by Lisa Graves
“All Hallows Eve is an ancient and magical night. It is much more than the Halloween that you are acquainted with. It allows a few things that are otherwise difficult or not advised.”
“Like what?” I took a sip of the wine without even thinking about it. Shocked, I looked at Elliott when I realized how intense the sensation was. Looking around I realized that my senses were still heightened here. Not quite as much as in Stonehenge, but more than the usual projecting.
For instance, I could smell: the candles heating the pumpkins outside, the fire burning in the stone fireplace on the floor below us, and the apple-cinnamon cider bubbling in a pot above it. In the parlor below, the playing instruments resonated notes into music that was beautiful. And the touch of Elliott’s hand on the small of my back as he waited for me to focus was very sensual.
I looked back into his sparkling emerald eyes and he smiled. “Let’s begin with difficult,” he took a sip from his glass as he returned to our conversation. “You know firsthand how exhausting it is to fully project to another plane.”
I nodded.
“Well, the energy that surrounds this night is as if the energy of Stonehenge were everywhere. The sensations are so sensual,” he winked at me. “I know exactly what you are feeling.”
Elliott moved his hand up my back slowly. Letting me experience the tingles rising up my body in waves of utter happiness. I was only watching his eyes. I heard him set his glass down, but more importantly, I felt both of his big strong hands find and caress my face. His thumb brushed my cheek as he brought his mouth to mine. This was a slow kiss. He nibbled my bottom lip for a moment before our tongues danced to the music.
Our kiss lasted until the end of the song. As the last notes resonated up the stairs, our kiss came to a bittersweet end. Why did kissing Elliott ever have to end? It was the truest sensation I’ve ever felt. It was what it felt like to be alive.
His hand moved back to its previous place at the small of my back, and he picked up his glass and took another sip. “Where was I before you distracted me?” his melodic Italian accent asked me.
I was still trying to remember the proper order of breathing: in then out, repeat.
“Oh yes.” Elliott answered himself. “The not advised part.”
He had my full attention. “What do you mean?”
“Well, as a general rule, it is not a good idea to let people see you when you are projected there. It could get complicated.”
I noticed a woman in a blue dress look up at me as she walked across the hall at the base of the stairs. “But all these people?”
“Miele. You are forgetting. It’s Halloween. If for some reason we leave in a hurry, or to them disappear, they will write it off to the spirits and magic of the holiday.”
My free hand rested on his thigh. I took another sip of wine. The robust flavor of it triggered another question. “How am I able to taste this?” I held up the glass.
“The same way you felt the warm sand under your feet in Tahiti, and the warm water on your skin. Everything in the universe is energy. Right now we are the embodiment of thought and energy, which heightens the sensations.”
I went to take another sip, but instead I started to fall. I heard Elliott scream “No!” and my glass fell to the floor before the darkness of projecting consumed me.
Someone was shaking me as I opened my eyes.
“What the…” I looked up at Meredith above me.
“Lilly. You fell asleep.”
My eyes closed and I took a deep breath to control my anger. She had taken me away from my date. “I guess I did, mom.”
“It’s starting to get late. Weren’t you going to go to a party?” she asked. She couldn’t hide the hopeful glint in her eyes.
I opened my eyes again as I thought. I needed someplace I wouldn’t be disturbed so I could hopefully get back to my date, and it would help if I had Meredith off my back for the evening. “Yeah, mom. I’ll give them a call right now. Thanks.”
“No problem, sweetie.” Happy that I was going to go out and be a normal teenager, she left my room without a fight.
As soon as she closed my door, Elliott was at the window.
His eyes were frantic. “What happened?”
“Meredith was worried I would miss going out to all the Halloween parties, so she was kind enough to wake me up.” I shook my head.
“How ironic.”
“Seriously,” I replied. “She waking me up, took me away from my Halloween fun.”
Elliott smiled. “I am glad you’re alright. I was worried for a moment.”
“You’re worried. I can only imagine what that girl who was looking at me is thinking right now. Boy, that falling back to reality reflex is a strong one.”
“It certainly is.”
I sat back down on my bed and picked up my rose. I was about to smell its fragrant bloom when Elliott held out his hand to me, “Excuse me Lillianna, but our date isn’t over.” His eyes arched as he gave a sly grin.
My expression matched his. “It isn’t?”
“Nope. Do you think you can find someplace else to project from so we can start part two of our evening.”
Part two? “Yep. I know just what to do. Can you wait for me on the porch downstairs?”
“Si.”
Elliott ducked out my window, and I whispered after him, “Be sure to keep on the mask.”
Before setting my flower back down, I breathed in the sweet smell and prepared my story. I wrapped a black crocheted blanket around my shoulders and headed for the door.
Meredith was waiting downstairs, as expected. “Going out Lil?”
“Yep. Thanks again, mom. A guy from school is heading over right now to pick me up.”
Her smile was reassuring. “That’s great!” She forgot to ask what I was doing.
As I reached for the door I could hear Sophie and her friends scream in the other room. “I might be home kind-of late,” I looked at my mother with false concern. “If that’s alright of course?”
