can remember. I was bound to Wind to begin a new family for my mother and father, so that they may pass away from your world and live out their life in mine. They fulfilled their allotted time. But I couldn't do it. I couldn't leave you behind and be bound to someone I could never love."

"I thought...I read...there was darkness, a creature so great your kind created it to protect the gate and your world. How could you be this creature?" I said, remembering the words I had read in the café.

"Long ago our worlds mixed together so easily, and many men saw our world and coveted the land for themselves. There was a battle, and we had to fight to keep your kind out of the forest, out of our world." This part I remember from the books I read, and I begin to absorb the truth of the words. "Our kind decided to build a gate to divide between your world and ours, an invisible gate to human eyes which would keep uninvited mankind out of our world. Many mythical stories and legends were born and passed down from generation to generation, but soon they lost their meaning and we began to have nothing to fear."

Evelyn's eyes sparkle as she speaks about feeling fearless, but then they grow intense. "Man had forgotten us. I watch only the gate in your world, no longer fearful of man, but still needing to protect the gate from the dark ones in my world wanting to enter yours. In my world there is another kind of guardian who watches the gate and protects it in our world from your kind. He cannot enter your world. He is bound to mine for all eternity. This creature may be what you speak of." She lowers her voice to a whisper. "But let us not speak of it. We shouldn't stay here too much longer; the sun is beginning to dim its light."

We reach the gate. Vivid gold color and thick arch rise above us. We walk through the gate from her world of magic and mystical creatures back into my own world, into Green Mountain Falls, Colorado. I cannot pretend this is a dream because I know this is real.

The next day we see each other in school and have lunch together. I feel like I'm pulling her away from Venda, but she assures me Venda is fine and her nightmares have all but vanished. As I read some poems to Evelyn she turns to me for the one she longs to hear from my lips. Written by Emily Bronte. We rest in each other's arms on the lawn at lunch enjoying the fresh cool air of spring. I flip to the page she has marked and read slowly, enunciating every word she loves to hear:

A Day Dream

On a sunny brae alone I lay

One summer afternoon;

It was the marriage-time of May,

With her young lover, June.

From her mother's heart seemed loath to part

That queen of bridal charms,

But her father smiled on the fairest child

He ever held in his arms.

The trees did wave their plumy crests,

The glad birds carolled clear;

And I, of all the wedding guests,

Was only sullen there!

There was not one, but wished to shun

My aspect void of cheer;

The very gray rocks, looking on,

Asked, "What do you here?"

And I could utter no reply;

In sooth, I did not know

Why I had brought a clouded eye

To greet the general glow.

So, resting on a heathy bank,

I took my heart to me;

And we together sadly sank

Into a reverie.

We thought, "When winter comes again,

Where will these bright things be?

All vanished, like a vision vain,

An unreal mockery!

"The birds that now so blithely sing,

Through deserts, frozen dry,

Poor spectres of the perished spring,

In famished troops will fly.

"And why should we be glad at all?

The leaf is hardly green,

Before a token of its fall

Is on the surface seen!"

Now, whether it were really so,

I never could be sure;

But as in fit of peevish woe,

I stretched me on the moor,

A thousand thousand gleaming fires

Seemed kindling in the air;

A thousand thousand silvery lyres

Resounded far and near:

Methought, the very breath I breathed

Was full of sparks divine,

And all my heather-couch was wreathed

By that celestial shine!

And, while the wide earth echoing rung

To that strange minstrelsy

The little glittering spirits sung,

Or seemed to sing, to me:

"O mortal! mortal! let them die;

Let time and tears destroy,

That we may overflow the sky

With universal joy!

"Let grief distract the sufferer's breast,

And night obscure his way;

They hasten him to endless rest,

And everlasting day.

"To thee the world is like a tomb,

A desert's naked shore;

To us, in unimagined bloom,

It brightens more and more!

"And, could we lift the veil, and give

One brief glimpse to thine eye,

Thou wouldst rejoice for those that live,

Because they live to die."

The music ceased; the noonday dream,

Like dream of night, withdrew;

But Fancy, still, will sometimes deem

Her fond creation true.

The bell rings, interrupting the moment, and we head off to gym class. I wish I could spend more time with her here, but Mr. Phillips never lets any of us get away with anything. Will have to wait until the weekend to have her all to myself. She is busy at school during the week, and in the evenings she takes care of the gate. Though we are apart, I feel as if she is with me, resting in my arms.

Our time together draws me closer to her, closer to knowing that all this is real, that she is real, and, more than anything, this love between us is real. Then the music ceases, and I find myself in my bed falling asleep after a long month of dreaming about her.
Month three: May

Floating

The third month of spring I am a cloud, floating above the rest of the world. The time in Evelyn's world didn't help me get a grip on reality in my own, and the ability to float disappeared like she said, physically anyway. Emotionally, I am soaring high. I cannot escape Evelyn's world. My heart has been called to hers. Her life is my life.

We find time to spend together most days, in between classes, gazing at each other in gym. I see her on the weekends too. Sometimes mid-week we take a trip to the forest, but most nights are hers. She has to guard the gate and protect the forest from the dark ones that lurk behind the door, waiting for the moment when they can slip into my world unnoticed.

Venda is growing comfortable being on her own at lunch, and Evelyn spends more time with me at school since her evenings are limited.

We sit on the lawn under the clear skies in the morning before classes, when the sun is finally able to breathe, and I read to her. Sometimes I read from our literature used in English class. We are supposed to do a report on the Shakespeare classic "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Sometimes Evelyn shows me her favorite poetry by 19th century writers, but today she hands me Robert Frost. I read to her slowly.

She likes me to read slowly so that she can savor every word for herself. Her head rests in my lap as delicate as a flower, and the wind blows through our hair. Seems the moment can never be taken away and we will stay like this forever. I clear my throat and read:

Wind and Window Flower

Lovers, forget about your love,

And list to the love of these.

She is a window flower,

And he a window breeze.

When the frosty window veil

Was melted down at noon,

And the caged yellow bird

Hung over her in tune,

He marked her through the pane

He could not help but mark,

And only passed her by,

To come again at dark.

He was a winter wind,

Concerned with ice and snow,

Dead weeds and unmated birds,

And little of love could know.

But he sighed upon the sill,

He gave the sash a shake,

As witness all within

Who lay that night awake.

Perchance he half prevailed

To win her for the flight

From the firelit looking-glass

And warm stove-window light.

But the flower leaned aside

And thought of naught to say,

And morning found the breeze

A hundred miles away."

The words between us linger long enough for me to know she is everything to me. If she were ever taken away, I don't know if I could go on. The sound of the bell reminds us this time together is not forever, and she pulls herself up off my lap and we scurry to gym. Later in the week, listless in each other's arms, lying in our favorite spot, another question pops into my mind.

"Evelyn, if you are at school in the morning, and at night you watch the gate...when do you sleep?" She giggles at my naivety.

"We don't need as much sleep as humans do. We age differently in our world. What feels like a year to you is only twelve days to us. You need eight hours every day to sleep, for us it only takes one day a month." Her smile widens at the notion that her kind is so very different from my kind. "We sleep the full day and night and then we don't need to sleep again for a month. That is why some days I cannot see you at all, because I am in my sleep day, or I have to watch the gate.

"Nile sometimes tells me I have to watch the gate when Wind is not able. He travels in and out of our two worlds; he has service in both. Often, I am left with the burden of guarding the gate, but I don't mind." She shrugs and returns to answering my question, "Our day of sleep gives us the rest we need. But of course, we still need to return to the emerald lake once a week to maintain our gifts."

"What other business does Wind have?"

"Wind can protect the gate, but it is my main duty and it was given to me by the elder council; we do not want to upset them. Usually the gate is guarded by two elves. The danger can sometimes be overwhelming and we need to protect the gate the best we can. Wind does what he can to help me." She gets flustered. "But often he is called away to my world to help train other elves wanting to fight." She bites her lip, hesitates. "There are many events I cannot discuss with you now. There are secrets of my world I am not allowed to share with humans. Just know that Wind has other duties."

"What about your parents? Don't they help?"

"My parents are old. May not look old to you, but they are nearing the end of their life. They will be gone soon; they are not capable of guarding at such a tender age. Though we have abilities, they weaken as we grow closer to our 70th year of existence. Venda is too young, and Wind is the only other emerald eyed elf in the family to protect the gate."

"Are there other gates?" My curiosity drives me.

"Yes, around the world everywhere. But there is only one here in North America."

"Why do you come to school at all?" I think she has been waiting for me to ask this question, but she seems taken by surprise. She takes a moment to answer.

"I don't have to fear the dark ones during the day, they abhor light. I have to be on guard at night, which is why I don't go far from the forest in the evening, and why I wanted you to take me to the cinema close by. I did not want to say no to you. I have always wanted to learn more about your kind, your world. I spend so much time protecting it, I want to understand it. I have gone to school most of my life in your world, observing." She pauses. "I have learned a lot from watching your world, but...there are things I still don't understand."

"What kind of things?"

"The forests for one. I don't understand why your kind does not love them and take care of them. There is so much greed and carelessness that destroys them. Your kind tears the forests down and builds condos in its place. Nature is second to comfort. I don't think your kind realizes how much harm it causes the forest, and themselves. My kind could never do that. I could never understand the lack of reverence and a lack of honor for what is a part of the earth, a part of what gives you life." I look off thoughtfully. A fair question, an accurate observation, but I didn't know how to answer it completely.

"Not all of my kind is like that," I tell her, and gaze deep in her soft eyes. "I would never do that to the forest, to you. I could never hurt you, Evelyn."

As she looks into my eyes, I feel her struggle with those words. I am not sure if it is because she does not trust me, or she does not trust herself. Evelyn pulls away and gets up to leave. As she passes through the school doors to her next class I remember what Taylor and Robby were bothering me about all week.

"Evelyn, I almost forgot." I tap her shoulder and she turns to face me. "Robby and Taylor have been asking me about this year's ski trip. We always take a few trips a year. The next one looks like it will be in a couple of weeks. Don't want to tell him yes until I know if you want to go." Her face beams.

"Yes, Michael. Of course I would love to go with you." She hugs me and we stroll down the hall to each of our classes. I have to go to biology and she has to go to history. My teacher has the look that Mr. Roth does when I walk through his doors.

"Michael, could you please come here a moment?" he asks as I try to take my seat. I walk toward him with hesitation. "Michael, I am concerned about your academic performance. Your first term was strong, a solid A. The beginning of second term was strong too with a B. But beginning in March and through April your test scores have lowered. Your head seems to be somewhere else. Your high scores from earlier in the year will keep you at a low B or C, but I wish you were giving your senior year your full attention. You know soccer will not always be there to hold you up. I know you know that. You are a smart kid. I just don't want to see your grades fall from here."

I get the point. He gives me that look again, and I understand what he means, what I have to do. Somehow, I have to divide my time between Evelyn and studying, or combine the two, and smile at the last idea.

Every day Evelyn has free time to sit with me in the morning or at lunch, I read. I read biology, history, math, and some of her favorite literature. Reading to her is easy. She is a good listener, and my voice soothes her. She does fine in her classes; I would guess after five hundred years of practice she would be better than me. Sometimes she reads to me and I love to listen to her. There is nothing more delicious than the sound of her voice.

"Mitosis," she reads, "the division of cells..." I listen intently, knowing she is expecting me to do well in my studies. Not just my teachers and parents who care about my academics, but she cares too. She shuts the biology book and opens calculus.

"So, when zero is divided by a number approaching a limit, the answer is..." She waits for me to fill in the blank. I know this one. I remember she first read this to me when we were touching fingers, lying side by side on the lawn during lunch.

"Infinity," I smile, and she smiles too. As we sit across from each other on the lawn, I wonder if this love is something like infinity, and if it is something I can handle. But my heart knows better than to let my mind fill with doubt. I swallow my fears. We are together and nothing can take me away from her -not even myself.
Danger

Her voice trembles Friday night, the first weekend of May. I think I know why, but it does not seem real that she would be afraid, afraid of anything. She is magic and lives in a world full of mystical gifts and childlike safety. Can't bare it: the lips that grow cold; the eyes that fill with fear; the hands that shake. I have to take the fear away, to protect her. I pull her into my arms and hold her tight as we sit on my bed. As she clings to me, I know: she does not fear her life, but mine.

"What is it?" I ask her, not sure I am ready for the answer.

"Danger, the danger I warned you about in my world. Some of the dark ones followed your smell to the gate. They know humans were there with me and where to find the gate now. Even when the location of the gate was unknown, some wolves still found it. Now, we have no protection at all. They are more determined than ever because the scent of humans in my world tells them their world is threatened." She breathes quickly. "Wind saw a few of them already in your world. A few shadow wolves found the gate without a trail of human scent to follow, probably accidentally." She sighs heavy.

"What?"

"They must have slipped in the night I went to the movies with you. We weren't expecting them." Her bright eyes dim. "The night when I stayed for dinner at your house, I argued with Nile. He wanted me to come home to watch the gate, but I wanted to stay with you. Wind went that night, but he was late arriving, after the sun fell behind the earth."

"Something came through?"

"He could smell something strange, something dark, and he knew. He knew what Nile feared. Wolves penetrated the gate I'm so sorry. I didn't want to endanger you, or any humans." Tears fall down her cheek like a rain storm. "We thought we could handle it; we have had to fight shadow wolves in the past."

I stare at her intently, and she continues.

"The wolves have a difficult time returning to the gate, lost in confusion by earthly smells. They become stuck, waiting to be hunted by the guardians. We try to find them as soon as possible to minimize the damage they do to your world." She sighs again and glances up at me.

"But now they have your scent and mine. We have to watch over the gate every moment of darkness, so that the wolves have no unguarded door. If it is left unprotected, the dark ones will come to your world and your world could end in ruins." More tears fall. "I am so sorry, Michael."

"You're sorry? It is my fault Evelyn." I pull her to me. "If I hadn't followed you through the forest, through the gate...if I hadn't been pulled to you like I am, they never would have followed my scent to the gate, to the one thing that keeps us safe from them." I remember reading the book of folklore, and stories from Evelyn.

"It's my fault, Michael. I should have never said yes to you." She pushes herself away from me. "I should have kept myself away like we are told to do by the elder council. We are told to keep a distance from your kind, to separate ourselves, and not be involved with your lives. I know better than this. I am responsible for this. My fault. If anything happens to your world, to you..." her voice cracks, "I don't think I could live with myself."

"And without you, I don't think I could live, Evelyn. Don't talk like that. You are everything to me. You should not have to live a life you don't want to live, always vigilant, always guarding, always protecting a world you can't be part of yourself. Not fair for the elder council to ask you to not be true to your own feelings, to your own will. You have a right to enjoy your life too." She falls into my arms crying, not sure whose side to accept, wanting to be mine, but knowing the consequences are the same regardless.

"What will you do? They know what you smell like; if more get through, you are the first one they will track. The strange smells will only keep them confused for so long until they get a grip on where you are." She pulls me close. "How can I guard the gate and you at the same time?"

I squirm at the question while in her arms. Though the conversation started with me wanting to comfort her, I am beginning to feel I am the one that needs comforting. We hold on to each other tight, forgetting the world around us, forgetting the questions, forgetting time. Time for her to go; she has to return to the forest to protect my world, but I can't help but wonder: who will protect her?

While I ready for bed, Wind climbs up to my window in true elf style. He slips out of the tree delicately, and without a sound pounces to my floor. I am startled. I'm thinking he has decided to take his vengeance on me for stealing his wife-to-be, his future.

I could see the passion in his eyes the day I first met him in the forest. He was jealous of me and I saw the jealousy again at the dinner table while eating with her family as he stormed in to attack me with words. But his eyes are different tonight. They are full of...concern. If Wind is concerned then there is something very real I have to worry about, but my body instinctively steps back, unsure of his intentions all the same.

"It's alright," he says in a warm tone. "I'm here to protect you. Evelyn would not leave you here alone tonight. She is afraid of the dark ones in your world finding and killing you." I swallow hard.

"What are they?"

"Dark wolves, creatures that feed on death. Don't get alarmed. There are not many."

"How many?" I ask slowly. Wind's nose twitches.

"I smelled three in the forest, and again in town. They are moving." He grinds his teeth. "But I am sure three is all there is." He tries to appear confident, but I see uncertainty in his eyes. "We will have a bigger problem if more get through the gate. Evelyn is being very watchful, going to the gate an hour before dark. We all have to be more careful." He glances at me. "We all have to be more careful."

A knock on my door startles me. Wind disappears before I can tell him to leave. I imagine he hears very well with his elongated ears.

"Michael, are you sleeping?" Mom asks from behind the door.

"No, Mom," I say, agitated.

"I just wanted to ask you if you had plans this month to go to Aspen with your friends. I forgot to ask at dinner. You were in such a rush. I know you go every year at this time and I want to prepare a few things for you to take on the trip."

"Yes Mom, I will be going." I say politely, though sounds a little hard, and I am not even sure if I am still going.

"Alright, I'll get your stuff ready," she says. As her foot steps lead away from the door, Wind returns to the room as quickly as he left. "I'll just wait in the tree while you sleep. If anything happens, I'll be close."

"Thank you, Wind...but why are you doing this?"

"I know I came at you before, but Evelyn is dear to me. She always has been. I guess I will have to think of her as my little sister. I don't want to see her get hurt." Wind purses his lips; he looks uncomfortable. "I will have to look after you since you are a part of her life."

"Thank you for doing this."

"Her parents are too weak to help and I am the only one she can lean on now. I am devoted to my kind, whether we are together or not." He glances down. "I have forgiven her; I have accepted that you are...who she wants." These last words seem difficult for Wind to speak. "Can you forgive me for my...misbehavior?"

"Yes." I lower my head. I am ashamed to think if the shoe were on the other foot I would not have been as understanding.
Aspen

Towards the middle of the last month of spring my friends and I go on our third trip of the year to ski in the Aspen Mountains. The first time we go is in the middle of October. Second time we go is usually in the middle of December. Our third and final trip is usually in the spring. We have done this every year in high school since freshman year.

We couldn't go in March or April because I was too distracted, but they decided we had to go this month because this would be the last chance we would get before summer; most of the resorts would be closed by then. They told me I had to pull my head out of the clouds.

Evelyn thinks this may be a good idea for us to go on the trip. If we stay away from my house for a while it will confuse the dark ones following my scent. If they track Evelyn's smell to my house, they will not find her or me there. She assures me Wind will take care of guarding the gate.

Taylor and Lee are trying to decide between our two favorite locations in Aspen: the Aspen highlands, or Aspen Mountains. Since Evelyn is joining us, and she has never skied, I recommend Buttermilk Ski Mountain instead.

"They have mellow terrain with groomed slopes for beginners, and a nice intermediate terrain for Taylor and Lee. Robby will like the hidden stashes of snow he can plow through and the super-pipe," I say persuasively at the lunch table while we sit. Evelyn is absent today because Venda is becoming concerned for her safety; she's having recurring nightmares again.

"But Buttermilk Mountain closed in April. The only mountain still open is Aspen Mountain," Robby says. "The Aspen Skiing company has announced they will keep the resort open on the top of the Aspen Mountain through June as the record snow levels have covered the tops even as summer is approaching." He reads word for word from the newspaper. "It's settled. Aspen Mountain it is."

We finally decide on staying at the Mountain House Lodge. Close to everything, and includes a hot tub, something Laura and Taylor have been looking forward to as well. All week we pack for the trip. Mom makes sure I have enough warm clothes to keep me from getting sick. Do elves get cold, I wonder?

I pick Evelyn up in my Dad's Jeep; he's letting me borrow the vehicle for the weekend. I pick up Laura and Taylor at Taylor's house, and Robby, Lee, and Sarah at Robby's house, before heading off to the Aspen Mountains and the Mountain House Lodge.

The ride is a good distraction from the danger which has swept into my life like a tossing sea. This trip lets me forget my fears. I long to be strong like the elves, but I am only human.

We pull up to Mountain House Lodge. We all share two rooms together; helps cut the costs of the trip. They are big enough rooms with four beds each. Sarah, Laura and Evelyn share a room, and Robby, Lee, Taylor, and I share a room.

"The hot tub is mine!" Taylor eagerly scurries down the hall toward the hot tubs with a towel around his waist. Laura races after him. I hear them jump in and Taylor shouts, "It's hot!" Laughter fills the halls as we all run down to get there next.

The hot tubs are set under the sky, surrounded by Aspen's trees. On the other side of the lodge there are a few more hot tubs that a family has booked for the night. Thankfully Taylor called ahead to reserve a hot tub for us upon our arrival. One part of the trip he talked about most at lunch while Robby and Lee discussed skiing.

Laura seems content to just be a part of the trip since she is new to our group this year. Sarah came last year after she and Robby had grown closer as friends. I thought they would end up going out junior year, but they remained friends. Not sure if it's because Robby had interests elsewhere, or if Sarah's interest in Robby had run out like so many girls before her.

Lee has taken an interest in Sarah. She enjoys his company, though always at arm's length. Perhaps they will eventually come together and make us all happy.

The warmth of the tub helps me relax and eases my fears. Evelyn's face softens; she appears content, happy. I wasn't able to comfort her the way I wanted to at my house, but this trip gives security to all of us. Looking up at the quiet moon resting in its dark blanket of twinkling stars above us, I say a silent thank you to Aspen. Evelyn and I rest in the hot tub; somehow the coldness which recently had blown into my life is growing warmer.

Only a moment, a fleeting moment which will be gone too soon, but still a moment that we share without the pushing and pulling of two worlds between us. The evening is too exhilarating to leave for bed, and so the seven of us stay in the tubs all night until the dawning of the following day. When we finally return to our rooms, we sleep all morning and don't wake until the afternoon.

Evelyn is not in her room when I awake. Should have known she would not be there since she is not able to sleep like the rest of us; she would have grown bored waiting for us to wake up. She assured me we are safe here away from the town, away from the forest and the gate, but still I fear for her.

I find her sitting upstairs in a room surrounded by windows on one side overlooking the mountains and skiers. She sits in the big beige sofa watching the fire crackle in the fireplace. I plop into the sofa across from her with only a small coffee table between us.

"I want to give you something, Evelyn, before everyone wakes up and we don't have any privacy." Later we will be busy skiing, and just as soon as Taylor wakes up everyone will be chatting. She glances up at me and smiles with a look of sweet surprise.

"I want to give you something you cannot find anywhere else, something unique. Flowers are something you will always have in your world. But I want to give you something that is a part of me. I want to give you something I know you love." Her eyes widen in anticipation. I pull out a folded piece of paper from my pocket and read to her, like I don't have every word memorized by heart, stumbling and pausing to see her face.

A Sacred Part

I've held the most sacred part of life under a burning sun,

And a dark blue sky with white brave clouds,

Lazily laying upon trampled green grass freshly cut,

Wrapped only with a quilt made of yellow-purple patches,

And bits of unraveling thread,

Surrounded by smells of honeycomb and honeysuckle,

Telling me that I am tasting something

So sweet, so delicate, so unique,

It could only be found here between you and me,

And it couldn't be found anywhere else on this earth,

Or away from this earth

In the endless abyss of an endless universe,

Or without this earth,

A rock sitting so heavily and silent in its empty place

It makes me wonder in amazement at how I can be here,

Here under this burning sun with you, sitting simply,

Undirected and unadulterated by life,

Resting in this singular moment amazed and star-gazed,

That we could be sitting together,

Yet reckless like a chariot of falling stars,

Without interruption from our jealous God or faltered universe,

And not in some far off away place

Like that of Alice lost in Wonderland,

But here with you and you with me, between us

Time given to us while we still hold each other,

Without regrets and against our given ends

A few tears fall from her eyes; makes her emerald eyes appear like water.

"I'll never let it go." She takes the paper from my hands, folds the poem, and places it into her pocket. She nestles her head underneath my chin and wraps her long arms around me a we fall onto the sofa, kissing.

"And I'll never let you go," she whispers.
Rival

She holds on to me tightly with both arms, like she might break and blow away in the wind if she lets me go. I slide down the snow covered mountain with my skis in professional positions. Her legs bend inward, trying to find their positioning. While I glide down the slope, she slides her legs back and forth, pulling me back with her.

"Evelyn, you have to trust it. You have to let me go and allow yourself to slide down the slope."

"What if I fall?"

"It won't hurt. It's just snow. Like fluffy cotton." Ok, it's not exactly that soft, and if you were speeding down the mountain quickly and fell, you could hit yourself hard. But Evelyn won't be going that fast and I will be right beside her to help. I need to soothe her fears. One of the few fears I can help her conquer. I know the snow and the mountain, so I won't let her get hurt.

I've spent my life in Colorado and I've skied a few times every year since I was able to walk. I could have taken the difficult slopes today, but I wanted to be with Evelyn. She spends so much time in the forest; I worry about weather being too cold for her here. Her lips are turning purple. But she will love the snow once she learns how to ski.

Taylor and Robby take the next hill that's more difficult. Lee, Sarah, and Laura take the easy slope with me because, even though Sarah came with us last year, this is only her second year skiing. Sarah grunts and huffs as she tries to make her way down the mountain. They are quite obviously beginners, struggling to keep up with others passing them. Though Lee came up on a few trips with us the last two years, he's still a novice skier. A few times of practice won't allow anyone to be as good as Robby, Taylor, and me. We grew up here; it's second nature to us. We are also quite competitive with one another whenever we have the chance.

Evelyn finally lets my arms go and slides down the slope faster and faster on her own. I stay behind her, looking out ahead for any danger. Sarah and Laura hold on together behind us, sliding inch by inch. Lee is ahead of us, trying to be brave and make up for years of missing out. He is from New York, and only moved here during his freshman year.

"I'm falling! I'm falling!" Evelyn shouts ahead of me. I see her body bend to the right, and how she forces herself to stay up, a balancing act she is good at with her agile abilities. But the cold and the strange balance of the skis will not let her become an angel on ice today.

After a few minutes of holding her body up against the obvious pull to the right, Evelyn falls over into the snow, her body bouncing three times before she comes to a stop. I follow after her, pulling my legs quickly together and inward for a sliding stop. Landing on top of her, we both chuckle.

"Are you two ok?" they ask. By the looks on our faces they can see we are fine, and continue slowly pushing themselves down the rest of the mountain. I see two figures in the distance coming toward us. They stop with sudden force, and snow swoops up and into my face; deliberate. I look up to see Robby and Taylor standing with their skis well positioned next to Evelyn and me.

"Is this how Michael is treating you Evelyn?" Robby laughs at me on top of her. "Is he not teaching you at all?" I look at him with a stretched smile, and then help Evelyn up off the snow.

"I'm fine, really. I'm fine." She tries to reassure me, and more than that, Robby. Robby grabs my arm and pulls me to him.

"Let's see if you still have it in you, Michael." Taylor looks at Robby with an approving face; they are ready to speed down the mountain. I turn to Evelyn and her face lightens and reminds me of an angel.

"I'm fine. Really, Michael, you go ahead. I know you want to race down the mountain," she says, knowing this has been on my mind since we arrived here. "Lee is right over there. We can go down together and meet you at the bottom." Looking at her for assurance, I see she is serious.

"Ok, Robby look out!" I thrust my ski poles into the ground and all three of us push off, becoming the quickest skiers on the mountain, swooshing past the beginners and intermediates. Snow feels like ice under our skis; we are sliding, pushing, and swooshing faster and faster. Trees to our left blur, and we leave distinct markings in the snow as we pass.

Robby gains speed, swishing past me with Taylor still behind. The wind lashes our faces. Robby's competitive spirit propels him over the snow. As I slide down the slope, the hill turns left. Taylor is right on my tail, pushing himself further to get around me and win.

Robby snags his coat on one of the tree branches, yanking him backward and he plummets into the snow. His face hits first as I swoosh past him with Taylor close behind me. We ski down the slope close together until I gain more momentum. Robby pulls himself up quickly, and soon Robby and Taylor are side by side, neck and neck with smiles on their faces while each fights to take the lead away from me.

As we swerve around another bend the path narrows and one of us has to yield: the space cannot fit all three of us through its narrow neck. But no one wants to give up their position. No one can give up the idea of first place.

Robby to my left and Taylor on my right stay neck and neck with me. I am the middle man and it will be best that one of them takes the fall back; I am in no fear of hitting any trees. I tell myself this as I see trees approaching, and Robby runs very close to hitting them. His speed quickens as if he does not realize the danger, as if the desire to win blinds him like a race horse. The trees brush against Robby's white snow coat.

The needles of the trees prick his coat, and sound like a thousand arrows striking his body as we swoosh around the next bend. As the bend narrows further, Robby won't make it. Visions fill my mind of the trees smacking his face and him crashing to the snow with a bleeding nose and broken bones.

But he won't slow down, I know he won't. I know Robby. I slow down and let him pass. He shoots past me with a cocky smile like he has already won. Almost has. He brushes past Taylor, and with more speed than I have ever seen before, he races down the hill and past the crowds on either side to cross the invisible finish line.

Taylor slides in after him, and I follow last. Robby throws his arms into the air in victory. This is his moment. Usually, Taylor and I are the ones competing for first place; Robby never comes in first against us. This little fact has always botheredhim. But now his face tells a different story. He is the conqueror on the mountain. The rest of our friends watch us from behind, still making their way carefully down the mountain, and Robby, Taylor, and I wait for them to reach the end.

"You came in first, Robby!" Sarah says, with a hint of interest in her eyes as she skis past crowds. She hugs Robby. "It is time for a celebration!" She races ahead of us to the café where we can find cakes, coffees, and other desserts.

We all walk to the door of the cafe, brushing off the snow covering our boots before we go inside. Sitting at two sofas, we relax in a room that is reminiscent of our favorite café back in Green Mountain Falls.

"It was nice of you to give it to him," Evelyn whispers in my ear. How does she know this? Could she see that far?

"To an exciting weekend!" Taylor holds his warm coffee mug up to make a toast.

"Here, here." Lee says.

"To winning!" Robby says.

"To falling in the snow covered mountains," Evelyn says quietly. I look to Evelyn, and we both crack a smile. Laura and Sarah pause in thought for a moment.

"To having a good time!" they say simultaneously. Evelyn holds her mug up to ours ready to join in the toast.

"To skiing for the first time, and learning to love the cold!" I say on behalf of Evelyn.

"Here, here!" we all say, and hit our coffee mugs together.

We spend our last night in Aspen in the hot tubs. Sitting in our bathing suits, we soak up the warmth of the water under the chilly evening air. The moonlight dances over our faces, and the stars twinkle more brightly here, so high up in the mountains away from the city lights of town. Evelyn and I close our eyes, and almost fall asleep.

Sunday morning we pack our things and get ready to head back to town. The drive is a few hours and the jeep takes a couple of tries to start up, until we drive down the mountain. I never liked heights, and driving down this mountain only reminds me of how much.

Some of the turns are clouded by fog and low laying clouds that have not warmed up yet; I have to watch the tail lights of the cars ahead of me to see where to follow the road. Evelyn has a better sense of this, so she sits in front with me. She lets me know ahead of time when a turn is coming, and I adjust my steering wheel accordingly.

Taylor and Laura sit in the back seat together; Lee, Sarah, and Robby sit in the middle seats. They have all fallen asleep to the sounds of slow moving vehicles, and Evelyn's almost inaudible voice.
The Game

The third Friday of the last month of spring. School is excited for summer break; we have only one more week left. But it is not the upcoming summer that excites everyone, but the upcoming game. The town has made a production of it. My parents have made a production of it. The whole soccer team feels it can't let anyone down.

Final game of the year, that will either put our rival team to shame, or shame us during our summer holidays. We had to endure incessant scoffing from our rival team all summer last year. This year the coach and all my friends are determined to not let that happen. Winning this game will mean a trophy in our school, and winning back our school pride.

The team has been putting in practice every day after school this month except for our ski trip, and a few of my early departures: I told the coach I needed to help Mom because she fell and broke her hip, but I was actually with Evelyn when she was available. This last week before the game we have been practicing twice a day: in the morning and in the afternoon.

The coach has us come into school an hour early to exercise, and train for the game. I see a difference in everyone. The are easily agitated, fighting to win. If I had not found Evelyn this year, I imagine I would be very much the same way. But somehow the importance of it all just does not seem as vital to me now.

From Evelyn's world to this small one, the game seems so insignificant. But I practice to win. I do this for my team, and for my friends, not for myself. I know what this game means to them, to the school, to our families, to the whole town. I won't be the weak link that breaks on our side, letting the other team defeat us yet another year. So, I practice twice a day with my peers, exercising and training, sweating and running, faster and further than I have ever done. We all push ourselves harder and harder.

Evelyn hasn't forgotten about the shadow wolves. The danger they bring to my world is always on her mind. She is watchful of me and my surroundings. A wrinkle shows up on her forehead when she worries. The tense smile on her lips tells me she is afraid if my body is strained I will be in more danger. She keeps track of where I am, and what I am doing. Aspen let me forget the dangers here, but now I have to face them.

I try to let the worry flutter to the back of my mind, but Evelyn is vigilant and always on guard. She's a constant reminder the there is danger lurking in the shadows of my world, never sleeping, never leaving, and destroying everything in its way. But this is my land, my world, and I won't let them have it. This anger fuels my veins in our final soccer game. For the rest of my friends, the fuel is a desire to win against our biggest enemy, our rival team. But my enemy is bigger; my enemy is not of this human race, but beyond. My enemy won't stop after the game is over, and one side is declared the winner.

We race up and down the pitch to the sounds of cheering parents, and high school peers, all their hopes resting on our worn out teenage shoulders. The grass beneath our feet softens, and clumps up into patches where players have slid and cleats have dug deep. Fatigued players drip with sweat; no side will give up easily.

This is a game that will set the tone for the summer, and next year, determining the best in soccer. Robby stands steady as the opposing team races the ball towards him in goal. Our opponent makes a fast kick. The ball slides past Taylor toward the goal area, but Robby is faster, and catches the ball before it hits the net. This is his time, this is his specialty, the fastest goalie I have ever seen. Fastest goalie Green Mountain Falls has ever seen.

The crowd roars. Robby defends the school pride. Score is now tied: three to three. We have only a few minutes left in the game. Air is tense. Faces around me watch in seriousness. New plays circle our minds, as well as old ideas our coach has gone over with us in the last month. We try something new and unexpected, and hope the opposing team will not be able to defeat us.

Robby tosses Taylor the ball. Everyone expects to see him run down the field and make the goal. But this day is different. This day we will not run like we have run before. Halfway down the field, Taylor passes the ball my way. I take the ball like I am running from the dark ones, only they are not behind me, they are in front of me, waiting for me. Not afraid, I run towards them faster and faster, ready for them, ready to fight. I kick the ball with all my strength and the ball flies hard past the opposing goalie and lands into the goal: a point.

The whistle blows and the game ends, four to three.. We won! The audience roars, cheers echoing through the stands and field. Taylor grabs me from behind and throws me over his shoulder. Lee and the rest of the team follow behind me as Taylor parades across the field with me on his shoulders, and the winning ball in my hands.

After the game, we head to the local café to celebrate. Afterwards, Evelyn and I start walking to her house. Night is cold, but there is a touch of warmth hinting at the summer soon to roll in. We stroll hand in hand down the side walk around Lake Forest.

