Finger Tips

Austin recoiled at the sound of the growl … but, he held tight to the branch. The growl quickly faded as if swallowed by an invisible drain in the pond. He felt the chill slowly leave his body as well. The branch almost worked he thought … Charlotte seemed to be within reach, if only for a moment.

Exhausted, he sat back – leaning on the branch for support. He felt the beginning signs of the familiar headache … he knew he didn’t have much time before it hit with full force. While he still could, he focused on Erin … he needed her help – her energy.

Instantly, he felt a wave of numbing coolness roll though his head … she was giving him more time … The rustle of the leaves behind him brought his focus back to Charlotte … yes, he thought – he still had the branch … he reflected for a brief moment that the branch was part of Erin … and she gave it freely to him … the rustle of leaves again – focus on Charlotte it reminded him.

With renewed energy, Austin sprung to his feet and leaned over to look for the pebbles at the bottom of the pond again. Good, they appeared to be touching each other … with his branch, he tapped on one in the middle and heard a small rumble swell up from the bottom as the pebbles seemed to light up – just a bit.

And there she was again – he could see Charlotte … but the image only lasted for a brief moment … then her image abruptly disappeared into darkness, as if a door had been slammed shut.

Austin was slipping into despair … Erin’s calming familiar voice in his head startled him at first … She is still there Austin, I feel it. Austin knew he had to try again, even if he couldn’t see her … He gently stroked the water with his finger tips where he last saw her hand …

The sensation he felt was Charlotte’s soft skin…

evolving short story…

Artist: Elena Madden; Author: Mike Evans

Waves

“You need more time” the growl repeated – with the same force, but much softer this time.  Although not understanding why, Charlotte sensed the voice was right.  There was a soothing comfort to it, which grew as the mist thickened around her. The growl slowly transformed to a lulling voice and continued to repeat “You need more time”.

When all she could see was white mist about her – not even her body was visible – the voice stopped.  In the emptiness and quiet, she felt strangely at ease – almost afloat – a cooling breeze seemed to flow through her.

Her mind was clearing again – at least she felt it was until a small rumble swelled somewhere below her – she started to feel a voice-like vibration and heat flow upwards to envelop her …and then, as if a door had slammed shut, the voice vibration and heat were gone.

She sensed that a corner of her mind had been blocked – there was something missing, but she found herself relieved not to be able to recall it.  The ripples in the mist distracted her thoughts – cooling waves washed over her again – and the soothing voice returned as a whisper.  “You are safe now Charlotte – we will protect you – you are almost ready”.

She started to drift a little to the side – an odd sensation – no real body movement; just a drift … “Yes” whispered the voice.

The sensation of finger tips surprised her…

Artist: Elena Madden; Author: Mike Evans

Clouds

The sheer force of the wind gust knocked him to the ground.  Shaking off the disorientation, Austin uneasily rose to kneel over the pond again.  Was she still there – yes, he could see Charlotte in the water’s reflection.

Instinctively he reached for her – brushing the rippling image of the tops of her hands with his fingers – something he had done many times before, when she was in his arms – “It’ll be alright” his sighed.  He saw her familiar smile start to form – he could feel Charlotte beginning to return to her former self.

He noticed the branch in her hand – his only connection to her now – he hoped it would be enough to reunite them.

He came to their pond every day since she disappeared – he had repeated the pebble ritual each day with hopes that she would answer.

And now, there she was – not quite real, but he saw her and she was responding to his words.  These moments were magical for him – she really might be here. He reached for her again.

He felt the chill run through his body … her image slowly faded away – replaced by a curtain of clouds reflecting on the surface of the pond.  He tried to clear the image of the clouds with his hands – “Charlotte!” he called out as he pushed his right hand through the water to feel for her.

The branch seemed to appear in his hand out of nowhere – and with it, he heard that same  unnatural voice he’d heard just before Charlotte disappeared – “You need more time” it growled.

Artist: Elena Madden; Author: Mike Evans

Time

The branch felt strange, but natural in Charlotte’s hand – a connection to something important … she wasn’t clear what it meant, but sensed it was good.

