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She cried for a long time where his body had been. It started to rain heavily, so she stood up and started to walk along the beach towards the path that led to the house. Was it still her home now that he had gone? With tears still streaming down her face she walked through the gates and towards the front door. It opened silently for her but she knew that nobody was behind it. Over time she had realised that she would never understand this world so she had given up trying to and just lived day-to-day from the sunrise to the sunset and the appearance of the moon.
The bedroom was just as they had left it. The fire was nearly burnt out so she put on another log and took off her wet garments. She saw one of his shirts lay casually on his chair and picked it up. Still naked she sat down and held the shirt close to her chest. She could smell his scent on it and feel his warmth.
‘Where are you Karlin?’ she whispered, as she closed her eyes to think of him. Eventually her eyes closed and she slept and awoke with the dawn. She put on the shirt and went to the large kitchen to find some herbs to make a drink. She couldn’t stop murmuring his name.
‘Karlin. Karlin. Karlin. Come back to me. I need you.
Time passed slowly between the sunrise and the sunsets. She tended the garden and continued to pick the herbs for her drinks. She made broth as he had shown her as his Granny had showed him so long ago but it didn’t taste the same as his. It was a relief to sleep in the time of the moon. She slept wearing his shirt in the bed they had both shared and could sense that he was close by. Thirty sunsets had passed by when something changed. She felt strong instead of weak. Warmth began to flow through her body as if Karlin was coming back, but he didn’t. What was happening? She found herself lighting a fire in a room similar to her’s and Karlin’s, preparing herbs for drinks just like he had for her. There was an atmosphere that felt unnatural and a loud noise was in her ears. The moon was breaking like it had for her ninety sunsets ago. Somebody was going to die and she had to help him. How on earth had she known it was a man? Karlin’s words came back to haunt her. ‘You will know what to do when the time is right.’
She ran out of the front door, through the gates and along the familiar path to the beach and to the rocks. A dark form lay there. It was a man. His eyes were closed and his body looked broken. She hesitantly touched him, and he slowly stirred. Eventually she led him back to the house and put him in a different room to the one she had shared with Karlin. His hair was long and black and he looked younger than Karlin but age didn’t matter now. Eternal life did and she was following in Karlin’s footsteps to help this man find his way. Whatever had happened to him didn’t matter anymore. Rowan couldn’t remember why she had died and that didn’t matter either. Karlin had told her to forget the past and live for the moon. The moon was powerful and when it broke it meant one more person would find eternal love and happiness.
Time as she knew it moved on. When would Karlin come back? She missed him so much. She wanted to be in his arms, to feel him by her side making love to her, and her to him. She walked along the path and stood on the cliff edge watching the sea crash onto the rocks below. The black shape she had seen when Karlin had first found her was gone. The sun was setting over Robin Hood’s Bay in the distance when she suddenly felt warmth surround her and a hand grip hers. She turned and saw her beloved Karlin next to her. His lips found hers, and they kissed long and slow. When they paused to watch the sea and the sun he pointed to where the black shape on the rocks had been. ‘That shape was your broken body Rowan. It has gone for good as you have now found peace in our new world. It is whole, and it will be for eternity. He stroked her back and she felt the wings grow. Together they flew beyond the moon. They would never be apart again or need the house. It had just been a shell to create their love.
Rune, the man she had helped, slowly got himself together the way Rowan had under Karlin’s care. She had taught him how to make the broth and the herbs, which were the staple diet and drinks. Nothing more was needed to sustain his body, and he was content. Ninety moons later he sensed a change in the atmosphere, and the moon fell apart.
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WHEN THE STORMS ARRIVE and life gets you down, think of love and what it means to you. If you find true love, nothing will break it. It is there for eternity.
I hope you have enjoyed reading this story as much as I have enjoyed writing it.
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