Short Story: Kiara, Episode 7

 

Kiara, Episode 7

Jeremiah returned home tired and disappointed after his search for Kiara. His mother seemed distracted. Much to his relief, he did not get the expected lecture and there were no questions as to where he had been. She felt his forehead and then sat him down at the table and set a large bowl of beef broth and a huge wedge of bread in front of him. She then chased him off to bed. There was no sign of his father, even though the bakery closed earlier on a Saturday. The strange atmosphere in the house had unsettled him, and he took out his copy of Peter Pan and Wendy to read. It had been a Christmas present and even though it was now late autumn, he had not yet finished it.

He had struggled bravely at first, though he had been confused by the strange use of language and all the sums at the beginning. The he had given up and took to glossing through it occasionally.

He liked the bits about the pirates and the alligator. He was very unsure that someone could lose their shadow.. it seemed a bit silly. And of course he had never believed in fairies. At least, not until he had met the strange girl in the woods, and then he had begun to wonder. Early that summer, he had been walking in the woods one Saturday. He had brought a piece of string with him and was looking for some suitable wood to make a bow and arrows. He had his penknife with him, but so far he had not seen any fallen branches that were straight enough for arrows, or bendy enough for a bow,- for that matter!

Bored with searching, he was pretending that he was Peter Pan. He crept through the jungle. If the pirates found him with no weapons to defend himself, he would be walking the plank before sunset.

Creeping quietly, he heard the distinct sound of a tiny bell. “Ah” he said, “Tinkerbell is near”.

He peered around a tree and was blinded by a stray bolt of sunlight peering back through the canopy. It dazzled his eyes and made him see flashes like tiny flying creatures in the clearing.

Stepping forward, he fell over a tree root. He heard laughter as the soft, forest floor rushed up to greet him. He jumped back up quickly, brushing himself off. Before him stood a little girl. “It is rude to laugh at people!”, he said sulkily. “Don’t be mad at me”, She said, I know a great trick!”.

He eyed her suspiciously. She picked a leaf from a shrub and showed it to him.” Watch!”, she said. She curled her hands around the leaf and blew on it. She then held it close to his face and opened her hands. He jumped back as a large green butterfly flew from her palms. “ You had that all along “, he said.

She looked him up and down thoughtfully. “Okay”, she said, “hand me a twig!” He hesitated. “ Go on!, Find me a twig and I will turn it into a caterpillar!” He looked around and found a small twig. “Well keep both hands open then!”, he said, still very suspicious. He placed the twig across her palms. It was slightly wider that both palms together, he noticed, with some satisfaction.

She folded her palms together as if in prayer, then rolled them as if she was moulding dough into a ball. The twig had never fallen to the ground. It had folded into the space between her palms as if it was liquorice. He had watched her every move very carefully.

“I want a green and yellow caterpillar”, he demanded. “Oh No!”, she said.. they are very poisonous.

He thought for a moment. “Then I want a pink and purple one!”, he said. “Now I have her”, he thought,” She cannot possibly have a pink and purple caterpillar hidden somewhere. “Done!”, she said, “Hold your hands out!” He held out one hand and she poured something into it from her to cupped hands. It tickled. There, on his palm, was a big, furry, purple and black caterpillar.

“There is no pink!”, he said. She shrugged. She knew she had him beat. He laughed as the caterpillar crept up his arm with its funny walk,- tickling all the way. She carefully picked it off his arm and then tossed it into the air, where it immediately turned into a butterfly. He looked at her with respect. “You like butterflies,- don’t you!, he said. She smiled. “Some of my best friends are butterflies”, she said. Would you like to be my friend? “. “But, you’re a girl”, he said, a bit taken aback by the sudden request. “Hmmm”, she said, “not really. I am more like Tinkerbell, and she had a boy as a friend!”. Jeremiah was mortified. He had not realised that he had spoken out loud in his game. All he could do was agree to be friends and move the conversation on as quickly as possible.

“Where do you live?”,he asked. “Here in the woods” He gave her a suspicious look.-” No one lives in these woods!”. “Well, I do!”, she stated in a tone which indicated that the subject was closed.