Just as I get comfortable, a dark shadow in the distance approaches us. As it moves, I make out four legs, and a small, hairy body resembling a dog, or some kind of wolf. But it is neither. The face is dark black leather. Eyes glow red in the night. The shadow slides across the ground like a ghost.

"What is it?" It keeps coming toward us; I am startled by its lack of apprehension, and I step back, fearful for my life. Usually dogs and wolves will not wander alone in this area, and approach so assuredly.

"A shadow wolf." Evelyn speaks quietly. "Move back slowly. Do not startle it." Hairs rise on my arms as the thought of it attacking us consumes my mind.

"Is this a dark one?" I ask.

"Yes. It is one of the three Wind smelled earlier. But the beast is alone. So, we are not in as much danger as we could be."

Evelyn crouches on the sidewalk with her fists against the cement, and her legs positioned like a runner about to begin a race. The shadow wolf opens its mouth reveals its sharp teeth. Evelyn propels herself forward without hesitation, jumping at the shadow wolf, digging her fingers into its face, pulling and scraping as they tumble and roll over on the ground.

She jabs the eyes with her fingers as the beast howls loudly. The wolf falls on the ground wounded without eyes to see, but still fights, finding direction with its sense of smell. Evelyn wraps her arms tightly around its neck, and twists its neck backwards in one clean break. Releasing, the monster lies motionless and Evelyn lifts the beast over her shoulders to throw into the forest. She covers the body with leaves and branches.

"How did you do that? You have to teach me to do that so I can defend myself, defend you."

"No, Michael, you cannot. Your weapons are useless on this monster. Knives and guns will only wound it, and it will heal in a matter of minutes. Hands are weaker still! You must stay away from them. Wolves in your world can hear each other from ten miles away. Imagine how much more a shadow wolf from my world can hear the calls of a wounded beast, or one in a hunt." She touches my hand to her skin.

"My skin is like a poison to the shadow wolf. If it touches the skin of an elf, it becomes wounded, and if it has extended contact with one of us it usually dies." Then I realize how much of an enemy this thing is to my world, how much of a threat. If even just a few were free to roam wild they would devastate, possibly destroy, my world. Man would be rendered useless in the wake of its unleashed power.

"There must be something I can do. There must be a weakness."

"The only natural weakness is the sun. It will never be seen in the sunlight. Rays of the sun burn like acid to flesh and bone. I will have to return to the shadow wolf after I get you home, and take the wolf back to my world. No human can find it; the carnage will raise too many questions, and there will be too many men searching these forests for answers. We can't risk someone else finding the gate, for the sake of your world and mine." Evelyn ushers me home, and after I am safe, she returns to the shadow wolf. I rest in my room on my bed, wrapping my head around the night's events: we won the game; I was attacked; Evelyn killed an animal- not an animal, a monster, a beast.

As I lay my head on my pillow, dizzy with thought, I hear a scratch on my window, the kind that sounds like a broken branch scratching up and down in a heavy wind. My face tightens and my body cringes. The heart begins to beat faster and my eyes widen. Frozen, I stare at the darkened glass in the darkened night, wondering if death has come for me a second time.

The window is pushed open, and Evelyn jumps through, quietly landing on my bedroom floor. My body loosens, and I take a deep breath of relief. She delicately plops on my bed, and curls up beside me under the covers, comforting me and herself. She nestles in, and we hold each other through the night. Wind will be watching the gate tonight, and Evelyn will be safe in my arms.
Shadow

Shadow wolves hide in the dark corners. They wait for my scent so they can taste my flesh and bone, and know the human threat is destroyed. I cling to Evelyn more than ever because her hands not only hold me, but protect me from them: the monsters.

Saturday evening, Evelyn softly rests against my body-not that she needs to sleep: She has already taken her day of rest. She stays here for me. I sleep most of the night with her beside me because without her she knows I am restless and awaken only once from a nightmare. But Evelyn comforts my fears and I drift back to sleep.

In the morning, Mom yells something from downstairs. She asks what I want for breakfast. Evelyn quickly jumps out of my bed, and tells me she will meet me downstairs at the front door.

"Yes, Mom, eggs and toast will be fine," I yell back to her. After shower, I meet Mom downstairs as Dad leaves for work. There is a knock at the door. I let Evelyn inside and we both walk to the dining table with a clandestine grin.

"I'm so glad you came to join us today, Evelyn. I have plenty of eggs and toast for you." Mom fills a plate for me and one for Evelyn, but Evelyn only touches her toast. We eat in silence, except for the words behind our eyes, telling each other our feelings of fear. I am fearful for myself, for my family, and my world, but mostly for Evelyn.

Evelyn is fearful she will not be able to stop the other two shadow wolves before someone gets hurt. She will be busy tonight and Sunday night, so that means we will not be able to spend time together. I can barely breathe without her, and this added fear of losing her to these beasts intensifies my feelings even further. I want to race far away from here with her in my arms and keep her safe from it all, but she will never let me. After breakfast we return to my room and I close the door.

"I have to run with Wind this morning to find their scent and track them before night fall, before they have a chance to kill anyone." As she says this, she stares at me. By anyone she really means me. I appear brave, but this is all new to me, and I am anything but feeling brave.

"Why haven't you been able to track them?" My voice trembles.

"Wind and I are not hunters. We are guardians of the gate in your world. We don't have all the skills we need to find them, and they are cunning and clever at hiding and killing. There were only the three of them, so we didn't inform the elder council, but if the mess gets worse...if there is the possibility of too much destruction in your world, then we will have to take the problem to the elders." She breathes heavily and continues.

"If the elder council is involved, they may send the shadow hunters. The shadow hunters are the best at hunting these shadow wolves. It is what they do all their lives. All they do. They hunt these wolves in our world, and yours. But they are obviously different from your kind; it presents a risk of exposure if they are called upon to enter your world. They also have a one-track mind: they focus on the hunt, and anything in their way is expendable. Wind and I must first try to destroy the last two on our own before we go to the elder council."

I hold Evelyn's tender cheeks in my hands, and her emerald eyes tell me she will return to me. Somehow, without saying a word, she tells me everything I need. She will be gone all day hunting, possibly all night. Somewhat comforted by the knowledge that her touch is poison to the shadow wolves, I sigh, but until she is safely back in my arms, I will worry constantly.

She disappears as quickly as she came, and runs to find Wind. I imagine her running through the forest with Wind all day, side by side like sister and brother, then catching the scent of one of the shadow wolves. She might race through the forest, following the scent to its lair.

Once inside the dark cave, I see her arms dive for the neck, snapping and infecting the monster with poison. Wind lifts his noses to catch a scent in the breeze to track the last shadow wolf.

I stay at home all day to watch Mom and ensure she is safe while I anxiously wait for Evelyn to return. Sometime in the late afternoon, I hear Evelyn at the door. She stands like an angel, like a tender creature in need of protection-not a creature capable of killing while guarding the world around her.

"What happened?" I ask. Mom is folding laundry in the living room, so Evelyn and I talk in low whispers.

"We found one in the forest, but the other one is cleverer than the last two. We will seek it out in an hour and kill before nightfall. I wanted to tell you to stay inside with your mom and keep your cell with you. If you have any problems, I want you to call me. This thing will likely go after you first because our smell, the smell of elves, is all over your house."

She grabs my cell phone off the dining table and slides it into my jean pocket. "Keep it close." I nod my head. Kissing me lightly on my lips, she pulls me close. Feels more like goodbye than anything else, but I know she will return to me. She has to.

The sun drops from the blue sky behind a curtain of green hills. Night opens around me, and worry fills me. Evelyn has not called, and she has not returned. I don't know if I am more afraid for her in the cold night with Wind, or for myself left alone in the house with only Mom and Dad. I know the power of these wolves; somehow I don't think the security offered by these four walls is enough to keep them out. I rest on my bed, and though still early, my eyes droop and I doze off to sleep.

I awaken at the sounds of clawing and howling in the night. I hear it. It is so close now. My body is sweating as I jump up from my bed. My heart is beating fast, faster. My eyes widen as I walk to the window and look through the clear glass. I hear clawing outside, and a rustle in the trees. Then I see it: a dark shadow in the tree outside. Under the light of the moon, I can make out long, sharp teeth resembling blades, glistening and shiny, and long ears covered with black fur. Its face is blue-black leather with stone-dark eyes and small red pupils; its stare pierces through my darkened window. The face is like a child's, and yet wolfish like a monster. Paws are huge, and dark fur covers the body. Opening its mouth, a howl -one long, dark howl meaning...attack.

This one is twice the size of the wolf Evelyn killed on our walk home after the game. Chills run down my body. Mom and Dad call up to me from downstairs. "What was that?" they ask, completely naïve and unaware, unaware of the killer ready to kill. I don't know what to do first. Thoughts flood my mind and before I can think of what to do next, my phone rings. I answer without pause because I know there will be only one call for me tonight. Evelyn's sweet voice sounds like an army sergeant.

"Get downstairs now! Get your parents away from this! Wind and I have got it!" My eyes glance up towards the monstrous thing outside my window. Under the full moon I see her and Wind on my front lawn ready for battle. I run out of my room, slamming the door behind me, and race downstairs taking them three at a time. I pull Mom out of her chair and my hands have never held her so tight.

"What are you doing Michael? What is going on?"

"Please, Mom. There is no time. You must follow me." I pull her towards the heavy oak closet door and push her inside. I see fear on her face as she sits down. My father walks up with a wrinkle in his forehead and a heavy tone.

"Son, have you gone and lost your mind?"

"Dad, there is no time to explain. Please, get in, get in the closet with Mom and stay quiet. Don't come out no matter what you hear!"

He relents and walks into the closet and sits with Mom. I close the two of them inside the closet behind the thick oak door. The window upstairs in my room smashes and I hear Mom struggle in Dad's arms. Upstairs, furniture is smashed and thrown; growls and snarls echo down the stairs. We hear a howl, and a loud crack, and there is quiet. Is it over? I race upstairs to my room, and the door is broken off its hinges.

Evelyn stands over the Wind; the wolf, twice the size of Wind, lies in his arms. Wind has his arm around its neck. He throws the wolf over his shoulder, crawls out of the window to the tree, and climbs down to the front lawn and disappears. I imagine he will take it back to the gate like the others. Mom opens the closet door and peeks out.

"Is it safe to come out now, Michael?" she asks. Evelyn winks at me and darts out the window to follow Wind. I race downstairs to the closet.

"What is going on around here, Michael?" Dad speaks with an authority that demands an answer. But what can I tell him? I'm not even sure what happened, and I cannot tell them what I do know.

"A burglar...I saw him outside my window, and he was so much bigger than me. I knew I had to run downstairs and protect you guys from him. I thought maybe he would just steal a few things in my room and leave."

"A burglar?" Mom says, as she walks out of the closet overhearing my conversation with dad. "A burglar caused all that racket? What in God's name was he doing up there?" We walk up the stairs to assess the damage, and the mess is enormous. My cabinet is thrown over, and the pictures from my walls are cracked and lying all over the floor. My window is smashed, and my books and CDs are all cracked and scattered around the room.

"I know what this was," Dad says assuredly, surveying the mess.

"You do?" I say with surprise.

"This is a prank from one of those boys on the loosing team! You got to them my boy! You won the game, and they were driven over the edge with jealousy!" he says proudly, as if each broken item is simply a symbol of the jealousy from the opposing team.

"You know, you are probably right, Henry. I could see how angry those boys were after the game, and leave it to them to get back at our son who took their pride from them." Mom and Dad look at each other, smile, and chuckle.

"We will fix up your room tomorrow morning; it's Sunday and I don't have work. We'll stop by Home Depot and talk to Ralph. He owes me a favor anyhow," Dad says. And just like that they walk out of my room, unaware, unscathed and unnoticed by the evil that so recently lurked here. 
Protecting

Monday in English, I ask Evelyn to join me at the lunch table. My friends have grown oblivious to our covert conversations.

"How did everything go Saturday night?" I get to the point. We only have one hour before we will have to part again for gym.

"Wind and I carried it through the gate, and then we saw Elsy from the elder council waiting for us. Elsy told us the elders want to speak with us about everything, and need our life accounts," she whispers.

"Your what?"

"Our life accounts are a written account that tells about our life. They need to make a judgment about everything that has happened and my responsibility, my family's responsibility. We will have to go with Eve, Nile, and Venda to the council in the summer, and they will make a judgment then."

"How long does it take?" I scratch my head.

"As long as it takes. There is no way to know for sure. We will have to present our accounts at the elder table, holding hands with the council elders."

"Holding hands?" A wrinkle marks the middle of my forehead and my eyes widen.

"For any judgment to be made fairly, it is written in our laws that those in question must sit at the elder table and allow them to see inside us. Elves feel what other elves feel by touching. We are connected when we touch. The elders will search out our intentions and understand our life accounts better. They will make a fair judgment based on what they read in us."

"This is where you were Sunday?"

"Yes," she nods. Her face shines under the sun as we sit on the lawn in our favorite spot, and then the sparkle disappears. "Wind and I had to speak with the council to see what was expected of us, of our family. They have not made any decisions yet and want to learn more about our life and this new problem. We have to find a solution before it gets any worse, before they decide to send the shadow hunters."

"Venda is expected to go too?"

"She has to come with her family." Evelyn's face is stressed. "They feel the natural world is in grave danger, and our world as well. They feel a movement, a restless spirit within the dark ones.

"The elders fear the beasts are uniting under the dark beasts, strengthening their power to overthrow the elves and take over the lands. They will do whatever they have to, even destroy the natural lands, your lands. The elders fear the time is nearing." She wraps her fingers around my roughened hands. "My only concern is to protect you until we return to the elder council. Please know everything I do is to protect you...because I love you."

I fall vulnerable to her words, in her arms.

But the thirst of the shadow wolves is not quenched. I am almost hopeful about her going to the elder council to explain her role in everything. Evelyn and her family have destroyed the three shadow wolves on their own, and protected the natural world, as well as her world and its secrets. I imagine everything is coming to a close and Evelyn and I will be spending more time together.

But Tuesday she misses school, and in the evening, a knock at the door. I have grown to know the sound of Evelyn's knock, so soft and yet strong. She stands on the other side of the door with a distressed face, and tender, worried eyes. This expression is the worst. A sickening feeling fills the pit of my stomach.

Evelyn goes around the house, and I head upstairs to my room to avoid any confrontation with my parents. I let her through my window. She tells me to sit and pulls me to my bed. My face mirrors the intensity on hers and I need to know everything.

"What is it, Evelyn?"

"Wind, last night he was guarding the gate...and five shadow wolves penetrated. They followed the scent you left behind in my world. Wind was able to kill one of them, but the others escaped and he was not able to track them, since he had to stay at the gate to watch for any others. Today we have to follow the scent they left behind, and hope they do not kill anyone before we kill them." Her face grows serious and she holds back tears.

"If five shadow wolves were able to track your smell to the gate this quickly and get through," she pauses, "just a matter of time until more come. We don't think we can stop them alone. The elder council must know to send the shadow hunters to your world. I don't know how long I will be able to stay with you. A great battle is brewing and the dark ones are not retreating. To save your world and mine, I have to fight. I have to return to my world and fight with my elves." She rests her hand on my shoulder.

"Until I am called back to my world, I will stay and help Wind track the wolves. I won't be returning to school this last week and won't have much time to see you. SORRY. I wish we had more time, but I have to help find these monsters before it is too late."

The last week of school is unbearably lonely. Without Evelyn, I feel like a part of me is missing and I struggle to focus in class. I'm unsuccessful at keeping my mind off the image of her soft body being attacked and clawed at by dark shadows lurking in the night. I feel as if I'm suffocating without her.

But I try to imagine an optimistic outcome, then the thought of claws tearing into her consumes me. I feel the wolf's sharp teeth piercing into Evelyn's soft skin before Wind pulls it off her. Then the two wolves squeal as the poison reaches their hearts.

Waiting anxiously with my phone for any call, for any sign, I sit on my bed. She need to tell me she is finished with her duty to her world, that the creatures are dead and everyone is safe again, or I cannot rest. I wait all week.

The call never comes.
Preface

This is my end. I accept that now. For Evelyn. I can live with that thought, die with that thought. The wolf rips its teeth into my arm and its head knocks into mine. Consciousness slips slowly away from me. The sky is cloudy. The monster is blurry. I see Spear and Star, but they are a blur. My eyes open and shut, they stay shut and do not open. I hear a squeal. Voices say, "Lots of blood...she will be okay...get him to...." The voices fade. My body becomes limp in the hands of the hunters carrying me. They carry me for a time, but I don't know for how long. I see a grey cloudy space and then only blackness.

The Gate of Lake Forest

Book 2: Summer

MONTH FOUR: JUNE

Masks

Dragon

Breathing

Saving

Gravity

Fight

Tears

Demands

MONTH FIVE: JULY

Wind's Story

Nile's Story

Eve's Story

Evelyn's Story

Beginnings

Shadow Wolves

Shadow Hunters

Black Dragon

MONTH SIX: AUGUST

Council Decision

Birthday

Guardians

Falling

Hunting

Pawn

Black Out

Return
Month four: June

Masks

Everyone wears a mask. This party merely brought it to the forefront-a Victorian themed party where everyone is inspired by the Victorian age. From junior to senior class, everyone has been invited to the summer graduation party hosted by Taylor. Bigger than prom. Most of senior class ditches prom for group trips to the mountains to hike and camp, but they all attend Taylor's graduation party. His house is a white two-story with a large swimming pool in the backyard, a picturesque garden of flowers in the front, and two white columns that sit on each side of the front doors.

Taylor always goes beyond expectation. His party is talked about months in advanced; no one wants to miss it. He hangs flyers and posts them on car windshields. Word spreads quickly, like a brush fire in the forests of Colorado. Teachers ignore the flyers in the bathrooms and on school walls; they know the year is ending and this party is something they can do nothing to stop. The town is used to Taylor's parties. He has one at the end of every high school year. But this party is different -not only for me, but for most of my friends.

We are older, and this is our graduation party. We finally made it through the year. Never having to walk through the busy hallways again, or sit in the crowded classrooms, or listen to the high school teachers, or deal with the awkward years of puberty again. All of us that made it to graduation have an accomplished easiness about us. Finally free, and not just from high school, but from our parents and homes as well. We also won our first soccer game this year against our rival team, and that is another reason to have the biggest party known to Green Mountain Falls. That achievement has been etched into the minds of all the town folk.

Most of us will be heading to different colleges, leaving this small town. This party is going to remind us of our uniqueness to this community, of the glory we brought to it. Amidst all this excitement and anticipation, I also feel fear: I fear I may never see Evelyn again. I don't even know where this feeling comes from; it's been hiding somewhere in the deepest parts of me, exploding since graduating, escaping high school, my parents, and this small town. Don't know where she is, or if she will return.

Cars line up in front of Taylor's house, down the street, and around the block; most people car pool to save space. The party begins outside on his front driveway, which is lit with lanterns illuminating the path to the front door. I walk without Evelyn under those dim lights and the glow of the moon, which would have cast light over her white feathered mask. I imagine what this night may be like if she had come: she would have wrapped a gold ribbon around her head to match her golden, fluffy dress; her hair would be tossed into a high set bun with stays curls softly cascading around her face.

Wearing a gray tuxedo with a white rose pinned to my lapel, I enter. Best I can do to fit into the theme of the party. I try to join the world of the living without Evelyn at my side.

Opening the front door, the lights are dim; the room is filled with gold, black, purple, white, and yellow masks. Some people hold on to them with sticks while others' masks wrap around and are tied behind the head. Men stand on one side of the room and the ladies stand on the other, true to a court dance. The music selection for the evening is from the Victorian era: piano and classical orchestral songs. Many of the ladies have borrowed colorful and elegant dresses, and the men have added to the authenticity by powdering their hair white, or by wearing Victorian style wigs. We are an antique portrait that has come to life. The classy laughter saturates the room- stark contrast to my somber disposition.

The living room is vibrant and colorful as the students who had taken the time to learn the technical dance moves of the royal court sashay around the room. Occasionally, a couple interrupts the somber and serious mood, and dances as if they were at a discotheque, and everyone giggles. This happens more than once, and helps those who do not know dances of the royal court to enjoy the party.

If this were last year, I would be eagerly participating in the festivities: the dances, the laughs, and the music. I read about the Victorian era in history class sophomore year, and borrowed a few books about that period from the library. Looking the part, inside I am crumbling. A large group gathers, and Taylor's sister ushers us into order for a picture.

Later, some of us move into the dining room to play games. Each of us at the big round table picks out a card from a black top hat. The name of an important person, place, or thing is written on the cards. After the card is picked, we place it, without peaking, on our forehead. The idea of the game is to correctly guess the name of the person, place, or thing that we each hold by asking questions to the other players. A tight smile spreads across my cheeks when I realize everyone else knows the answer I am trying to guess.

To my right is Sarah, who is Abraham Lincoln. Laura is on my left and she is the Queen's royal jewels. Across from me is Robby who is Einstein-I smirk at the irony. I wonder, since the cards we all hold say something about each of us, what the card I hold says about me. I wait in anxious anticipation for the answer to be revealed at the end of this game.

"Am I something alive?" Laura asks.

"No," the table says in unison and laughs.

"Am I a person?" Robby asks.

"Yes," Sarah says. "Am I a person?"

"Yes," I answer, and take a sip of my red wine.

"Am I a place?" I ask, raising my brows. Sarah smiles at my expressions, though I wasn't trying to be funny.

"Yes," everyone says.

The game continues for an hour, and when I place my card in front of me, I see a national forest. Makes me think about Evelyn, and I am reminded again that I am without her. Her lips and her scent eludes me, and my mind is the only place I can hold on to her. So, in my mind I am with her, and that is where I spend most of my time, neglecting my friends and the party.

Lee dances in the opposite room full of excited guests. He glances at me and knows I want to be left alone, but tries, as all good friends do, to bring me back to the party. He pulls me up off a chair with his athletic arms, but I simply fall back into the chair and return to drinking my wine. The music drowns out his talking; I only see his lips move. He pats me on the shoulders and returns to the dance hall. Once again, I am alone.

My head rests in my hands as I sit in the big blue chair Taylor rented out as a prop for the living room. The wine bottle sits at the table, waiting to be poured every time my glass is half empty. I need to hear from Evelyn; need to know where she is. The party ends with a fireworks show in the backyard. Junior and senior classes stare up at the night sky, watching in awe the stars and the exploding lights. Taylor's sister recites a poem by Charlotte Bronte.

Evening Solace

The human heart has hidden treasures,

In secret kept, in silence sealed;

The thoughts, the hopes, the dreams, the pleasures,

Whose charms were broken if revealed.

And days may pass in gay confusion,

And nights in rosy riot fly,

While, lost in Fame's or Wealth's illusion,

The memory of the Past may die.

But, there are hours of lonely musing,

Such as in evening silence come,

When, soft as birds their pinions closing,

The heart's best feelings gather home.

Then in our souls there seems to languish

A tender grief that is not woe;

And thoughts that once wrung groans of anguish,

Now cause but some mild tears to flow.

And feelings, once as strong as passions,

Float softly back a faded dream;

Our own sharp griefs and wild sensations,

The tale of others' sufferings seem.

Oh ! when the heart is freshly bleeding,

How longs it for that time to be,

When, through the mist of years receding,

Its woes but live in reverie!

And it can dwell on moonlight glimmer,

On evening shade and loneliness;

And, while the sky grows dim and dimmer,

Feel no untold and strange distress

Only a deeper impulse given

By lonely hour and darkened room,

To solemn thoughts that soar to heaven,

Seeking a life and world to come.

The week after the party is long. The snow has vanished from the roads and grass. The summer sun bursts out of the sky, and the weather feels than last year. Dad says it is a record this year, the hottest in over twenty years.

"Man's actions have consequences," he tells me, and nods his head like he knows he is right. "Even if this heat is just another cycle of the earth, man needs to respect it, and take care of the earth'. If my dad knew how many fireworks were let off at Taylor's party he would have disapproved.

I wake up Saturday morning, the first Saturday after the mask party, to her call.

"I'm sorry I couldn't call sooner. You must have been worried. Tracking the beasts took longer than Wind and I expected," Evelyn says.

"But you are alright? Wind is alright?" I can only think of one thing: her being alive and safe.

"Yes. Wind caught a scratch across his lip, one that matches the scratch on his leg, but he is fine."

"And you? Are you fine?"

"Yes, I am, Michael. But I want to see you. It has been too long."

"Please, come over. I am here."

"I'll see you soon." I don't have to wait long; five minutes later I hear a knock.

"I've got it Mom." I race downstairs and let Evelyn in and we quickly head to my room.

"I thought something happened to you. I thought you were only going to be gone a week." I am so anxious for answers.

"I wanted to Michael, but Wind and I were searching for shadow wolves. The first two we tracked in the first week, but the last two have been a struggle." Her frustrated face frowns. "In the middle of last week we found them, and one attacked Wind. It scratched his face and lips, avoiding the blood, and fled." Her tone is grave.

"It is faster and bigger than any others I have seen in Emeralusia; I could not get to it in time. The beast scurried away and I never saw it again. The other smaller one followed behind and I ran to Wind to make sure he was alright. We don't think they returned to the forest because we searched there and we could not pick up their scent."

"Two of them are still out there?" I cringe at the thought of my parents downstairs vulnerable to this again. I think a moment on the name of her world which hasn't been revealed to me until now.

"Yes. This is why it has been an intense two weeks, and why I haven't been able to contact you. I wanted to, but I...'

"I understand. I know." I pull her to me.

"I have to return to the elder council. They want to know what happened with the other two shadow wolves that penetrated the gate. They will have to judge the situation and then tell me what I am to do." She sees my bloodshot eyes fill with distress: she only just returned.

"We haven't had any time together."

"I will be back soon. I am only going to let the council know about the last two wolves, and ask for advice about what to do next. I won't be gone for more than a day or two. I will return and call you."

I let her go, hesitantly.
Dragon

The next time I follow Evelyn through the hole in the forest it is Saturday night. I know she will be there and I go to protect her. Not as an uncertain boy, hiding behind the bushes as I once did, but as a young man ready to defend her. My scent is already laid in Emeralusia; the shadow wolves were quick to pick up the odor to my world.

There is nothing I can do about my mistakes, but I can watch over Evelyn. I can protect her like she also protects me. Standing without a sound (at least to human ears) behind the tree, she motions her left hand in small circles until the hole is clear. The air is a bubble of gas. She leaps and I follow behind her, far enough away to be unnoticed.

She scampers through the thicket of trees. I fly through them with my gift for floating. Pink and yellow moss laces the tree trunks. In this world, my ability to fly makes it easy to keep up with Evelyn. The sky is ablaze with color: aqua, turquoise, emerald, and then orange and purple all cascade all around. I wonder if the lake gives the sky something special, or if it is just the way the sun hits here.

A few figures walking in the distance, and when they stand they are three times my height. They are like stick men I might have drawn in my art book when I was ten. I marvel at the mystical creatures and feel the soft, glittering soil underneath my feet.

Flying after her, the blue-tailed white birds flit over me before resting in tall trees in the far distance. Jasmine, sweet honeycomb, and lilacs, like I've smelled on Evelyn's skin, and I remember when she first appeared in my English class.

She races ahead and I fly, effortlessly, through the air over the green meadows. I enjoy the ability to keep up with her (an ability I don't have in my world). She turns right in a direction she did not go last time. She does not run over the hills towards emerald lake, but into a lush, green forest. I am reminded of Colorado's forest, Lake Forest, back in my world.

The forest is thick, and we struggle for some time before the trees thin out and we are back in the green meadows again. Then Evelyn darts into a white forest, something I have never seen before. Trees are white, the foliage is white, the flowers blooming off the stems are white, and even the sky appears white against this pale forest.

Evelyn runs past a small river in the white forest, and I see three elves sitting on the shore drinking the turquoise water that meanders through the meadows. One elf is tall and lean, and he's not wearing a shirt. The skin is a very light blue color and he has short white hair spiked in a mohawk. Body is robust and he appears young in age. He holds a staff as he talks with a young elfin.

Her long, straight white hair drapes over her shoulders to her waist. Long elfin ears poke out from behind her cascading hair. Eyes are the brightest turquoise color of the three. She is tall, and a lighter shade of blue than the other. The last one appears older and wiser. His long white hair is pulled back behind his head, and he wears a white ribbon around his head securing his hair in place. A lean body that has broad shoulders, and his skin is a light green-blue color. Wearing a bow across his chest, he touches a quiver of arrows on his back.

Evelyn races past them and the rushing river, and to the end of the white forest. She slows as a deep valley comes into sight. Evelyn heads north and I follow behind her, staying far enough away to still be unnoticed. Entering a building at the northeast end of the white forest, the structure is tall, and reminds me of a 15th century castle, made of white marble. On the outer wall there is an inscription:

Protectors of our world and theirs,

We hold the gate at heart,

It opens up to give its light,

And shining back is night,

When will the natural world achieve,

Its need for us and turn,

Its follies away and scorn the dark,

And peace shall rule the day.

A fragile figure falling,

From the skies under a star moon,

Star dust hath borne her,

She bears the burden,

Of double worlds inside,

Her heart is led,

His blood is bled,

The two twine become one,

Uniting the worlds,

That toil and break each other

Into two separate halves.

Turquoise jewels border the windows and doors. The gate, decorated with emeralds, lowers to allow Evelyn entry. She walks in slowly with her head high, seemingly unaffected by her long journey through half of Emeralusia. Her breathing is calm and her demeanor is sturdy, strong, and reminiscent of a queen at coronation.

The huge structure keeps me in awe as I stumble over the lowered gate and follow her inside. She walks through halls of stone and marble with statues of onyx, and then enters a large room with four open doorways, one at each side. Floors are decorated with painted images of her world. Passing through the room, she heads straight into the next room. Smaller with five large wooden chairs, appearing hand-carved and depicting trees, at the other end of the room. A big round table rests in the middle. Evelyn enters and I stay behind a marble column, peering at her.

She walks to the chairs at the far end against the wall and slowly lowers her body. Her legs bend, and one knee touches the marble floor below her as her head drops her to her other knee and she waits. I catch a glimpse of air over the chairs fading in and out, and then five figures appear in the chairs. They appear slowly, as if they were there all along, but were simply not seen. My hands grip the white marble column tightly, and my eyes widen in anticipation at this marvel.

"Evelyn. You've returned," a long white-haired elf says in an authoritative tone. He sits in the middle seat. His face appears older than the others, and one eye is turquoise and one eye is emerald. A long white robe hangs over a light emerald cloth underneath.

"You bring good news I hope," a feisty, red-headed elfin, shorter than the others, says from the right. The voice is high, and she looks young. Hair is curly, with red locks pinned into several buns upon her head. Eyes are a glistening turquoise color. Her white-cloud complexion sparkles against her red colored dress. With narrowing eyes, she waits for Evelyn to answer.

"I am afraid, Elsy, I have not brought the news I had hoped."

Another elfin with long straight blond hair and emerald eyes sits next to the red-headed elfin in the last seat on the right. She appears younger than the others and quiet. Long elfin ears flick right and left as if they are picking up on different sounds. A golden dress compliments blond hair.

To the left of the elder elf is another male elf. Younger, with long brown hair and turquoise eyes; his complexion is almost grey. Similar clothes to the other male elf: a long white robe that hangs over a turquoise cloth. He stares at Evelyn intensely.

The intensity makes me uneasy, and I want to pull Evelyn away from here. Next to him, in the last chair to the left, is an older female elfin with long black hair and emerald eyes. Her skin is fair, and she wears a dark purple and brown dress. She holds her palms up over the sides of her chair. Regal and elegant, she is like a woman who has been queen for centuries. Eyes are soft as she gazes at Evelyn.

"Tell us, Evelyn. What has happened?" the black-haired elfin asks in a soft voice.

"Wind and I were able to kill the first two, as I revealed to you on my last visit to the council, but the other two evade us. We searched them out for two weeks and have found no trace. One of them is faster than anything I have seen. He must be older and guiding the other. I am afraid I need to ask for help from the council and am sorry for the mess created, but Wind and I just don't have the tracking ability for the last two. If we can kill the other two then perhaps we can assign more guards at the gate to ensure no more wolves are able to pass," Evelyn concludes. The council is quiet and they touch hands.

"Evelyn, we are disappointed the other two have not been found," Elsy, the red-headed elfin says.

"However, we understand it is not your primary duty to hunt, but to guard," the black-haired elf says, finishing the sentence as if they are all connected to the same thought.

"We will converse with the shadow hunters and see if they will help us out in this matter," the white-haired elf in the middle says. "But you will have to return to us, as promised, with your family and your accounts. We will sit at the round table and decide what actions to take regarding you and your family. You have brought grave danger to the natural world; I don't see any easy answers."

"Yes Erwin." Evelyn speaks sadly then lifts her head. "I will return upon your next call after the other two wolves have been destroyed." Evelyn turns to head out of the room. I hide behind the column, peaking and see the five elders disappear, fading out of the chairs.

Following stealthily behind Evelyn over the painted floors of the large room, I pass through the halls, and out of the castle gate. The sky is purple and blue and I pause behind a tree, watching her move. Then, I follow her through the white forest and into the green forest. She suddenly stops, turns, and stares me straight in the eyes.

"Michael!" I withdraw, startled, and stumble onto the ground. "Come over here to me." I walk to her without hesitation.

"How did you know I was here?"

"I know you followed me through the gate." She lifts me off the ground.

"You let me follow you?"

"I knew I couldn't make you turn around, and that you had to see everything for yourself."

"You let me follow you to the elder council."

"I hope the curiosity in you is now satisfied. You know it is still not safe for you to be here." She smirks and grabs my hand.

We continue on our journey together, jumping over logs and running hand in hand out of the forest. I fly, guiding her faster than if she were running on her own. We reach the green meadows and slow down to walk.

"You have become very good at flying," she compliments.

"I am a quick learner," I say. She glances into the distance toward the mountains. Her face fills with dread and I turn to see what she is looking at. The white tips of the mountains grow black as night, and fade away in the distance as something flies overhead and draws closer towards Evelyn and me.

Stumbling backwards, I am stunned at the enormity, of the blackness in elongated wings, thick stone eyes, scaled body, and long sharp claws. Moving faster and faster toward us, the wings pound up and down, up and down. Another one swoops out from behind the mountain and follows at a distance behind the first one. Their speed accelerates over the land of Emeralusia, and in no time at all they are closing in on Evelyn and me.

"Run!" Evelyn shouts and grabs me. My heart races. Her light frame pulls my strong athletic body off the ground as we run. I float into the air towards the golden gate, with her body caught up in mine, flying hand in hand.

We crash into the orange blossom tree hanging over the golden gate, and the blackness swoops downward with its gaping mouth and silver, sharp teeth ready to bite. Evelyn jumps through the golden gate and yanks me in with her. Rolling roughly onto the soil of Lake Forest, the blackness halts with a crash on its side of the world. The beast opens its mouth wide and blows fire; sounds of horror permeate my ear drums. Some of the flames escape the hole and scorch my jeans as I push away franticly, with my elbows and arms digging into the ground, edging myself away from the hole.

Evelyn leaps to her feet in one swift motion and stands over me as I watch the hole vanish. The blackness vanishes, and so does her world. She pushes her hand into mine and I clasp her fingers as she yanks me up.

"What were those?"

"Black dragons -the guardians of the gate."

