Words

Freddy stretched his arms out to his sides, extending and contracting his fingers – stifling a slight urge to yawn. Shifting his eyes away from the computer screen, he gazed at Maya sitting serenely on the windowsill. “You look very comfortable Maya”, he chuckled stretching his arms one more time.

With writing thoughts flowing in several directions, he felt a sense of movement about him – like he was an island with waves washing up against him on all sides. Maya seemed to sense his thoughts and turned to look at him – her large blue eyes blinking slowly, which started to calm his thoughts. Freddy smiled at her – she always seemed to know.

As his mind quieted, his fingers began to type without him for a moment. Looking at the screen, Freddy caught up with the flow of words. “Ah yes – of course” he said to himself. He loved writing about the woods. He felt the pull of the trees – the natural smells – the cool breeze – the magical sounds of unknown creatures – the shadows.

A loud thud brought his focus back to Maya. She was in her attack posture – something definitely had her attention. He heard another thud of her paw against the window. “What is it, Maya – what do you see?” he asked. She ignored him and remained focused on … what?

The loud chirping followed by a flash of red seemed to come out of nowhere. Freddy got up to take a closer look by the window. He saw the red cardinal in the tree – clearly agitated – head darting in several crisp directions. “Must be Chase,” he thought. Freddy was surprised to see the brown cardinal in the same branch near Chase. He wondered if she was Shari – perhaps.

Freddy almost laughed when he saw the squirrel, with a single claw hanging on the edge of the bird feeder. “Now, how did you manage to get up that pole?” he asked with a chuckle. A moment later, he heard another loud chirp and watched Shari dart straight for the squirrel. This time the squirrel released her grip on the edge of the bird feeder and slid – almost ran – down pole – and disappeared into the woods.

“How’s the writing coming along, sweetie?” Carly asked in her sing-song voice as she entered the room. Freddy almost jumped out of his chair at her unexpected voice. He noticed the screensaver running and laughed, “I must have dozed off for a moment, cutie.” “I thought I had the last scene written, but now I think there is one more”, he smiled.

Carly bent down and threw her arms around him. Freddy turned to face her as she leaned in to kiss him. “mmm – blueberries – you taste just like the first time we kissed”, he laughed. Carly beamed and kissed him again. “Did you write about my castle yet?” she teased. “Yes, just like your dream – and with the mote – and the prince and princess”, he said pulling her closer.

Maya continued to look out the window and watched intently as the young deer gave her a smile and disappeared into the shadows of the woods. She heard his fading whispers and turned to look at Carly and Freddy – no signs that they heard. Soon she thought … soon.

Artist: Leonid Afremov; Author: Mike Evans

Home

Shari felt the slightest sensation of fingers tenderly tracing along her back – as light as a breeze brushing against her. His touch – she knew it must be – sparked the melody in her head again. She caught herself softly singing “where soul meets body” and smiled. He must be close.

As she looked around for signs of him, she noticed Chase and a brown cardinal sitting close together in a tree in front of her. She felt herself blush as she watched Chase hop a little closer to the brown cardinal. As if noticing, he bobbed his head in her direction and Shari looked away – and right into the eyes of her young deer friend. Yes, he must be close.

She began to feel … what was the sensation – lighter perhaps? Her deer friend seemed to pull her into his eyes – and she saw something – blurry at first, but it was familiar. Then with sudden clarity, she saw it – Freddy and Carly as young children playing a game right in front of her. They were laughing – the scene was so real to her. “This is real”, came his familiar voice – “It’s time for you to remember Shari.” She heard their voices – she felt she could reach out and touch them – join them.

Freddy drew the outline of a castle in the dirt with the branch. He etched out the outline of a mote and poured a little water from his canteen for added effect. “Ok Carly, I think this is the kingdom of Whisper Heart.” He placed little twigs inside to represent people. “Is this how you imagined it in your dream?” he asked. “Yes, it is perfect Freddy”, she replied.