I opened the door for my “ride” and Elliott’s dapper tuxedoed frame was standing there waiting. Meredith’s mouth dropped. I heard her add, “Have fun kids,” as I closed the door.
Elliott looked at me, concerned at my mother’s reaction. “You don’t get out much do you?”
I took his hand and led him down the tree-lined street. “Nope.”
This felt familiar. It was then that I realized it was a weak sort of echo to the day I first saw him earlier this summer. The leaves were no longer green, and the smell was now of rotting tomato plants rather than freshly mowed lawn, but the gravel still crunched beneath our feet. Only this time we weren’t headed to my park. No. We were going to Nicholas’s cellar.
As the old wooden door became clear in the full moon’s light, Elliott asked, “Where are we?”
“Somewhere we, well I, won’t be disturbed.” He followed me in.
I didn’t bother to light any candles. Wrapped in my blanket, I lay back on Nicholas’s quilt and spoke into the darkness. “Elliott?”
“Si, mia amore?”
I smiled. “I’m ready for part two.”
Elliott laughed. “Then let’s be off.”
Hand in hand, once more we fell. When I opened my eyes and they adjusted to the lack of light, I saw that we were in a cemetery.
“You sure know how to treat a girl right,” I teased.
“I do know what you like, Miele.” And he did. Cemeteries were peaceful places of remembrance to me, not the creepy devil worshiping gothic cliches. I smiled as I looked at some of the old headstones. They were much older than the ones in my meadow. Though not one gave me any indication as to where this cemetery was.
I inspected another, and gave up. “I give in. Where are we?”
“No idea?”
“No.”
Elliott led me over and around the many timeworn stones until we were near the entrance of the cemetery. There was what appeared to be a really old church. He then moti
oned for me to take a closer look. There, in front, was a sign that read The Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow. I gasped. Eyes wide I looked at Elliott. He stood there confident as ever. I couldn’t help but shake my head and laugh.
“Che cosa? (What?)”
“You certainly know how to celebrate Halloween.” I laughed again.
Elliott then took my hand and pressed his lips to my knuckles. I noticed the way his lips formed around the contours of my hand and forgot to breathe. My heart fluttered as it reminded me of our last lip encounter. He winked at me from behind his mask before he wrapped an arm around me and walked us out of the monumental cemetery.
This time I didn’t ask where we were going. I just enjoyed the rush my heart felt at having him so close. The crisp fall air was alive. Elliott was right, for the energy was tangible. Only when the sound of our walking changed from scuffles on dirt to a soft pounding on wood did I take notice of my surroundings.
It was even deeper night here, but the full moon seemed to be lighting everything in a soft glow. We were walking on an old bridge moving towards what looked like an abandoned mill. And again, there were sounds of people up ahead.
Elliott looked down at me. “I thought you might like to try another masquerade. Now that you understand more how tonight works.”
I put my arm around his waist and hugged him as we walked. “Sounds great.”
And it was.
First we made one pass through the entire old house. The wooden floors were a dull grey due to age. The candlelight revealed the cracks in the plastered-over brick walls. This house was ancient, and it was beautiful.
I wasn’t worried as we mingled amongst the strangers in their unusual masks. No one seemed the wiser either. Elliott and I enjoyed some more wine, the energy of the music, and even a few dances. I wasn’t surprised that Elliott was a good dancer, but I was surprised that I didn’t make a complete fool of myself. It was the most fun and romantic evening I’d ever had.
As we finished our third waltz, Elliott held the back of my head close to his as he whispered in my ear, “I have one more surprise for you, my love.” He then kissed my cheek before leading me back towards the bridge we walked across to get here. Halfway across he stopped, and we sat down and let our legs dangle over the water. I noticed the energy of All Hallows Eve and the full moon seemed to be getting stronger as the night went on.
“This is all so beautiful,” I said as I looked out over Sleepy Hollow.
Elliott laughed his childlike laugh.
“What?”
“This isn’t the surprise I was talking about.”
“Oh.” I wasn’t sure what more to say. I looked around for what he must be referring to.
Elliott’s voice, honey sweet, had a fire behind it. “I can feel it. The energy is climaxing. It’s almost midnight.”
“What’s so special about midnight?”
Elliott intertwined his fingers with mine and gave me another mischievous smile. “You’ll see.”
“See what exactly?”
He looked deep into my blue eyes. “You’ll see,” he repeated.
We sat on the bridge, dangled our legs over the edge, and waited for midnight.
Chapter 8. Midnight
As the minutes passed by, some peculiar things started to happen. My heightened senses were the first indicator that something was transpiring. I could see everything around me with unbelievable detail. It was breathtaking. The shimmering water below with its soft undulating movements. The grainy harsh texture of the bridge on which we sat. And the knots in the wood, natures imperfections, were beautiful and perfect.
The next sense to intensify was scent. The wet bridge smelled of fresh cut wood rather than the aged creation it had become. The warm vanilla candles burning inside of the jack-o-lanterns way up at the house smelled as if they were right next to me. The rotting leaves of the trees, damp and blown into unruly piles, and the scent of the dirt in the cemetery would have been my favorite of the fragrances if not for one other. Elliott. At this moment, he smelled of freshly bloomed gardenias after a spring rain. I leaned in closer to him as I breathed in my favorite cologne.