"I thought you were the guardian of the gate?"

"I am the guardian of the gate in your world. I protect your world from the dark ones in mine. But the black dragons guard my world from your kind." I sit myself on a rock in the forest. The air hole shrinks and almost disappears, along with the sounds and darkness of the black beast.

"My father told me of the legends. They protect my world from your kind: humans who may have wandered in somehow. After you spend time in my world, the scent from your skin is picked up in the wind." She sighs. " The black dragons follow the scent and hunt the human down. I have only seen them fly above the mountain tops. I have never seen them hunt. But I have never seen humans here before you either. They can't enter the gate. You are safe here." After a few desperate breathes, we head out of Lake Forest.

"What was that inscription I saw on your castle in the white forest?"

"The inscription, those are our ancient words. A promise of what will come. We take heed to those words, waiting for their revelations." She gazes into the clouds. "I'm sorry I let you stay so long. I am sorry I put you in danger."

"I was already in danger, Evelyn. I am in danger in my world too. The shadow wolves are not going to stop. You know that. Even if you do hunt them down and kill the remaining two, more will always come. They have tracked my smell to the gate, and who knows how many more will be there next time. I need to fight. I need to be with you. I need to learn how to help you and your world, and how to protect myself. They are after me just as much as they are after you."
Breathing

The second week of summer I spend with my friends while Evelyn and Wind hunt for remaining shadow wolves. She tells me the shadow hunters will be joining her soon and I don't want to be around when they arrive. She sounds afraid for me, unsure of what they might do, or how they might hunt. I don't want to be apart from her, but she has to do this without me. I am not ready to fight yet without the skills I need, but I will.

In her absence, Robby, Lee, and I spend most of our time at the local café and the video stores. Lee loves to play the latest games at the video arcades. Taylor is on holidays with his parents in Europe. Laura cried on the way to the airport, and said goodbye to Taylor with a long kiss that his parents had to interrupt. Sarah has been spending her time in the libraries: she enjoys reading. I have not seen much of her since the summer graduation mask party at Taylor's house. She is intent on going to Princeton.

"Get him, get him, get him!" Lee shouts from inside the arcade with Robby at his side. Their fingers pound the buttons of the arcade machine, trying to score a win against the virtual spaceships, shooting at the virtual planet. They love this game; they are always talking about how they can win it.They get to drive a spacecraft at warp speeds, defending the galaxy and protecting the planet from unwarranted visitors. I sit on one of the benches behind them, eating a burrito rolled up in tin foil.

"Yes!" Lee jumps up and Robby throws his fists into the air.

"We won! We won!" Robby shouts at me. I smile and stand up from the bench.

"That's great, Robby." We walk out of the arcade and down the street to Robby's car. He drives us to the café and Gloria smiles at Robby as we walk in; maybe she has given up on me. Sitting at our usual table without Taylor to fill the empty seat, Gloria knows what to bring us: three traditional coffees and three traditional cakes.

"So, how will you be spending your summer, Mike?" Robby asks.

"I...I'm not sure." I turn away from him, knowing the lies flow so easily from my lips. Evelyn and her world will be my summer, and every summer after this.

"Do you have any special plans?" Lee asks.

"Not really." I shy away from the series of questions. They are beginning to sound like my parents, worrying I am not varying my activities enough, or getting out with my other friends.

"Nothing planned. Well, I have an answer for you then, Michael. My father lent me his boat and we can take it out on the lake. Isn't that exciting?" Lee says, gesturing with his hands in his excitement.

"Sounds fun. When?"

"Tomorrow. The boat is ready."

"Ok."

"Great!" Robby says enthusiastically.

The next day is clear skies and the warmest day of the month. We pack our lunches, fishing gear, and other supplies. The lake is near my home; the ride is not long. Lee's truck has a tow hitch for the boat; we drive the truck, towing the boat along the winding road to the lake. All the windows are down and our hair blows wildly in the wind. We get to the lake early to avoid the crowds because the lake will be packed with everyone cooling off over the hot summer holidays.

"I'm so glad you could make it, Michael," Lee says again as he unhitches the boat from the latch. Robby and I help him the best we can, though we are not sure of what needs to be done. Lee has been boating with his father many times and the lake rangers know him. They help him launch the boat into the water and Lee parks his truck in the nearby parking lot. We unload the bags of food and drinks, music, sun tan lotion, fishing gear, bait, and maps of the lake.

"Let's get going," Lee says. We all excitedly jump in and Lee starts the engine. He drives the boat around a few spots along the shore, and then into the middle where we find the best fishing. Lee hands us our fishing rods and bait. My father showed me how to fish when I was in elementary school. A couple of times a year we would go to a lake, and fish as father and son. I miss those days. When I take the rod from Lee's hands, I know exactly what to do.

Robby throws his line in first, while Lee is busy trying to untangle his line. We settle into fishing, and relax in the quietness of the day and warmth of the sun. The radio is set low in the background on a local radio station. A light breeze blows. Lee reaches for the sun tan lotion, rubs his face, chest, and shoulders, and then puts on his hat -he detests the sun. Robby loves the sun, and sits under the rays with a deep smile on his face.

Then there is a tug at my arm.

"You got one! You got one!" Robby shouts to me. I open my eyes, startled, and my arms pull back reflexively. I reel in the line and drags up a two-foot long rainbow trout. Lee helps me unhook the trout from my fishing rod, and throws the fish into a water-filled bucket in the middle of the boat.

"That's a big one!" shouts Lee. Robby yanks in his line to check he still has bait and casts it out again. "Damn, you are always so lucky Michael. You ought to throw some of your luck my way." Lee casts his line out again and the waiting game begins. The boat grows quiet; the water flaps against the sides. The radio music fades away, and the male broadcaster's voice sounds over the radio waves:

"Two more mutilated animals were found up near Lake Forest. The animals appear to have met a tormenting end. This makes four animals with suspicious deaths found in the last couple weeks. Rangers are not sure of what kind of animal is responsible for these deaths, and they are advising all town citizens and tourists to stay away from Lake Forest until more information is found...."

Cringing at the words, at the thought of Evelyn and Wind fighting these monsters alone, I wince. Perhaps the shadow hunters can resolve all this. I begin to wish they will arrive soon, despite the cautious words of Evelyn.

"I got one!" Robby shouts, and drags me away from my thoughts. "I got one!" Lee helps him pull the fish in, a three-foot long brown trout. I unhook the fish and throw it into the bucket. "Two hours in and two fish down with the rest of the lake to go," Robby laughs. Lee sighs, still hoping to catch some Kokanee salmon.

We spend the rest of the afternoon fishing, stopping at Robby's house to scale our catch. We managed three rainbow trout and two brown trout, but Lee is disappointed about not catching any salmon. When I walk into my house with the two trout in a bag under my arm my Dad's face lights up. He smiles from ear to ear, pulling the bag up to inspect them for himself.

"Great job, son!" He hands the bag over to Mom.

"I'm glad you had a chance to hang out with your friends and fish. Looks like you had fun," Mom says. My face is red from the summer sun. Mom pulls the two fish out of the bag and washes them in the sink. She rubs lemon over them and soaks them in a tray of special spices she has prepared. I am glad I did not return home empty handed.

"I'll have the fish ready, with potatoes and salad, in about an hour. Why don't you go clean up and come back down for dinner," she says, as she plugs her nose from the fishy smells.
Saving

Saturday night ends the second week of the month. The warming night air tickles my resting body. I feel her breath rush up my chest and into my heart and sit up in bed and open my eyes. My dark room is silent. Evelyn sits at the foot of my bed. Emerald eyes glow.

"I didn't want to wake you. You looked so peaceful in sleep." I have missed her silences.

"Evelyn." My body crawls to hers. "How long have you been here?"

"Most of the night."

"Where have you been? Did you kill them?"

"We found the weaker one. Wind destroyed it and took the beast back through the gate. But the stronger one is still out there. Might be too strong for us to handle on our own; after all, we are not shadow hunters, we are guardians. We visited the council again, and they ordered us to step back and let the shadow hunters destroy it. I wanted to avoid that, because shadow hunters only think of their hunting. Your world is second to theirs, and they will do anything to protect it. But they are stronger than us at hunting, and now more than ever I see they are needed."

"I'm just glad you are here and you're alright. You won't have to endanger yourself anymore.

"I'm glad I am here too," she sighs, and pulls me close to her. Our lips are like soft flower petals, brushing up against each other, until the passion overtakes us and we kiss hard. We fall onto my bed, overwhelmed with desire after our long separation, and forget about the dangers. We linger in this moment of bliss, until a question enters my mind uninvited.

"Who are these shadow hunters?"

"The same hunters you read about in the history books. Elves are accustomed to peace in our lands, and for that reason most of us do not know how to fight well. Wind hunted as a young man, and learned from traveling with the shadow hunters. I also have some experience hunting, but killing is not our way and we are not as skilled as the shadow hunters. We can handle a few wolves, but not the numbers that are coming. The shadow hunters practice the hunt all their life, and they are trained to kill the beasts." Evelyn turns away and rests her head on my crisp pillow. "But let us not think about that." We fall asleep, and I feel my heart expanding.

But Sunday morning reminds us the danger is not finished, and Evelyn anxiously jumps out of bed to peer out the window.

"Do you have to go?" I ask.

"Yes, but I would like you to come with me. The shadow hunters will track the last beast and I am no longer needed here. I want to show you my world, my home, for you to see where I grew up. As you said, your scent is already in my world, and the gate is already marked for the shadow wolves to follow. Coming now will not give them any advantage they don't already have."

"What about the black dragons?"

"They don't fly in the sunlight, and they don't fly into elf lands. The green and white forests and our lakes are ours. Too dangerous for them to fly in the open air without being harmed. They will wait for nightfall. Like the shadow wolves, they are vulnerable to sunlight. You will be safe as long as we leave before nightfall. If you get stuck you can hide in the white forest with me until morning." She says this with a smile, like she has done this many times with young human men, though I know better.

We drive my truck to Lake Forest and I follow Evelyn through the trees and deep foliage of vibrant dark greens, light greens, whites, and yellows until we arrive at the gate. Though I cannot see the hole, she senses the gate's presence, and moves her hands in a circular motion that has become familiar to me.

The gate opens and air rushes in. I follow close behind, not having to hide now that she knows I am here to protect her just as she is here to protect me. Hand in hand, I float with her, and she laughs like a child who has discovered something new. We flit past the boulders sitting beside the gate, above the green meadows, and over the hills to the emerald lake.

I land her gently and she walks into the water. She bathes and drinks. Her white dress is soaked from the emerald fluid. Her eyes glow, refreshed. Washing in the lake too; its texture is soft and silky, like fish eggs on my skin. Water feels thick, yet light like jelly. I dive underneath and open my eyes to see an array of strange fish swimming; they appear gold and silver underneath. Above the water, I see strange lights flicker and flitter away, startled.

"What are those?"

"Fireflies, a special variety," she says with a smirk. Evelyn pulls me out of the emerald lake with her surprising strength, and we stroll over green meadows with white lilies undulating in the breeze and toward crimson-colored caves.

The walk is lengthy, but I have managed to control my gift better. We enjoy walking side by side as my feet squish in the soft shimmering soil beneath us. Time flies by in her world, and I lose track of how late it is. When we reach the crimson caves, they are radiant. Looks like ruby jewels are embroidered around the edges and inside the walls of the grey mountain caves. Evelyn clasps my hand and ushers me to a small cottage nearby.

"My Mom, Eve, lived here. This is where Mom and Nile met, by this river. A river flows, dividing Nile's cottage and Eve's cottage, and runs behind the caves somewhere." We walk to the river near a waterfall pushing out of the mountains.

There is absolute silence, aside from the sound of water rushing over the dark crimson rock and plummeting into the basin of crystal clear fluids below. A cold breeze blows across our skin, and a hint of sunlight from above caresses our faces. This must be something like heaven.

"It was a long time ago when I lived here in Eve's cottage. I lived here with my parents until I joined them in the natural world. They would travel back and forth from your world to mine, and then when I was old enough to join them, I came with them to your world. It felt so right to me, like I belonged there, like I was a part. I have spent most of my time in your world since, trying to learn your ways, observe your kind. I never knew your kind before, but I missed them, missed living there. Wind never feels the same way as I do about your world. He is more connected to his own. He always thinks I'm strange."

"You have a beautiful home. This river, is it part of the emerald lake?"

"No, only similar to the lakes in your world. There is only one emerald lake, ending when we crossed the green meadows. The largest mystical lake, bigger than the turquoise lake." She shows me her hand and draws something like a map on her palm with her fingernail. "The turquoise lake is small and adjacent to the white forest. The shadow hunters live in the white forest, and the elder council has their castle there. Safe there. The shadow wolves never enter because of the presence of the shadow hunters."

"The shadow hunters are not in my world now?"

"Not yet, but they are preparing." She pulls my hand into hers and yanks me along. "They have a lot to do to protect our world before going into yours. The dark ones know we are vulnerable and will do everything they can to take advantage of our weaknesses before we have time to build armies to defeat them." She shakes her head in anger. "But enough for now. Come with me, I want to show you my home."

She walks me inside the small cottage that she knew as a child and shows me her room which is small and quaint. The cottage is all made of thick wood that sparkles with gold splinters hidden inside each piece. Ceilings are much higher than I have seen in my before, probably because most of the elves are taller than humans. The doors squeak and cobwebs sit in high corners.

"No one has lived here for awhile?"

"Eve and Nile don't get much of a chance to come back to where they grew up. They became so busy with taking care of me, and the gate, and then Venda was born. They did not have much time to take care of their old cottages. Would you like to see Nile's cottage?" she says with childlike excitement. I nod. We stroll across the river on a small wooden bridge. Nile's home is not far from Eve's.

His cottage is a bit bigger, but similar in material and lack of care. The smell denotes life has been away for some time. Evelyn is happier in her old home, and I see memories race through her mind of when she was a child. A few smiles spread over her face. I wish now more than ever I was an elf. I want to touch her hand and see what she feels and experience it for myself. I am envious of Wind for being able to do that; it's something that must draws them close in a way I will never know. But something inside her did not draw her to him, and I find her in my arms again and again.

"Thank you, Michael, for coming with me. I did not want to come back alone, and I wanted you to be a part of this. I want you to be a part of my life and know there is no hurt I would willing bring to you."

"I know, Evelyn." But her face does not fill with relief at these words. As if her childhood memories slip away and in their place are the realities of life now. How I long to release her from her pains, but we are not children anymore and wishing it away does not make it so, anymore than going to sleep will take away nightmares.

She grabs my hand and pulls me out of the house. We walk down to the river, and she leaps into the air. "Fly, Michael, fly!" Her laughter soothes me. I drag her into the air with me. I guide myself slowly while my arms hold her body. We fly across the river to Eve's home and then up to the crimson caves. We can see the emerald lake from up here. Behind us, the mountains of the black dragons lurk.

The image of the dragons fills my mind, and I float away from the mountains to the emerald lake. I feel safe here, like Evelyn is a part of the lake herself and somehow the lake will protect me as much as she does. Glancing at the sky, she speaks, "Six is approaching," she says tensely. "We had better start heading back. Evening means the dark ones will be coming."

I land near the emerald lake and we head to the green hills. An eerie sound, like a whispered snarl, permeates over one of the hills. Evelyn crouches on the ground into a low fighting stance. Her nose twitches. "Stand back, Michael." A shadow wolf lunges out of the bushes; it moves quickly, but carefully. Fur is a matted mess; stone-black eyes stare intently at Evelyn. "Stand still, Michael. Don't let him get a whiff of you, or he will aim right for you." I follow Evelyn's instruction, watching her carefully, yet not taking my eyes off the beast that is ahead of us.

It growls, widening the mouth. A loud bellow swoops across me, and then the wolf races towards Evelyn, charging ahead, fearless and relentless. She lunges with her fingers ready to stab the eyes and neck. But when the wolf sees her hands coming towards him, he withdraws, darting the evil eyes at me. Growling, I stand firm, frozen.

Evelyn watches in astonishment at this new found bravery within me. She rises to her feet and walks silently behind the black wolf. It jerks its head around, snarling, snapping, and pulls her to the ground. The bestial grip, unafraid of the damage of her skin, doesn't let up. The wolf pins her to the ground and it howls like it has conquered something.

I run to her and my body floats as I dive to the neck of the beast. Its jaws widen and clamp down on Evelyn's shoulder. I thrust my elbow into its back and it squeals, releasing Evelyn from its powerful jaws. Grabbing her with both arms, I pull her up into the sky with me, hovering over the beast writhing in pain. We fly to the golden gate and roll out onto the other side. Wind waits at the other end for us to return.

Evelyn jumps up into her fighting stance, and Wind knows something is coming. A dark figure stands on the other side of the gate behind the blurred air and just waits. Red eyes glow as it stands motionless; stillness is more unnerving than the attack. It can sense two elves and me, but changes mind and withdraws. The gate becomes invisible once again and Evelyn stands from her crouched position and wraps her arms around me.
Gravity

Newspapers report of animals torn apart, and Evelyn senses the restless shadow monsters everywhere. They will ravage human life and feel no remorse; they will not stop until they have destroyed everything. The shadow wolf is born to annihilate, just like the dark one. Evelyn has become its enemy, I have become its enemy, and thus my world has become its enemy.

Mom collapses on the sofa in the living room with the newspaper still in her hands. She gasps, and her face turns white. She slides downward in her chair as if she is about to faint, and I run to her side.

"Mom, what's wrong?"

"Mr. Folgers from the Home Depot store has been found dead. His body was brutally attacked by some wild animal and left on the side of the road. They think it is the same wild animal that killed those other animals." Animal? I think to myself. It is more like a beast. I sit next to Mom, trying to comfort her, but it's hard to reassure her with the beast still out there. A knock at my door lifts me up, and I know only Evelyn could be this early.

"I'll get that." I run to the door and Evelyn stands outside under the summer sun, stronger and brighter than it has ever been. It beats down on this small town, and her face glistens in its light. Evelyn and I race to my room. I know she has a lot to tell me.

"In the papers...a friend of the family was brutally attacked. What is happening? I thought the shadow hunters were taking care of this. Isn't this why the council took you off of this hunt?" I say loudly, not realizing my anger.

"Michael, they are not here yet. The council is still preparing them," she says sharply. "It is not just this one we have to be concerned with. There are many shadow wolves in our world, and we have to be careful to not let any others get through the gate. Our world is on the brink of war. The dark one is gathering his powers and armies to destroy us and control the land he has long coveted. We have to be diligent and watchful." I watch her carefully as she speaks these words, and I realize she is only responding to my anger, an anger that has been concealed in me due to my inability to protect those I love.

"Mom sits on the sofa crying because we didn't stop it. We can't wait on these shadow hunters; we can't wait on the council to make up its mind. People are dying!"

"Your right, Michael, but there is nothing we can do. We are not strong enough to destroy it. We have to wait, we have to wait." She reaches her hands out to me and our fingers touch. The separation between us divides us like a chasm, and she reaches to grab hold of me before it's too large for either of us to cross. I grab hold of her hands and we pull toward each other.

"The council is concerned for me and for you. The dark one wants me and my family. He knows why I am here and who I am. He knows Wind and I protect the gate and maintain peace and unity between our worlds. His desire is to destroy that peace and unity, to conquer our world...and then yours," she says with a loud swallow. "They can read his heart. They know his desires."

"How...how can the council read a shadow wolf?"

"Because the dark one is not a shadow wolf, Michael, he is an elf. He is connected to us all."

"An elf? We are going against an elf, like you?"

"Not like me Michael. He is bent on evil and corruption. His heart turned away from us long ago when he wandered off into the shadow lands, a heart lost. The desert and darkness that consume the land, consume him. His name is Eris and he is obsessed with power and greed. A face is burnt from the sun; the rest of his flesh has turned light green; hair is a green-gray color; eyes are red like the desert sands beneath him."

She becomes lost in her story. "As he began to fall from the elf way of life, we felt a power shift within our kind. Legends were written and we kept the stories, waiting for peace to return to Emeralusia. We have been waiting a long time. He created the shadow wolves and all the creatures of the shadow lands to rule those lands, and his power and greed will never stop. He must be destroyed." My mind wanders to how the lands must look: desolate, dry, beaten from neglect.

"How were these shadow lands born?"

"Long ago our land was in unity and we lived in peace, before man found it. When man discovered our lands, they burned them and fought, bringing destruction. The greed for our lands consumed their hearts, and as their greed grew, so did the shadow lands. We had to create the gate to keep man out, and that is why we had to create the black dragon to keep that from ever happening again." Evelyn sits on my bed. "The shadow lands did not create the dark elf. He created himself. His heart understood what the shadow lands were and they shaped him to his desires. The lands are only a reflection of what is in the dark elf's heart."

"If he knows you are here, and you know his desire is for your death, then we have to protect you Evelyn. I can't just sit here and wait for the shadow hunters to protect us, to protect you. I won't. I'm sorry, not after knowing this."

"But what can we do, Michael? We are not strong enough to stop him on our own. I can't even stop this last wolf. We have to wait for the council to send help."

"We can hide. I can hide you Evelyn and keep you safe. We can go to the Aspen Mountains. The others weren't able to track you there."

"Hide me inside your world away from the brutal attacks of this monster? I would be safe while my world and your world die? I can't let you do that for me, Michael, it is selfish. I know you want me to be safe, but it is who I am: the keeper of the gate. It courses through my blood."

"Then we fight. We stand here and fight." She stands up next to me.

"We fight?" she whispers next to me.

"You must teach me to fight, Evelyn. It is the only way I can protect you and my family." She stares at me with sympathetic eyes, but her lips tighten and she says the words I don't want to hear.

"No. I have put you in enough danger already. I'm sorry, but I can't let you fight for me. This is my doing, and my kind will have to finish it." There is no reasoning with her. All she can see is danger.

This is the end of the conversation. There is nothing more to say. She will not talk about it. We stand silent. She smiles as if to say everything is alright between us and leaves.

In the middle of the week, I stop by her house. Venda opens the door.

"Hi, Michael, how are you? I haven't seen you in awhile. I hope you're doing fine. Did you want me to get Evelyn for you?" She is precocious this one; her appetite for words makes me smile, despite the chaos.

"Yes, please," I say. Evelyn comes to the door and we walk to Lake Forest under a lit up sky. As we walk through the evergreens, I wonder what is becoming of our two worlds, and of each of us. A tall figure in the distance approaches us quickly. Then I recognize his face.

"Wind, how are you?"

"I'm fine, Michael. Thank you."

"The large wolf is still out there? Do you have an idea where it might be heading?" Evelyn asks.

"Not really. This is not my area of expertise. I did what I could, but it eludes me. It's clever this one," Wind says.

"Have any more penetrated the gate since?" I ask.

"No, but we can't take any chances. If five found it from your scent, more will find it eventually. We have to keep our minds on protecting your world and the gate, as well as protecting our world and the elf way of life." I look at him with inquisitive eyes. "The elder council has warned us all to be on guard for the dark one and his armies. They sense a battle brewing inside of him and he will attack soon. We are training all the elves we can and preparing weapons. We have to be ready for him at any moment."

"This will happen soon?"

"He is bent on greed and power, and owning the shadow lands will never be enough for him. He will strike whenever he can, whenever he feels his enemy is weak, and leave no room for mercy. He will do whatever he can to rule Emeralusia, and then he will take over your world," Wind says gravely.

"All the more reason for me to train with you and learn to fight for myself. My world is in danger too. You said so yourself. I can't just sit around and wait for someone else to defend me while beasts come up from under me and destroy the life I know," I say. Wind studies me closely, and for a moment we are of the same mind, brother to brother, man to man, knowing the urge in each of us to protect and defend those we love.

"Ok," Wind relents.

"No, Wind," Evelyn interjects. "You can't teach him to fight. He must hide, and then leave if things get out of hand. I can't bear the thought of losing him. I can't risk his life for our mistakes."

"He is not going to give in on this, Evelyn. You see him. You know him, and he is right. He has just as much right to fight as we do, and his world is in just as much danger as our own." Evelyn winces like she is in pain, and for the first time I see how much she really loves me. The thought of losing me is causing her physical pain, and she holds her hands to her stomach.

I drive with Evelyn to the library to pick up books, and Wind sits in the forest guarding the gate. I park my truck and we head towards the glass doors. A terrified scream pierces the air. We hear shrieks from above and look up to the roof of the library. Freezing in horror, I realize the scream is from Laura. Her back is toward us, blond hair waving in the wind.

Laura steps backward as the shadow that crouches in front of her approaches slowly. Sharp teeth shine under the moonlight, and when the beast howls, a shrill scream escapes from Laura, causing a chill down my back. She steps backward again, inching closer and closer to the roof's edge. I shout out to her.

"Stop, stop Laura!" But she does not hear me. Her mind is captivated by the monstrosity before her. Her foot slips as the wolf, in its enormity, advances. In that moment, she chooses not to be attacked by this monster. She pushes her other foot backward and allows herself to fall. In the quickest of moments, she hits the ground, lifeless. So fast, I am not sure it is real. Before I have time to think of what to do next, I see Evelyn climb up onto the roof of the library with great speed. She crouches and challenges the wolf, with its large furry body and its eyes glowing in the moonlight.

Opening the large mouth again, the wolf growls loudly. Beastly snarls distort features into something even more hideous. A couple from inside the library runs out and notices Laura's motionless body. The guy checks her pulse and then quickly dials 9-1-1. The woman holds her mouth in an attempt to keep the bile from rising from her stomach. She tries, but is not able to hold the vomit in, and so she flees back inside the library.

"Yes, 9-1-1? I have a girl, dead, at the Green Mountain Fall's library. I need someone to get here right away. There has been some kind of an accident." He clutches the phone in his hands and speaks calmly, like he has seen dead bodies before. He returns the phone into his pocket and notices me staring at the roof. He follows my gaze and notices Evelyn with her back toward us, crouched on the roof. A large, dark shadow stands in front of her, howling.

The man steps backward, rubbing his eyes, trying to understand what he is witnessing, but not at all sure. Evelyn leaps into the air and summersaults over the shadow wolf onto the other side of the building. The wolf, now agitated, turns around and darts towards her. They are no longer in view and I am glad because no other humans should get involved. But I am disappointed too because I won't be able to keep my eyes on Evelyn. I hear another growl, then a tumble, a crash, and a loud howl.

As the beast wails, the ambulance and police cars pull up behind me. A paramedic attends to Laura while a police officer hastens to speak to me. From the corner of my eye I see a shadow heading towards the local forest area and Evelyn chasing close behind. The other witness reluctantly tells the police officer he saw some kind of struggle on top of the building. Whether a human or an animal up there he couldn't be sure, and he did not see the girl fall.

I tell the police officer, "I think a wild animal was on the roof top, and for some reason Laura was there. The animal scared her and she fell backward over the building. It was an accident." Though I know Laura chose to fall, it is better this way for her friends and for her family.

Laura's funeral is held on the weekend following her death. All her friends and family help with the arrangements. Her family does not want her body to lie in the morgue longer than she has to, and because her father has a friend from the mortuary the body is quickly readied to be buried. Many of her old classmates and old boyfriends attend the funeral, as do Taylor, Evelyn, Lee, Sarah, Robby and I.

We each bring her a bouquet of flowers. The guilt fills me up like a balloon with too much air. I feel like everything is my fault. A part of my mind knows I did not do the killing, but another part also knows I walked through the gate to the forbidden world and brought the beasts into mine. My desire for Evelyn, my passion for her, drove me to follow her and discover where she was going and who she was. I plod over to Laura's grave and whisper a silent prayer for no one to hear but her. "I wish I could take it all back and chose differently. I am so sorry."
Fight

The last week of the month, I am ready to learn to fight. Eagerly I wait in the forest for Wind to instruct me. Evelyn still argues with him, worrying I will be bringing harm to myself. But I have to do this. Wind understands me, or at least he understands my need to do this; he has the same needs. I meet him every day in the forest for training as he teaches me everything he knows, except experience. I will have to get that on my own.

There is a difference between a strategy and a fight, in theory and with the reality of blood and brawn. He tells me what to do and what to expect, but until I do, the theory is of little value. Wind is surprisingly a good teacher. We fight hand-to-hand at first., he teaching me to defend myself with only my hands: upper blocks, lower blocks, dodging an attack or weapon.

He says, "The hands are as important as weapons, they can avert attacks, or begin them." Moving my hands properly and quickly sounds easier than it is as he shows me how to use my elbows as weapons, how to drive them into my opponents' sides.

My feet have to toughen up and endure the abuse they take running in the forests and on the streets. My legs grow weary, but I have to push forward. The training with Wind is much more difficult than soccer practice. Crouching low, I keep my body on the ground, to propel myself into the air using my feet, to use my legs as springs and gain momentum. I jump further than I have ever on my own. He teaches me to shield my neck, a vulnerable part of my body.

Wind tells me the wolves are sure to target the neck first when fighting humans. Protecting my neck and maneuvering my body so that I can attack without leaving myself vulnerable is a skill that takes a few days to master. He throws out punches I must block: high punches, low punches. Wind trains me on how to respond to an instant attack and he surprises me with something new at every turn. "You have to react quickly. The beasts won't wait for you!" he yells at me. Leaping high, I have to use my advantage of being low on the ground. He teaches me to maximize my speed in my agility, running, and jumping.

"Waiting," he says, "is not for cowards. But for smart men. Sometimes you have to wait for your opportunity, for your moment." He teaches me to hide in the trees and to use my natural surroundings for my benefit, for hiding and camouflage. Sometimes waiting can be used as a trap, and sometimes useful to draw the enemy towards my position. I watch him, studying his actions and movements. After hand to hand combat, he teaches me the use of weapons. Wind teaches me about the weapons of Emeralusia. "Your natural weapons are not of much use against the shadow wolves," he says bluntly.

He shows me his staffs and his bow and arrows. The arrows are tipped with poison, the poison of elf skin. He shows me how he squeezes the poison out of his skin and lets the fluid soak into the tips of the arrows and staffs. Of course, I will not have this same poison in my skin, and so I will have to find a willing subject. Wind offers me some of his own poison. Pinching his nails into his hand, he squeezes, puncturing his skin. His body releases a fluid that could be blood, but doesn't look like the red blood of humans, more of a purple color and has a thicker consistency. The few drops he lets fall over the tip of the staff mold onto the tip and he carries the staff to a tree to let dry.

"This will pierce the wolf's hide and poison it. The wolf will squeal and squirm in pain, but probably won't die with just one hit, yet will do damage and the beast may even flee." After the staff dries, he lifts the staff and gives it to me. "Take it. It will protect you."

He shows me how to sharpen the ends of sticks with rocks from the ground. "These are your weapons. The natural world around you has provided everything you will need." Picking up a rock, Wind rubs over the end of a stick, sharpening a point. He tears off the twigs from the new staff and puts it into his sack. "You will have to find Evelyn for her blood." The thought of it makes me almost sick to my stomach.

"I don't know if I could do that...make her bleed."

"It won't hurt her," he says with confidence. "Just trust yourself Michael. Trust your instincts. Besides, a stick won't do the trick on its own. You have to have elf blood to poison the beasts."

"Thank you Wind, for everything." Nodding like an older brother, he smiles. A sparkling figure ambles up to us out of the distance and her face becomes clear.

"How could you do this Wind?" Evelyn says, accusing Wind harshly. "I don't want Michael to fight. I don't want Michael to have to be a part of this.

"Evelyn. I chose to do this. Wind did not make me do this. I want to learn. I have to learn for you, for us."

"But I don't want you to," she falls into my chest

"Why, Evelyn?" She trembles in my arms.

"I don't want you to die. I couldn't bear it if you died." Her tears fall heavily down her cheeks like droplets in a rainstorm. I don't know how to ease her fears except to hold her tightly in my arms.

"I'm not going to die. I am going to be right here always by your side."

"I'm being stupid. But I can't help it. I love you too much. Is that so selfish of me to want to keep you far away from all this, to hide you?"

"I understand why you feel this way, Evelyn. I can't bear the thought of loosing you either, but I hope you understand I have to do this."

"I know, I know," she says sobbing. I have never heard such sorrow.

"I will be fine. You don't have to worry for me. I can take care of myself, and I will take care of you."

"I know you will." She gains her composure back and a small smile spreads across her face.

"Now, that's the smile I love." She grimaces at me, narrowing her eyes, then takes a deep breath, and lets out a sigh.

"Ok, Michael. I can see you are not going to let this go no matter what I want, so...I will help you." I smile, thinking of Evelyn showing me how to fight. I might like this very much. She distances herself from me and crouches on the ground like a tiger about to pounce upon its prey. "Did you show him this one, Wind?" Wind looks at her surprised.

"No, a bit intense don't you think?" Wind replies.

"If he wants to play with the beasts, he is going to have to fight like them." She spreads her hands and fingers open like a fan. Emerald eyes sparkle, and the green satin covering her body wrestles with the blowing wind. Tossing her head back, she blows the hair off her eyes and leaps like a panther into the air covering five feet of ground between us at cat-like speed.

Hands land on my shoulders and she drops me like a rock onto the wet soil. My back hits the ground and she leans into me. Sharp nails are suspended over my face. "What do you do? What do you do? The wolf has got you pinned and it is about to claw your face," she says seriously, but with a hint of playfulness behind her eyes. I roll, grabbing her wrists with my hands, and pin her underneath me. I sit my body up over hers, with her hands pinned to the ground.

"I think I might do something like this." Wind laughs, and then walks off into the distance. We sit alone with me still on top of her and her hands still restrained. She smiles. She rolls over, pushing me back. My grip loosens; I fall backwards and hit my head on the ground. Evelyn laughs and then pounces on top of me. Grabbing her face in my hands, I press my lips against hers so tight that her lips become my lips, intertwined, and interlocked in a quiet moment under the warming forest sun. A soft, breeze blows over us, fanning the soft smells of pine through the air. The smells rush over us, the smells of a spring that has ended and a warm summer about to begin.

"I found you," I whisper into her ear. She runs her fingers through my disheveled hair and grabs hold. My fingers caress her body; they reach her shoulders and trail softly over her neck. Then I lean in, kissing her neck tenderly. We lie staring into each other's eyes; her pale color tells me she needs to return home. "You need to go back to your emerald lake soon," I whisper to her.

"Yes, for many reasons." But this moment is ours and does not belong to her world or mine. It belongs only to us, and we will remain in this moment until we have to return. "Then let's make the most of this time we have now." I stand up and crouch on the ground, letting her know I want to fight, to learn how to protect her. She giggles and crouches down, meeting my eyes.

"You never let up, do you?"

"No, I won't. I can't bear the thought of leaving an opening that will take you away from me. I have to keep out every threat." She leaps forward like a small cat this time, with her right hand extended outward. Her palm clings to my shoulder and her body wraps around my waist.

"What do you do?" Her eyes grow intense. I drop forward, with her falling first, but I hold on to her back with my left hand to keep her from hitting the ground and pull her hand away from my face and use my other hand to grab Wind's staff. Pointing the staff over her chest, she smiles, and I have impressed her.