Shari smiled warmly at the scene and wondered why she had trouble remembering this – and where was she? She had always been with Freddy and Carly. “So, what’s her name Carly?” Freddy asked through a little teasing laughter. “If you laugh, I’m not telling you”, she replied while sticking her tongue out at him. “Ok, I promise”, he replied stifling a smile – fingers crossed behind his back.

“Shari – her name is Shari – she is the woodland princess”, Carly beamed. “She showed me this very spot in the woods – she says it’s magic here – where shadows come to life.” Freddy gave Carly a mischievous grin as he bowed slightly to her right and said, “Good evening Shari – allow me to introduce Chase. Chase is the shadow prince.”

In a rush, it all came back to her – she now saw Chase sitting to her left as the scene in front of her faded into shadows. He smiled, leaned in to kiss her and whispered “welcome back love.” Shari felt the first taste of his lips beat in her heart – once more – and she knew she was home.

Artist: Leonid Afremov; Author: Mike Evans

Touch

Chase heard the tune play softly inside his head as he walked through the woods – it felt like soothing background music. The words clear in his mind now – “Where I send my thoughts to far-off destinations. So they may have a chance of finding a place where they’re far more suited than here.” Yes, he thought – “Where Soul Meets Body” – perfect words.

He smiled as his hands moved casually through the air – conducting the music. The music abruptly stopped as his attention was suddenly drawn by an excited squeal – followed by the sudden thrashing of branches in a tree far off to his right. He looked up and saw a squirrel fly out of the tree – crashing into the branches of another and then seemingly disappear into it.

His curiosity piqued, Chase started towards the tree. He’d only taken a few steps when he spotted the red cardinal sitting on the now swaying branch. Could this be the same red cardinal who flew to his campsite last night, he wondered? As if in reply, the bird let out a series of sing-song chirps – it had to be the same tune Chase was hearing in his head.

The cardinal gave a few quick head bobs and then darted inwards. Chase knew he had to follow. As he cleared the tree – branches still swaying a bit, he saw the bird sitting on a large log. Almost as if he’s waiting for me, Chase thought. He walked, as calmly as he could, over to the log and sat down. His new cardinal friend didn’t seem to acknowledge Chase was there – his head bobbing slightly, but looking intently at another tree in front of the log. “Now what”, Chase asked himself?

He almost wasn’t surprised when he spotted Kristin – he knew it had to be her – sitting in that tree. Chase looked at his new red cardinal friend and said, “Well – aren’t you going to her?” His new friend gave him an appraising look and then flew to a branch next to Kristin – their dance was about to begin Chase smiled to himself.

And suddenly, the words that had started as whispers in his heart became louder – he knew he had to capture them – and now. Pulling his journal out of his backpack, Chase ran his fingers over the words he’d written this morning – they felt alive to his touch. He let the words float out as he read, “the first taste of your lips beats in my heart.” He smiled at the rest of the empty page as he saw new words flow pass him.

As he wrote, the sensation of her skin against his was electric. He involuntarily brushed his right hand in the air – expecting her touch. And he felt … what? There was something vaguely familiar about this spot. He began to think he had been here before – and maybe with her. Was it a memory or his writer’s imagination? The names Freddy and Carly interrupted his thoughts – hmm … “the two characters that have been playing in my mind, perhaps”, he smiled. And he continued to write.

Artist: Leonid Afremov; Author: Mike Evans

Path

“Were you waiting for me, Chase?” Shari asked as she started towards the woods in her backyard. With a few quick crisp movements of his head in her general direction, Chase gave her a curious look and darted ahead of her into the woods. The familiar whisper that seemed to flow from her heart said, “Follow me.” She smiled as she had expected – or at least hoped – to hear his voice and thought, “Yes, perhaps today is the day.”

With a mounting sense of excitement, she adjusted her backpack and stepped into the woods. She spotted Chase waiting for her in a tree along the path. He seemed a bit nervous to her, with his head bobbing in several directions – as if he was on alert for something. Attuned to her red cardinal friend, Shari looked around for something. Not sure what she should be looking for – something out of the ordinary perhaps.

