CHAPTER TWO
brAN
She walks away without another look, though I cannot seem to tear my gaze from her as she goes.
I try to be a gentleman and not let my eyes wander down to her behind, yet since I’m now mortal my willpower is not so great.
Each stride has her pert bottom flexing under the shiny black material of her pants that cling like a lover to each curve.
Blood pounds through me, each thump making me feel almost dizzy as I strain my still-burning eyes to catch a last glimpse of her as she disappears around a bend full of trees.
Only when she’s completely gone from my sight do I close my painful eyes.
Sadly, as I do, the gloom of the city settles around me, pressing closer and harder, making breathing difficult.
The air is not pure here. The humans cut down more and more of the trees to make way for their buildings and are poisoning themselves as they do.
If only they could learn that balance is what is needed.
They can have the buildings as long as they keep replenishing the forests.
Opening my eyes, I blink and am grateful that at least the worst of the stinging seems to be over. I shouldn’t have chased after her. I realize that now.
My mouth curls down. I should have known that. People fear me. I am the Lord of the Woods. Mythical beings fear me, so why wouldn’t a mortal woman do the same, even if I am temporarily mortal and without the full scope of my powers?
Standing on the empty path that only moments earlier felt so full and alive when she shared the space with me, I let my shoulders slump and some of my sadness leak through. Alone. Always alone.
The breeze pulls at my hair and whisks the remaining moisture from my face, reminding me that nature is always all around me.
I straighten my shoulders once more and shake off my melancholy. I’m here for a reason.
Patting at my pockets, I locate a cell phone in the right pocket of the leather jacket, and a wallet filled with currency and a credit card in the front pocket of my pants. I need lodging and, glancing down at my bare feet, I suppose shoes as well.
The cabin sits just outside the park limits, tucked into an area of white oak and pine where the trees grow close enough together that the city forgets to follow. I smile, feeling some peace returning to me.
It’s someone's summer place, by the look of it.
Photographs are scattered across the walls, and I look at each one in turn, seeing the same smiling man in them.
I gather them up and put them carefully into the closet of one of the bedrooms. They don't belong to the version of this cabin that I need right now.
The fireplace works and there is plenty of split wood carefully stacked outside.
I flick the light switches, and a soft glow fills the room.
The air has the stale scent that comes from being closed up, and I open the windows, breathing in the fresher air that pours in.
Taking a tour of the rest of the cabin, I decide that it will do for my time here.
Shoes must come next. There are some in the closets of the cabin, left by the man that owns it. None of them fit, though the clothes in the largest bedroom closet looks to be my size. Good. One less thing for me to waste my time obtaining.
I am here for a reason, and the faster I get what I came for the sooner I can go home.
The elves think they have all the power in this situation, and that I am limited to a set time of their choosing.
I don’t do anything I do not want, and that includes coming to this plane of existence.
I allowed myself to be placed here, and I will say when I leave it.
And that won’t be until I have secured the love I crave.
Retracing my steps through the park, I locate a store that sells shoes only a few blocks away from the park entrance.
The young man behind the counter watches me pick up pair after pair and does not comment on my current lack of footwear.
Eventually, I choose a pair of boots, dark and well-made, that suit my needs.
I also purchase socks. I put both on inside the store before stepping back out onto the sidewalk.
The hard concrete beneath the boots’ soles is still dead and feels wrong. But now I have proper footwear and will have no reason to draw attention to myself that I do not want.
Back at the cabin, I sit on the porch steps in the slanting afternoon light, feeling the warmth of the sun and listening to the melody of birdsong. I place my palm flat against the nearest oak and close my eyes and wait.
An answer comes, thin as thread, but just as strong. The tree remembers me even if I can't fully communicate with it.
I keep my hand on the tree, its rough bark grounding me as the sunlight shifts and shadows begin to grow long, and my thoughts return to the woman with hair like sunshine and eyes like the sky.
She called me a cereal and kicked me hard enough that my shin still faintly aches beneath the denim of my pants.
My lips curl up remembering her generosity and how she offered me water to clear my stinging eyes.
Yes, she was the cause of their stinging, but I appreciate her kindness.
She also offered me money and was noticeably annoyed when I didn’t take it.
Or that annoyance could have been pointed at herself for caring in the first place.
My gut clenches at the thought that she might care. Perhaps not the way I want her to care, not yet, but I’ll take whatever emotions she feels towards me in the hopes that more will come.