A Wish to Build a Dream On #6
He studied the ring fort, wishing for a glimpse of the Daoine Sídhe, but there was nothing. He’d even left a piece of bread upon the hearth, an offering for Mary’s life.
But no one appeared.
As time went on and she still didn’t awaken, he went to her side. When he pulled her into his arms, she gave a sleepy smile then burrowed into his chest. “It’s not time to get up yet,” she mumbled. “Sleep with me, Cian.”
But he couldn’t. In his mind he replayed every image from the vision of her death.
And he knew, in his heart, that the moment would come soon.
She claimed that she had already died, centuries in the future.
Though he’d never heard of anyone who had travelled through time, he was a man who believed in magic, for it ruled him.
And when the faintest hints of the morning sun gleamed on the horizon, he went and chose his sharpest knife. He’d fallen in love with Mary Samson and if she couldn’t love him back, then he might as well join her in death, giving over his own soul to be with her in the afterlife.
The sunlight cast a reflection off the blade and she opened her eyes at last. “I have never been so tired in all my life. It was worth every minute.” She reached up and kissed him, holding him close.
He kissed her back, praying that his vision was wrong. That it wouldn’t happen this way. But only seconds later, he felt her skin growing cooler, her hands falling away. Fear entered her eyes, and she looked at him. “It’s happening, isn’t it? I can feel it.”
“Don’t,” he murmured. “Stay with me. Let me love you.”
Then her eyes grew empty, falling shut.
“What’s happening?” Mary asked Kevan who was standing before her. “What have you done?”
“I’ve merely kept my promise,” Kevan replied. “Your time is finished now.”
“But I do love Cian,” she whispered. “I just never believed he would possibly love me back.”
The small man’s eyes gleamed. “You never told him what you held in your heart, Mary. And now it’s too late.”
“It’s never too late for love,” came a female voice. Mary turned and saw Harriet standing before them. Her white hair looked like a snowball, puffed around her face. She wore an olive polyester pants suit and in her hand she held a can of Coke.
“Harriet, what are you doing here?” Mary asked. “Tell me you’re not dead, too.” She stared at her surroundings, but there was only endless white, blinding her to all else.
“No, but I can’t say as I’m alive either.
I’m only half-human and I move about when it suits me.
You might consider me a fairy godmother of sorts.
” Harriet’s smile widened as if she liked that idea.
“And right now, I’m doing what I do best. Forcing the Daoine Sídhe to keep their promises.
” She tossed the can of Coke at the small man.
“Kevan, send her back. All she had to do was win his love and love him in return.” Harriet pinned her with a stare. “You do love him, don’t you, Mary?”
“Yes.”
“And he obviously loves her,” Harriet pronounced.
“That’s all settled then. Kevan, you’ll keep your word, and, Mary, you’ll have no memories of the twenty-first century any more.
We can’t have you inventing toilet paper before it’s supposed to happen.
A slight case of amnesia will do the trick nicely.
” She waved a hand and the veil between worlds parted.
From behind the veil, Mary saw Cian holding her lifeless body in his arms, his eyes filled with anguish. Then she saw the knife clenched in his hand. The blade gleamed, and Kevan smiled. He’d known Cian’s intent.
“Send me back now,” she ordered. Let it not be too late.
A hand shoved his wrist away before he could plunge the blade into his chest. Cian jerked back when he saw Mary’s eyes open, her hands touching his. “Don’t!” she begged.
The knife clattered from his fingers, and he gripped her tightly. “My God. I thought you were dead. You weren’t breathing. I couldn’t hear your heart beating.”
Tears poured down Mary’s cheeks and she was shaking.
“Kevan almost didn’t keep his word. But I convinced him of the truth.
” Drawing back to look into his eyes, she said, “I thought a man like you would never love someone like me. I didn’t dare to hope for it.
But I love you, Cian. I don’t care what your dreams tell you, or how many members of your clan left. I’m staying right here.”
He kissed her, thanking God he hadn’t taken his own life. To have her back, to hold her in his arms once more, was the greatest gift he’d been given. With every touch, he murmured words of love, promises he would keep.
But then, the world folded into a familiar blur. He stared off into the distance, afraid of the future he would see. Though he tried to keep it at bay, there was no denying the vision before him.
Mary caught his hand, whispering. “What is it? What did you see this time?”
He sent her a shaky smile. “Not death. A blessing.” Reaching out to her stomach, he rested it there, imagining his babe already growing inside her. “I dreamed of life.”
Her answering smile and understanding filled him up with a happiness he’d never expected. “Our family.”
As he led her back inside their home, Mary whispered, “Harriet was right. Wishes can come true.”