She laughed to herself wondering what she would consider out of the ordinary today. But, she did notice something different. It was unusually quiet – no sounds of animals or even the leaves rustling. She also had the sense of the woods enveloping her as moved further inside. Well, maybe not enveloping her – it was more like an embrace she decided. She felt that sensation flow around her as she started to follow Chase – who now flew deeper into the woods and away from the familiar trail. Shari would be making a path of her own from now on. “He’s out here somewhere – I know it”, she thought.

After a couple of hours hiking through the untamed part of her woods, Shari removed her backpack and sat heavily on a log. Taking a long drink of water, she chuckled to herself thinking how Carly would hold up on this hike – not very well. Yes, now she understood why her inner voice told her to keep Carly away today – at least this seemed to be the reason.

As she was about to rise, she heard a muted voice – and realized this was the first sound outside of her own steps that she had heard in a while – not even Chase had made a sound. She looked towards her right – where the voice seemed to come from – and at first didn’t see anything but trees. The quick movements of a furry tail appeared to one side of a tree and then she saw the squirrel’s head peer around the other side – watching her intently.

A swoosh of air hit her ears as she saw Chase dart pass her straight for the squirrel. With a squeal, the squirrel quickly climbed to one the upper branches and flew across to another a tree – and was gone in an instant. “Carly?” Shari heard herself ask. That seemed to trigger a flash from a distant memory – a flood of disconnected images popped in and out of her head in rapid succession. “I’ve been here before – a long time ago I think”, she said out loud and wondered what it meant.

Artist: Leonid Afremov; Author: Mike Evans

Maya

Freddy leaned back in his chair absently staring out his window as his laptop powered up. He lazily brought his cup of coffee – mocha flavored of course – to his lips. As he took his first sip, thoughts of her flooded through him. He seemed to always think of her these days – he couldn’t even remember what it was like not to think of her. Odd, how completely comfortable he was with this relatively new sensation.

He felt a sudden furry presence brush up soft but firm against his left leg. “Maya, you almost made me spill my coffee”, he laughed as she hopped with purpose onto his lap – he was hers after all. She gave him a long look, then stretched up with her front paws and started to knead his chest. Yes, it was she who owned him, he thought. Freddy knew it was no use fighting, as he powered down the laptop – his email to Shari would have to wait.

“Odd, Shari didn’t pick up when I called her this morning”, Carly said as she entered the living room. “Do you think she is ok, Freddy?” “I’m sure she’s fine, Carly. Coffee’s ready in the kitchen”, he replied. “Aren’t you going to pour a cup for your guest?” she teased. “You hardly qualify as a guest anymore”, he chuckled – though a bit nervously.

Meanwhile not getting the attention she expected from Freddy, Maya redoubled kneading his chest and pushed her head against his face. “Ok, ok Maya – I see you”, he laughed and started to pet her. “And that’s another odd thing – why did Shari ask you take her cat – it’s so unlike her?” “Yes, it is a bit out of character for Shari”, he agreed. “But, she said Maya told her that I belonged to her”, Freddy replied. Laughing, Carly said, “Yes, she would say something just like that.” “Well, I’m still worried about her. I’m going to try to reach her again”, she said and headed into the kitchen.

Freddy continued to slowly pet Maya – he loved the feel of her fur – and she purred, almost hummed – something familiar about it, he thought. She stared straight into him with her large blue cat eyes. Feeling himself standing at the edge of woods in Shari’s backyard with Maya just in front of him seemed almost normal. He felt the breeze on his skin and smelled the woods – could he really be here? Maya doubled back and rubbed against his leg – then returned to the wood’s edge. One quick look back to him and she continued with stealthy movements – as if she was hunting. And the thought occurred to him, maybe she was – he followed her into the backyard.

Looking at the house, he could see Shari in the upstairs window – her bedroom he knew. What was that on her shoulder – a backpack? She quickly disappeared from view as he heard her phone ring – another familiar tune. Maya brushed against his leg again and as he looked down at her he realized he was sitting in his chair – petting her. She no longer stared at him – her eyes closed tight as she purred like a motor boat and wore a large curious smile.

