(11) The Pool

The moment was magical. I wanted it to last forever, but nothing on this earth lasts forever, not even joy. The two of us could not stop looking at each other, drinking in each other’s presence. Every second was more magical and precious than the last. John put his shirt back on, eventually. He looked so strapping in his white tunic with the sleeves rolled up to reveal his muscular forearms. His black belt was made of a tough leather covered with gold studs creating a planetary pattern that drew the eye to his ornate holster where his ray gun was snuggly stowed. His fitted pants were tucked into his worn, black leather boots covered in a similarly planetary golden pattern. His long, deep blue coat, which was made of a thick material, looked, well, cool. That was the fact of John. He exuded coolness. With a casual flick of his hand he rumpled his black hair so it was momentarily lifted off his forehead. A green jewel I hadn’t noticed before, caught my eye as he did this. I reached up and pushed his hair back to see the small, teardrop-shaped, smooth gem dangling from his ear. It was attached to a gold chain that snaked up the outer edge of his ear and wove through it in several more places. “When did you get this?” I asked. He reached up as though he had forgotten and then looked at me with a gleam in his eye.

“I got this the day we said goodbye. I never wanted to forget the way I felt you had been woven into my life and the shade of your eyes.” I blushed. He was so sweet. I looked down at my long, forest green tunic outfit, completed with brown tights and worn leather boots. I hadn’t realized how simply dressed I was. I tugged at a stray thread on my hemline and looked back up. John was still smiling at me.

“Come on”, he crooned, “I want to show you something.” He held out his hand, and I took it. This was the first time we had held hands. It was as though a spark started where our hands connected and flowed through the rest of my body like an electric current. He took me through the trees and I felt as though I wanted it to be like this forever. Walking hand-in-hand with John. Eventually we reached a clearing that took my breath away.

It was secluded, surrounded almost completely by trees. As we entered, the sunlight dancing through the leaves and floating pollen illuminated a small pool, clear as glass and smooth as stone. The grass was springy here and the air smelled sweet with the hundreds of wildflowers blooming all over the small clearing. It was like something out of a fairytale. John turned to see my reaction; it must have been good because he let out another dazzling smile. I walked slowly over to the pool, but John was feeling playful, probably because of his satisfaction at my reaction. He fairly skipped beside me, casting his coat behind him, where it landed perfectly on a tree branch. How did he do things like that? Was this boy even real? He reached out to grab me, but I decided to play too so I danced out of reach. He loved it. He cocked an eyebrow and got ready to pounce as I sprinted through the flowers. He lept toward me, his hair flying behind him, and I sprang just out of reach. His smile was so devastating, how did I not just give in? Oh, but I loved to tease him. As he lunged forward I jumped straight in the air and hovered above him.

“Not fair!” he shouted, looking put out, but with a sparkle of fun in his eye. “You are so much like a fairy, I don’t believe you aren’t descended from them.” He called playfully. “I don’t have wings”, I protested. My ability to fly was one born of me naturally. I was simply able to fly, to bend gravity to my will, but I couldn’t go very high. I danced through the air while he followed beneath me. Suddenly he found a rock and lept high enough to catch hold of my foot. His unexpected weight pulled us both to the ground where we landed in a tangle of limbs and a shout of laughter. I jumped to my feet, but he grabbed my waist and began tickling me. I detested it when anyone else did this to me, but I loved it when he tickled me. I was giggling uncontrollably when I stepped backward and fell into the pool. The cold water engulfed me and I sank straight to the bottom; the laugh still suspended on my lips.

Then I fell sideways. It was the strangest sensation. I broke through the surface of the water and landed on the soft ground, but in a completely different place. It looked like a completely different planet. I stood up and looked at the pool, it shimmered to my left, suspended in the air, floating perpendicular to the spongy earth. What kind of pool does that? I peered around the edge of it and saw that it was as thin as paper and the only thing on the other side was more of this strange world. I looked through the pool and saw the glen I had just been in. John was looking in the water frantically trying to find me, suddenly he caught sight of me and reached out trying to grab me. I put my hand in the pool, but was unable to. My hand just made ripples on the surface. I pressed my face against the strange pool and looked longingly at John, panic now filling my stomach, where only mirth had been before. He couldn’t seem to penetrate his side of the pool any more than I could. He seemed to be talking to me, but I couldn’t distinguish any words. He jerked his head back as though someone was coming behind him. He shouted at me and I heard his muffled voice say, “Don’t worry Elaine, I’ll find you. I love you!” before he snatched his coat off the tree and ran out of my line of sight.

I was trapped in another world, without John.