"Wind is teaching you well." I drop the staff and pull her up to me, holding her head with my right hand and her back with my left. Moving my head toward her, she closes her eyes and my lips brush over her lips, plump and sweet. I close my eyes and our kiss forgets the moments passing us by without any notice from either one of us. We forget the staff Wind made for me against the tree.
Tears

The last Friday of the month, Evelyn guards the gate and I can't see her for the whole day. She is busy with her family and Wind. I meet up with Robby, Taylor, Lee and Sarah at the cinema down the road. Taylor needs a night out with friends. His Mom worries about him since Laura's funeral, and so I arrange a day out with everyone. We feel the absence of the sixth person, but Taylor has to get out of his bed and stop feeling depressed. We watch a horror flick, Taylor's choice, which compels Sarah to dart out of the theatre and sit on the bench outside, waiting for us to finish.

"I'm so sorry I ditched you guys, but that was really gross!" Sarah makes a disgusted face and sticks out her tongue, making clear just how it felt to her. Lee laughs and Robby consoles her, but she does not want anyone's sympathies. We walk to my truck and pile inside. Taylor jumps into the back and lets the wind blow through his hair. He has been spending more and more time alone since Laura's death. Sarah sits in front with me. Robby and Lee sit behind us in the back seat.

Sarah turns the radio to her favorite hip hop station, and Robby and Lee make rap noises in the back that vibrate off the seats. Taylor pokes his head through the open back window, between Lee and Robby, and joins the antics. We drive to the park across my street and Sarah pulls out a thick blanket. We sit under the clear skies and eat the chicken we picked up at the drive-through on our way.

The park reminds me of Evelyn, but I try to forget about her for a moment. I briefly wonder if Laura's loss was just the beginning and if Evelyn will be next or someone else I love. But today I send these thoughts to the back of my mind. I will see Evelyn again. Taylor kicks a soccer ball with Robby. Lee is content to eat and just hang out. Sarah flips her hair and makes eyes at me. Not that I notice much, but she is hard to miss. Her long brown hair blows in the wind and she ties it back and laughs under her breath. I smile cordially, but I miss Evelyn and sip my lemonade as Sarah watches me carefully and hands me a napkin and a straw.. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," she smirks. "Where is Evelyn today?" she asks, emphasizing Evelyn's name.

"Busy." I gaze at the grass and run my fingers over the perfectly cut lawn.

"So, how are you two getting along?"

"We...we are great." I try to hide my excited smile, but a bit slips and Sarah turns away to look at Robby. Robby kicks the soccer ball high into the air and Taylor grabs it with his feet and flings it over to Sarah. The ball rolls over the thick blanket and lightly hits her leg. Sarah picks up the ball and lowers it to her feet. With her right foot, she kicks the ball aiming towards Robby. The ball sails through the air past Taylor, hits the ground, bounces a couple of times, and then rolls behind a tree. Taylor shakes his head laughing.

"You are not soccer material, Sarah. Best you keep with the books," he laughs. This is a good sign. The first laugh I have heard from him since Laura's funeral. Sarah gives him the evil eye, but she knows he is playing with her and that he needs to laugh more than anyone.

"Now, I don't know about that. Sarah has got quite a kick there. If we could harness her power and use it for good, then I think we may have a real champ on our hands," Robby says with a sly smirk on his face. Taylor kicks the ball back to Robby, and I join in on the mock game.

We kick the ball up the field, passing it back and forth to each other as we move past a few other park admirers that sit on their spread out picnic blankets. Sarah jogs up behind us, jumps onto my back, and wraps her legs and arms around me. I hold on to her legs and run while kicking the ball. We laugh as the friends we have been for years. Lee races up behind us and joins in while I trudge along with Sarah on my back.

Sarah is a light girl. Her small body resembles more of a middle school girl then a high school girl, but she is strong underneath her small frame. In that way, she and Evelyn are similar. She can throw a mean punch, and I have been behind a few of them myself over the years. She enjoys being the wild card despite her dedication to her studies. She is a balance of intellect and chaos. Robby and Sarah get along more easily since the trip to Aspen. Perhaps she has finally given him a shot at her, but she is fickle today and I am the object of her interest.

The afternoon on the park lawn under the warming sky leaves me at ease. Taylor enjoyed the break and the chance to get out of the house and think about something other than Laura's death. A good day for all of us. But I still wonder how Evelyn's day is going.

Saturday, I am excited to see her. I pull up to her house and find her waiting outside on the street for me. I walk up to her and gently wrap my arms around her neck. But before I become too comfortable, she hands me a letter folded up into a tight square. The last part of her she leaves behind. I tuck the letter into my pocket.

"You have to let go of me, Michael." She holds on to words I know she doesn't want to say.

"What are you talking about?"

"I can't be the one to put you in danger, to cause your death. It's not good for you to stay with me. The council wants me to return and I have to listen to them. They are right about everything. Makes no sense to leave my scent near you and lead the wolves straight to you. The dark one knows my smell. He knows I protect the gate. He will hunt for me." She shakes her head. "It makes no sense for me to put you in this kind of danger. I am so sorry for the pain I am causing you."

"I've put myself in danger, Evelyn. I chose you. I chose everything you are and everything that comes with that. I don't want a life without you. If it means I have to fight, I will fight. I won't give up on you. Don't give up on me, Evelyn."

"I've risked too much for my own selfish reasons. I have to listen to the council and do what is right. I will wait in Emeralusia while the shadow hunters track the wolves, and the elder council determines where I should be." Tears roll down her cheeks and I try to hold mine inside to keep her from breaking down more.

I knew this was coming, that she would have to speak with the council, but she makes it sound so final. She darts toward her house and leaves me standing in the cold wind with my hands in my pockets, wishing I had not come over today, wishing I could take back all that has happened.

She runs into her house and slams the door behind her, but I hear her through the open windows and listen to her fall against the door and slide to the floor. She is clever to hide her pain from me, so wise, knowing who I am, knowing I would never leave her in so much pain, my pain -our pain. I knock twice and want her to face the life she is afraid to give me, the life I welcome with open arms. Looking up at her with hopeful eyes, I tell her honestly,

"I've thought about it..." I clear my throat, "and I won't let you go." I try to say it with a smile. She needs to see what I see in us, and then she will know she can't leave. We are supposed to be forever and nothing should tear us apart.

"Michael." She doesn't hide the tears anymore. How can she? I saw them when she opened the door in her unguarded moment between us. I pull her into my arms and kiss her wet cheeks, cheeks that turn pink, exhausted from all the tears. "The fragility of life in your world takes my breath away, your fragility. I can't subject you to any more danger."

"You can't get rid of me that easily. I will always be here for you, where I am supposed to be. My life begins and ends with you." She pulls me into her, forgetting she ever thought to let me go, and then remembers why she did.

"I love you," she says, pulling away from my lips and pushing me back abruptly. She retreats into her home, closing the door behind her like a dam that has been fortified. I walk away, knowing I will not be able to get inside today, knowing she has to leave. She is protecting me, but more than that I know she is protecting herself. The pain she feels, if it's anything like mine, must be too much for her to bear and she has to stay away until the elder council tells her she may return.

While I drive home, the tears flow as I release my sadness and park at the curb across the street from the cinema where we had our first date. Taking the note she gave me, I read every word twice.

Give All to Love

Give all to love;

Obey thy heart;

Friends, kindred, days,

Estate, good fame,

Plans, credit, and the muse;

Nothing refuse.

'Tis a brave master,

Let it have scope,

Follow it utterly,

Hope beyond hope;

High and more high,

It dives into noon,

With wing unspent,

Untold intent;

But 'tis a god,

Knows its own path,

And the outlets of the sky.

'Tis not for the mean,

It requireth courage stout,

Souls above doubt,

Valor unbending;

Such 'twill reward,

They shall return

More than they were,

And ever ascending.

Leave all for love;—

Yet, hear me, yet,

One word more thy heart behoved,

One pulse more of firm endeavor,

Keep thee to-day,

To-morrow, for ever,

Free as an Arab

Of thy beloved.

Cling with life to the maid;

But when the surprise,

Vague shadow of surmise,

Flits across her bosom young

Of a joy apart from thee,

Free be she, fancy-free,

Do not thou detain a hem,

Nor the palest rose she flung

From her summer diadem.

Though thou loved her as thyself,

As a self of purer clay,

Tho' her parting dims the day,

Stealing grace from all alive,

Heartily know,

When half-gods go,

The gods arrive. -Ralph Emerson
Demands

How could she leave? I can't quite grasp the question or answer as it spins around my head. I lie in bed with my face buried in my pillows and tears soaking my sheets. Finally, I fall asleep. My dreams are restless and unwanted, only reminding me of the life I cling to, a life that longer wants me. She has left me before, but always with the knowledge she will return. She would always return. But this feels different. This feels like she might just be gone forever. As the sun wakes me from my dreams and tears, I realize I have to go to her house to talk to her and convince her to stay.

I jump frantically into my truck and drive to her house, repeating my speech on the way, "we belong together. Nothing should stand in our way." But when I pull up to her house, I notice the car is missing. Curtains that once blew behind an open window are gone and the window is bolted shut. I race out of my truck to the door and hurry inside, slowly adjusting to everything I see, or don't see. My eyes scan the room; all there is... is emptiness. The furniture is covered with old, white linens. The room is quiet –deathly quiet.

Then it hits me hard, like a truck that rams into you without you seeing it at all. I fall to my knees and hold my head in my hands, sobbing again like I did in my bed. A breeze blows past the door and over me and I turn my head to see Lake Forest. Standing up slowly, and walk towards the woods.

I sprint like Wind taught me. My legs strain, but I don't feel the pain. I have forgotten the pain of my body and race faster and faster until I see the area where the gate should be. The terrain is bumpy and the big orange blossom tree stands tall and crooked. Leaves and twigs lay in the middle of the ground. I gaze around, trying to find the gate that is invisible to my eyes.

A delicate female figure moves out from behind the big crooked tree. Her hair glistens under the sparkle of the summer sunlight; her eyes are emerald green. "Evelyn?" I call out to her. My legs carry me to her, but once I reach her I realize she is not Evelyn. Fair white skin, dark-brown hair, and long, lean body is nothing like Evelyn's. She glares at me with recognition, like she has seen me before; it dawns on me that she knows who I am. Hands are up in a defensive stance; she knows what I want and she is going to fight to keep me from it. She is not going to let me though the gate, not going to let me find my Evelyn. Evelyn is gone, and she, whoever she is, is the guardian of the gate now.

I let her win that battle. I could never fight one of Evelyn's kind, and I also know I could never win against her, not yet. The thought is wreaks havoc on my mind asI retreat to my truck. At home, I curl up in my bed hoping this has all been a nightmare, and that when I awake Evelyn will be in my arms. But the sunlight of summer beats through my window and will not let me keep the dream. I fall asleep on my bed in the middle of the afternoon, forgetting the day, only to awaken at the sound of my window creaking open. A small figure with long dark hair, fair skin, and a bubbly disposition jumps onto my floor. "Evelyn?" I say in my daze still half asleep and half awake.

"No, Michael. It's me!" She bounces onto my bed, waking me up from my depressed slumber. "Venda!" I smile at her voice. Her voice is sweet and reminds me of the sweetness of Evelyn. I leap off my bed and wrap my arms around her tiny body, pulling her up into the air. Holding her tight, I squeeze, afraid if I let go she too might just disappear, afraid that I may still be dreaming.

"Michael!" Her laughter is tender. "Put me down!" I rest her back on the floor of my room.

"How did you get here? I thought you and your family returned to Emeralusia?"

"We did, but I came back to give you this." She hands me a note neatly folded into a tight square.

"How did you get away from the elder council to see me?"

"I am only three...and a half," she says with pride. "They don't need me to talk with when they have Eve, Nile, Wind, and Evelyn. I am only there to stay close to my family. I come and go as I please. The council does not mind." She shrugs.

"And Evelyn?"

"She has to stay with the council. The council is demanding she give her accounts. They will hold hands at the round table and the council will make their decision." My eyes look at the folded paper.

"Evelyn wanted me to have this?"

"She wrote it for you. She told me to go quickly and give it to you as soon as I could. Don't be sad, Michael. She will write you again. I know she has so much more to say." I wipe a single falling tear from my eyes.

"Thank you, Venda. Thank you so much for seeing me. I have missed you all so much."

"We miss you too. I feel how much Evelyn misses you. I had to bring the letter. I knew it would make you smile." I walk over to my bed and sit down, excited to open the letter.

Dearest Michael,

After I left you standing on my street, Nile told me I had to get ready to go back to Emeralusia. The elder council contacted us Saturday. I knew this was coming and yet I never thought it would be this hard. I'm sorry we did not have a proper goodbye. But it was hard for me to let you go and it was best for me to leave you quickly. I could not allow myself more time; it would have angered the council.

I know it must seem silly to you, me being so obedient to my kind, but my kind is who I am and we only exist because of the decisions and wisdom of the council. We owe our lives to them. I don't know what the council will decide, but I am sure it will be a long time before I am allowed to return to your world.

I was supposed to protect your world from the beasts in mine. That was my single duty. But being drawn to you, I could not stay away from you. This only brought you closer to me, pulling you to follow me and leaving your trail near the gate for the shadow wolves to follow. My being drawn to you only brought danger and death into your world, and into your life.

If I had not become involved with you, things would be so different; you would still be safe. Wind and I could not hold off the five wolves that got through, and because of that two humans are dead: one of them Laura, who is your friend. I am so sorry for that, and Wind even more so. He feels singularly responsible for her death. If only you could see how much of a burden he carries because of that mistake, because of Laura's death.

What my family does now, what I do now, we do to keep you safe. Another family has been ordered to watch the gate. They are under strict orders to not be involved with the humans and to not let you through to Emeralusia. I don't know how long it will be before I can see you again, before I am trusted to guard your world again, but I fear the time will be long for you. So, I have instructed Venda to carry out my words to you by letter.

I sit now before the elder council of five. Erwin, the eldest who sits in the middle with one eye of emerald and one eye of turquoise, will be making the final decision. The invisibility of the council is kept by him; he has gifts of the mind.

The others will follow him. To his right is Elsy. She came to your world earlier to let my family know of the elder council's inquiry. Her gift of vision allows her to see at great distances and she is a great asset in Emeralusia. To her right is Finola. She is the youngest and her ears allow her a special gift of hearing from very far distances. She helps to keep the council safe by listening for danger in the white forest.

To Erwin's left sits Erin. He has a gift of sight which allows him to see in the blackest darkness. He ran with the shadow hunters long ago. To his left is Philippa. Her gift is a secret no one here knows, though we think it has something to do with the gift of touching.

Together they make up the elder council of five, and they will decide my fate. They are fair-minded, and our accounts will give them insight into the outcome, though I fear staying here is the worst possible outcome, and yet it is inevitable. I hope this letter has brought you some comfort and some understanding. I hope this has not brought you more pain.

Affections,

Evelyn

I rest the letter on my nightstand and am relieved. Evelyn is safe and able to write me. We will stay in contact and as soon as she knows what the decision is from the elder council, I will be informed. But neither of us knows yet what that means for US. I think about her saying it will be a long time until we see each other again; the thought brings a sick feeling to my stomach and I find it difficult to swallow.

"Michael, Michael!" Venda's voice resonates in my ears and awakes me from my concentrated thoughts. She bounces over to me and hugs me deeply. "I have to go now. I can't stay too long. Next time Evelyn writes, I will bring you her letter as quickly as I can."

Hugging her tightly, I still don't want to let her go, but I know I must. As quickly as I am able to blink my eyes, she disappears. I wonder how long it will take her to return to Evelyn and envy her ability to go to the gate and be willingly let in and out as she wishes.

Caressing the letter in my hands, I smile. Life accounts- what would hers say? What would her family's say? My only solace is in these letters I receive. I hold the first one she gave to me and feel each fold and stroke of pen. Anxiously, I wait for each letter to be put into my hands. The second letter I receive comes to me in the second week of July. Venda climbs into my room and wakes me up excitedly.

"Michael! Michael! Get up! Get up!" Venda jumps up and down on my bed to wake me. Rubbing my hands over my eyes, I see her perfect, fair-colored face and rosy nose and laugh at the presence of her; she always makes me laugh. Then, I tickle her as I did when I first met her.

"Evelyn wrote this for you. She wanted me to give this to you as soon as possible!" I reach my hand out to her and am overcome with emotions of elation and nervousness. Taking the neatly folded letter, I notice the square shape and unfold the note slowly, anticipating Evelyn's every word.

Dearest Michael,

I am sorry I was not able to write to you sooner, but we have been busy with the elder council. Nile and Wind have seen the council and they seem satisfied with the fairness of mind the council has for our predicament. Perhaps there is a hope for me some day to return and see you again?

But I do not want to wish in vain. I hope you are doing well in your life now and the summer is not a lonely place for you. Spend time with your friends, and may the days pass quickly until this matter is resolved. Eve and I will be with the council this week, and I will try to write you again then.

The shadow hunters will be going through the gate soon, I anticipate in a month's time. They have much they need to settle in Emeralusia before leaving. The wolves have been causing a lot of harm to my kind and they have to defend us since many of us have lost our need to fight. Many have forgotten the skill.

Our children were not taught like they should have been, since the dark elf has been quiet for over two hundred years. Many have forgotten about him and his beasts. There has been so much peace for the last two hundred years; the danger had almost been forgotten.

But the recent violence of the wolves in your world and mine have reminded us all of our need to fight and be vigilant for the battles ahead. Stay clear of being outside at night and remain indoors. Keep your family and friends safe. I am so sorry for Laura and Wind is still torn up about it. Morning is your only safe time.

Stay safe while the shadow hunters prepare to leave. They will destroy the last wolf in your world, of that I am sure. I hope to see you in my dreams until we are together again.

Dearest Regards,

Evelyn

I fold the letter back into a nicely fitted square and place the note in my desk with her other poems and notes I have re-read many times and rest easy with Evelyn on my mind, knowing she will tell me everything. I worry about the shadow wolf still lurking, and about the shadow hunters' presence in this world, but I find comfort in knowing that at least Evelyn will not be in danger. The month will be long without her, but there is a light giving me a hope for her world, for mine, and for us to see each other again.
Month five: July

Wind's Story

The first week, the elder council sits at the elder table with Wind at their side. They all hold hands around the table; the circle is complete. Erwin is the center piece. Nile, Eve, and Evelyn wait in the outer chamber, sitting in large round chairs fit for royalty.

The accounts are delivered over two weeks, and the council waits patiently for them. One by one, each guardian of the gate comes into the council room and sits at the round table to present his or her life account. The family is familiar with the expectations; they are familiar with the laws. Two will be seen the first week, and two will be seen the next week. After the two week period, the council will spend two more weeks deliberating the outcome and deliver their final verdict.

Wind kneels, to show respect to the elders, and then sits nervously, uncomfortable with having to submit to authority. But he knows their decisions are the wisest of the land and have always protected their kind. Wind is ready to tell his story and hopes this will be enough to ease their curious minds.

The elder council reaches their hands to Wind and he grasps them. They hold hands around the table and Wind's intentions and motivations pass from him into the five council members. The elders close their eyes. A feeling of peacefulness surges through Wind and then a wise calm. He closes his eyes, waiting for their decision. His life account flows out of his mind and into theirs.

...I grew up in the green forest with my mother, father, and one sister. I live in peace as a young boy, close to the white forest. We have little interference from the shadow wolves, afraid of the shadow hunters that dwell there. But I grow up fast, too fast, longing for adventure, and so I leave home when I am sixteen. Wandering through Emeralusia, I seek fights, fights I watched as a young boy. Shadow hunters hunt the wolves, and I think I can do this for my kind; I want to help.

I wander for the next two years on my own, trekking the lands of Emeralusia, running with the shadow hunters and hunting shadow wolves. The shadow hunters have been hunters all their lives, and next to my short two year period, I still have a lot to learn. But I am able to take care of myself and fend off the few shadow wolves that try to attack me. I believe I am invincible, like we all do at this age.

I'm faster than the wind. I run like a wild animal through the forest, not realizing my own speed. My friends cannot keep up with me, and I am not sure I want them to. Way up here on this mountain top, on top of the world, I peer from above and see her. I take in her delicate, fair skin and tall, lean body standing in the turquoise lake.

Her eyes are turquoise, and her black hair is cut short and tucked behind her long elfin ears. Motions are slow and careful, like a ballerina. I watch her washing in the turquoise lake. Delicate eyes speak, but her mouth never does. I have seen her before on my runs. They call her Lilly and I knew her as a child, but for now I turn away because I am an emerald eye.

They call me Wind, but I am not everything wind is. I touch the ground, my feet move one in front of the other, and I do make sounds, however, quietly. But it is not quiet enough for the shadow wolves in Emeralusia. They know when I am near. Perhaps my smell is too strong for them.

They smell me as I am follow their trail, and they wait for me, hidden in the white forest. I smell them. They are safe outside the white forest. The shadow hunters don't venture off unless they are directed by the council, and today they have no reason.

The shadow wolves have grown from their first beginnings as restless creatures with no direction to well guided and determined beasts. Once they lacked skill, but now they are great hunters. Time has taught them what they lacked. But we have learned too; we have learned to fight them and overcome their deceptions.

I think I can track them on my own to help the elves defeat the dark ones, one by one. But they are cleverer than I thought. I am so young, still a teenager and hadn't seen enough of the world to know what they are capable of.

I am not smart enough to know they are trapping me. I run through the white forest, following the scent they left behind, leaving the protection of the shadow hunters. Traveling up the green hills and through the rocky crimson caves, I think myself brave. On the other side their trail ends and I cannot smell them anymore. They do not want me to, because they wait for me, hidden from sight.

Three shadow wolves lurk behind the bushes to my left, and two hide behind the rocks on my right. They lunge at me and rip my clothes apart. My leg is in the jaws of one of the wolves while the others hold me down -teeth to cloth. The beasts avoid touching my skin, but the one that has my leg is brave; he knows he will die from the bite and does not care; he wants me dead.

Suddenly, a tall, white-haired elf leaps down from the rock mountain and like an angel, protects me. He lifts his staff and pierces the wolf's side with his sharp blade. Wolves squeal loud and quickly run off one by one. The strange elf lowers his hand to me and lifts me off the ground.

"Thank you."

"You are welcome. Why are you alone in these parts, hunting these wolves? You are an emerald eye; you don't belong here hunting."

I didn't listen to the council's advice and think I can out run anything. He sees the truth in my face.

"My name is Nile," he greets me, reaching his hand out to me. We read each other, but he doesn't need to read me to understand why I am here and what I am doing.

"My name is Wind. That is what everyone calls me." I smile at the feelings filling my body at the touch of him. "You are very brave and very experienced."

"Yes. I have had my share of fights with the shadow wolves in this world and the natural world."

"But you are an emerald eye like me. Why do you fight them? Why does the council allow you to do this?"

"I have a special purpose. I am a guardian of the gate. I train to prevent shadow wolves from entering the natural world." Nile stares into my eyes deeply like we have been friends a long time. "I see you are restless here, searching for more in your life. You are not calm like the other elves. You fight the wolves, though the elders don't want emerald eyes to take part in that now."

"Yes." I lower my head feeling a bit ashamed. I know each elf has a purpose given to him by the council, and in fulfilling it they are satisfied, but this satisfaction never comes to me.

"I wonder..." I lift up my head expectantly. "I wonder if what I am feeling from you is true, if you would be ready to help me." Nile asks.

"Help you?"

"It is only my wife Eve and I guarding the gate now. Our girl Evelyn is only thirteen, too young to guard. We are aging. The council agrees we could use help.

"You want me to help you guard the gate? Don't I need to be born of a special blood to do that?"

"Special blood? No. You need to be born of a special heart. I feel that heart in you. If you are willing, you will be of invaluable service to the protection of the elves of Emeralusia and to the natural world –keeping balance." Nile frees my hands. "Think about it and let me know. I live here beyond these mountains, just after the river," he finishes and proceeds home. I nod my head and return through the white forest to my home on the other side.

That night I toss and turn. I can't sleep. My dreams tell me I am missing something, something I am meant to do, and meeting Nile is no coincidence. My heart led me to him. I am meant to help him. The next morning I run north through the white forest and up the green hills, over the rocky crimson caves, and to the mountains.

When I am about to cross the river, I see Nile waving to me. We embrace, our touch revealing to him my decision. I have been loyal to Nile and his wife Eve ever since. There is not much to leave behind since my parents were killed by shadow wolves when I was eighteen. This is why I hunt them in Emeralusia, for vengeance. My sister is married and is dedicated to being a mother. Leaving this life behind and joining Nile is like being born into a family again.

Evelyn grows up from thirteen to seventeen, and I grow from eighteen to twenty two. Eve and Nile always expected Evelyn to marry me, and to guard the gate with them, to continue in their protection of the earth and Emeralusia. But Evelyn is a unique child, and even watching her grow up before me as I grew up along side of her, I can never fully understand her.

Touching her hands is not the same as with the other elves. I can never feel so far inside of her. Eve and Nile tell me not to worry about it because she is a special elfin. I listen to them, because they are like parents to me. But each year I see her grow further and further from the elf's way of life.

She longs to be with the humans, to learn from them and talk with them. Then she meets Michael, and she is like a new flower born, a flower I had never seen before, and will probably never see again. She is unique. I'm not sure any of us know how unique she really is.

I am angry and jealous of Michael at first. I was told I will marry Evelyn and in my mind that is how it should be. But I see Evelyn pull from me, and her closeness to Michael is one I have never known with her.

She is not like the other elves. She is unique and meant for other things. She is the guardian of her own life. I let her go and accept her choice, but am reluctant at first, yet I have come to fully accept Michael into our lives. He is one of the family, and like a brother to me now...

The council sees visions in their minds and feelings flood their hearts. "The boy is strong. He has much potential for our world," Erwin says in a rough but sure tone.

"I feel it as well," Elsy speaks softly. The others nod their heads and stand up to let go of Wind's hands. Wind walks away with a thoughtful expression.
Nile's Story

Nile is called into the elder council room as Wind walks out contented. Nile sits slowly, bowing first to each of the five elders. Finola perks her ears towards Nile who eagerly waits to tell his story. The elders open up their hands and Nile rests his palms into theirs. He respects and trusts the council's guide. They all close their eyes and a surge of feelings flow through the newly formed circle of hands as each begins to hear the story of Nile's life. His story is strong, and told with a warrior spirit.

...My parents have me when they are forty elf years and pass when I am young, thirty elf years old. told to stay in my home, I am the only elf child, but I am not lonely; the animals keep me company and I learn secrets of the forest. I come to understand the movement of the wind and the growth of the trees.

Learning how to track animal prints, I understand how the wind carries their scent and discover the sounds of danger in the forest. I learn to use the natural world around me for tools and weapons. All of my lessons train me for my duties. My journey guides me to where I am now.

I understand my purpose and learn to fight, then seek elves who know how to hunt. My journey takes me to the white forest, where I befriend the shadow hunters. The leaders of each of the three remaining tribes welcome me. They long for more elves to defend Emeralusia. But elves are a peaceful kind, and they long to live in harmony, so most elves find ways of peace. However, one cannot resolve anything with darkness; one can only overcome and destroy it. My journey, to find my inner strength and fight like the hunters, begins.

I become a hunter and study with my turquoise-eyed friends, then see how to defeat the shadow wolves and win a battle. Wolves are not as clever as they seem. They are full of weaknesses. I must protect my world and the human world from wolves because humans are so fragile and weak next to these monsters.

Running with the turquoise-eyed Scout, her white dragon, Star, and Spear, I have fun. My hunting strengthens from watching them, but I will never be as good as them-no elf can. Shadow hunters are designed for this hunt. All they do is hunt -the hunt is their life. But I learn enough to survive on my own.

On one journey with the shadow hunters, I am pinned between a rock and a shadow wolf. Scout, Star and Spear are ahead of me. I pierce its eyes with my fingers and hold its bone-breaking jaws away from me. The beast howls and squeals, and for a moment manages to get close enough to scratch my face.

The wolf rips my lip, claws across my cheek up to my eye. A scar now sits on my right cheek, reminding me I am not impervious to them, and not as strong as my shadow hunter brothers and sisters. Reminded daily I am, of how we need shadow hunters to protect all of the elves from the monsters. The scar will stay with me forever, a scar reminding me the fight is not over and darkness still lingers over the lands.

My journey with the hunters settles as I grow, and I find my heart pull me to a shy, strong elf. I am forty. She washes in the river by my home. I watch her for several days until I find the courage to approach her. She touches my hands and quickly smiles, knowing how deep my feelings are for her. We know we are destined for the gate; a few days after we first touch, we ask the council about our marriage and service. I grow up near the crimson caves on the other side of the river and lived there all my youth. The crimson caves are dark and grey, like the mountains surrounding them. They are cold inside and echo the sounds of our feet. The caves are low and we find them difficult to walk though with long, tall bodies. We have to bend down, but we do because we find treasures hidden. Rubies, emeralds, and various precious stones are harnessed for money in the natural world. This helps elves whose duties are to the gate. A few emerald-eyed elves in my village tend to the caves, gathering these jewels for the guardians.

I travel there many times myself, and when about to marry Eve, enter the deep caves in search of a perfect jewel. The cave is dark, yet a little light shines from the skies and I follow the light to where the path breaks into two. I take the left path and have to crawl as the ceiling grows lower, until coming to the end of the path.

At the end of the path is a cliff. Below the cliff there is a red lake surrounded by black jewels. A large rock sits in the middle of the red lake. A young elf with a turquoise face and white hair in braids, sits slouched over on the large rock.

I leap off the cliff and brace my legs for the rocky landing below, landing with a thud. Walking towards the red lake with hesitancy, I smell the odor of sweet and sour. The turquoise-skinned man lifts his face and his eyes are as red as the lake below him. He is an elf like me, yet not like me at all and looks like no elf I have ever seen. His deep black eyes are no color I have ever known, and his skin is a strange turquoise green.

He glares at me with sharp eyes. He is young, about twenty as he lifts his lengthy, leathery forefinger and signals me to come to him. Moving to the first stone, I advance, and then the next until I reach the middle stone, each step cautious and equally curious, until I sit next to him.

"What has brought you down so far inside these crimson caves?" the turquoise-skinned elf asks with a husky voice. His eyes pierce inside of me and draw me to him in an almost hypnotic fashion.

"I am looking for the perfect jewel for my bride, Eve. She and I are to be married soon."

"You seek the caves to the right. These caves to the left are my home. If you return whence you came, you will find the jewels you seek."

"Your home? I did not know any elves lived inside these dark caves?

"I have lived here for ten years, since I was abandoned by my adoptive parents. My real parents died at my birth under a dark sky, and I was taken into the home of a family near the green hills. They soon grew tired of me and left me to fend for myself."

How strange his words sound: an elf abandoning their adoptive child. Elves take care of each other. His brokenness guides him here. Skin and features grow odd like the strangeness around him. His mind grows dark like the darkness here. I watch him with pity and reach my hand out to hold his.

As I reach out my hand and touch his long turquoise fingers, I feel a jolt of something like lightning. The surge passes through me with enough force for my body to be pushed backward. A dark feeling passes through me and coldness surrounds me. Jumping up off the rock, I leap onto the stepping stones with an urgency to leave.

"Where do you go?"

"I must be heading back now. Thank you for your advice. I will look for the jewel there." I speak to him as I shake, jumping from one stepping stone to the next until I am safely away from him and the red lake. Leaping onto the cliff, I pull myself up, racing in a crawl back to the pathway leading to the divide. I scurry up the cave's rocky floor on my knees until I see the light and follow the beam out of the cave.

Leaping off the crimson caves, I return home. The memory never leaves me, and I never see him again. I also never return to find that jewel. Instead, I find a perfect emerald at the emerald lake and I give the jewel to Eve on our wedding day.

Eve and I grow old together. Though we love each other dearly, I worry because we have difficulty conceiving. Eve tells me not to be concerned with such things and that she can sense we will have a child of our own soon. When I turn fifty, Eve has her.

Near the river by our home in Emeralusia, Evelyn sits so still and quiet. She is tranquil. Eve holds our child, bundled in cloth. She sits up with her all night. Evelyn does not sleep as baby elves usually do, at least a week a month. She is unique, different.

At sixty-six I see him, a restless boy longing to do more. He reminds me of myself. He longs to hunt, but he needs training. I find him struggling with five shadow wolves tearing at his leg. He is on the ground near the crimson caves. I use my blade staff to pierce them and scare them away. They flee.

This boy becomes the son I will never have myself. Wind spends much of his time with Evelyn. I guess I should have seen it when she pulls back from him, that she is not destined in the direction we chose for her. My dream is that she will find Wind suitable and they will be married. They can take over for Eve and I when we pass away. But her path is not my choosing.

I know her path is different from the rest of us. I know this because of how tranquil my touch to her hands makes me feel, even as a baby. This difference that takes her away from my dreams and leads her to her own destiny. Her choices may have put our lives and ways in danger, and perhaps even endangered Michael's world, but she never would have done that deliberately.

Evelyn is a tender flower blossoming before us as uniquely as she came to us. The wind blows her in many directions and leads her in ways we cannot always understand. I consider her to be special and I hope you, the elders, will consider her distinctive role in all of this when you listen to her story and feelings. She has truly meant no harm to the natural world or to ours. She is guided by her own heart and intuitions and directs her own course...

The elder council holds his hand as he finishes his story, absorbing every feeling soaked within his mind. He has lived a long life and the surge consumes more time and energy with him. But the surge of feeling is more heartfelt from Nile because he has lived a long life.

"I am moved much by this one," Erin says. "Like we are of the same heart." He smiles.

"Yes, I sense in him the hunter that is also within you, Erin," Philippa says with her noble intonation. The council releases Nile's hands and Nile walks out of the room content like a hero in battle.
Eve's Story

The second week, Eve watches Nile as she brushes against him from the outer chamber into the elder council room. She searches for an answer in his face, a sign of what to expect and always relies on Nile for guidance; everyone in the family does. The council welcomes her eagerly and shows her where to sit with a gesture of their hands. She has never done this before, but has heard stories of what transpires.

The presence of the council makes her nervous, as if she is meeting a queen and king. She remembers the first time she saw them standing outside the council room when Nile told them about his desire to marry her and enter the natural world as guardians.

Anxiously, She waited for their answer then as she does now and bows to each one before taking her seat. Eve is quick to grab the elders' hands and begin the accounts

"Are you ready?" Philippa asks kindly.

"Yes," Eve says watching her closely, connected with her eyes.

...I grow up near the river and the crimson caves with my three brothers. The green hills are covered with layers of farmed lands, one field after another, like steps leading upward into the heavens. They reach as high as the white clouds that wrap around the hill tops, like lace on a wedding dress. Hills are thick with dark green and light green undulating grass; rushing waters pour through crevices over the hills, nourishing each plot of farmed land. Few trees on the sides of the hills shoot up fifty feet tall. Behind the lush hills rests the grey mountains and crimson caves.

The mountains stretch into the sky, and from the bottom we are not able to see their peaks. They reach higher than the hills and provide a boundary of protection from the shadow creatures, keeping them from easily entering Emeralusia. White chalk clouds fall below the mountains. Fog swirls around the crimson caves like a dance, and then fades at the foot of the green hills. Hills lead to the meadows of white lilies and lilacs. Meadows spread out into the distance until they reach the white forest.

Inside the white forest, we hear the songs of the white birds and white butterflies circling above us, watching us, and guiding us. They hold many secrets in their songs, and we listen closely. Not all of us can understand the songs, but those who can grow in wisdom and fight the shadow wolves more easily than others. Turquoise-eyed elves hear the songs of the white butterflies and white birds the most clearly of all.