Artist: Leonid Afremov; Author: Mike Evans

Taste

Shari slowly wakes to the brush of a soft breeze against her skin. Her waking thoughts fill with his last words to her, “the first taste of your lips beats in my heart.” As his words play in her mind, she realizes her finger is tracing her lower lip – which brings her a smile. A familiar sensation flows just below her surface – butterflies abound.

Slowly, her mind begins to clear into the now and she feels his essence fade away. This is the third night in a row she dreamt him. Still, Shari could not pull up his name or see his face. Though she feels she saw him clearly in her dreams, only his words remain in her mind – and an image of a campsite in the woods, somewhere – somewhere familiar. “Am I chasing a shadow”, she wonders to herself?

She’s tempted to drift back to sleep, just to feel him inside her once again. But, apparently her red cardinal friend in the backyard has other ideas as he sings out a series of musical chirps – the melody so clear to her now. “Right, Chase”, she smiles and begins to rise. “Must get ready for a trip into the woods – he’s out there somewhere”, she muses.

She wonders if she will tell Carly – and Freddy as well. Carly will call her this morning of course, as usual – what should Shari say to her friend. A small voice within tells her “say nothing” – almost as a warning. She shivers a bit and tucks the question away to answer later. Trying to take her mind off the topic, she begins her normal morning ritual – coffee, shower, makeup, dress, and a quick breakfast.

With a quickening sense of excitement, she carefully lays out the items she will need to take with her. This trip into the woods will be an adventure, she thinks. As she begins to fill her backpack, she feels the cool breeze flow in through her open bedroom window – a welcoming whisper from the woods – from him – she imagines and smiles at the thought.

With the last item placed just so in her pack, Shari zips it close. A slight sensation traces along the top of her left ear, which catches her by surprise. She turns sharply towards the open window to find the source – but sees no one – perhaps it is just the breeze she thinks. She walks to the window and spots Chase sitting contently in his usual branch – just above the bird feeder she set up for him.

As she stares out the window, the last words from her waking dream play in her mind – and she realizes her finger is tracing her lower lip again. She smiles at the thought of his first taste – will he be “like water for chocolate” she wonders? An intense warm feeling flows through her with the thought. “Perhaps…”, she softly exhales – not noticing the figure emerging from the woods in her backyard.

Artist: Leonid Afremov; Author: Mike Evans

Melody

Shari rinsed the empty glasses of red wine and set them to dry in the dish drainer. As she dried her hands on the towel next to the drainer, she thought she heard someone humming a vaguely familiar tune. Looking around – at first it didn’t register, but after a few moments she realized she was the one who had been humming the tune. Chuckling to herself, she began to count how many glasses of wine she had today – maybe two, no three – not too many she decided.

With an effort to focus, she tried to recall what she was humming – it was vaguely familiar. But, the tune faded from her and stayed just out of reach of her memory – teasing her with tantalizing wisps of sound. It was as if someone inside her had been humming the tune and suddenly stopped when she became aware. Ok … maybe she did have a little too much to drink, she smiled to herself.

With a sigh, she walked over to shut down her laptop. The image of her little deer friend was staring straight at her – and she definitely had a smile – a mischievous one at that. “Funny, I wonder why my screen saver isn’t running”, she asked herself? As she was about to power down, she noticed the brown cardinal just barely visible in the shot – in the upper right corner, sitting on a branch – also looking straight at her. Hmm – and why hadn’t she noticed the cardinal before?

The sing-song chirps of Chase floated into the room – soft and distant, but loud enough for her to hear them. Shari wondered if that was actually Chase she heard – or perhaps the mystery brown cardinal she was looking at now. As the chirps repeated, she started to recognize the musical pattern – and thought it was very similar to what she was humming earlier. “Now, what is that tune?”

“I’ve heard it before” she said to herself as she began to look through the music files on her laptop. Shari had her music organize into folders by artist and started scanning through the names. Nothing clicked for her until she got to the Ds and read Death Cab for Cutie. Yes, she thought and looked through the names of the tunes – and smiled, “that’s it – Soul Meets Body.”