For several minutes, the surge of warm energy moved up in waves through her right arm … to her shoulder … to the back of her neck … flooding through the back of her head – the haze in Charlotte’s mind diminishing with each wave.

She slowly began to remember Austin … his image started to form in her mind … she could feel his fingers softly brush across the top of her hand as she knew he had done before … another wave of warmth spread through her.  “It will be alright” she could hear him say while flashing his bright grin.

She felt, then saw her own smile slowly form in the mirror.  “I think it will be ok”, she thought … another wave of warmth surged through her right side as if in agreement…

A few moments passed … or perhaps several … Charlotte couldn’t tell.

A low pitched growling sound accompanied the cooling sensation that crept up her left arm … and not understanding why, something inside of her seemed to welcome it.  “You need more time” the growl whispered inside of her.

As a heavy mist began materialize all around, her reflection began to fade … Austin began to fade … the branch in her hand forgotten … the haze returning … “Yes, you need more time” the growl said more forcefully this time…

Artist: Elna Madden; Author: Mike Evans

Pebbles

Austin could only see rippled reflections of clouds passing overhead as he strained to see Charlotte’s image in the water.  He leaned further over the edge of the pond for a more direct look at the surface – perhaps then…

He pulled another smooth flat pebble, with rounded edges, from his pocket – it had to work, he thought.  On his knees, stretching forward as far as he could and holding his arm parallel to the water’s surface with his palm facing up, he slowly lowered the tips of his fingers to release the pebble.

It slid off his fingers, falling at a slight angle and sliced the surface of the water with a small plopping sound – ripples temporarily distorted the white haze of clouds.  He thought he caught a glimpse of her, but the image faded with the waning ripples.

He knew he had to reach her soon – she was in trouble – he felt it.  Another carefully selected pebble … another ritual release to the pond … this time more of the flat part of the pebble hit flush with the surface – a larger splash and he could see her more clearly now … he called out to her and she seemed to respond … but her image faded away again.

His spirits raised, he strained to see the layout of the pebbles on the bottom of the pond … all were touching, but one – they had to be connected.  The rustling of leaves behind him called out – he turned and saw the branch lying on the ground next to the trunk of the tree. He rose and raced to retrieve it.

It felt good in his hand and was the perfect length to reach the bottom of the pond, he thought.  He carefully hurried back to the edge of the pond and peered into the water to find the pebbles.  He extended the branch into the water, awkwardly trying to move the errant pebble to touch one of the others – Charlotte came into focus the instance the pebble connected to its neighbor.

He called out to her again – “Charlotte, are you ok?”  A gust of wind in response surprised him and he felt the branch slip from his hand before he could react.  In a flash it was gone …

Artist: Elena Madden; Author: Mike Evans

Voices

A knock at the door startled Charlotte – she tried to focus. Her present seemed a blur.  She couldn’t remember where she was or how long she’d been here … She felt very heavy and needed more time to clear her head.

Who could be at the door?

“Charlotte, are you ok?” came a familiar voice after another knock. She couldn’t quite place the voice, but sensed it couldn’t be real … but she heard it.

She struggled to grasp what was actually happening … and why did she feel like… another knock disrupted her thoughts.

Charlotte slowly kneaded the sides of her head with her palms, trying to clear her thoughts – instead, music flooded through and she kept hearing the line “where soul meets body” over and over again.

A sudden whoosh breezed by her right ear…  “Charlotte, please come out” came the voice in a whisper… but she couldn’t move.

A second whoosh… this time she felt it come through her as a breath… another knock…

A third whoosh pushed through her… this finally seemed to slow her chaotic thoughts… she focused on her breathing – the haze clouding her mind began to recede…

She heard the familiar voice again – there was something different about it now…

As the haze slowly continued to lift from her, she saw her reflection in the mirror come into focus – and the reflection was talking to her … not talking to her, she began to realize … she was talking … the voice was hers

With that realization, Charlotte felt a deep breath leave her – and the voice stopped – the haze receding from her mind a little more…

A building sense of energy surged through her arm … and she noticed the branch in her hand…

Artist: Elena Madden; Author: Mike Evans