But I spend most of my time near the emerald lake, learning its secrets. There I meet my two favorite companions: Petra and Pond. They are the most impetuous young elves I have ever met, and though they are younger than me, I enjoy the innocent company. Reckless and brave, a lethal combination, and love adventure. Always in trouble with their parents, but their spirits keep me active and alive.

I enjoy my time at emerald lake with them. Petra has the longest blond hair which shimmers gold in the sunlight, and Pond has white-blond hair just past his shoulders. They are twins. Their emerald eyes and fair complexions keep strong by the emerald lake. They have lengthy fingers and bodies, and are always easy to laugh. Petra is shy and Pond leads her everywhere, even into danger. They always do what they are told not to do and are an inseparable pair. My brothers join me at the emerald lake. They fall in love with the company as quickly as I do.

My brothers and I run up the green hills and dive off the cliffs with Petra and Pond, falling into the emerald lake head first. All think they are brave, but they do not know hunting, and they do not know the violence of the shadow wolves. I turn twenty and feel my heart pull me towards the gate. On one of our many adventures, two of my brothers are followed by a few shadow wolves. The wolves track them until they are alone and kill them viciously.

My brothers did not have a chance. None of us know the dangers of the wolves when we are young. My parents and I grieve their deaths all year. Petra and Pond become more reluctant to go out and play and their parents keep them indoors. I decide to dedicate my time to learning how to fight the wolves and defend the gate so this fate will not fall on the human world.

The next twenty years I spend my time studying the human world and wandering to and from their world and mine. I return to my home in Emeralusia when I am forty and think I can teach other elves, but many of our kind have a heart leading in other directions. Nile and I are unique because we have a desire for this duty. Rare we find others like us.

I decide to rest in Emeralusia until I can find others to help me in my quest. I find peace at the white forest, with the white butterflies and white birds. Their songs keep my mind at rest and fill me with harmony. They flutter in unison like they are of the same mind and do a dance above me in the sky as I watch them. Their dances and songs are like words, soothing my heart.

When I first meet Nile, I am a quiet flower, resting in the wind of storms. I am forty and at peace in the white forest when I see his ragged face and torn clothes as he comes home from his battles. I wash my clothes in the nearby river that divides his home and mine.

He protects his world and the human world. He trains everyday with the shadow hunters, forgetting to live the elf life. I wonder if he notices me at the river when he comes home. One day he walks up to me and our hands touch and I feel everything. Everything in him was in me and we were one feeling, pulsating under the maroon sun.

We marry in Emeralusia and all our relatives attend the elf wedding. We hold ceremony in the white forest, one of the safest places in our world. Nile gives me the most beautiful emerald jewel set in a silver ring. After our ceremony, we secure a small home in the human world and live in both worlds while guarding the gate.

We both long for our own children. Ten years later Evelyn finally comes to us in Emeralusia. Her golden blond hair and bright emerald eyes are hard to not notice. Soft caramel skin is beautiful, and her hair curls up when wet. I sing to her to help her fall asleep. She grows fast in intellect and is wise beyond her years.

When Wind comes to our family, thirteen years after Evelyn, Nile and I are happy, as we are not able to conceive a son of our own. Wind takes care of Evelyn with much care and is always protective of her. Evelyn loves to be with her family, but she also loves to spend time with her human friends and makes many in the human world.

Michael joins her life soon after she turns seventeen in the human world. Spring, the snow is still falling, but will be settling soon as the sun rolls in. Spring brings new life and a new light to Evelyn's eyes. Good to allow her to see Michael, as long as he remains unaware of who she is and who we are.

But Michael's feelings for her are stronger than any of us have anticipated. Her feelings for him are equal in intensity. They both share something which pulls Evelyn away from Wind. Michael follows her into the gate. Evelyn confides in me and I learn his life is in danger.

Shadow wolves enter our world. We determine the best decision is for Evelyn and Wind to handle the shadow wolves themselves and keep Michael safe. They succeed, at first and kill three wolves, but the scent Michael left behind in Emeralusia draws so many, so quickly. We need to consult with the elder council soon and wait on the elder decision of this matter. A resolution is available that will secure Michael, his world, and our own....

"You are my kin," Philippa says. Eve glances up at her startled. "We share a distant, distant relative from long ago," Philippa says warmly. "This is why you feel such a sensation of memory with me," Philippa concludes. Eve smiles. The council releases her hands and Eve walks out stronger than she walked in, with the knowledge of her relation to Philippa to help on her behalf.
Evelyn's Story

Evelyn walks in, regal, and yet somehow common. She has an elf body, elf agility, and even elf ears, but her heart beats human. Her every thought is guarded by this heart, rendering her as two-elf and human in one body. The presence of this division is obvious to the council, and they smile at each other as she walks in with a softness and seriousness about her.

Evelyn has been instructed in propriety when dealing with the elders. She obediently comes to each of the five, kissing each on the palms of their hands. Then, sits at the round table and waits for the surge to begin.

...I sit under the dark moon and then under the light sun, they each are so close to me, feeling their power pulsating inside of me. Like stardust I am falling, falling to the earth and to Emeralusia. Waking up suddenly, I rest in my mother's arms. Just a dream. She picks me up and I see the river beside her. She hums as she carries me home and my father lifts me up and swings me around the wooden house. The smell of cedar and the sound of mother humming songs fill the air. I grow up quickly. My caramel skin is something I cannot hide in the land of the fair-skinned. My hair is wavy like the choppy ocean, not straight like my brothers and sisters. I am different. My head spins dizzy, and I see myself on a bed of rock under a starlit sky and am alone and. No tears. Peaceful. Calm. A woman picks me up and bundles me with a thick blanket. She takes me inside the house and calls me her own. She says she is my mother.

We move to the human world. Nile and Eve are happy guarding the gate. I watch them daily, taking care of the gate, doing their duty. But I feel pulled away, pulled to the humans, pulled to understanding their world. I want to go to school and have human friends. My parents are kind and they see my desires.

They let me follow my heart and I grow up in two worlds: theirs and mine. I am drawn in two directions and see the sun rise, clouded by the moon. Stardust falls to the earth and I sit beneath, resting like a baby. Quiet and still, I never cry and never whimper. Inside of me the warmth of the stardust fills me with comfort. I sleep soundly still.

I awake in the arms of a woman with long dark hair and tender emerald eyes. Mother? What are these dreams I dream?

Watching Nile and Eve take care of the natural world, I long to help. I want to be a part of their world, but I do not know my path. At thirteen, a new boy comes into my home. He is my friend, my parents tell me. They watch over him like he is their own son. He is older than me and one day I will marry him, I am told. We will watch over the gate when my parents are gone. I am comforted knowing my future is set, but somehow the future does not feel like my own. I mustn't be so disagreeable.

I watch Wind as we grow up together. He takes good care of me. I am like a tender flower for him to water and nurture. But this flower is not growing toward the light I am under. I grow towards my own light-the light of the sun and the moon.

Wind loves to race with me and shows me how much faster he is. He is faster than any elf I have ever seen. He tells me stories of how he would out run the shadow wolves in Emeralusia when he was just a boy, and how he learned to fight them with his bare hands and leave them fleeing with their tails between their legs.

Somehow, these stories must not be the whole truth; I notice the deep scratches on his legs. Wind is like my big brother. He always ensures I am safe and that the human world is a friend to me. If someone at school or on the streets is a problem, he is quick to step in the middle and defend me.

I enjoy spending time with the humans, too much time. This upsets Wind because he does not see the necessity. He warns me that my interactions, however innocent, can bring harm to us and our world if anyone ever finds out who we really are.

Wind reminds me of the stories our parents told us, of humans and their desolation as we had to rebuild our lands. Telling me the stories of how the gate was built for our protection and for the protection of the Earth, I listen.

He warns me of the shadow wolves and their unrelenting thirst to destroy elf and human land.Wind tells about the shadow wolf's merciless pursuits and how it has taken them into the natural world before to seek out power and more territory. I must be careful in everything I do. But my heart is torn.

I involve myself with the natural world because I am drawn to it, but I do not let myself become close to any human. I keep them at a distance, not wishing to bring human danger to my family and my world. I do not want dangerous magic to enter the human world either.

But when I am seventeen, I see him. Drawn like a butterfly to a flower. He sits quiet in my English class and watches me, but does not speak. Sitting quietly, I watches him. He invites me out one day after class and we go out to the movies and cafe. His name is Michael. My life is changing.

My smile is warmer and my inside calmer. I am reminded of the time I was a baby in my dreams and the way the stardust comforted me. He comforts me like this, like we are of the same dust, the same star, the same life. I know this is the direction I am pulled to, but I don't want to bring danger into his life. I do not want to bring danger to my family and my world. I do not want to bring harm to him, but not being with him is causing him pain already.

I decide it is better to search out my feelings and go out with him more and more as the feelings only deepen. I cannot hold back from him now, there is too much connecting us. His blue eyes are beautiful, and I want to brush my hands through his dark brown hair. I love to watch him play soccer. He runs like Wind, but he is not as fast. I giggle at that thought.

He races with me in gym, but usually the coach separates girls and boys. He looks deep into my eyes and I feel like he has always known me, like I have always known him. I have never known this feeling. Is it something I should fear because of the warnings from my family? Does not feel like something I should be afraid of, and yet following this longing seems to bring more danger into the natural world and into his life.

I fear the shadow wolves. They might smell me on him and search for him. I have brought danger to his life and regret this. I have to leave him, but I cannot. Tormented by the thought, I don't know what to do. He has been watching me and following me, and he has followed me into the invisible gate. I am more afraid for him now. Five more shadow wolves have smelled his scent in my world. They come after me and my scent. They devour the land, and now that they have found the gate, how many more will follow?

I don't know if Wind and I can hold off so many. We are guardians, not hunters. Shadow hunters must be called. We must converse with the elder council. I was pulled to Michael and have grown so close to him. I am afraid of life without him. But I must speak to the elder council whatever the outcome, and then Michael will be safe from the shadow wolves. I must leave him. I love him too much to endanger him anymore. With me gone, he may have a chance to survive. Their world is safer without me there...

Evelyn is pulled out of her accounts. Her surge has ended; hands release. She blinks as she peers around the room.

"And so you did." Erwin speaks with surprise. "I was not sure if you would come at all. I can sense your bond to Michael is very strong. Yet you broke the bond and came to us. That loyalty will be remembered."

"After telling her of the need for the guardians to return, I thought we had lost her. I sensed in her much confusion," Elsy says.

"She listens to her elders. She knows we offer her wisdom," Philippa says shortly and smiles at Evelyn directly. Her smile reminds Evelyn of her mother, Eve.

"But still I sense restlessness inside her. A direction she must fulfill yet?" Erwin speaks almost inaudibly.

Evelyn stands with an uncertain smile and gazes at each elder as she passes out the door into the waiting chambers. The council is done with their reading. The second week is complete.

The third week, the elder council opens the books of elder history for Nile and Eve to read while they make their decision. When Nile and Eve finish they pass the books to Wind and Evelyn. They all have to read them again, as they did in their youth. These stories are passed down orally from generation to generation.

The elder council hopes to give an understanding of the gravity of danger these monsters present to their world and now to the natural world. As the guardians of the gate hold hands with the elders for the last time as a family, they feel the need for everyone to bind together and fight as one. The war is coming, and ancient words must be heard.

The family's faces grow stern and quiet, waiting patiently for the feelings to pass like water through a river until complete, and everyone knows they are needed here in Emeralusia. The surge is complete and the hands are released. The elder council returns to its quarters and discusses the decision Evelyn and her family have been long awaiting.

At the third week's end, Evelyn picks up the historical book of the four accounts: Beginnings, Shadow Wolves, Shadow Hunters, and Black Dragon. She hands it to Venda. Venda's wide emerald eyes flitter and her smile shows her teeth.

"I have a special duty for you today," Evelyn says.

"Yes?" Venda answers, giddy.

"I need you to take this book to Michael, and stay with him while he reads it. Tell him the book is from me so he may learn about my world and what is happening." Evelyn lays her hands on Venda's shoulders. "Tell him this week the council will be deliberating. At the week's end, you will return to me with the book, and then take a letter I have written to him with the council's decision." Venda grows serious with concentration."

"Could you do that?"

"Yes, I can!" Venda leaps excitedly. Evelyn gives Venda a big hug. Venda takes the book with the four accounts and nods, telling Evelyn she can do this by herself.

"Go now." Venda runs out of the elder castle, through the white forest and green forest, over the green meadows, and into the gate. Takes her about two hours. She runs like a deer, delicate with purpose and skill. Venda runs through Lake Forest and up the road to Michael's house. She does not stop running; she does not need too. Her agile elfin legs were born with strength and speed. This run in the natural world takes her six minutes. Venda, with cat like precision, climbs the tree in front of Michael's window and knocks softly on the glass a few times.
Beginnings

The fourth week of July, I am desperate to know if I will ever see Evelyn again. Sleeping in my bed, I'm restless with the dreams I have of her not returning to me. Longing to touch her skin once more, I hold her in my arms and squeeze her tight and want to stare into her emerald eyes, until the dream image fades.

I miss her honeysuckle scent, like an expensive perfume, and her long, golden-brown hair. A thud at my window draws my attention. Someone knocks and I leap off my bed in excited anticipation and see Venda's smiling face. Her big white teeth stretch from one side of her cheek to the other, and I am elated at the sight of her.

Venda squeezes the window open and climbs down into my room with a thick dark colored book in her hands. She tosses it onto my bed and bounces on top of me. I roll over backward onto my floor.

"Nice to see you too," I say. "You brought me something? Another letter from Evelyn?"

"A book," Venda clarifies, and walks over to get the book. "Evelyn told me to give it to you so you will understand our world. She said the council will have a decision at the end of the week and she will send another letter for you then."

"Thank you, Venda." I sprint to my bed and open the book to the first page. "What kind of book is this?" The pages are crisp and each corner is embossed with a gold leaf.

"It is an historical account of our realm. My father has told me the stories many times." Venda rolls her eyes with a tired face that tells me she does not want to hear them again.

"I guess you want to rest." I laugh again at her juvenile facial expressions. "Rest on my bed. I'll read in silence." Venda curls up next to my pillow, resting her eyes and her body, but not fully sleeping. I skim over the first page.

Historical Accounts: Beginnings, Shadow Wolves, Shadow Hunters, Black Dragon.

All oral accounts have been written down by respected elders with knowledge in that area. Each oral account has been passed down to us through numerous leaders before us. These accounts are only some of the accounts surviving.

I flip to the next couple of pages with pictures of the lands of Emeralusia. A few pictures are of elves and elfin. On the adjacent page are pictures of the animals of Emeralusia. I turn to the next page and see a couple of flickering blue lights, reminding me of the lights that flickered above me when I first entered the gate. The words underneath read, "Blue Dragonflies/Blue Fireflies."

Entranced by the picture, I look at the next page of a round boulder. Underneath the words read, "Stone Creature." I laugh at the simplicity of this complex and strange world and then turn the page. White horses with maroon manes are labeled, "White Horses." Big white birds with blue wings are labeled, "Blue-Winged Birds." On the adjacent page are pictures of the white forest and green forest. The pictures painted do not quite capture the beauty of the animals and lands when they are breathing in front of me. I turn to the next page and read the title: Beginnings.

Page 8 - Erwin's Account: Beginnings

Fifty thousand years ago, deep within the forest where ice was melting away, a small lake of turquoise color revealed itself. Not far from this lake was another equally radiant, but much larger, lake of emerald color. Animals enjoyed life near these lakes, developing much stronger and living much longer than their counterparts in other forest areas. Life was peaceful by these lakes, while various animals survived on the fauna, grasses, and waters these lakes provided. A few men and women stumbled into these waters, discovering a life they never knew existed.

A life that provided strength, magical gifts, and longevity. Each lake was laced with a white foamy substance that was suitable for tasting, and smelled like the lilacs in the forest. Men and women followed the smells that drew them there and drank the water. White foam provided them with a covering inside their bodies, allowing the water they drank to seep deep inside of them, changing them permanently.

They developed into a different kind of animal, something like man and women, but better. This new animal became known as the elf and elfin. Elves lived in harmony with each other, and as more men found the lake, more elves were born, until the white foam disappeared from existence altogether.

These first ancient elf men and women became very different from the men of their time, learning and developing at much faster rates. Ears grew elongated, their eyes took the color of the specific lake they drank from, and their skin became the color of ivory. Their speed, strength, and agility developed rapidly too. As these new elf creatures were discovering their new found gifts, they were also realizing the life outside of the forest was dying while they were aging at a much slower pace.

They saw the other creatures that drank from these lakes were also aging much slower and sharing in likeness of gifts. Elf men and women began to see they were unique to the world. But within them, they felt harmony and oneness with nature and felt no need to hide and guard themselves. There was nothing to fear in those days. The first elf men and women numbered over two hundred, and they began to multiply within each clan.

One clan marked themselves as the turquoise-eyes, as they all had that color of eyes and all originated from the turquoise lake. The second clan called themselves the emerald-eyes, as they all had emerald-colored eyes and all originated from the emerald lake. Clans lived in peace but never mingled, as the difference kept them uncertain of the outcome.

Within each clan, wives and husbands found each other and families were born. Elf and elfin began to multiply. As new babies were born, the elf and elfin parents saw the children were also born as elf and elfin, not human. Children did not need to drink from the white foam, which disappeared, to share in their parent's abilities and gifts. But in time, the parents noticed that the longer their children stayed away from the lakes, the paler their eyes grew. Soon, parents learned the children had to drink and swim in the lake of their eye color to replenish their abilities and gifts, or they may be lost forever.

The forest existed for a thousand years in peace while the ancient elf and elfin built homes and farmed lands, living in harmony with each other and with nature. This unity existed until more men from the outside world discovered these lands and coveted the power and land for themselves. The first struggles between elf and man were born. Elf kind had to confront this intruder that was a distant relative, unaware of his own harm and greed.

Elf kind tried to communicate with the first men intruders, to convince them that there was no power for them to find. But these men continued in their search for the powers of this land. They were unsuccessful, but devastated the lands as they grew in their greed. The first elf men and women wrote these stories down for future generations of elves to learn. These first five elders called themselves the elder council. All other elves after them sought from them advice.

More men intruded. The elf forest was flooded with mankind and had become desolate. Grasses were trampled and soil over used. Lakes grew dirty and the skies bled red. The elf kind pushed the first intruders out eventually, though new to fighting after living in harmony for a thousand years. Intruders were pushed out and the forest began to rebuild itself and was able to exist in its splendor as it once did.

But this only lasted a few hundred years, until more human discovered the forest and brought with them more men. The new intruders, seeing the power the elves held, wanted it for themselves. They threatened not only the forest, but also the lives of the elves, if the secrets were not revealed to them. But the elves had no secrets to give. The power was in their blood.

This struggle between elf kind and mankind continued for the next nine thousand years, and so did the writings of each elder council generation. Every two thousand years a new elder generation was born; the older generation passed away, having lived seventy elf years. Each elder council that followed was related to the previous elders, reaching as far back as the first ancient elf, Rauch, and elfin, Roman, who consumed the white foam on the lakes.

Nine thousand years passed, and battling with mankind had become second nature to the elves. They grew tired of having to protect their lands from the harm of man –jealousy, lust, greed. Elves did not believe in harming other creatures, but many of the humans who refused to leave had to be destroyed. This grieved the elves and they did not want more bloodshed.

They sought answers for harmony, sought the wisdom of the current elders and the wisdom in the history books from the elders who had passed long ago. Elders spoke of a magic interwoven in the sun and moon, whose stardust floats through the air, blending and twisting at the will of the elders. They decided to form a gate to protect their lands from mankind.

If ever a time was reached where the struggle between man and elf could be lost, or determined to be detrimental for one or the other kind, this stardust was to be twisted and bent to their will to form a shield, a boundary separating the world into two halves. Worlds would be divided into natural and magical, and man would exist in the one and elf kind in the other. Elders were warned in books that this shield would not be impenetrable and only invisible to man. If he ever accidentally stumbled through, mankind would venture into their world again.

This boundary would remain deep within the forest and unseen to man. But in the world of magic, a gate would be visible for elves to use to travel to and from both worlds. Elders read of the value of keeping its secret, for if man should ever find the elf world again he would covet it and all may be lost.

The gate was born after the ten thousandth year of the elf world's existence. The elf world lived mostly in peace for the next thirty-nine thousand earthly years. However, there were occasions when man, by accident, stumbled through the gate. Elves would have to fight man off again, but they were not as numerous as prior.

Eris was born one thousand and two hundred natural years ago, in the elf world's forty-ninth thousand year of existence, in the day of no moon and no sun. His natural parents died the day this darkness was born. Darkness inside his elf heart grew every day. An elf couple saw this infant alone on the green meadows crying, and with compassion they took him home to care for him. They cared for him for ten elf years. He was only a child, but even then he was too dark for them to counsel and love. Their attempts to bring him into the oneness of the elves failed.

He was an angry and violent child. Animals were not for him to learn from, but for him to torment. The forests were not for him to enjoy, but for him to burn. The adoptive couple grew weary of his evil heart and finally decided to leave him on a rock in the green meadows where they had found him. Eris was ten. He crawled his way over the meadows and into the crimson caves, the way a wounded dog crawls away from its predator.

He lived in the silence and darkness of the crimson caves, his eyes darkening in color, his skin becoming the color of the moss. His dark heart matured upon his twentieth elf year, six hundred natural years after his birth. Eris lived in the crimson caves a few months longer until darkness consumed him and brought him to the shadow lands.

The lands were once lush with forest and life, but grew into desolate desert terrain and ominous mountains. Eris spent the next twenty elf years, or the last six hundred years, in the shadow lands, bringing to life dark creatures to serve him and his dark purposes.

We live in the present day in Emeralusia, in a magic world divided between light and dark. The shadow lands grow bigger every day, swallowing up Emeralusia into darkness. We live under the fear of the dark one and await the ancient words foretold by our ancient elders. Eris' darkness has consumed our world for forty elf years, one thousand,two hundred earth years. We long for the ancient words to unfold and let our world be free from him once again.

I sigh deeply and drop the book to look at Venda. I lay my head down next to Venda and sleep. The day is long like all days are without Evelyn at my side, but Venda is here and I am thankful.

Later, Venda and I walk to the movies and then to the café; she stays close as I read. She is the little sister I never had. Venda smiles wide and always tries to keep a happy face, though I know there are heavy concerns on her mind. She is only a child and she is watching her world fall apart in the hands of evil.

The waitress, Gloria, notices Venda beside me and sits next to her to say hello. Not often a three-and-a-half-year-old enters the café, and Gloria likes children. Venda smiles wide for Gloria and it makes her day. Gloria brings us each a drink on the house: a coffee for me and milk for Venda. A milk ring forms on Venda's lips and Gloria wipes the smudge off her mouth on her way back to the counter. She can be motherly when she wants. We return to my house and rest. I tell my parents Evelyn went away with her parents to interview for colleges, and I am watching Venda while they are away to make the situation easier for them. My parents don't seem to mind.

"I miss her so much," I whisper aloud, as if the air can console me, hoping the words will somehow bring me to her. But they never do. They only remind me of how far apart we are. Venda nods her head, listening.

"I know. She misses you too."

"She said so?"

"Yes," Venda giggles.

"Really?" I say with doubt.

"She is trying everything she can to be with you." I rest comfortable with these words.

Mid-week, the evening is here. I rest, as does the rest of the small town. Strange to think of how Venda sleeps so little, and yet has so much energy. She is always busy playing something on the floor of my room and laughing with herself.

I close my eyes, but I am drawn to these books because they are a part of her. While Venda plays on the floor, I anxiously pull the book towards me and begin to read the next account, an account allowing me further into Evelyn's world. The title makes me cringe, and I curl up under my blankets to keep warm and safe as I read the next pages.
Shadow Wolves

Shadow Wolves Page 10 - Erin's account: Shadow Wolves

There are many legends which have been written about the shadow wolves, but the ones recorded by the elders have been preserved here. They were not born naturally, but created from darkness. All the creatures of the night were created in like fashion, designed by darkness by Eris's darkness.

Among the shadow wolves, there are also other creatures called the crimson vultures and the dark horses. This tale is one of many explaining their formation and desires. Not all their abilities and follies are recorded in these pages though, and only through feeling the surge from elves who have encountered them will one be able to fully comprehend the devastation.

The shadow lands are a dark land, and only darkness is ever born from them. Desert terrain provides only death and nothing grows without the dark elf. The land was once like the lands of Emeralusia, with fields of farm land, undulating grasses, and rushing waters. But now the land is dead like the heart of Eris. Legends tell us Eris spat into the ground and fed the soil its needed water, sprouting up a creature of death, a beast that looked like a shadow.

It crawled out of the earth like a shadow of darkness, spreading over the land, rising like a dark sun. The creatures grew strong and filled the lands, hungry for spoils and for the blood of the elves. The dark one, Eris, guided them and helped them in their hunger. As they grew feeding on what was good, they became the shadow wolves whom we fear. Their faces grew into thick, black, leather, tightened by the sun beating down on them. Their eyes were full of deception, black eyes with red pupils, reminding everyone they were not innocent. They were death.

The sun burned their faces, and we knew they found their nemesis. Wolves hid in the caves of the shadow lands when the sun was born, and every night when it died, they ran over the shadow lands and through the lands of Emeralusia, exercising their power as they grew daily in strength, in number, and in speed. Their hunting was relentless and merciless. Their legs and paws never tired in their pursuit of destruction.

The thickness of their dark fur coats protected them from the cold night air and from the elements of the natural world. They were taught to hunt by the dark elf and then taught each other. As they grew in power, so did their hunger. This hunger is what drives them; it runs in their blood, desiring to be quenched and satisfied. Only the blood of elves and the conquering of lands quench this thirst, and then a new thirst for more is born the next day. It is a never ending pursuit. There is no peace while darkness breathes.

The elves of Emeralusia once fought mankind and now had to fight the dark elf. The only boundary between Emeralusia and the shadow lands was the connecting mountains. The shadow wolves tore their claws and teeth at elves every day, never relinquishing, always desiring more -their hearts akin to the dark one.

We felt his empty pulse with every breath, longing for more, always more. He was a valley of darkness with a hole so deep it never ends. But there were a few elves that learned to defend themselves. Wolves were not as invincible as they seemed. They had a weakness to sunlight. The light was like a curse to them, reminding them their blood was formed in darkness. They only hunted at night and we knew we were safe in the morning. But the morning was short lived, and once again we were reminded there was a darkness our land must endure to survive.

For the first ten thousand years of our existence, we had to learn to overcome man. We learned to separate our world from his with magic. We succeeded. Man soon forgot about our world, and our stories became myth. We had thirty-nine thousand years of peace. Then again, a hunger emerged from our own kind, an elf whose heart had turned black and was as cold as stone. His hunger was never quenched, and he was driven like man was long ago. We had to learn to overcome him. We had to learn to survive.

After years of pain from the dark one, those who learned how to overcome these beasts taught others how to fight. The shadow hunter sect was born to protect our kind from the feared shadow wolves. The sect grew in number and in power. New skills and new forms of magic were born. Shadow wolves learned what it was to be consumed with fear. They felt what it was to be conquered, and they cowered away in the night like they did in the morning.

This angered the dark elf and we felt his anger among us, rippling through us like a current of bad electricity. He created new creatures from his blood and drew drops of his blood from his arms and let them fall into the shadow lands' desert soil. This blood birthed a new creature of the night -a crimson monster of the air.

The creature flew over death and hunted to gather those about to die, like a vulture. But quickly, the beast learned it too could cause death, and used claws and sharpened beaks to attack, leaving many of our kind wounded. These caves were once a quiet and private home to the crimson vultures, hanging upside down like wild bats, waiting to be summoned. After they grew from babies they flew into the shadow lands. Caves were empty of these creatures now and we are told they live in the shadow lands with the shadow wolves, far from Emeralusia.

Eris also stole many white horses from our lands. He brought them into the crimson caves at night and drowned them in the red lake. Legends tell us when the horses emerged they were black in color; they lost their whiteness and harmony with nature. They thirsted like the dark creatures; they followed the desires of the dark elf and knelt before him at his service. The dark elf rode on one of the dark horses and the rest followed him into the shadow lands. He continued this creation for some time until his dark horses numbered near five hundred. He built armies of shadow wolves, crimson vultures, and dark horses.

The sect of turquoise-eyes sensed his intentions and knew they had to build armies of their own. They learned to fight all these dark creatures: shadow wolf, crimson vulture, and dark horse. We called them the shadow hunters. Shadows that lurked in the night hid from us. Talons and beaks belonging to vultures were no longer the danger they once were. Dark horses that charged with mighty force were soon thrown to the ground. Dark ones began to fear our strength and they soon slowed in their attacks.

Eris was forgotten, crawling away somewhere in the shadow lands. But waiting deep inside him was the urge to satisfy his hunger. While he hid in the cloud of forgotten memory, he grew in strength and power, awaiting his vengeance. Elders feared his time was not finished, and when he did attack again he would be stronger than he had ever been.

There is an ancient word of long ago: when the human world becomes entangled with ours once again, his armies will mount together and there will be desolation. But the seed of the sun and moon will protect us and unite the separated worlds, giving rise to a new found peace, and then the desires of the dark one will cease.

We waited on this prophecy, the union of our two worlds, and we also feared it, for with this end is also much desolation. These words were kept at closely protected inside the elder castle. No one was allowed to see it, but the five chosen elders. It gave the council a hope for the future, knowing the dark one would come to an end. But it was not clear what kind of desolation would ensue, and the elders worried about the cloudy future.

The words circle in my mind because they are so much like my world, and yet like her world. She is two worlds in one. The words, "But the seed of the sun and moon will protect us and unite the separated worlds" seem to refer to Evelyn. I close my eyes and imagine what living in that world then must have been like.

Calculating Evelyn's age, I figure seventeen to be about five hundred and ten elf years, and the dark elf Eris to have been attacking for the last six hundred years. Evelyn lived through the last five hundred and ten years under this dark elf's attacks. I wonder if she ever had to fight the shadow wolves in her lands, and if she kept that from me because she knows what this knowledge will do to me. Venda crawls up into bed and rests her tiny head on my shoulder.

"Are you done reading yet?" she asks inquisitively.

"Two books down, two more to go," I say to her with a child-like eagerness.

"Well, whatcha waiting for?" Her humorous way of asking me makes my mind wander from the reading to the memory of chasing Venda around the living room of Evelyn's house. I tickle Venda again and we fall over my bed laughing.

"Are you alright up there?" Mom calls from downstairs. "Dad and I are about to go to bed. Why don't you try to get some sleep too? Try not to think too much about Evelyn. You still have other friends."

"Ok," I snarl. Evelyn has been missing from the house for three weeks and Mom takes quick notice. My last break-up junior year did not end well, and my father had to take me on a few fishing trips to get my mind back on soccer and school. This is worse.

At the end of the week, I pull out the historical book again and read the third account. Venda sits next to me and opens the book to page fifteen: Shadow Hunters. She reads the title aloud, and at the sound "hunters" my ears perk up. There is hope. Not all is lost to the shadow wolves and to the shadow lands. I snuggle up close to her as human brother to an elf sister. I read to her as if this is the first time she has heard this story, though I know she has heard this before numerous times.
Shadow Hunters

Shadow Hunters Page 15 - Philippa's Account: Shadow Hunters

Those elves which learned to fight were strong. Their turquoise eyes empowered them with abilities the emerald-eyed had never seen. Each had a unique gift helping them in their quest to hunt the dark ones. They grew in number and ability, numbering over one thousand. Shadow wolves did not retreat, and tried to fight these new defenders; their darkness destroyed many of them. But the shadow hunters were mighty warriors, and soon they were pushing the shadow wolves back into the shadow lands.

Within the shadow hunter was a passion for hunting, deeply impregnated within their hearts. They marched over the shadow lands over three hundred years ago, and fought long battles lasting months. They all but destroyed the shadow wolves and crimson vultures, leaving quietness in our land once again. Quiet for three hundred years, but the elder council has always felt the ever growing presence of the dark one, and in him the darkness remains, always growing, however quietly.

Shadow hunters were divided into ten tribes long ago. Each tribe held a number of one hundred. Each tribe possessed a leader. They learned to hunt at night when the shadows lurked. The turquoise-eyes have better vision at night and better hearing then the emerald-eyes. Born to hunt, much more so than the emerald-eyed. Emerald-eyed were born to guard and protect.

Though the turquoise tribes have almost all dispersed after the destruction of most of the shadow wolves two hundred years ago, a few tribes remain vigilant. Since Eris's departure from the lands, the shadow hunters have reduced in number to about three tribes with one hundred in each tribe.

They remained in the white forest, protecting the forest and the elder council castle. They continued training and preparing for battle and were the elite of the shadow hunters, the very best. Three leaders remain to these three tribes.

The first leader Scout of the tribe Scandivia. Her real name was Scandi. Hair was long and white, her eyes were turquoise, and her skin was a bluish-white. She created a small white dragon with turquoise eyes that protected her on journeys. She created him with the turquoise waters and white rocks at the bottom of the lake near the white forest.

This dragon was not like the black dragon. He could move in the morning and in the night and was watchful and protective of Scout. White rock magic created the white dragon, giving it a heart of defense, and protection over the shadow hunters.

This is what the white dragon did, to defend and protect the shadow hunters when they were in need. Scout had an unfathomable ability to track any shadow wolf by its scent and paw prints. Her body was lean and tall, taller than most elfin, allowing her to see over obstacles and sprint with better dexterity. She was one of the greatest trackers and lived in the white forest all her life, never knowing any other life.

She was a protector to Philippa for many years as Philippa traveled to and from the white forest. When Philippa settled at the white castle, Scout left her side and became a strong leader to the remaining Scandivia elves. Scout was involved in many battles, fighting some of the remaining and wandering shadow wolves that made their way into her lands. She could smell them miles away, tracking them vigorously until they were found and killed.

Humans had come into her forest before, falling through the gate by accident and discovering this new world. They wandered into the green forest and were fascinated with animals they had never imagined existed, and seemed pleasant at first. Scout watched them from a distance. But as the days passed, so did their generosity dwindle, and they became more like the stories her parents had passed down to her generation. They became greedy and grew angry with each other.

Fighting amongst themselves, a few of the humans wandered away from the group and tried to return to the gate. Wandering in circles, they were lost. Night fell and the shadow wolves followed their scent and killed them. The other two stayed inside the green forest, using its trees for firewood.

They killed a few white horses traveling through the green forest and used the meat for food. Burning more of the forest, they wanted to build a small town for themselves. They enjoyed bathing in the turquoise lake and the youthfulness they felt when washing. Scout watched in anger at everything they had done to the green forest and the animals around them.

Scout cautiously walked to them and asked them to leave. Her broken English was difficult for the intruders to understand at first; she had only spoken English a few times. But they were not interested in her English or what she said. Two men grabbed her and threw her to the ground, believing they had the upper hand.

Soon, the two men learned this delicate female elfin was not as fragile as she appeared. Scout leaped onto her feet, breaking the hold of the man. She swung one of them high into the air and he fell down onto the ground with a thud. The other man darted across the ground to escape. She leapt and landed on top of him. He fell over, hitting his head. The two men lay on the ground with aches in their backs and heads. Scout took out her spear to stab them.