Shari clicked on the file and felt the sensation of smooth chocolate flow through her body as the words and music filled the air around her … “I want to live where soul meets body,
And let the sun wrap its arms around me” … “You’re the only song I want to hear … a melody softly soaring through my atmosphere.”

Without thinking Shari grabbed her camera from the desk and headed out to take photos of the sunset – humming the tune she now knew he meant for her. She would capture the sun wrapping its arms around the sky in red streaks – his arms. She would capture his essence on film – she felt him now – and she would dream him tonight.

Artist: Leonid Afremov; Author: Mike Evans

Journal

Looking at the blank page in his journal, Chase softly chuckled to himself. The blank page seemed to tease him – with the words hiding just out of view. “You’re in me – I know it … I feel you”, he smiled and idly traced a small shadowy outline of what – her figure perhaps? “Yes, I feel you”, he repeated.

The sweet smell of hot chocolate drifted towards him and he rose from his chair to pull his cup from the fire. He kept his pencil and journal in hand – perhaps, afraid he might lose his connection with her – she was so close he could taste her. He felt the soothing warmth of chocolate flow through him as he took a sip and returned to his chair.

He sat back and took another sip and thought with a smile “this is how she will feel – like smooth chocolate.” Looking around his campsite he wondered if she would love these woods – just as he did. “Yes”, he thought “she would.” How could she not – he was drawn here to write her, although he didn’t know it when he first arrived.

Chase came to this spot a week ago to clear his mind and start writing his next story. He smiled a bit at the thought of his “next story” since he had several unfinished ones in various stages of non-completeness. He would finish them all – one day perhaps – of course he would. But, his mind played in non-linear mode – which meant … which meant what?

The ringing sing-song set of chirps announced the arrival of Kristin. Chase looked up to find his cardinal friend in her usual branch just above his chair. She arrived about the same time each day for the last three days – almost sunset. Her arrival that first day sparked his interest in writing about his shadow girl – he hadn’t given her a name yet – that would come in time, he knew.

Funny thing – he instantly gave his cardinal friend her name – Kristin. Kristin would be another story … and he laughed at the thought – of course she would. But now, he was consumed with thoughts of her – his shadowy her. He knew or at least felt he dreamt her in clear detail the last two nights … and there had to be connection with the appearance of Kristin.

Each morning he woke and quickly grabbed his journal to capture his dream – but it faded from his mind before he could write. He could feel the surface of words floating around him, but they merely brushed his skin like the breeze – teasing him as they disappeared. Chase also sensed the presence of a couple more characters – and there was definitely a connection with the woods he decided.

He felt the small whoosh of wind on his skin before he saw the red flash dart across his peripheral vision. The red cardinal landed a couple of branches from Kristin. Chase watched his dance – a couple of awkwardly elegant hops towards Kristin. She acted disinterested, but something told Chase she was well aware of his presence. She suddenly looked straight at Chase for a few moments and then darted off – and was that a smile she gave him?

The red cardinal remained still for a few minutes – looking straight at Chase as if deciding something … and then he let out a series of sing-song chirps before darting off in the direction of Kristin. Chase set his hot chocolate aside and wondered why the chirps sounded familiar as he began to hum – and the first words about Shari started to flow.

Artist: Leonid Afremov; Author: Mike Evans

Red

Shari absently took a sip from her freshly refilled glass of red wine. The sweet aroma of soggy leaves wafted over her with the cool crisp breeze coming in through the forest. She languidly drew in a deep breath as she settled back in her comfortable chair and lightly set her glass on her thigh – her finger traced along the lip as she watched the last rays of sunlight stream through the trees.

Shari loved sitting in her chair in the backyard at this time of day – something magical in the air as day surrendered to night. She usually shared these moments with Carly and Freddy – but not today – and she didn’t know exactly why. Carly seemed a bit surprised when Shari told them she was tired and going to turn in early – Freddy though, just nodded almost imperceptibly and smiled warmly at her.