Elliott laughed at my response to the sensory overload, and the sound was like music to my ears. His thumb casually brushed mine and my body shuddered at the magnetic electricity I felt between us. I looked up and saw a raven fly overhead. I was astounded to realize that the soft movement of air was the sound of its wings flapping as it passed. My eyes came down from the bird overhead and locked with Elliott’s intense green stare for barely a second…
Then there was nothing but mist.
For a moment I thought I was loosing my mind, but Elliott sensed my thoughts and reassured me with a squeeze of his hand that everything was alright. My senses were aware of things I couldn’t fathom, even though I could barely see anything except Elliott, who was right beside me.
The fog was so thick. It felt as though it was holding me in its billowy white arms. I felt warm and happy. I could feel sounds, and see smells. I squeezed Elliott’s hand again as I tried to take in the mist, and I could feel his heart jump in exactly the same way mine always reacted to him. It was as if instead of having separate senses of sight, smell, taste, touch, and sound, they were mixing and cooperating, and I was experiencing what life was meant to be like. What perfection felt like.
Whatever was happening, here the universe was complete. The world was energy, and energy made the world. And I was being exposed to it all in a very intimate and sensory way. All of this took place in only seconds, yet time seemed to stand still too.
My mind started to focus on Elliott and he became clear. The smokey mist held us tight together. Our feelings were tangible. I could feel the love, the lust, the longing, the desire, and the happiness that Elliott was feeling. And he could feel me. It was more than overwhelming and scary. There were no secrets here. Elliott could feel my every thought and desire and the exposure was frightening. What if he saw something he didn’t like? My thoughts overtook me for a moment before I realized that he knew what they were. His lips answered my worries. Elliott’s hands gently held my neck as he kissed away my concerns. His soul made it clear that there was nothing I could do that would make him go away.
He breathed me in deeply as his kiss went down my neck. I shuddered. Elliott looked deep into my eyes for just a moment before he motioned with his eyes for me to look up. As I did, here in this mysterious misty place, my focus changed.
Now the curious and quiet electrical storm overhead was the only thing in focus. It was as if a raging fight was going on between the gods. The lightning flashes kept illuminating the cloudy sky. But there was no rain. I became so distracted by the beauty of the terrible storm that I was mesmerized by it. I had nearly forgotten that Elliott was even there. It wasn’t until his hand ran down my elbow to interlock with my fingers that I was brought back to the realization of exactly what was going on.
“Where are we?” I asked as soon as Elliott came into focus.
“You already know.” His voice seemed to be a reassuring whisper.
I did know where we were. It was just like he had said. Atlantis was beyond words. How do you explain the unexplainable? “Atlantis?” I whispered back.
“Si, mia amore.”
“I thought you said it was hard to make it here?”
“It is,” he paused. “Very difficult, Miele.” Elliott smiled and brought his thumb up to brush my lips. “But tonight is special.”
I couldn’t help but jump up and wrap my arms around his neck. Elliott’s strong arms wrapped around me and twirled me around. It felt as though time stood still while simultaneously all enveloped in on itself. Somehow I could remember our life back in Italy so clearly it was as though it were present day. Whatever happened, I could remember everything from every lifetime. It was as if the memories were always there, locked away in a box, all neat and orderly, all there. And now I could access them again. The hazy mist managed to lift the curtain over my
past.
I smiled and Elliott could feel my happiness and why I was so very happy. He swung me around and up into his waiting arms. Elliott then carried me forward into the clouds. “Where are we going?”
“I thought you might like to look around a bit before you have to go.”
“When do I have to leave?”
“Presto, mia amore (Soon, my love). But let’s not worry about that now. There is so much you need to see first.”
As he spoke, the mist started to thin and the most beautiful sight lay before my eyes.
“What do you see?”
Elliott’s question confused me. “What do you mean, what do I see? What do you see?”
His smile glistened. “It’s a little different for everyone.”
I looked around again, and the subtleties became clear. I noticed minor, seemingly insignificant things, such as the color of the grass was the exact hue of Elliott’s eyes. The browns in this world were the color of Elliott’s hair. But not everything was him. It was all aspects of my heart in physical form. I could see signs of Nicholas in the way the willow trees moved like his shaggy hair. Even the Italian cliffs of my past were there. I could barely make them out in the foggy distance.
Elliott sat me down. I took off my shoes and walked forward towards this world that seemed to materialize on my whim. I let one hand linger behind me until I felt Elliott’s hand in my own.
Now it was Elliott’s turn to be curious. “Where are we going, Miele?”
Before us a hill formed, and on the top of the grassy knoll there were three ancient oak trees with my favorite thing in the world besides Elliott between them, a hammock.
I looked back at Elliott and he just smiled.
“Did you create this or did I?” he asked.
“Me, I think.”
“I understand your uncertainty. It’s hard to say sometimes.”
I lay down on the hammock and swung back and forth. “Care to join me?”
“Sempre, mia amore (Always, my love).” Elliott snuggled into the hammock with me.
“So why did you think this was your creation?” My leg dangled over the edge of the woven net.