“Let’s play peter Pan and Wendy!”, she said suddenly. They spent all afternoon hunting pirates and before tea-time they had become the best of friends.

Before he went home, she made him promise to tell no one about their friendship, Which made him realise that he did not even know her name. “I am Kiara”, she said,- as if she had read his mind. “And you are Jeremiah” she added,- before he could tell her his name.

He walked home slowly. He felt quite puzzled by the events of the day. He kind of liked her. She looked younger than he, but sometimes she seemed much older. There were two things he was pretty sure about, though. It was not going to be a boring summer after all. He was also certain that he would definitely keep her secret. There was no way he was about to tell anyone that he played with girls,- especially girls who turned leaves into butterflies. His mind made up, Jeremiah began to whistle as he picked up his pace and finished the journey home.

Jeremiah put down the book. He had hardly looked at it. He was wondering what had become of Kiara. He had a feeling that something terrible had happened that day. He really wanted to see her and tell her that he was sorry. He had convinced himself all summer long, that she was a gypsy, and knew all sorts of tricks to amuse him. He parents must have been entertainers,- perhaps working with a circus or something. She was certainly very different from any other girl he knew. Sometimes she was rougher than any boy, and other times, she was so ladylike that she could make him become red-faced and tongue twisted with just a word and a look.

His head was spinning again. He had a drink from the jug of water beside his bed and curled up under the blankets. He felt hot and cold almost at the same time. He did not want to disturb his mum, so he decided to try counting sheep. Hopefully he would be fine in the morning.

The sheep were milling about and refused to be counted. Finally he made them stand in a row and walked along touching each one on the head as he counted. He liked the sound that they made, though it got a bit noisy at times. By the time he reached one hundred,- he realised that they had been playing a trick on him.

He quickly jumped up and looked over the solid line of sheep, who were squeezed shoulder to shoulder, and saw one creeping from the front of the row to where he had not counted them yet.

He heard a familiar laugh from behind. “Naughty sheep”, said Kiara. He turned to see her and they ran to each other and she gave him a big hug. She gave a grimace of pain. “Sorry”, she said, “ I must sit down. With that a tree with a swing seat appeared and they were both sitting on it. She was holding her stomach. “Are you all right?”, he asked. “Oh, it will be fine”, she said. But, she looked very pale and thin. “I am so glad I found you, I have had such a time since we last met”. There was a pause as they both remembered that awful day. “I am sorry”, he said. “Don’t worry”, she said, “It was not your fault. Please do not take this the wrong way,- we will still be friends. But, I do need to take that kiss back. I am stuck in your world as a little girl. That was why I could not find you. Then an awful goblin tried to kill me.”. She looked at his wide eyes and open mouth and she had to laugh.

“I am okay now, silly!. But, I need to find my way home. So, will you give me that kiss back and I promise that we will always be friends and that I will find you someday”. ”But”, he said,”You have found me now!”.

She smiled as she leaned across him and placed her lips against his. This time he did not resist, although his head began to spin and he felt very strange indeed. As she moved away, he slumped back in the seat with his eyes closed and his heart pounding. In that single moment his whole world had changed, perhaps in its own way, as much as hers had changed at the first kiss. He knew now that he loved her and that some day they would marry. He opened his eyes and saw that she looked sad. “What’s wrong?”, he asked. “I don’t think it worked”, she said, “probably because this is only a dream”.

He looked so puzzled that she explained exactly who she was and all that had happened since the first kiss. He felt very sad and guilty, but, she said that he did not know and she did not blame him in the least. She hugged him again. They sat swinging and holding hands for a long long time. Neither knew what to do or say next,- or even if they would find each other again, so they held hands tightly and tried hard to think of a solution. But not one single idea came to them. The sheep got bored and wandered off. Kiara was too sad, and feeling too weak to play or do any tricks, and poor Jeremiah felt very sorry for both of them and felt that it really was his fault. They both swore to find each other again, somehow, and they drifted away,- each into a different world of dreams.

We can only hope that their dreams were pleasant and happy ones. The young girl who had once been a princess of the fae, and the young man who had once been a boy, would be fighting for their lives the next day,- and for many days to come.