She was tired when she told them – she had felt something heavy flowing inside, slowing her body’s rhythm. She also felt, “what was it?” something smooth perhaps. It was hard to explain, but the sensation was there – just like the feeling of chocolate flowing through her earlier. Funny thing – shortly after they left, she felt a small surge of energy and a strong desire to watch the sunset in her backyard – well, more like rays of sunset through the trees.

As she looked towards the trees at the edge of the forest in her backyard, a rustling of leaves quickly followed by fluttering wings and a flash of red that darted across her periphery brought her an instant smile. She turned to see her red cardinal perched in his familiar spot – a branch in her oak tree close to the house and just above the bird feeder – or more specifically – his bird feeder.

“You came to share the sunset with me, Chase?” she asked. As if answering, her cardinal friend gave her a few rapid head movements – then steadied himself as he let out a set of sing-song chirps. After he finished, he gave Shari another quick look before flying down to the feeder. He pecked at a few seeds – gave her another quick glance and then flew off towards the trees in the forest.

As she followed his path, Shari noticed that the branches of the tree he flew into seem to separate to let him through – must be the light playing tricks, she quickly decided. There were already too many odd things happening for her to process another one, she thought – and she started to trace her finger along the top lip of her glass of wine again.

Shari relaxed and leaned a little further back in her chair, tilting her head slightly upwards. She floated along with the clouds sporting various changing shades of pink and red streaks. And there it was … slipping in and out of view – the shadow image. Why did the image look familiar, she wondered? She almost spilt her wine as a loud set of familiar sing-song chirps rang out from the forest.

“Good night, Chase” a voice within her, perhaps her own, smiled. She took a last sip of the red wine and headed into the house – and to bed – and to her dreams. Tonight, she just might dream in red.

Artist: Leonid Afremov; Author: Mike Evans

Chocolate

Carly smiled as the soothing sensation of chocolate flowed through her body. “Yes”, she thought “I love the feel of his soul moving within me.” “Shari can have her imaginary shadow prince, but Freddy is real and he’s mine. That last thought caught her a bit off guard – where did that come from, she wondered. “You know very well”, whispered an unsettling voice within – one she tried to ignore. Yes she realized – she was glad Shari had her shadow man now.

“Chocolate”, Freddy said almost as a question – still pulled into Carly’s eyes … and now it was Carly who seemed miles away – as that random word snapped Shari out of thinking about those times in the woods – so many years ago. “What made you say chocolate, Freddy?” she asked – suddenly remembering the sweet sensation she felt earlier when she heard her mystery man’s voice – or thought she heard it.

“Did I say that out loud?” he laughed a bit nervously. “I was just thinking about it for some reason” he continued – still not taking his eyes off Carly. Now it was Shari who appraised Freddy and then Carly. What was it with those two she wondered? All these years growing up together, the three of them – they knew more about each other than even their family did … and shared almost everything – almost everything.

And yet, Shari thought – the relationship among the three of them always seemed to remain somewhat nebulous. She knew Carly loved Freddy – probably since they were in first grade. And Freddy obviously cared for her – but he also cared for Shari and she … yes, what did she feel for Freddy? And perhaps just as important – what did she feel for Carly?

The feeling of chocolate began to flow through her again. But she heard no voice this time – odd. Well, what wasn’t odd about this whole shadow mystery man thing she silently chuckled with slight exasperation?

She slowly found herself studying Freddy. What was it about him that attracted her, she wondered? He was certainly handsome enough and kept himself in reasonably good shape. She particularly loved his smile, which he seemed to readily share with her. And those eyes – yes, those eyes – she suddenly wished he was looking at her and not Carly right now.

Hmm, where did that come from she wondered – as she brushed her finger along the top of her glass of wine. She smiled at being flustered thinking about Freddy, especially when she was so intrigued with her shadow mystery man at the moment. His shadow image flashed in her mind – yes, intriguing indeed she thought. “In your dreams tonight”, he had said – and she hoped she could fall asleep … and soon – very soon.

Artist: Leonid Afremov; Author: Mike Evans