Suddenly, Star jumped down from one of the high white trees and called to her to stop. Star, an elder and wiser elf of another tribe, sat watching above in the trees, observing Scout and the men during their interaction. Star pulled the spear away from Scout and hit both the men over the head with his staff, knocking them unconscious.

Star pulled one of them over his shoulder and signaled for Scout to do the same. They carried the two humans through the gate and dumped them on the other side. Scout and Star never saw those two again. Eventually though, others did enter the gate, and as sure as the sun rises, conflict and struggle in the forest soon followed.

The second leader was Star of the tribe Undalia. His real name was Undali. He was able to follow the stars and find his way out of any maze. He was never lost and always vigilant of his surroundings. Wisdom was akin to the elder council, and he was the elder of the shadow hunters. Hair was long and white, and tied back with a white ribbon. Eyes shone turquoise, and his skin was a pale green-blue color. He was lean, but tough, and had been tracking shadow wolves the longest of all of the shadow hunters, and taught many others his skills. One of the greatest guides Emeralusia had seen.

He led many groups through the forests of Emeralusia and had been to the shadow lands a few times. No other elf had attempted this, but he was sure of his ability to guide himself in and out of any area. In the morning when the sun was at its highest, he trekked through the shadow lands, surveying the desert terrain to find quick paths out of the desert and mountains. This was vital to surviving the darkness and overcoming the battles sure to come. He sensed the war approaching, much like the elder council sensed the surge of darkness encircling them.

He had many encounters with humankind, and unlike Scout, not all of the humans he met were eager to destroy his world and his kind. He met one female human long ago when he was a young man. She was lost in the white forest when only about twenty-two, his age at the time. She hiked through Lake Forest in Green Mountain Falls (which was not so named then) and stumbled through the invisible gate, landing hard on her head. When she awoke she wandered, trying to find her way home, but only found herself more lost.

Star saw her sleeping in the white forest and observed her a couple days. This was strange to him, as other humans he had seen were always so restless. He decided to talk to her and learn from her about this new side of humanity he had never seen.

She was fearful of him at first, never seeing anyone with a green-blue complexion before, but in time she learned to trust him, and he trusted her. He helped her find her way back out of Emeralusia and showed her the gate. She smiled and thanked him for his help, and never returned to Emeralusia, but the memory of her reminded Star not all humans were inclined to evil.

The third leader Spear of the tribe Trinunia. His real name was Trinun. He had short spiked hair in a mohawk, turquoise eyes, and light brown skin. He was the youngest and shortest of the three, and very strong. Shoulders were wide, his chest big, and his body brawny. An unparalleled skill for forming spears quickly, and an eye and arm for throwing them great lengths and speeds, killing his prey instantly. One of the greatest young hunters.

Because he was young, he was also impetuous, and sometimes his sudden bravery invited danger into the group. Star tried to teach him to be a stronger leader and a more disciplined hunter. But Spear had a rebellious spirit, and though sometimes he was mindful of Star's warnings, other times he turned his ears away and learned lessons the hard way. But Spear's quick decisions and great fighting ability saved his clan many times, and he successfully hunted the shadow wolves on many occasions.

Spear was the last leader to emerge in the white forest. He ran with the white horses and learned to travel quickly and quietly. When he was a boy, a few humans found the gate and entered Emeralusia. They followed the tracks of the white horses, similar to hoof prints of horses in their own world, and hunted them for their manes and skins to take back to the natural world and sell.

This angered Spear. He hunted the men down and fought them to their deaths. Three grown men had no chance against this skilled young elf. He knew speed. He knew spears. He knew distance. He had strength. He knew how to hunt and how to defeat his enemy. His abilities only strengthened in time, and he lead with great confidence over his tribe of Trinunia.

The hunting he saw from the humans who entered his world taught him to be fearful of their inclinations. Scout and Spear were one in mind when it came to the humans, and they would fight to defend their lands before yielding to anyone, or anything.

Together they taught their skills to the other shadow hunters with long white hair and turquoise eyes, each acquiring a different gift to aid them in their hunting. They lead and conquered when necessary, though causing suffering, pain, and death grieves them, as it does all elves. Turquoise-eyes are, however, designed for fighting and hunting, and their heart is not as bent towards sympathy as the emerald-eyes. Leaders of each tribe possessed the strongest gifts, while others had a smaller power resembling their leader. Emeralusia was quiet for two hundred years, but the growth of the shadow wolves has been inevitable, as we, the elder council, have been seeing their numbers increase in the past hundred years.

We know the time is arriving soon for the war of the dark ones and prepare those we can. Shadow hunters wait vigilantly vigilance, training and preparing, assisting when called upon by the elder council.

I close the book, exhausted from reading. My lids droop heavy like clouds filled with water about to pour. Keeping the book on my night stand, I curl up under my blanket. Venda smiles and rests with me, though I know she is fully rested and needs no more sleep for tonight. In the middle of the night, I awaken from a nightmare and I stumble to the bathroom to wash my face with cold water. Venda keeps quiet on my bed. Eris, the wolves, the vultures, the dark horses, and the world Evelyn is trapped in stay on my mind.

This last week of the month is very warm. The summer sun is strong, but won't be here much longer. As quickly as the sun moves in, it will be moving out again for fall, such is the weather in Colorado.

Venda follows me everywhere. She is very mature for her young age and talkative with everyone she meets that has the patience to listen to her. The week with Venda is filled with movies and trips to the café. I ask Venda frequently if she thinks Evelyn has written the letter yet and if she should go back to retrieve it. Venda is quite patient with my persistent questions. As I go over the week in my mind, I realize I need to finish the history book.

The heavy night is closing and the last day of the month is nearing an end. I want to finish the reading before Evelyn's letter arrives and pull the book open again, returning to her world, drawing closer to our destiny. The title reads: Black Dragon. My face draws close to the worn pages.
Black Dragon

Black Dragon - Page 20 - Elsy's account: Black Dragon

The early elf men and women found magical black stones at the bottom of the turquoise lake twenty-five thousand years ago. Stones glowed with gold and inside they moved, like eggs harboring some other form of life. Writings of the elders warned the elves to be careful of the stones and to not let them be born under the moon unless the threat of man had become too great for their world.

The threat had come and the elves needed a way to prevent further calamity. Stones were the last resort, instead, stardust was woven and a border was formed restraining the jealousy of man from the elf kind and their world. This boundary for the most part was successful, and the elves lived in harmony once again. The gate was invisible to the human eye, and it kept most humans out of Emeralusia. Using the black stones vanished from their minds.

But over the fifteen thousand years following the formation of the gate, various humans wandered deep into the forest and slipped into the invisible opening and fell into the magic world. Man's discovery proved harmful as he unraveled the powers of the new world and found his way back through the gate, only to return with more humans.

However minuscule the destruction, it was like a small pebble thrown into a lake, causing ripples bigger and bigger felt in the magical realm. Elves counseled with their elders. After twenty-five thousand earthly years of the magic world's existence, fifteen thousand years after the formation of the gate, the black stones were gathered from the bottom of the turquoise lake and laid under the moon to be born.

The black dragon emerged and defended the elf lands from the harm of mankind. The dragon guarded the gate and protected it from intruders. The power of the black dragons was strong, and upon the birth of the dark ones it was feared they may join forces and become unstoppable. But the black dragons were always submissive to the elves-as a servant to a master.

The black dragon, though powerful and dark, was a friend to the elf kind and they lived without fear of the monster they had created. For the past six hundred years, the elves watched the black dragon closely, wondering if it would strike them as the dark one had many times. But the black dragons remained neutral in the magic world, never fighting darkness and never fighting the elves.

They belonged to magic and existed only to keep mankind out of the elf realm and stayed true to the magic which first formed them, bound by it, and fought only when there was an intrusion of man. Weak in the sunlight, they stayed away from the sun, slept in the morning and flew at night. The black dragons designed from black stones had to remain in darkness like the shadow wolves.

Man would always remain prey to these black dragons, forever natural enemies. Black dragons would never bend to the will of man and forever defend the fortress of Emeralusia. They never entered the white and green forests, for these lands were sacred to the elves; the dragons were bound by magic to never enter these forests. Emerald and turquoise lakes were also sacred to the elves, and the black dragons retreated from them in flight. But all the other lands of Emeralusia were entered by these dragons and protected from man.

The dragons were dark beasts, with long black necks, thick black wings, and black scales that cover their body. Eyes were able to distinguish between a twig and a leaf on the ground from a hundred feet in the air. They used sonar, similar to bats, and were able to move in the darkness with their eyes closed. They relied on scent and sound to find their enemy-man.

Though they were creatures of the night, the magic that bound them kept them a friend to the elves, and they never once harmed them. We were grateful to the black dragon for its protection. Man stumbled across the invisible gate many times since its creation twenty-five thousand earthly years ago, and man always proved to be harmful. Dragons kept elf land safe and kept the natural world away from us. We are indebted to the black dragons for their service to us.

As the hidden ancient words unfold, we learned what would become of our lands and of the natural world. We discovered what end the darkness will take and uncovered what sacrifices we must make to prevail, and if unity may ever be brought between our two separate worlds- Emeralusia and Earth.

The ancient words held too many secrets to fully know their truths. The words were broken into three pieces. They were once inscribed on a big rock long ago by ancient elves of ancient wisdom, until lightning struck the rock and divided it.

The three pieces were hidden and to be uncovered only at a preordained time by the destined reader. We only discovered one of the three pieces, and though we searched long and hard, we did not find the other two. The elder council saw some of the ancient words and studied them at every new council. Yet, the events portrayed were not yet experienced. We waited. We waited for the words to come to life and guide us toward victory, or toward our destined end.

A human world entangled

With a world of magic again,

His armies mount together,

To bring peace to an end,

But the seed of the sun and moon,

Unites the separate worlds,

Giving rise to a new peace,

And darkness will cease.

I stare at the pages wondering why they feel so close to me, echoing Evelyn. Her life has brought me into the entanglements of her and her world. She unites both worlds in her union of both, in her belonging to both.

Venda sits up, watching me fall back to my pillow. The night has been very long and this final day is at its end. Venda must return to Emeralusia soon and return the thick book back to the elder council. I smile at the thought of the letter she will take back to me from Evelyn whenVenda leaps off my bed and moves a chair toward me.

"What are you doing?" My brows furrow. Her tiny figure stands on the chair.

"I'm going to teach you something. This is a beautiful dance that all the elves in Emeralusia know. You will enjoy it." Venda lifts her right hand and spreads her fingers like a fan. "Copy me." I follow, lifting my left hand, mirroring her. She holds her fingers to mine and lifts her hand above and moves in a circle before they dropping her hand back down to her side.

She lifts her left hand and spreads her fingers like a fan, and I mirror her with my right hand. Our fingers touch as we lift our hands above and then in a circle. We drop our hands to our sides and then start again. Then, Venda jumps off the chair to show me the feet movements.

"Now, lift your left foot and tap the inner edge of mine, and then tap the outer edge and then repeat this with your right foot. The male elf does the tapping," Venda says like an adult. We tap lightly with me following her direction.

Then she lifts her left leg to my right and I tap her inner edge and her outer edge. We repeat. "See, a very simple dance. Imagine a flute playing in the back ground and the sweet harmony of birds chirping." She says this with confidence as she sits on my bed and watches me.

I close my eyes and imagine Evelyn in front of me. I lift my fingers to hers and we spread our fingers open. Our hands move as one in a circle and return to our sides. We do this with our other hands. We repeat this again and the sounds of the flute sound very pleasant in my own mind. Lifting my leg up, I imagine tapping the inner edge of Evelyn's foot and then her outer edge and then lift my other leg and tap again. I repeat this, me in my room and Evelyn in my mind.

"Let me show you the other part." Venda interrupts my daydream and grabs my hands to hold them in hers. "The elfin holds your hands in hers. You must wait three seconds and then...she twirls around so her back faces you." Venda spins. "We move forward five paces and then retreat five paces. Move your feet with mine." She places her feet to mine.

She moves forward and I follow her five paces forward and then back, and then twirls around to face me. "Now, repeat from the beginning. See how simple it is," Venda says with sincerity. We practice the dance from beginning to end several times, until I am too exhausted to dance anymore and end up falling asleep in my bed.

In the morning Venda is gone, and the book of history is missing too. I miss Venda, but I know this means she will return with another letter from Evelyn and the council's decision. Sitting in my bed under this summer sky, I watch the sky turn to autumn. Soon the snow will surely fall from the sky, and cover any traces of the spring.
Month six: August

Council Decision

The month is over and relief fills me since Evelyn will write me soon. My mind races thinking about her world: black dragons, black horses, shadow wolves, crimson vultures, and the dark elf, Eris. Their lust for land and the devastation they are willing to create to satiate this lust is vivid.

A large part of me, however irrational, fears I have lost Evelyn forever. Elves want peace in their world and they do not put much faith in me. I feel it in the words Evelyn uses and in the words describing the shadow hunters and the elder council, telling me they are a kind above us.

They feel separate from humans, and though once akin to humanity, they are so different from us now. Hard for them to remember how the duality of man can exist: how we can be a selfish and yet an unselfish kind, a hating and yet a loving kind, a merciless and yet a humble kind. Memories of what the human race can be have vanished, and in its place are only the few encounters that have devastated their world.

I wait for the elders' answer, for Evelyn's letter, and for my heart to stop aching. I hold my heart with my hands, as if I can somehow slow the palpitations down despite all the anxiety. But I don't have to wait long because Venda scurries through my window and into my room, quickly and quietly and always in surprise.

Startled, I back away, but then make out her silhouette in front of my lit lamp in the darkness of my room. Hastening toward her, I smile and hold Venda tight until she pulls herself away. She pulls a nicely folded piece of paper out of her pocket and her child smile widens.

"She wrote me?"

"Of course she did. Did you doubt she would?"

"No, no...I just am so excited to hear from her." Venda opens the letter up carefully from the intricate folds and hands the note to me even more carefully. Her face is cautious and her smile dims. I slowly take the letter from her and my hands caress the paper I know Evelyn has touched. Like our hands touching, though we are miles away.

Dearest Michael,

I hope this letter finds you in good health. I hope the second month of summer has not been too miserable for you. My family and I are finished with our life accounts and the elder council seems pleased with us. The council took two weeks to decide on their decision. Much of what they decided does not come as a shock to me or my family, but some has put me in the most inconsolable of moods. But I will be brave and trust them, as they have always led the elves of Emeralusia. I hope you will trust them too and not fault them for what differences in thought you might have. This is what they wrote:

I shake. My hands tremble. I am not sure I want to continue reading the elder council's verdict.

The time has come when the elves of Emeralusia must band together and act as one. There can be no more division within us or outside of us. The dark ones are building armies and a war will soon dominate our lands, a war we all must be ready to fight to win .We cannot risk the loss of our world and the natural world.

The natural world is not equipped to fight a war of magic between elves and darkness. The natural world is separated from us for ancient reasons. The natural world must remain separate until the time it proves itself worthy. For these reasons the elder council has decided the guardian family must remain in Emeralusia and train for this war. Their knowledge and experience will be of a great benefit. No interactions with the humans and this guardian family will be allowed, as this will only create a deeper reason for the dark ones to invade human lands. It will only cause the two worlds to collide into each other and shatter.

We are aware of the ancient words telling of a time when the two worlds will unite, but this is a time we believe to be much in the future. Our decision is paramount to the success of our world.

Perhaps when our world has ended its warring and is at peace once again, the guardian family may return to the world it has fallen in love with and continue their service to it. Until that time, our decision is final.

With love,

Evelyn

Their decision is final. The guardian family must remain in Emeralusia. No interactions with humans and this family will be allowed. These empty words echo in my heart like a drum stick beating on an old hollow tin. Yesterday, I smiled with anticipation. Today, I am broken. I drop to my knees on the carpeted floor and Venda hugs me, but the comfort brings little relief, and my melancholy grows.

Tears pour. Thoughts linger in my mind. A small hint of hope emerges. "When our world has ended warring and is at peace once again, the family may return to the world it has fallen in love with and continue their service." These words console me. Venda and I lay on my floor for sometime before the sun behind my window emerges from over the horizon, and hints of sunlight glisten over my face and bed.

"I must go now, Michael. Evelyn and my family are waiting for me. We must begin to prepare for battle. I must go to a secret place to hide."

"Don't go. Please, don't go. How will I ever find you again if I need you?" Venda wrinkles her forehead as she thinks, and pulls out a wooden stick the size of her finger from her front pocket. At one end is a hole and at the other is a metal flap: a flute.

"Blow this flute. I will hear it. I will come to you. The flute is made from Emeralusia rock and wood. Elves of my home use them to communicate with each other over long distances."

"But the gate? You will hear it through the gate?"

"Yes, Michael. You don't live far, about thirty minutes. The flute can be heard from one town to another. Emeralusia, don't forget, is just on the other side of the gate. I won't be too far away." I take the flute from Venda's open hands. The flute sits in her palm, a palm that closes after I take it.

"Thank you, Venda."

"If you are in danger or if you have something you must tell to Evelyn, blow the flute and I will come. But for now, perhaps I can take a letter back to her from you?"

"Yes, yes." I walk to my cabinet with hands still shaking, pull out a pen and paper and write.

Evelyn,

I am very sad about the decision of the elder council. But I know you would want me to respect their decision as you do. I understand their fears about your family in my world, and I understand your family's need to stay there and fight. I can only hold on to the hope that when the war is over you will return to me and I will see you again.

I will hold to the hope that your kind will succeed and Emeralusia will be safe and at peace. I will keep the flute given to me from Venda, and if I am in trouble I will call to her.

Love you always. Think of you always. Wait for you always.

Michael

Venda leaps out of my room and as she leaves I feel another piece of my heart crumble. Evelyn could meet an elf more suited for her. She could forget all about me. Or worse, she could die in the war. Don't even think it. She is strong underneath her fragile exterior. I lay on my bed as the sun trickles over me, lost in these thoughts, these lonely, isolated, and insignificant to the rest of the world thoughts. If I could somehow forget her and her world, I could move on and I could live a normal life.

But this only makes me angry with myself. She needs me and I won't abandon her. I won't run and hide like a coward. I have to help her somehow, someway and I will find her again. I nestle into my pillow and sleep in the restless wake of her permanent absence.

The weeks of summer are filled with lots of idle time: time with friends, time to sleep in, time to be a teenager.

But this summer holds none of these things for me. I don't have time to give to my friends, my restless mind can't sleep in, and I am no longer the teenager I once was. I hold on to what little peace I have.

My father wakes me the next morning with a tender shake back and forth. I rub my eyes and his concerned face hovers over my bed.

"What is it Dad?"

"I want to talk to you about something today if you can get up and meet me downstairs for breakfast." My Dad smiles and walks out of my room. I hear his thick boots tromp into the dining room area and wrestle with my sheet and climb out of bed. The shower water is hot and I turn the knob to cold. Summer sun is hot. Cool water trickles down my body-refreshing. I wear a pair of shorts and a crisp white tee shirt to meet Dad and hope he is not going to ask me about her. I have tried so hard to put her out of my mind and sit across from Dad to watch him pour his big bowl of cereal, then he fills mine. He pushes the bowl across the table to me and nods.

"Have some breakfast first, Son." He begins eating and I apparently have developed an insatiable appetite. The worry and restless sleeps have driven my metabolism up and I am famished. I eat my cereal quickly, not realizing how hungry I have become.

My father and I eat in silence, he with intermittent stops to look at his morning paper, and me with incredible speed. Spoons click in our empty bowls and my father lifts his head from his morning paper and stares at me. It's coming. He is going to ask me about her. I will just have to play dumb and feign sickness. I could collapse. Thoughts on how to avoid this conversation feed my insecure mind, and then he speaks.

"Son, I was wondering about Yale University. Have you heard from them yet? I know you have been busy with final exams and the big soccer game, but high school is over now and we are in our second month of summer. Your mother and I are wondering what your plans are for the future."

Future? My jaw drops and my face must have turned white. I can't think about Yale now. I will be lucky to just survive this summer. If I can save Evelyn and my family in the process, that would be great. But my future? I'm not sure I even have a future. If I do survive this summer, the only future I can see is one with Evelyn. I don't know if Yale will be a part of my future anymore. This summer is all I know for sure and this summer is not to be spent in interviews. Evelyn and her world need me. Somehow, I will find a way to her.

"Dad, I don't know if I will be going to Yale this fall. I was thinking I would take some time off and do some things I have always wanted to do. I'm real busy this summer anyhow...and I don't think I'll have time to interview."

"What things have you have always wanted to do? All you have ever talked about was getting into Yale."

"I know Dad, but things have changed, and I've realized there are some things more important than Yale." (Like avoiding death.) My dad's brow furrows. "I promise later I will go to the interviews." He nods and looks me over carefully as he digests this new information.

"Alright, Son, it's your decision. Always has been. I don't want you to feel pushed. I'm happy if you are happy. Just don't wait long, because the opportunity will slip through your fingers. Time passes too swiftly for us all."

"Thank you for your concern. I will get back to interviews when I can. I promise." Dad nods again with his approval, but I know he will be watching and expecting me to go to college soon. Time is running out for me and Evelyn.
Birthday

The end of the first week of August, I am awakened by the sounds of my door creaking open, and feet tip toeing inside my room and surrounding my bed. I hear all of this, something I never would have heard before this year, but because of Evelyn I notice it all. Rolling over, my hands raise up in defense, and with one quick motion I leap to my feet. I crouch low on top of my bed like I've seen the elves do many times, guarded and ready to fight anything coming for me.

"What's gotten into you?" Dad asks with a confused expression. His eyebrows crease and his nose crinkles. Mom walks to the bed smiling, exposing the new, pristine white teeth she has since her visit to the dentist last week.

"What special day is it today?" Mom asks with a grin. "Henry, together now...Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dearest Michael, happy birthday to you," Dad and Mom sing, trying to remain in unison, but Dad is tone deaf and does not follow music very well.

His singing lags behind and then rushes ahead of Mom's. The two of them stand with a sincere desire to put a smile on my face, despite their horrific lack of ability to stay in tune. I fall to my bed like a child, with my legs underneath me, reminding me of when I was ten.

"We have a special day planned for you today. Just like last year, the day will be a surprise and you will love it!" Mom says. I regain my senses and settle.

"Thanks you guys, but you really don't have to do this. I am getting a bit old for it now."

"You are still my little boy," ah, those words again, "and this is your eighteenth birthday. This is a very important day. You are no longer a high school kid. You are a college boy."

"Ok, Mom," I step off my bed and head to my dresser, "but let me take my shower and get dressed first. I'll see you downstairs."

"We'll be waiting. I made a special breakfast for you. No cereal for you today."

Mom and Dad head out my door and I fall back to bed. My eighteenth birthday. I forgot. I wonder when Evelyn's birthday is as I head to the shower and if in her world they remember birthdays like we do here. Dressing promptly, I race downstairs to the dining table. The smell of pancakes and eggs permeates the air and tease my appetite as I sit with Mom and Dad, and we have one of the biggest breakfast meals of the year.

Mom makes a production of my birthday. Every year she does something extravagant. She begins with a huge breakfast and then continues with a variety of activities she figures will interest me. Sometimes she hits the nail on the head, like when I was ten and she scheduled a day at Chucky Cheese. And once when I was thirteen, she had the star soccer player from high school attend my party and help out with a few soccer moves before he left. A few times she was way off, like when I was eight and she had me spend the day fishing. I love fishing, but not all day.

When I was sixteen, she had a party circus theme. She hired a clown, but the painted faced adult did not go over well with my friends. I had a few jokes coming my way for several weeks; after all, I was sixteen, not ten. But there is a big part of me that enjoys this special attention from my mother all day. She makes me feel safe, loved, and like a child again. Those feelings I need now more than ever.

After breakfast, Mom blind folds me and takes me to my first adventure. If anyone else had asked me to go somewhere blindfolded, I would have gasped. But I trust Mom implicitly. I am excited about where I will be heading, though a part of me reasons I should stay low in Mom's car (just in case). I don't want anyone knowing I am blindfolded on my birthday in the back of Mom's car. The event might end any reputation I had for being hip and cool.

The car pulls up over a bump, slows down, and stops. Mom helps me out of the back seat and walks me to what I can only imagine to be a front door and we step inside. The air is cold and I hear yelling. After I sit, Mom takes off my blindfold. I am against the glass of a hockey rink, and Lee, Robby, and Taylor are on the ice. They push a puck back and forth to each other.

"What's going on Mom?"

"I've rented the skating rink out for you boys until tonight." The thought of a whole rink to myself with no interruptions from eager ice skaters or coaches enthralls me.

"You're kidding!" I spring out of my seat and slide to the ice. My sneakers glide me across the wet, smooth ice as I plow into Taylor. He grabs me to keep me from falling.

"Alright, you can't play hockey in sneakers. Go get your skates." Mom lifts my skates into the air and I dash over to her. I lace up and skid back onto the ice. Mom has never done anything like this for me. I can hardly restrain myself and feel like a child who has been let loose in a candy shop. Mom and Dad wave goodbye as they head out the door and Dad yells back to me.

"We'll return late afternoon to pick you up."

"Thanks!" I say, and Taylor grabs me.

"Michael is with me. Lee and Robby, you two are the other team," Taylor says. Taylor and I slide to the left of the ice rink. Robby and Lee race to the right. The puck sits exactly in the middle, measured out by Robby (the genius himself). Lee looks at his watch and we ready ourselves.

"I thought you were away for the summer?" I ask Taylor.

"I was, but not the whole summer. You think I'd miss your birthday!" Taylor laughs.

"Ready, set, go!" Lee shouts. The four of us hasten towards the puck as if our lives depend on getting to there first. I arrive before Taylor. We are different, because we are no longer high school boys, but young men entering college. Different, because I have gained strength and endurance through exhaustive sessions of training with Wind. Different, because I am no longer a coward who only does enough to pass by, but a fighter giving his all.

Robby lunges at me for the puck, but I escape him. Lee blocks me when I try to make the goal. Taylor appears behind me, thwarting Robby's efforts to steal the puck away from me. I hit the puck again with my stick and it skips past Lee, despite his diving, Lee hits the cold ice with his hands. Point 1 scored. Lee returns the puck to the middle of the rink and the four of us ready our starting positions.

We race towards the puck, and I slow myself down to let Robby have a fair shot. He hits the puck with his stick and it glides across the ice and in between Taylor's legs. Taylor spins around, trying to grab the disk. Robby lunges towards the puck and races towards the goal. I guard him like I imagine Evelyn guards her gate, but everywhere has a weakness. Just a matter of the opponent learning what the weakness is.

Fortunately for Robby, he has known me most of my life and my weaknesses are more obvious to him. He grabs his right knee and feigns a wound. I lower my defenses and Robby races around, scoring a point for his team. Taylor tries to skate to the goal to keep it safe, but he's too late. Taylor's face grows beet-red. He hates to be outsmarted and he wasn't expecting Robby to outmaneuver him. But Taylor is a quick study when it comes to sports and we continue to skate, knowing he won't make the same mistake again. The puck is returned to the middle with Robby's precision and Lee's watch.

The four of us race towards the puck again, except this time Taylor is well past me. The other two lag behind, and before any of us can get to the puck, Taylor expends all his energy and smacks it across the ice. Taylor turns around confidently knowing he has made the goal before the puck even hits the net. As it glides, the sound slides like a small plane about to land. The puck skims past Robby and Lee, straight into the goal. Lee and Robby spin around and watch it fly. "Lee," Robby says, "keep back while I shoot the puck. Watch the goal." Lee nods his head affirmatively. Score is two for us and one for them. Lee retreats to secure the goal. Robby and Taylor race towards the middle line for the puck. Lee watches Robby race for it, following his instructions. Robby is like a mentor to Lee, a big brother. They are the only two on our high school soccer team with high IQs, and they share a bond because of it. Lee watches the puck like a hawk, hoping Robby steals it first.

I guard the goal on my side. Robby swings his stick hard; the puck flies into the air and past my right shoulder. The puck lands near the goal and Robby is already heading in the direction, but Taylor gets to it first. The two of them dig for the puck, scraping against each other's sticks as they try to get the puck out. Sticks hit the ice hard, blocking each from winning.

Ice cracks and pieces shatter upward. Eventually, Robby hits the puck and I stand in front of the goal ready for him. The puck flies past Taylor, landing on the ice behind him. The disk speeds across the ice and I watch as it approaches my goal, approaches me. I dive and my motions are fast like the elves I have been running with, and my concentration is focused, so I don't notice the stares on my friends' faces. They gasp at my speed and quick reactions. I hold the puck in the air with a victorious smile on my face.

"How did you do that?" Robby asks in disbelief.

"The puck was going too fast for me to even keep my eyes on it," Taylor adds. .

"Great catch!" Lee shouts.

"You've gotten much better at this game!" Robby pats my shoulder. The four of us skate to the off ramp. Score: 3 for us and 1for them. I am happy with those results. Soon after the joy of winning, Mom and Dad walk into the arena, ready to give me my next adventure.

"Are you boys about done?" The four of us glance up with a satiated grin. "It is about time to head off," Mom says.

The four of us pile into the back of the car and Dad sits in the passenger seat. As we drive, I think about my last name, Cole. A strong name, a family name that goes as far back as the revolutionary war. Mom traced our ancestry to generals, engineers, and men who achieved great feats in their lifetime. I guess in my own personal quest with Evelyn, I am, in a way, achieving a great feat of my own, solidifying the reputation of my archaic surname, though a secret achievement.

"Come on guys. Just tell me where we are going. I'm going to know soon enough anyway. The three of them just stare at each other, trying to control their laughter. The surprise will remain a secret until we pull up somewhere recognizable. As we pull up to our house, I notice a red convertible in the drive way with its top down.

"Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me?" I shout. The four of us in the back jump out in excitement and awe. Robby races to the new convertible.

"You are the luckiest bastard alive!" Robby shouts. Lee and Taylor stroll behind me, watching my mouth drop. My eyes widen and my pulse accelerates. I feel like I have had a shot of adrenaline pumped through my veins.

Is it mine? "It's perfect!" I shout, unsure and a little confused.

"Yes, Son. It's yours." Dad puts his arm around me. "Mom and I have talked about it for some time and we saved. We wanted you to have a great graduation gift. You only graduate high school once and then you will be off to college. Plus, you won the big game the whole town is still talking about. We figure you deserve it."

"This is amazing, Dad!" I hug Dad, and for a moment all the silences between us, all the words never said, fade away into the background.

"Are you going to take it out for a spin?" Dad asks.

"Can I?"

"We took care of the registration, so sure, Son," Dad says.

"Be careful," Mom interrupts, "don't take it around the block too fast. Get used to it first. Drive slowly."

"Yes, Mom."

"Mind your mother," Dad reaffirms. I sprint into the red convertible.

"So, who is my first victim?" I laugh. Robby bounces into the passenger's seat, the only other seat in the car.

"I have known you the longest. I think I get some sort of seniority rights or something." I smile as I turn the key. The engine starts immediately, not like my old Chevy truck, which takes a few tries to get going. One click and the car is humming, ready for speed. Gradually, I pull out of the driveway. Taylor and Lee watch in extreme jealousy as we drive out of the neighborhood.

Mom yells, "Slow down!" I take the car around the neighborhood a few times and then let each of my other friends have a turn. Taylor beats Lee to the seat for the second trip, and then finally Lee's turn. Mom grows more comfortable with me driving by the time I return with Lee and makes her way inside to prepare dinner. Dad keeps his eyes on me the entire time, watching in parental pride as his son enters young adulthood.

The sun drops and my friends head home. I pull the car up and secure the top. Dad helps me, relaying to me what the salesman showed him. Smelling parsley chicken and mashed potatoes through the open window, my stomach growls. Skipping steps up the stairs, I go take a quick shower, and then head to the dining table. When I sit down, I notice a letter in an envelope on my place mat.

"What is this?" I ask. Mom glances up at me with a hint of concern.

"I found it at the door step on my way back from the rink this afternoon." She hesitates, "I think it is from Evelyn." Her name is like electricity flowing through my body, igniting everything inside to wake up: the ignored thoughts, the neglected pains, the worry, and the tears. I try so hard to push her to the back of my mind, to forget her until she needs me, until I can find a way to get to her. But on my birthday, I am reminded up close and personal about her again. My fingers, as if I am under hypnosis, rub over the letter delicately, and I open the letter wishing for her return.

Dearest Michael,

The war has begun. The dark ones are infiltrating my lands. But the elves are strong. Our desire to succeed is pushing them back. We have been trained by our shadow hunters. Many of us are proving to be invaluable to the protection and future of Emeralusia.

My family is doing well. Nile and Eve stay close to my side as we fight. Wind enjoys a battle or two on his own. His skills have improved since last you saw him. Venda hides and stays out of the war.

My hope is this war will be over quickly and I will be able to return to you and your world. But I cannot see the future and I do not know how long all of this will endure. Keep your eyes on the gate. I hope you are doing well. I know you celebrated your eighteenth birthday today; I have not forgotten. You will find a gift from me in this envelope with this letter. It is from my world, binding two together. I hope it gives you comfort and keeps our hearts close always.

With great affections,

Evelyn

I feel inside the envelope and touch a wooden ring with my fingers and pull the ring out and roll the wood shape onto my left pinky finger. The pinky is the only finger the ring fits. The wood smells of the bark in the white forest, made up of two long twigs interlaced, wrapped around each other, and ending in a knot. The knot sits where a diamond from my world might sit, made of only wood. Not precious jewels or stones, but I love it all the more.
Guardians

The letter Evelyn left at my front door keeps my head spinning in circles. "Keep your eyes on the gate," she said. A rush of excited energy pulsates in my veins. I debate with myself for a couple hours, and then decide I have to go to the gate. I pack a sandwich for lunch and carry a jacket in case it gets cold. Fall is approaching and the weather is sporadic.

The morning is warm, and the afternoon fills with cool breezes blown in from lowering temperatures, but today I am prepared. I drive my convertible toward Lake Forest, a thirty minute drive from where I live, and park near Evelyn's old house. Following the path I have taken many times before, I jump over dead logs, and trek through fallen leaves and twigs on the forest's damp soil floor. The tall tree with orange blossoms hangs above me, and I know the gate is there. A young woman stands behind the bushes with the sunshine bouncing off her face.

Her skin is caramel-colored. Her eyes are bright emerald. Hair is sandy-colored. "Evelyn?" She darts out from behind the bushes and approaches me cautiously. "Evelyn?" The sun vacates her features, and her caramel-colored skin fades to pale white. Sandy hair becomes dark brown, and her emerald eyes pierce into mine. She is a mirage. Evelyn is not here. Someone else has replaced Evelyn. Eyes tell me she knows who I am and to stay away from the gate, to leave this forest. But I can't. I have come too far to turn back and need to know where Evelyn is, and who is the nameless new guardian.

"Who are you?" She stares at me in silence. I ask her again. "Who are you?" I will not leave without answers; perhaps that is why she decides to answer.

"I am Rein," she says hesitantly, "the guardian of the gate." No...no...Evelyn is the guardian of the gate. Somehow her words sound like profanity against that fact.

"You are not the guardian of the gate," I say coldly.

"Yes, I am," she says with a matter of fact tone.

"What happened to Evelyn?"

"She has to help the elves fight. She will stay in Emeralusia." That is where she will be. That is what she will do. Evelyn's words told me that, but after hearing from another elf, it sinks in deep, so deep I can literally feel the reality like a knife cut into my side, into my heart. Rein's casual, detached tone makes this laceration all the more deep, and stings like salt to a wound.

"She is going to stay in Emeralusia, risk her life to save this world, your world, and you don't care."

"Of course I care, Michael." It is the first time she verbally acknowledges she knows me. "All the elves care. We simply show it differently than humans do. But this fight is her duty. This is the decision of the elder council, and not even I can stop it. Every elf will fight. Even I one day will have to fight the dark ones for my world."

"But now you are safe here in mine," I say with anger. She is here safe while my love is fighting for her life.

"Yes, for now." I see she hopes it will stay like this always, so she will not have to return and fight. She is an elf. She does not enjoy fighting. I see another part of her proud to help her kind, proud to be a warrior defending the peace of Emeralusia. She has a battle waging inside of her just like me, just like Evelyn.

"When will she return?"

"You know when, Michael. Why do you waste your time asking questions you already know the answers to?" I nod, ashamed in my anger against her, knowing she is right. She will come when the war ends, and no one knows when that will be.

"Can't I see her? Couldn't I just go to Emeralusia for a moment and promise to return before night fall? Couldn't you just this once help out a human, help out me?" My words seem hollow, and I see the distaste my question has brought to her face. The way her ears flip back, her lips curl. Or the way her eyes squint at me, and her mouth gasps.

"Help your kind before my own? Do you realize what you are asking of me? You are asking me to go against the elder council, to not heed their wise words, to break my code. I wouldn't do that, I couldn't do it. You are on your own, Michael. I'm sorry." I imagine the outcome was fixed before I ever asked the question, before I thought there may be an ounce of hope. Yet, the answer still fills me with emptiness.

"Please?" I beg, knowing the words have fallen on deaf ears, elongated and folded back, resistant to my pleas of bargaining. How could I have ever mistaken Evelyn for her, when this creature before me has a heart like stone?

Rein turns around and hides behind her bushes, behind the orange blossom tree. She crouches and guards the gate. She is doing what she promised the council. Evelyn is doing what she promised the council. I am a fraud. I cannot even keep the promise I gave to Evelyn, that I would respect the council's decision and stay away.

Plodding away from the gate, I feel defeated and ashamed. then, I decide then to keep to my word and return home. Evelyn does not need me. What she needs from me is for me to stay as far away from all of this as possible, for me to move on and let her fight. The hardest realization I have ever had. The realization that brings me the most internal pain. But true. I have to forget her, at least for now. I have to let her protect her world. I have to let go of everything that comes instinctively, like my need to protect her. I just have to wait until Evelyn finishes the war and chooses to return.

Jumping into my red convertible, I drive through the small town of Green Mountain Falls, speeding along the roads, dizzy. I eventually pull up to the local cafe as if familiarity will somehow pull me out of this turmoil. Mechanically, I open the café door and plod to my usual table. Gloria approaches me with a suspicious smile, but I am too involved in my own pain to notice her facial expressions.

"Alone again, Michael?"

"Yes, could you just bring me a coffee, please?"

"One coffee coming right up," she smiles. She turns and walks back behind the counter. Her black and white checkered waitress dress sways as she moves, like a penguin on ice. Hot milk sizzles out of the heating pipe and into the coffee, and then hear the whipped cream swoosh over the top. Gloria sits the coffee mug in front of me and takes a seat opposite me. "You know, for a boy who has just won the biggest soccer game in our town, you sure don't look too happy."

"I have a lot on mind."

"Must be a persistent ailment. I recall you have had quite a lot on your mind lately." I glance at my coffee. "This wouldn't have anything to do with a certain girl I saw with you in the spring would it? Rumor has it she and you got close but I haven't seen her around lately." I look up.

"Her name is Evelyn."

"Yes. Evelyn. I remember her." Saying her name out loud must have flustered me, because Gloria switches positions in her chair and eases backward. "Is your coffee warm enough? It is getting cold out these days. Fall is just around the corner." She even changes the subject.

"Yes, it is warm enough, thank you. Tell me, do you see a lot of people here?"

"I sure do. Everyone living in Green Mountain Falls eventually comes through these doors."

"You are across the street from Lake Forest?"

"Yes," she says slowly.

"Could you do me a favor?"

"Sure."

"If you ever see Evelyn, or ever see anything strange in the forest, could you please give me a call?" Gloria stares at me for a few moments with a look of concern and a wrinkle between her brows telling me she is a bit confused. "Anything strange at all, you will call me, promise?"

"Sure."

"Or if you see Evelyn."

"Is she missing?"

"Just promise me, Ok?"

"I promise. Evelyn or anything strange you will be the first to know alright?" She grins with words that come easy to her.

"Thank you." I leave the change for the coffee on the table and return home. I don't want to be near Lake Forest, or near anything reminding me of Evelyn, unless I absolutely have to be, unless she is there waiting for me. In my room, throw my hands over my desk, over the letters she has written to me, over the books of poetry we have shared. Throwing them into my bookcase, I close the door. I can't be reminded of them, of her. My hands hit against my window and throw the Phil Collin's CD onto the floor.

My head knows what I have to do, but my heart has not caught up with my head yet. This will take some getting used to, some time to mull over. I snuggle with the covers. The nights are cooler with autumn approaching, taking away all traces of spring and early summer. I try to sleep, but I am restless. Night air slips over me and around my neck. Feels like a scarf strangling, tighter and tighter, a grip squeezing the life out of me. Something is not right. Something is wrong. I sit up and my cell phone rings. G L O R I A flashes on my cell phone ID. I flip it open.

"Gloria? What is it?"

"You said to call you if anything was strange?"

"What is it?"

"There are strange noises outside. I hear howling and scratching at the front door of the café. I won't look. I am too afraid."

"Where are you now?"

"I am in the storage room."

"Stay there, Gloria. Don't leave the storage room. I will be there soon."

"Why? What is it Michael?"

"These animals, I think they are the same ones that killed Mom's friend from the Home Depot. Stay where you are. Lock the door."

"Ok, Michael." Her stressed voice ends with a click. I grab the flute Venda gave me from off my desk and climb out of my window, down the tree, and get into my new car. I drive for twenty minutes, speeding down the roads to the café and pull up along the side of Lake Forest. A shadow stands at the front door stands of the café. It scratches at the window and howls. I blow the flute, but don't hear a sound. I blow again. Nothing. I blow harder.

This one is the larger shadow wolf. This one is more dangerous. Gloria is in danger. I am in danger. Why is this flute not working? I shake the flute anxiously in my hands and it drops to the floor of my convertible. I bend over to pick the flute up, and when I lift my head, I see the beast. The wolf hovers over my windshield, then pounces on top of the car and pounds its paws into my hood. I blow the flute harder and harder. My lips and cheeks puff in pain. Venda where are you? The shadow wolf throws its fist through my windshield and its claws wrap around my throat. The large beast pulls me out in one motion and propels me over the pavement of the street.

My body rolls a few times. I shake my head to clear my mind and struggle to rise, ignoring the blood dripping from my arm. I don't notice the pain of being thrown to the street and can only think of surviving this, of rescuing Gloria. She is not a part of this. She does not deserve this. The monster came for me, for my world because of me. This is my fight. The shadow wolf crouches low and lunges. The monster jumps onto me with paws on either side of my face, and my body pinned to the ground.

I start to hyperventilate, and then I remember the fight Evelyn challenged me to in the forest when Wind was training me. Kicking my leg into the stomach, one of the paws release. I punch the black leather face and the beast retreats just a few inches from my face and growls. I kick both my legs into the chest again and the other paw releases as I squirm out from under. Red, dead eyes glow in the night and the air darkens and tightens around me. I know why I feel like this: because death is here. So, I run back towards Lake Forest.

The shadow wolf follows and chases after me; I am sure this time I will not get away. But a flash of light appears between me and the monster. Light becomes blond-haired, pale-faced, emerald-eyed-Wind! He pushes the shadow wolf back and wrestles it to the ground. Another flash of light appears to Wind's left, a dark-brown haired, pale-faced elf with turquoise eyes appears. Hair is cropped short behind her ears. Lean, strong body looks like a trained ballerina. Motions are deliberate and delicate in appearance, but brutal in force.

To Wind's right another flash of light appears, weaker than the other two. A small emerald-eyed elf with a pale face and long dark hair stands beside him-Venda! I retreat to Lake Forest astonished and still in shock. Wind pins the beast's wolfish head to the hard cement of the street with his hands.

The other elfin angelic body flips over the pavement and she lands on her feet, her motions delicate like a ballerina performance. The elfin digs her fingers into the bestial fur and skin of the wolf. The beast howls in pain, louder then I have ever heard any shadow wolf. Screams of its death echos in my mind and chills run up my arms and spine. Venda looks at me and rushes to my side.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, I thought you didn't hear me. I was so scared."

"We heard you. The flute is silent to your human ears."

"Who...who is the other elf?"

"Lilly. She is a friend of Wind's."

"She is a turquoise-eyed elf?"

"Yes. She is from the turquoise lake." I look at Wind and Lilly, standing over the beast as its fur turns green, its red eyes close, and its breathing stops. Wind pulls the beast up over his shoulders and carries it into Lake Forest. We all follow behind him: Wind, Venda, me, and lastly Lilly. The sound of the twigs crunch under our feet and keeps me aware of my surroundings.

We stop at the orange blossom tree and Wind drops the beast to the ground in front the unseen gate. The new guardian, Rein, looks at Wind with worrisome eyes. Her face is scratched from her left eye to the bottom of her left lip. The scratch reminds me of the one on Nile's face.

"What is it?" Wind asks sharply.

"The beasts. They made it through the gate."

"What beasts?"

"Three beasts ran through it. I tried to fight them off, but they were too strong. You and Lilly were away fighting the danger. I was left alone. I had no help. I couldn't fight the three of them. I'm sorry."

"A trap." Lilly speaks almost inaudibly. These words are the first she has said. With these two words, Wind knows exactly what happened. The burden of this reality shows on his face.

"They used our vulnerability for you, Michael, to divide the guardians of the gate. They knew I would leave the gate on our side of the world to protect you. They used that to make the gate vulnerable and let the others through." Wind hits his forehead. "I should have seen it!"

"They are clever, Wind," Venda says. "We couldn't know they would sacrifice their strong leader to let others inside his world." Rein looks over to Wind with fear.

"I don't think he was their leader, Wind."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, the three that made it through had strength I have never seen. I think they are shadow wolf leaders." Rein reaches her hands out to Wind. "Hold my hand. See what I see." Wind walks to Rein and grasps her hand. Lilly and Venda follow. For a quiet moment, I am a part of their secret, their deepest, ancient way of communicating.

The four of them hold hands in perfect unison, perfect harmony. As if they are all one for this moment, experiencing Rein's recent events. I wonder if man will ever become this close to peace. Venda trembles and shakes and then cries. She is wise and beyond her years, but this is too much for her. Hands are released and Lilly comforts Venda with a hug, as I rub Venda's hands in mine.

"It's okay, Venda. It will be okay," I tell her, but I don't know how convinced I am since I hardly believe the words. Wind pulls Venda up off the ground and into his arms. She holds on to him as the big brother she has known her whole life.

"We don't have much time. The shadow hunters will be here and we have to get you home," Wind says. I am in too much shock to argue. The three elves see me to my house and into my room, and then they disappear out the window from where they came.
Falling

The second week of the month does not bring the outcome I hope. Instead of seeing Evelyn again, it grows more dangerous here. Beasts lurk in the night. Three escaped the gate. I will never forget the fear I saw in Wind's eyes the night he frantically took me to my home.

With the elves busy protecting their own world, and a new guardian to the gate, who has no personal feeling for me, how can I really be safe from the dark ones? During night, while I toss and turn, I try to fall asleep. No one can protect me but myself. The only way any of us can be sure of my safety and the safety of my world is when the shadow wolves are dead. Shadow hunters will have to come. They will have to hunt.

Laura's family has been slowly coming to terms with her death. Sometimes it does not feel real to them, or me. Her mother tells me she keeps thinking Laura will walk through the front door one day. Sometimes her mom swears to have heard her downstairs or seen her walk out the back door. The death hasn't fully sunk in, that she is gone-forever. I was never close to Laura, but her absence is felt by everyone. Her mother questions me about the night she died and what I saw.

I always feel bad having to lie to her. "I didn't see anything. I didn't hear anything. I only found the body and someone called the police." This is the story I stick too. The story keeping the pain of the truth away from her, the truth of her daughter's suicide. Death of a loved one is difficult enough to bear without the reality of the victim's suffering to get there. She was a good student and loved by everyone. She fell while being attacked by a strange animal on the roof of the local library. This is how she will be remembered. This is how, at least, her family will remember her.

The recent news in the papers and on television is again of strange animals in the area, keeping the pain of Laura's death burning in the hearts of her family and friends. Knowing these animals killed a young girl who came from a family that everyone in the town knows and have met at one time or another keeps fear fresh in the air. Forest raccoons and bears are found mauled to death with strange claw marks and rips into their skin. These marking are similar to the markings found on the other animals found earlier in the year. Summer is normally full of fun adventure, noise and laughter. But this summer is dark with warnings on the news to stay indoors and everyone is scared.

Many kids hide indoors, and when night falls few are seen on the streets. News tells us all to stay away from the forests until a tracking party is able to locate the creatures responsible. The community is unaware that the real culprits have been killed by my elf friends from a world long ago devastated by our ancestors. They are unaware the creatures they hunt are new, stronger, and more determined to kill us. They don't know these creatures envy the land forbidden to them and don't know these monsters will stop at nothing to acquire it all.

My nights, like everyone's, are uneasy because the moon rises and the sun sets, telling me there is a door for creatures of the night. I am tormented. Humans are most vulnerable while asleep. We are not aware of our surroundings while engaged in the dreams of our mind and are oblivious to the death night brings. We can only hope we awake in time. I stay awake most of the night in fear. This leaves me tired in the morning. I struggle to be on guard and can't keep this up. I must close my eyes. I must close my eyes. The night air stirs my open window and brushes across my face, taunting me. My eyelids close, lingering there just for a moment in this silence. Finally sleep...

I run. I try to run far from it all, but the wolf is faster; the wolf has speed I do not possess. Cannot run fast enough, and soon the beast has caught up with me. Through Lake Forest I run, looking for Evelyn, searching for life. All life around me is dead, gone. Remains of bloody battles litter the forest floor. I am alone, chased by the bloody beast. Blood drips from its teeth, its eyes are violent red. I call to Evelyn, Nile, Eve, Venda, Wind. No one can hear me. No one is alive. I am all there is in this forest, in their world and mine. Cannot run anymore. I fall to the forest's moist floor and wait. I wait to be devoured.

...My alarm goes off and tears my mind away from my dream and compels me to rise. My legs hit the floor. The morning alarm keeps me from sleeping in all day. Mom and Dad are downstairs, grumbling and arguing over something, but I can't make out the words. I stand at my door, quietly. Their noise travels upstairs.

"He can't stay locked up all summer. He has to get out and participate in life. I know everyone is afraid. But this is ridiculous." Dad's stern voice sounds so sure, and yet so sad.

"He is just a boy. He could get hurt. Who knows what is out there? Forest animals have been found ripped apart like...like... I just don't want to see him get hurt, to end up like...them." I know who she is referring to. I know the death of Laura and Mr. Folgers from the Home Depot take a large toll on the town.

"He is a growing kid and he needs to be socializing with his friends, out and about in the town, having fun like kids do here."

"Maybe he and his friends could come here and do something at the house? Maybe they could stay inside where I can see them?"

"I'll ask Michael about it, if he ever comes down from his room. He has been spending too much time alone." I can't go out with my friends knowing three shadow wolves are out there just waiting for the right scent to catch, waiting for the right time to attack.. I can't endanger their lives. But I don't want to keep my parents worrying about me upstairs alone the rest of summer either. I know what I have to do. After showering, I get dressed and walk to the dining table to start my breakfast cereal. Dad joins with a cup of coffee.

"Hey, Dad, why aren't you at work this morning?"

"All rangers have this week off, but we are on call."

"That gives you more time at home. This is good."

"I wouldn't need to be on call if these animals, whatever they are, were not out there." He shakes his head. "I don't get it. We have studied the scratches and rips in the victims, all the victims." I know this means both the animals and people. "Just doesn't make sense. The markings are like nothing we have ever seen. What could do this?" A part of me yearns to yell the truth, purge myself of it. The smarter part of me knows Dad would never believe me.

"You'll get them Dad. You always do," I say. Dad smiles under a tired face.

"Has Evelyn come back? When will we see her again?"

"I...I am not sure. She is busy with...you know...college stuff. She has to interview. Sometimes she travels out of state."

"There is a girl with a good head on her shoulders. What happened to your aspirations of college, Son?"

"Dad, I am still going to college, to Yale. I am just taking off a few months." My face flushes.

"Never mind." Dad sips his coffee and takes a few breaths. "So, what do you think about inviting a few of your friends here to hang out? I mean instead of going out? Mom thinks it will be a good idea."

"Sounds fine. I'll call them."

"Good." Dad leaves the room. I have never heard Dad say so much in such a short amount of time. After breakfast I call Lee, Sarah, Taylor, and Robby. Taylor and Robby are busy fixing up Taylor's boat. Lee and Sarah tell me they will come by later after lunch.

I read a few magazines while I wait for Lee and Sarah to arrive. Time flies, lost in my imagination. The doorbell rings and Mom yells up to me from downstairs.

"Lee and Sarah are at the door." I run down the carpeted stairs, taking two at a time. Lee and Sarah wait on the sofa with a cranberry iced tea Mom brought each of them. They chat like two peas in a pod, whispering secrets to each other I long to hear.

"Hey, Lee and Sarah, it is good to see you." I put my hands on their shoulders as I pass the sofa. "Sarah, it's been how long since I've seen you?"

"Awhile," she giggles. "I think it was Taylor's end of the year party, right?"

"About that long. Good to see you." She is taller than Lee, and she leans into him with her legs crossed to match his height.

"How has your summer been?" Lee asks.

"Unpredictable," I say.

"Yeah, good word for it with all these creepy animals lately," Sarah interjects. She folds her arms. "My parents complain all the time about how they moved here to raise me in a nice environment. Now they say it isn't safe here anymore either. Like nowhere is safe anymore."

How true those words are. They don't even realize how unsafe this town has become. To them, these creatures are only unidentified animals easily taken care of by the rangers if they could find them. I know better. These creatures are not animals. They are monsters, beasts, and the rangers are of no threat to them. It will take more than a group of rangers to put right all this wrong. If only we were safe once again.

"Mom almost didn't let me out of the house to come here. I had to beg her and reassure her we were not heading out anywhere." Lee shakes his head back and forth. "I was looking forward to this summer, and since the graduation party and your birthday party summer was going great. But now, we have a month left of summer and no way Mom is going to let me out boating on that lake. There is just nothing to do anymore." He laughs shaking his head. "And I thought there was nothing to do before."

"This will get better. They just have to find those animals and then our parents will let up. The town will let up," Sarah says.

"I hope so," Lee says.

"Why don't we go swimming here in my pool?" I suggest.

"That's a great idea," Lee agrees.

"And what am I going to wear swimming? You could have mentioned this brilliant idea before I left my house." Sarah raises her eyebrows in question.

"Why don't you wear a suit of my mom's? She's got a bunch of them."

"Your mom won't mind?"

"Mom will be happy as long as we stay at home," I laugh.

"Alright," Sarah agrees.

Lee and I head out to the pool in our shorts and Sarah searches for Mom. I dive in head first, swim to the bottom of the pool, and then come up for air. Lee sits at the edge of the pool.

"What are you waiting for?"

"It is kind of cold."

"Nonsense." I pull myself out of the pool and stroll over to Lee casually. I thrust my hands toward his shoulders and push him into the chilly water. Lee stumbles into the pool yelling. "Not so bad is it?" I remark.

Lee splashes water up into my face. I dive back in and then we both head to the bottom. We swish our hands back and forth, pulling ourselves back up to the surface. Sarah walks out the pool area and sits by the edge.

"So you two have already got a head start on me." Lee and I look at each other with a grin on both our faces; we know what the other is thinking. We swim over to Sarah and each take a leg to pull her in while she screams at us to stop. Sarah falls in and the three of us laugh. She pulls me under the water and she reminds me of a surreal mermaid with her hair wrapping around her body.

I am reminded this is Sarah after all, when Lee grabs her legs and she kicks him back like a sister to a brother. The two of them play a game of chase around the pool. Mom carries sandwiches and more iced tea for us on trays with a smile. But safety is only temporary, an illusion. Danger is never gone and we are never safe until the darkness has been destroyed.

After my friends leave and we have had our dinner, I get ready for bed. Another night of restless sleep awaits me. In the middle of the night, screams permeate my room, and my dreams of swimming in the emerald lake with Evelyn and drying off on the green meadows are interrupted.

I awake to a loud noise and jump from my bed, racing to the screams from my mother downstairs, skipping two and three at a time. Her fear rips into my ears, louder than the sounds of my screeching convertible; they are sounds I have never heard my mother make before tonight. I race to her, frantic.

"What is it? What's wrong?" I yell at her, but she does not say anything. She raises her hand and points her forefinger straight ahead. I look and see our sliding glass door with a monster lurking behind. "It has found us, has found me." I stand, gasping those words aloud and hear my heart pound inside of me. The beast is larger than I remember, or perhaps because this one is bigger. This is the one Rein warned us about. This one is a leader. Was it sent to hunt me down and kill me?

Hard to think, but I have to. I have to save Mom. All I can do for a good two minutes is stare at the thing outside our door, with only glass separating the beast from us. I grab Mom's hands and pull her away from the kitchen, away from the sliding glass door. We carefully back away into the living room out of its line of sight. But it can still smell, and its sense of smell is strong. Holding my mother's hand tight, we hold each other in the quiet darkness of the living room.

Tears stream down her face as she begins to process what this hideous thing is outside her house. I release her hand and slowly return to the kitchen. But the shadow wolf is not behind the glass door and there is no broken glass on the floor. My hands shake, and then my body, as I think of it inside our home. I race to the living room, the dining room, and upstairs to look inside my room. My window is still shut and locked. Nothing is broken. There are no sounds and there is no sign of the monster anywhere.

I return to the living room where Mom sits on the sofa with her face in her tear soaked hands. Dad is still upstairs asleep and will probably stay that way for a long time, since he is in the habit now of taking sleeping medication before bed. I sit with Mom until the sun rises. The monster left and doesn't come back. But it will. Mom is quiet in my arms like a frozen doll.
Hunting

Shadows lurk everywhere. Eyes are on my skin. I walk to the café and feel their presence. I walk home and feel their eyes on me. In the third week of this month, my window is open when I awaken. I closed it last night, didn't I?

The next night, I watch the window closely. I shut and lock the window tight and close the curtains, go to bed and try to sleep. I must have dozed off because I awaken the next morning refreshed and anxious to check my window. Still closed and locked with the curtain drawn, just as I had left it.

I have to meet Robby at the lake. I tell Mom I am heading to the café. Animals have been found dead in the lake, and it has become one of those places reeking with rumors of ghosts, extra–terrestrials, and unsolved mysteries. Stories about the lake, and what life is there, grow like vines strangling the trees, determined to reach sunlight. Many in town don't come to the lake anymore, but there are a few of us actually intrigued. Robby is one of those guys and we want to take Taylor's boat out for a look at the lake ourselves. Taylor will meet up with us later.

I pull up to the lake and remember when the four of us took Lee's boat fishing. Robby is already reversing the boat into the water with his truck and waving me to come out and help him. I park my convertible and jump into the boat, ready to explore this "forbidden territory."

The lake is much the same as I remember, and wonder how a few months could have possibly changed the waters so much. I hold on to the boat's rim as Robby propels forward. The summer sun has almost all but vanished and a new sun sits low in the sky, a fall sun. A cool breeze brushes over my skin. I let the fast speed blow the wind through my hair and the memories of our high school outing on this lake flow back to me. Robby drives around a marshy area and I relax as we swerve past. I am almost at peace, remembering all of our fun on this lake...and then I see it-a brown, bloody thing bobbing up and down near the marsh.

"Robby, pull over. I saw something."

"What?

"I don't know what it is. Just pull over so I can take a look at it." The boat slows down and we swerve. Robby eases the boat to a halt. We peek over the side and see a dark brown, bloody carcass bob in the waves from the boat's movements.

"It...it looks like..." I stutter.

"A bear?" Robby says in disbelief. "How did a bear get ripped apart like that and dragged into this lake?"

"I don't like the look of this." I glance around the marsh with a vigilant and suspicious mind. "We should get out of here. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea."

"Maybe not. I saw on the news yesterday that a bear was mauled down in Lake Forest. What kind of animal has such strength to do that?"

"Let's just go," I say, and Robby agrees. He turns the engine back on, swerving the boat around and in the direction of shore.

"Taylor should be at the park by now. I bet he is waiting at my truck."

"I think I see him over there." I point ahead. Taylor waves back, telling us to come pick him up. But this lake has become something new, something different, something feared. No longer the lake I remember. Robby pulls the boat up to rest on the shore while he gets the truck.

"What are you guys doing? I thought we were going boating today?" Taylor says angrily.

"We were, but we saw something. I don't think it is a good idea to go boating on this lake. Not until the ranger tracks down those animals." I try to ease his frustration, a frustration growing in the wrinkle in his forehead and lifting in his brows.

"What did you see?" Lee asks. Robby loads the boat onto the trailer and pulls it out of the water. "A bear torn apart and dragged to the lake. That is not right." Robby interjects from the window of his truck.

"Yeah, what's not right is that we aren't going boating." Taylor argues.

"Next time," I say.

I jump back into my car and head home. Taylor gets into Robby's truck and they take Taylor's boat back home.

When I wake up the next morning, I walk to my desk and grab a book of poems. I notice the window open again. Did I close it last night?

The next night, I stay watchful for anyone or anything entering my bedroom. I force my eyes to stay open, pretend to sleep and keep my door locked in case something gets inside. I don't want danger to come into my parent's room at night when they are most vulnerable, sleeping. My eyes close, wanting to rest, but I force them open again. Keeping my head on my pillow, I attempt a rest like state. I have to see the beast and know what the thing wants.

Branches from the trees scratch over my window. Night air hits the pane and creaks through this quiet, dark room. Sometime in the middle of the night, I hear my window open and see the curtains push back. My body freezes in fear, but my mind and eyes are wide awake.

I watch a dark figure crawl through my window and land on my carpeted floor. Then the figure moves towards my bed. Too dark to make out the figure. The shape rises and gets taller, until leaning over my bed. I close my eyes as the stranger touches my arm and brings its nose close to me to smell. I hear the breathing, feel the nose moist and cold. Hearing the shape step away from my bed and towards the door, I open my eyes. The moon light shines through my window and over the frame. Almost human like.

My heart pounds in my chest and keeps me on edge. I can't let it go through that door, to my parents. Rolling off my bed, I flip the light switch on my wall. The artificial light shines throughout my room and over the figure. The shape is human-like, with pale bluish-white skin, long white hair, turquoise eyes, and elongated ears.

"You're a Shadow Hunter! I remember you. I saw you in the white forest!"

"Yes, keep it down. I am here to help you."

"Which one are you?"

"I'm Scout. Star and Spear are outside."

"Outside where?" She points her finger to the window at the wet ground below. Star stands with his white hair bundled into a braid and Spear stands nearby with one hand against the tree and the other raking over his white mohawk. Turquoise eyes glow in the dark.

"Why are you sneaking into my room?"

"We didn't want to startle your parents, or the neighborhood. We don't exactly blend in here."

"Was that you the other night?"

"Yes. Well, technically that was Star."

"What did you want?"

"We were protecting you. We saw a shadow wolf near your home and scared it away."

"You scared it away?" I rub my eyes. "But why did you sneak in my room?"

"Star wanted to make sure we had the right person as many of you smell so similar. Once we got a sample of your scent and took it back to Evelyn, we knew it was you. Then we came back to get you."

"You saw Evelyn?" The name resonates in my ears and I don't want it to disappear. "How is she?"

"She tries hard to train with Wind and has fought several shadow wolves. There was a group of wolves a couple of nights ago. Wind, Evelyn, and a few others followed their scent and killed the wolves. Evelyn only got a scratch to her hand. We hoped you could help us in our hunting in your world. They are much larger than what we are accustomed too, and we believe they represent three leader wolves from the shadow lands." Scout looks outside the window down at Spear and Star. "If we can destroy these three, we will have a better chance at winning this war."

"Anything I can do to help, I will do it." I say these words with certainty. Evelyn should not be the only one battling for peace.

"I'm glad to hear it, Michael, because we will need your help tonight."

"Tonight?"

"Are you ready?" she asks. I don't have to think for any length of time.

"Yes." Scout grabs my hand and walks me to the open window. I stare down below to Star and Spear. Star glances at me as Scout pulls me over her shoulders. She is surprisingly strong, stronger than Evelyn. Her shoulders feel like boulders, and yet she appears as fragile as Evelyn. She leaps onto the tree near the window and scales down like a tiger with me on her back. I hold on to her tightly, closing my eyes and hoping I don't fall off of her.

She lands on the wet ground. I open my eyes and Spear stands in front of me with a crooked smile. Up close his skin has a hint of brown. I'm not sure I trust him. Scout's long white hair blows in the night air and her skin glows glittery gold. Spear runs his fingers through his white mohawk. Scout pulls me to her. She is taller than the others. Spear is wider and more robust. Star looks up at the sky and smells the air. He appears lost in his thoughts.

"Where are we going?" I ask.

"We are going to hunt. You are going to have to be patient." Scout smiles while she says this. A fluttery noise sounds behind some trees and a small white creature swoops over me, forcing me to lower my head. I wave my hands back and forth, afraid like I am afraid of bats. The creature lands on Scout's extended arm as I walk over to her and make out its shape. Looks like a miniature dragon, white in color.

"What is it?" I ask.

"My white dragon," Scout smiles proudly. Eyes glow turquoise under fluttering long black lashes, like Scout's own eyes, and cuddles its head under her chin.

"Who...how?" I forget my question.

"It's important not ask too many questions, Michael. You will only confuse yourself."

The three of them walk off my yard and I follow behind Scout, uncertain of where we are heading, uncertain of my future, but knowing I am taking my future into my own hands. I follow, watching them closely, learning how they move, talk, and work together.

Scout uses her nose as a keen smelling device. Star and Spear follow her closely, waiting for her signal. Spear is vigilant and alert of his surroundings. He walks with heavy strides and a long spear in his left hand. He holds it like en elder would hold a staff. Hands grip it tightly, firmly, as if allowing any air between the spear and his fingers would release it from his power.

Star watches the luminous stars in the sky and I gather this is why they each have their names. Scout spins her hand around, releasing her white dragon into the night air. The dragon flies high above us, searching like a hawk for the wolves and doesn't take long for one of the wolves' scents to drift into the direction of the three hunters. Scout has led us in the right direction. Spear lowers his body; his wood spear stands straight in his hands. Star glances around the area. Scout continues forward.

The white dragon circles above us, and this seems to be a signal to the three hunters to prepare for battle. They look at each other as if kismet has brought us all together under this dark sky. I wait behind them, for them to fight and tell me what to do, for me to see an opening where I can help. This will be the first battle I have chosen. I want to be careful. Watching Scout, her motions are so automatic, like she has done this a thousand times. Star is calm and waits behind the other two.

Spear breathes deep. He lowers his body, looking for an opportunity to attack. They can smell the wolves in the air like a bad odor. When the wolf approaches it is alone. The beast crawls out from behind trees in a nearby forest and onto the street. Spear quickly changes his stance, but Star seems content with the position he has chosen. Scout smiles wide like she has been waiting for this moment for a long time. The wolf stands tall, frightening to me, but seemingly harmless to the three hunters. The wolf notices the three of them ready for killing and cowers back into the forest slowly, eyeing each of them carefully.

Behind the trees the sound of rustling leaves tells me the wolf is darting away quickly, seeking an escape. But Spear won't give this beast mercy. The monster doesn't deserve it. A strange warrior cry echoes out of the belly of Spear as he charges into the forest. I watch, almost like this is not happening in front of me, like it is some B-grade movie I have rented. Surreal. But soon the line between reality and fantasy is no longer blurred. I am here on the street with these hunters, with this wolf and watch for real, not as in a movie.

Spear dashes off toward the forest. I see him throw his spear high into the air and watch the stick plummet back down to earth into something dark and furry. Squeals sound loud. Spear has hit the beast. Spear runs into the forest and then I see nothing. Only hearing the sound of the spear entering the monsters flesh again, another squeal, and then silence. Spear walks out of the forest with the wolf over his shoulders and a look of pride written all over his face.

The three of us follow Spear as he walks with the dead beast back to the gate. The first hunt is finished and I was not needed. The others were not needed. Perhaps this is why Star was so calm. Perhaps he has grown accustomed to the fights, knowing how they would begin and end, and knowing his force was probably unnecessary. Spear is a most capable warrior. A heart of passion for the hunt and a mind to conquer.

The white dragon flies out of the circling night air and swoops down to Scout. Turquoise eyes glow deep in this darkness. Scout strokes her neck, and the white dragon makes a whistling sound that must mean it is content. Scout throws me onto her back to keep the pace fast. The three of them move quickly on the road and into Lake Forest.

Rein guards the gate and the memory of Evelyn floats into my mind. I remember her lips and her smile as she stood before this gate, guarding it, watching me. A bittersweet memory. Spear tosses the wolf into the invisible gate and the dark, furry mass passes through it and disappears.

"You found one!" Rein congratulates.

"We still have two more to kill," Spear says, with emphasis on "kill." He sounds like he enjoys his work. I guess it is important if one is dedicated in their life to this service. But I see what Evelyn meant when she gave me warnings of these shadow hunters. They are different from her fragile, gentle demeanor. They are aggressive and passionate about hunting, and they are relentless in their pursuit. It is in their eyes.

What scares me most is how I feel about this. It doesn't scare me-it intrigues me, and the more I see them cohesively hunting, the more I long to be like them. They are distinctly different from Evelyn's kind, from the emerald-eyes. But I am not all convinced this is a bad thing.

"How much longer do you think it will take to get the other two?" Spear turns to Scout.

"I sense them in the area. We just have to spend more time here," Scout smiles.

"But their size, they are so big. What does it mean?" Rein asks with a tremble in her voice.

"It means if we kill them, we have three less leaders to kill in Emeralusia. It means the shadow wolves will be more vulnerable." Star's eyes twitch as he speaks and they sparkle like stars in the night sky.

"What about Michael?" Rein asks. "Shouldn't we..."

"Michael is fine. He will be a great help to us in catching the other two," Scout says. "There is no need to worry about him."

"It's only Evelyn. She said to keep him away from all of this."

"It is Michael's decision, and you want to help us don't you, Michael?" Scout demands.

"Yes, yes I do," I answer without question or hesitation.. The three hunters walk over to the orange blossom tree; blossoms hang over the invisible gate, dancing over Rein. They whisper too low for me to hear. Rein watches them with carefully and then looks over to me. Emerald eyes tell a different story from the three hunters, a different past that does not link her to them, but only to her emerald kind. Eyes long to speak to me, but she turns away and looks back to the hunters and the moment is gone.

"Are we hunting? We have two more to kill before the sun comes up," I say.

"Yes, Michael is right, we had better get going," Star says. Following behind the three of them like I did before, I am more confident this can be done. I don't have to be afraid with protection from three elves and, I tell myself, when these elves are united, no two wolves can destroy them. Spear single handedly killed one of these enlarged wolves without pause, without fear, and without help. This battle is going to be won and I am on the winning side.
Pawn

Night is dark and the air is still cold. Cold night air reminds me of death as we walk down the streets of Green Mountain Falls. The town is asleep, and the sun is asleep, but we are awake. Scout, Star, Spear, and I walk in unison, one after the other down the paved roads, like warriors on a mission.

Anything that becomes an obstacle in our path is pushed aside, discarded, or destroyed. Nothing will stop the hunters from their kill. A fight, seething in their blood, waiting to be satiated. Star's long, braided hair sways as we move. Spear is in front of me. His body is shorter than the other two, but his stride is still longer than mine. Ears twist left and right. They raise and lower like a listening device.

Scout appears to be the leader, because she walks in front, yet she speaks with Star, checking for direction and approval. Star is the one with the final word. He is the decision maker. Blue-white skin reminds me of some of the moss in the forests, milky and smooth in texture.

Scout and Spear's skin color is more similar to the pale skin I know, but their variant hues underneath glitter in the moonlight when the light hits them. Scout and Spear behave like lovers; Star acts like a father.

Suddenly, Star crouches to the ground, his body poised like a snake about to strike. His nose recoils in disgust at the new found scent he has detected.

"You have them." Spear sees Stars action.

"Yes," Star says simply.

"Then let's follow it." They look at each other and a decision has been made.

"Wait here," Scout commands as I try to follow them down the road. "We will get this one on our own." She pushes my body back with her hands. Tiny hands weighs on me like heavy rocks. I have no choice. I don't have the physical strength to choose differently. Scout and Spear run ahead of Star. Then they disappear in the night's darkness.

I wait. I sit on the road with my hands over my knees. There is a rustle of leaves in the trees across the street; my instincts tell me to stand. My body weight shifts and I walk backward away from the trees, from the strange rustling sound. The sounds get louder. A dark shadow emerges from the trees as a hiss blows in my direction. A wolf, and I am alone. The beast approaches me on this empty street. Thoughts race through my mind of what I can do to escape. As I wonder if I can outrun it, images flash through my mind of Laura jumping off the Library building. Without a moment to think of what I should do, I scream.

"It's here!" Even if I had only spoken the words, they would hear them with their elongated ears. But I have no time to think, no time to reason. An instinctive cry, like a baby animal makes to its mother in the wilderness. Hunters must not have been far away, because when I glance up, I see the three of them surrounding the street. Scout is opposite me on the other side. Spear is to my right and Star is on my left. The shadow wolf is surrounded. The hunters focus on their prey, their eyes pass over me like I am just another tree.

The hunters arrived suddenly because they never left. This is a trap and I am the bait. The realization strikes me hard, like lightning strikes its victim. I fall to the ground as if I have taken a hit to the head. Evelyn was right to fear their coming. They are ruthless and I am beginning to see how ruthless they are. I watch the fight from the street, from my fallen position.

Star's body moves like he's about to take off in a sprint and pounce onto the creature if needed (even from a good few yards away). Spear's hands are in the air. His spear is positioned ready to be thrown from a distance. His feet are firmly fixed.

Scout watches the creature with intense eyes. |She positions her hands upward in front of her chest, like she is about to pound her chest in some Amazon tribal way. Then Star's hands circle in a motion which outlines the wolf's body and she adjusts her stance. She marks the place of attack, the best position for lifting off the ground and clawing it. The beast hisses and growls. The monster stares at me as if I have planned it all.

Lunging forward in attack, the beast jumps across the street and lands a few feet away from me. I pull myself back, while still on the ground, staring at its eyes. Beet-red pupils glow. Black leather face stretches as the mouth bellows.

Scout flips off the ground into the air while her white dragon swoops down, catching her legs with its oversized claws. The white dragon flies her over to the wolf as quickly as the wolf lunges towards me, leaving no time to attack. Spear thrusts his spear forward. The spear glides through the air and into the back of the shadow wolf, slicing into thick fur and deep into flesh. Crimson blood seeps out from the wound.

Scout grabs the spear, and the white dragon holds Scout over the dying monster. I pull myself up off the ground, watching a few feet away at what could have been my death. While the hunters' attentions are fixated on the killing of this creature, I retreat down the street to get as far away from this as I can.

Now, I understand the look in Rein's eyes. I understand the fear in her voice when she spoke of Evelyn protecting me and wanting me to stay away from all of this. I had grown to trust the elves because of Evelyn, Nile, Eve, Venda, and even eventually Wind. This trust led me into the grips of danger. Running, I hear the echoing screams of death from the second wolf at the hunters' hands. I run without looking back. Scout drops out of the sky and lands in front of me. The white dragon circles above us.

"Why are you running? We killed it. You don't have to run."

"Yes, I do. You used me. I am a pawn in this game and you used me to catch that thing. Evelyn was right to warn me about you."

"Michael, we did what we had to do to catch it. You were in no danger. We were following its scent. We wouldn't let it harm you."

"Why? Why did you do it?"

"We had to leave you vulnerable to get the creature to come out of hiding. The wolves smell us. The first one was easy, because it has not killed elves. But the other two are better killers. They know we are shadow hunters. We had to fish it out." Her words make sense, but I still don't know how much I can trust her. Spear and Star catch up to us, without even panting for breath. Star has a concerned face.

"Are you alright, Michael?" His face is serious and sincere. I look at the three of them near me, a shield of protection, and yet still another possible reason to fear for my life. I shake my head.

"I don't know."

"Michael is afraid of us, I think," Scout whispers to Star.

"Then maybe it is time," Star says. Time for what, what have they got planned now? Am I going to be bait again?

"Will you follow us, please, Michael?" Scout asks sincerely.

"Follow you where?"

"Not far, Michael. We are just going to the forest ahead. We can sit there. We can talk unnoticed," Star reassures. Their faces are so honest and wise, their movements unassuming. If I decide not to go with them, I don't feel threatened. I believe they will just let me leave. The decision is up to me. I can turn around and head home, or I can move forward with them, learning more about their world and Evelyn.

I nod and follow them, but not to Lake Forest. Instead we go to a smaller patch of trees and bushes. They walk a few yards and sit on a cluster of rocks. I sit, joining them.

"Shall we begin?" Star begins the conversation. The three of them stare at each other and then Scout speaks.

"We don't want you to fear us. You are as important to us succeeding as us being here is. The wolves know our scent. We have fought them on many occasions in our world. We need your help."

"Why didn't you just tell me?"

"It has been our experience with humans that they are selfish and don't do what is needed for others if their own life is in danger. We didn't know if we could trust you enough to tell you the truth. If you had not come with us, the wolves would be far from here. Only the human scent keeps them close."

"You can trust me. I love Evelyn and I would never do anything to put her world in danger. If you need me to conquer them, I will help you, but I need you to be honest with me."

"Long ago in our world we fought for our kind, when the dark elf created his darkness. The shadow hunters were all the hope Emeralusia had." Star speaks recounting a history only he is privy too. Scout and Spear listen, but nod as if they have heard the story many times.

"If the shadow hunters did not fight the darkness, the dark elf would have conquered Emeralusia and destroyed all the elves, all that is good of it" He shakes his head, while looking at the stars in the sky. "We don't like fighting. We don't like war. But we, the turquoise kind, were formed to help protect our world and we will do what it takes to ensure survival. We are the keepers of many secrets of war." Spear, with his head near mine, joins the conversation and speaks for the first time in the forest.

"I have fought many wolves and I have fought many humans. They appear different on the outside. Skin of the human is soft. The wolf is covered with fur. Eyes of the human vary in color. A wolf has eyes of red. Humans appear harmless. The wolf looks like a monster. Though they are completely different on the outside, on the inside they are very similar.

"The wolf will do whatever it can to destroy our world, its hunger and thirst for more overrides any sense of preservation. The human is like this. Every man I have encountered destroys my world. He is destroyed because his lust and greed consumes him." Spear's nostrils flare.

"I understand your anger and fear for my...my kind. I have read stories, and Evelyn has shared stories with me. I know what my kind has done to you and your world. I am sorry." I know a few words cannot erase the past, or make up for all the loss over the last fifty thousand years, but I hope to build a bridge, between her world and mine.

"I have met one human...a long time ago...one who was different," Star says. "She was not like the others. She was unique and the reason I am here protecting your world from them." He stares off into the distance somewhere as if to hold on to the moment, remembering the sweet memories of a time long ago. I remember reading about Star and a human girl in the books Venda brought to me. I can only imagine he is thinking of her.

"Will you help us?" Scout asks softly. Her white dragon rustles in the trees above us. Unlike before, I have to hesitate, because of the broken trust. But then I know what I must do, what I will do, a simple answer.

"Yes."

The three hunters separate from the forest, from the environment they are accustomed to, and enter the streets again. I follow attentively, this time knowing the danger, this time knowing I will be in harm's way. But I am not afraid. I am ready for the danger I have welcomed into my life to keep Evelyn's world safe, my world safe. Something I do, because I love her. Something I have to do as a man.

The four of us walk in unison the same as before, with Scout in the lead, followed by Star, Spear, and myself. I cling to the memories of Evelyn to keep me strong and passionate about this fight. I hold her in my heart; I carry her with me everywhere I go.

The night breaks into dawn, and a few of the town folk are in their cars on their way to work. Rangers have been called to track the animals. They want to get an early start. I am content knowing that because of my help there are two less beasts out there. But this morning tells me our hunt is done for tonight and we will have to postpone killing the last one until later. The three hunters walk me home and vanish.

As I stand on my front lawn, under the tree which let so many of my elf friends into my room in the middle of the night, I begin to miss everyone so much. How I long to talk with Venda and find out how she is doing. I want to hear her quick and convoluted way of speech and know if Nile and Eve are safe. To see Evelyn's caramel skin and smell her sweet scents. I even find that I miss Wind and his new found brotherly affections for me. The sky opens up like a budding flower and the soft sun rises to her place in the sky. Fall is just about here. A cool breeze blows past me and I enter my house, close the door, and wait for the hunters to return.

"Michael, are you up already?" I hear Mom shout out of the kitchen area.

"Yes." I am up, but I am beginning to feel the weight of the night's activities on my bones and muscles, and I don't know how much longer I can remain strong.

"Could you help me with this recipe? I need someone to open this jar for me." I walk into the kitchen, take the jar of apricots and open in one turn. "Great job," Mom says with a smile. I nod and head to my room. Then, I collapse on my bed without a second thought.

The next time I open my eyes, the sun descends and a tap on my window sounds. Pulling the curtains back, I don't see anyone. I open the window to look outside, but still see no one on my front lawn.

"In here." I hear a whisper from the tree. I look through the leaves and see Scout sitting on a branch, balancing herself.

"Come inside," I tell her. She jumps out of the tree and lands in my room, not surprisingly without a sound.

"We are going hunting tonight. Spear and Star are waiting for us at the forest."

"Why didn't they come?"

"Too light out, don't want to get spotted." I have to admit they don't exactly blend in with the rest of us humans. Evelyn could get away with it. Even her family could get away with it. In fact, all the emerald-eyed elves have an uncanny resemblance to humans that always keeps the ancient words in the books of history alive –they are akin to humans.

But the turquoise-eyed elves do not remind me of those ancient words of kinship. If I had not read the books and learned they came from the same world as the emerald elves, but had drunk from a different spring of life, I would not think they are related to humans at all. In fact, they strike me as something more extraterrestrial than human.

The way they move is obviously not human, they are too agile. The color of their skin is not human: bluish, greenish, and white. Their hair –long and white I've never seen a human with quite the same style. Even the way they dress is not human, at least not from my century. Their clothes are made of strange white and green fabrics, which look like the foliage from the green and white forests of Emeralusia.

I meet Scout downstairs outside my front door. I sneak out stealth-like. Scout throws me over her shoulders and carries me. The other two sit, waiting in the forest, legs crossed on the moist ground. Spear sharpens his wooden spear, polishing its metal tip. Star sits staring at the sky. His eyes map out locations and places we have been, and places we have yet to uncover.

"The wolf is not where we have been. It is cleverer than the last two. It will not make the same mistakes." Star speaks with wisdom

"Then how will we stop it? You won't be able to use me as bait?"

"We can, but it will suspect something if Michael is all alone. It must know by now Michael is not a fool. But it also won't attack if we are all present. It knows it can't defeat us all," Star answers.

"Then how do we do it?" Spear asks.

"We send Michael off with Scout. It might think it has a chance to kill Michael and possibly Scout if she is alone." Spear nods and Scout looks up at me to see my reaction. But I am sure this is what I want to do. I want to defend the elves.

"I'll do it." The three of them look at each other and then Scout stands up, placing her hand behind my back, guiding me out of the forest and onto the open road.

"We just keep walking?"

"Yes. Star and Spear won't be too far behind. When it is time, they will attack us."

"This is safe, right? I am not in danger?" Scout smiles at me. I guess I know the answer to that one. There is always risk. We walk for twenty minutes side by side in silence. I try to ask her a question or two, but she tells me to be quiet. She concentrates, smelling, hunting. Her white dragon flies above us in the distance, his eyes twinkling in the night.

So far up there he could be mistaken for a close star. The silence is long and leaves me a lot of time inside my own head, a place I don't want to go to too often without Evelyn. Fear emerges of where she might be, if she is safe, of when she might return, and then a deadening devastating fear that perhaps she never will. The silence is soon interrupted by the sound of growling behind the trees.

"It's time, Michael." Scout races ahead of me. The wolf lunges between me and Scout, chasing her down the road. Trees sit on the left side of the street and a few houses sit on the right. Scout is careful to be quiet and not make any noise; she doesn't want to wake anyone.

The wolf chases her around a bend and I feel my feet stumble to keep up with her. I turn the bend but I don't see her anymore. There are a few moments of silence, and then I hear her call me with pain in her voice. I look right toward the sound and see her lying on the forest ground with blood dripping from her arm.

The beast sits in the middle of the road. The wolf presses paws onto the pavement, and like a predator to prey, darts towards me. The monster lunges onto my body, knocking the wind out of me. I fall backward onto the road and try to catch my breath, when the beast lunges at me again and lands on top of me. The enlarged head shakes back and forth. Teeth protrude from its mouth like sharp steel. Beet-red eyes stare into my soft blues, and I feel the heat of its eyes pierce mine. But its body of fur is cold, and where a heart should be felt, I feel nothing pounding. Nothing beating. Nothing alive.

This is my end. I accept that now. For Evelyn. I can live with that thought, die with that thought. The wolf rips its teeth into my arm and its head knocks into mine. Consciousness slips slowly away from me. The sky is cloudy. The monster is blurry. I see Spear and Star, but they are a blur. My eyes open and shut, they stay shut and do not open. I hear a squeal. Voices say, "Lots of blood...she will be okay...get him to...." The voices fade. My body becomes limp in the hands of the hunters carrying me. They carry me for a time, but I don't know for how long. I see a grey cloudy space and then only blackness.
Black Out

The blackness is something I remember clearly. Consumes me and swallows me whole. Under a dark sky, I realize...This is my last moment; my last memory alive....

An undertow yanks me under water and I can't breathe. I push myself off the bottom of the ocean floor. My bare feet brush over particles of sand, scattering the ocean's tide. Trapped under the water and covered with sand, I pull myself through, still struggling to breathe. If I can just get to the surface, I can survive. Pushing off the bottom again, I pull with my arms through the rushing water. My head breaks the water's surface and I hear Mom call out to me, "Michael."

A soft cry, almost a whisper, reaches out to me in my catatonic state. I open my eyes and realize I'm lying in the emergency room of the local hospital. "Mom," I call out, but she is not here anymore. This whisper came long before while I was still deep in sleep, but its sound lingers with me somewhere in my subconscious. Room lights are off and darkness permeates outside. My eyes shut again and I'm pulled back into my blackness. I try to open my eyes, but they weigh heavy with tiredness and pain. They stay sealed, unwilling to let me back into my life.

My mind pulls me back to the sea. I breathe, and gasp for the first breath while yanked by an undertow. The sand twirls around me, like just another creature of the sea, but I don't know how to live in the sea. I don't know how to survive without air. Gasping again for breath, my head is the only part of me out of the water and I struggle for air. Clinging to the thoughts of my family, of Mom baking me cookies when I was ten, a fishing trip with Dad, my thoughts linger on...Evelyn.

Her face in my mind keeps my head out of the water, bobbing in the ocean's tide, clinging to life, to breath. Currents underneath drag me down again, away from the sunlight shining on my face and I am consumed by darkness.

"Michael, Michael?" I hear my name again. Stay focused on that sound, on your name, I tell myself. Where is it coming from? I don't see anyone else in the sea or underneath the water. Swimming away from the undercurrent and the darkness, I push myself forward, and struggle to break the tide's grip.

A shimmer of light falls from the sun and onto a small patch of sea. Water is warm here and does not yank me under. Pushing myself to the surface, I gasp for another breath. The water is calm and lit up from the sun. Emerald color saturates my body and strengthens my life. I want to stay here-forever.

"Michael, Michael!" I hear my name again. But again I see no one around me. The sound comes from the air, from a distant place far from where I am. I gaze at the water surrounding me and I hear my name again. Looking back at the water keeping me so warm and safe, I lower my head. My face submerges under this emerald solace into peace and eyes close as the sound of my name disappears. I smell her here.

I taste her in my mouth like lilacs and honeysuckle so sweet. Her face floats across me. Long golden hair dampens from the water, and yet floats as if the wind blows strands through the waves in front of me. Strong emerald eyes glow with the water. I am not sure where her eyes end and the waves begin. All just one blur.

This is a world I can live in for some time, a world of blurs, nothing to make out, nothing to figure out, no decisions to make, and no feelings to break. This is a pleasant world for sure; this is a world all mine. I jump into Evelyn's floating face and swoosh out the other side. Then she reappears a few feet away. The image of Evelyn glows under the water and I almost forget I need to breathe.

I pull myself up out of the delicate facade and suck in the air above the surface, just in case I need it, just in case my instincts are lying to me. When I dive back into the water, she disappears. Her image fades away in the ripples and for miles is only an emerald ocean filled with black fish. Alone, I don't know what to do or where to go. The sea looks goes on for miles. But there is nothing here for me. Swimming, I stroke my arms left and right, left and right.

I don't know where to go, but I must continue forward. Swimming until my hands grab hold of sand. Pulling myself onto an island, I look around and see pineapple trees, strawberry bushes, acres of rice and corn fields and even strange red fruit trees I have never seen. Trees wrapped with purple bark around their trunks.

I see a few cabin homes in the distance over a hill and walk through the trees as a breeze blows past me, a familiar breeze of scents from Emeralusia. The sky turns white, and the ground below me turns a white chalky color too. Then the trees turn white and the bushes around me turn white.

Then blackness swoops down out of the sky. Wings flap up and down, faster and faster, and moves toward me closer and closer. While running, I float into the clouds and wonder if I can fly faster than this blackness after me. Its black stone- colored eyes beat down on my body, like sun beats the ground.

Thick black scales look like black fish scales underneath the sea. The enormous size could engulf me, could even catch me. But I am flying fast and I keep away from its charge. We push through the sky, through the white clouds and over this mirage of an island somewhere between her world and mine. I dive out of a cloud and to the emerald ocean below me.

The black dragon follows, opening its mouth that spurts out thick red fire. Fire dances in the air, catching me and stinging my body. I thrust myself downward into the emerald sea, averting a bigger beating and wait underneath the water with Evelyn's image floating around me, comforting me. The black dragon waits above, hovering, staring, as if only an invisible shield blocks his path to destroy me –a shield that if lifted by me would seal my ill fate.

Evelyn's face whispers something to me. I can't hear her. She is too quiet. I move closer to her to hear her words, her soft delicate words.

"Evelyn?" I call out to her and she whispers again to me.

"Follow me." This time I hear her and swim towards this floating face, this water color depiction of her. She grabs hold of me and she pulls me with her further and further out to sea, deeper and deeper towards the bottom. But her image keeps me safe and at peace, like a ghost showing the way.

Then the sunlight from above breaks into the deep and lightens up the ocean. Ocean waves sparkle with colors of red, orange, and yellow and open up, while I am at the bottom with the sea parted on either side. Evelyn lies in my arms, her breath is slow and her face is turning pale white.

"Evelyn!" I call out to her, but she can't hear me. "Evelyn!" The blackness of the black dragon swoops over the open ocean where I lay with Evelyn in my arms. My hands caress her face, take in her every detail. Then the words of a song permeate my mind and all I hear is the music.

Lyrics pound inside my brain. I know I've heard the song before, and memories of a high school dance flood my mind. I look back down at the ground beneath me, between two divided waters, and Evelyn disappears.

I rise to my feet and try to fly out of the hole, but the black dragon bursts out of the clouds above me and dives towards me. I fall to the empty dry space where I now lay alone on the dirt. The black dragon moves with no hesitation and no reason to change course. Sharp teeth protrude from its open mouth, fire boiling inside ready to be discharged. Flying close to my face, the fire flies out and is about to hit me...

"Charge!' An electrical current shoots through me.

"Charging...."

My body is electrified again and pulled up from the ocean floor and into the air. Then my body falls back down to the dirt and is violently lifted again with another shock of electricity. My eyes open, and I see a cloudy figure that looks like my mother begin to take shape. Blackness romf the dragon begins to fade and Mom's face becomes clear. She stands over me with her hands clasped over mine.

"Michael, Michael, can you hear me?" Tears smear her mascara. "You were in some sort of accident. We brought you to the hospital." She wipes the tears on one of her sleeves. "You are alright now. They are going to take good care of you."

"What...happened?"

"We think one of those animals attacked you. Your arm and a bit of your chest were bitten into. You were bleeding badly."

"How...did you find me?"

"There was a ring at the door. Dad answered it and you were outside on the front lawn, bleeding to death." Her voice cracks at the memory of this. "We took you to the hospital. You don't remember anything?"

"How long...have I been out?"

"Almost a week, you have gone in and out of consciousness." She runs her hand through my short dark, curly hair. "Your friends stopped by and brought you flowers." She points to the few vases on the table next to my hospital bed. "I have been with you every day."

"And every night," my father interjects. "We have been so worried about you. I am so glad to see you talk again. You had us really worried'

"Did...did...?'

"Did Evelyn stop by?" my father interrupts me. "No. She doesn't know. We have not been able to contact her and tried stopping by her house, but she doesn't seem to live there anymore."

"No, she doesn't." I remember that much. Focusing my eyes on the reality around me, I then remember my previous mental state. "My dreams, those were only dreams...?'

"What son?" My father asks with concern.

"Nothing, Dad. It's nothing."

I lie in the hospital bed the rest of the day and night. Everything is suddenly clear. There are no more dreams of drowning or being swallowed up by the sea. No more dreams of the emerald water that saved me. No more darkness. There are no more black dragons and Evelyn is not lifeless in my arms.

The next day I am given the all clear to be discharged and go home. My parents are eager to take me back to my own bed. I am equally eager. My parents tend to me, concerned with everything, if I sneeze, if I cough. I reassure them that I am fine. I don't remember much of the past week. What I do remember is everything going black. But now I am home, and how nice to be home and have a warm home-cooked meal that Mom has especially prepared for me: herb steak and potatoes with broccoli. Almost enough to tempt me to stay home for good-almost.

"You know, I still don't get it," Dad says at the dinner table."

"What?"

"I don't get how you ended up outside our door. Were you sleepwalking? How did you get out there?" I hadn't thought about that part. I hadn't thought about the excuse I would tell my parents once I left the hospital, and the question stumps me as I squirm in my seat.

"You know what, it doesn't matter," Mom says. "You probably can't remember anyway. The doctor told us you may be experiencing some short term memory loss."

"We are just glad you are home safe with us." Dad smiles and Mom returns to stirring a bowl of herbs in the kitchen. Then she joins us at the dining table.

"Give your friends a call. I know they must be worried about you. They will be glad to hear you are back at home," Mom encourages me.

"Okay. I will." After dinner I dart up to my room and pull out my cell phone, which I had tucked away between the sheets on my bed. I call my friends one by one. Then it occurs to me that the one closest to me, the friend I long to call most of all, is not on my list-she is absent.

I wonder where Evelyn is and how she fits into all of this–my black out, my dreams, my life. I wonder where she is in my unconsciousness, in Emeralusia and want to know if she knows what happened to me.
Return

Two months without Evelyn has been torture. But her world must survive. If the beasts are not defeated, they will destroy her world and mine. The last weekend of the month, the last month of summer, she returns to me. She knocks on my door in the morning. I am not even expecting her to be the one on the other side of the door. She is the last one I would have anticipated, because I think maybe Robby or Taylor have dropped by for a visit. But when I open the door, my heart leaps and I have never been so glad to be wrong.

She enters my home, my life, like she never left, and falls into my arms. Our first instinct is to embrace and hold onto each other tightly to avoid anything from ripping us apart again. I have so many questions, so many thoughts are racing though my mind at once, and yet I feel as if I have just seen her for the first time at Green Mountain Falls High. I can't speak, my throat tightens and my mouth becomes dry. Words evade me and I can only hold her and rest my head against her neck. I have missed her long tender neck.

"How are you?" Her sweet voice echoes through my ears like a symphony.

"How have I been? I have had my moments of anguish," I say under my breath.

"But your arm?" She rubs her hands over my left shoulder and upper arm, over the scar that sits there now as a trophy of battle.

"Oh, that. Really I'm fine. Looks worse than it feels. In fact I don't feel much there at all." She looks worried. "I mean I can still feel, but it is not painful."

"What happened? I heard you were in the hospital. Rein told me. But I was not told the details." I usher her over to the sofa in the living room and sit down with her.

"I decided to help the shadow hunters with finding the last wolves."

"Michael!" Her voice cracks and her eyes fill with remorse for ever allowing them into my world.

"It's okay. It was my decision. I wanted to help them. I want to help you anyway I can."

"You know how dangerous it is. Why did you do it?"

"I was asked...and it worked out didn't it? The shadow hunters killed the last three wolves and my world is safe once again. You don't have to worry about me anymore."

"I don't trust the shadow hunters. I don't want you hunting with them anymore." I want to tell her the whole story, about the hunter's trap, about me being used as a pawn, and then after finding out I was the bait, deciding to go ahead with the plan anyway to help them catch the last wolf. In my mind I sound so heroic and worthy of a crown, a kiss. But I know Evelyn will not see it my way. She will not be able to rest with the thought of me going hunting with the shadow hunters again. And so I tell her what she wants to hear, what will ease her mind.

"They are not as bad as you make them out to be. They were quite concerned with my well being and looked out for me. My own fault. I leapt in the way of a wolf when I should have stayed back and let them get it. Too eager to defend your honor in loving me, my honor in being a human. I wanted to prove a human could be useful to this war, and help the elves maintain Emeralusia."

Evelyn squirms in the sofa, waiting for the answer she wants, and so I give one to her. "But I won't do anything like that ever...ever...," I move in closer to her with my lips next to her lips, "again." The soothing words work and Evelyn drops her concerned face. "But what about you, how are you doing? Is the war over? Does this mean you are free to be with me now?"

"No," she shakes her head in disappointment, "the war is not finished and I must return to Emeralusia. I came only to see you and make sure you were alright. After Rein told me about you in the hospital, I couldn't concentrate on my fighting. My parents thought I should put my mind at ease before returning to battle. The elder council agreed."

"Return to Emeralusia? But you only just returned to me."

"I know, but it must be this way." She runs her fingers over my cheeks and through my hair. "You know this war has to be won first before anything between us can exist."

"My head knows you are right. It is my heart that has the problem."

"Tell your heart it has nothing to fear. I will return to you." She smiles reassuringly.

"And how are your parents, and Venda and Wind?"

"Wind enjoys fighting. He usually runs off ahead of us and fights on his own. He gained a new scar since last time you saw him-a rip from his left hand to his elbow. A wolf got to him. But that doesn't deter him from his mission. Venda stays away from the battling. She is at a safe house in the trees. There are a set of shelters and caves some of us go to when we need rest." Evelyn brings her hands to her eyes, holding back the tears about to fall. "But Nile and Eve are getting so old. This battle is too much for them. Their bodies tire. I want to hold them back, but there is nothing I can do."

"It is not your fault." I hold her face in my hands, staring into her eyes. "All this is not your fault." She lowers her eyes and I let go of her face. "If Nile and Eve need to get away, they can come here to my house. I can make up some excuse to my parents and they can stay with me."

"Thank you Michael. That is a nice thought, but it really is up to the elder council. I just don't know how they would feel about my family coming back to your world so soon after causing so much havoc in it. They expect Nile and Eve to take responsibility for their lack of judgment concerning me."

"It is worth a try, is it not?"

"Yes, it is. I will ask."

"How are you doing in the war?"

"I manage. Some days are harder than others. Last night was quiet. We waited for the pack of wolves we were expecting to come our way but they never came. Then two nights ago was blood-filled. You read about the black horses in the books of history I had Venda bring to you?"

"Yes."

"There was a herd of these black horses, and they came in trampling over acres of farm land near my parents home. They were once wild and free, roaming the green meadows. Now all that is left of them is black hard skin re-made for conquering. The freedom they once knew is replaced with an invisible chain wrapped around their necks, a chain of evil magic, keeping them at the dark one's bidding."

"I don't know how to help you, Evelyn. I wish I could do something to help."

"Just stay safe. Stay away from all of this and wait for me. I will make it through and I will come back to you." Her words sooth my heart and a smile spread across my face. I long to believe her, but an ounce of doubt enters my mind.

"What if you don't make it through? What if something happens to you? What if you can't come back?"

"Don't think like that, Michael."

"You have to keep in contact with me. I need to hear from you."

"I'm sorry, Michael, but another part of the reason I came to you is because I won't be able to write to you anymore. I wanted you to see me in person before breaking all contact."

"What...why?"

"Because I will be too busy with the war and helping my parents. Venda will be in too much danger going back and forth through the gate. She will have to stay away too."

"Just when I get you back, you tell me all of this. I don't think I can stay away Evelyn. I miss you and your family too much. Let me go with you."

"No, Michael. You are a part of your world and your world needs you. I'm not knowingly putting your life in danger again. You will stay here, safe. The war will be over soon." I know there is no negotiating with her when she sounds like this. I usher her to my car and drive her to Lake Forest. She needs to go, despite my attempts at keeping her here.

We stroll across the street where her old home used to be and then walk through the forest I have grown to know and love. We come to the invisible gate and Rein watches me, strangely close, like she is witnessing some kind of alien invasion.

I hold Evelyn close to me. Rein moves her hands in circles and opens the gate made visible now to my world. Rein opens the hole to suck Evelyn away from me. The air is cool in the forest and a fall breeze blows past me and over my skin. I am reminded that summer has passed and fall is here. Evelyn steps away and walks towards the gate.

"Don't go." I pull her back to me. "I love you." She stares at me with a smile on her face. "Will I ever see you again?"

"Yes," she says calmly, as if somehow she knows the answer.

"I'll be standing here. I'll wait for you." I hold her in my arms and squeeze her tightly. She gently presses her lips against mine for the last time.

"It is against all odds," she says with the hopeful smile that I love so much.

"It's a chance I have to take," I say. With those words I see in her eyes a memory, remembering the time we listened to those words on my bed, laying side by side as a tear rolled down her cheek.

I know now why her tears fell then: knowing what she knows, knowing the cost of love between the two of us and what it would take to keep us together. She smiles, but with pain behind her eyes. I return the grin. Leaning into my arms, she hands me a note folded up neatly into a square like she has left me many times. Then she suddenly turns inside the gate and disappears, in the blink of an eye.

Opening the note, I am quick as if each moment passing is taking me further and further from her. A poem by Charlotte Bronte, one of the poems I read to her once while we sat at lunch in our favorite spot on the lawn. I didn't know then what the words meant or how much they could pierce the heart. I didn't know then that these words would be the final words of parting between us, cutting my heart like a knife. But I know now.

Parting

There is no use in weeping,

Though we are condemned to part:

There's such a thing as keeping

A remembrance in one's heart:

There's such a thing as dwelling

On the thought ourselves have nurs'd,

And with scorn and courage telling

The world to do its worst.

We'll not let its follies grieve us,

We'll just take them as they come;

And then every day will leave us

A merry laugh for home.

When we've left each friend and brother,

When we're parted wide and far,

We will think of one another,

As even better than we are.

Every glorious sight above us,

Every pleasant sight beneath,

We'll connect with those that love us,

Whom we truly love till death !

In the evening, when we're sitting

By the fire perchance alone,

Then shall heart with warm heart meeting,

Give responsive tone for tone.

We can burst the bonds which chain us,

Which cold human hands have wrought,

And where none shall dare restrain us

We can meet again, in thought.

So there's no use in weeping,

Bear a cheerful spirit still;

Never doubt that Fate is keeping

Future good for present ill !

-Charlotte Bronte

The new guardian sits at the gate with her long brown hair and strong body, eyeing me with her intense emerald glare, telling me to stay away from her world and that I have caused enough damage. As I walk away from the gate, every breath is of Evelyn, her scent, every place we walked, talked and held hands is hers. Every kiss in the woods, every poem, marks our time together. As I exit the forest and return to my car, I can't help but wonder with the part of my mind that dominates reason, though my heart knows better and though it is towards the ending of summer, if all of it really has only been a Mid-Summer Night's Dream.
THE END
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1) Would you follow Evelyn into the forest as Michael did? Or would you do things differently?

2) Why do you think Evelyn falls for Michael?

3) Why do the Shadow Hunters use Michael as a pawn?

4) Do you prefer the emerald or turquoise eyed elves?

5) Who is your favorite character and why?

6) Do you have a favorite sport like Michael has soccer? How do you think his love of the game affects his role with Evelyn and the Shadow Hunters?

7) What do you think will happen to Michael and Evelyn individually and as a couple in book two, Prisoners of Pride?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ami Blackwelder is a Paranormal and SciFi author. Her stories range from Tween & YA to Adult. Growing up in Florida, she graduated UCF and in 1997 received her BA in English and additional teaching credentials. Then she packed her bags and travelled overseas to teach in Thailand, Nepal, Tibet, China and Korea. Thailand is considered her second home now. She has always loved writing and wrote poems and short stores since childhood; however, her novels began when she was in Thailand.

Having won the Best Fiction Award from the University of Central Florida (Yes, The Blair Witch Project University), her short fiction From Joy We Come, Unto Joy We Return was published in the on campus literary magazine: Cypress Dome and remains to this day in University libraries around the USA. Later, she achieved the semi-finals in a Laurel Hemingway contest and published a few poems in the Thailand's Expat magazine, and an article in the Thailand's People newspaper. Additionally, she has published poetry in the Korea's AIM magazine, the American Poetic Monthly magazine and Twisted Dreams Magazine.

All her work is available at her websites:

http://amiblackwelder.blogspot.com

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