Charlie's Dream

by Jamie Rowboat

  "I have to eat something, or I'm going to faint," she said, in the end.

  "Moi aussi," replied Michelle, levering herself off the ground and offering her hand to her friend.

  "You know, that's the first French I've heard you speak. Your English is so perfect, I didn't even think of it," she said, struggling to her feet.

  "Thank you, I have been very lucky. I have travelled a lot, thanks to Gemma's influence and that's made it easy to learn. Now, come on, if I know Gemma, there will be a feast waiting for us at home," she said. So, they ran together holding hands and didn't let go until they had to, in order to fit through the front door.

  "I thought you two would be soul mates," said Gemma, watching them come bounding through the door in fits of giggles.

  "I've made quite a spread, as you can see, so I'm glad you've arrived to help me eat it," she continued, brandishing a plate stacked high with pancakes. The girls just looked at each other and laughed, then sat down on the kitchen bench next door to each other and began to eat. As she did so, Marie watched Michelle quite closely and what amazed her was the naturalness that she felt towards her after such a tiny amount of time. Despite a fear in her stomach that the whole incident in the garden would fade and that she would suddenly feel embarrassed, it didn't happen.

  "God that was good," said Gemma, rocking back in her chair, having finished the last, lonely pancake from the platter in the centre of the table.

  "Mm," said Marie, still off in her own thoughts.

  "It's so good to have you back Gemma. It feels like forever since we sat at this table together. Mum and dad are dying to see you too, they've both been all silly since they heard you were coming," said Michelle, smiling like a cat.

  "Yes, I can't wait to see them too, let's go over straight away," said Gemma, standing up so fast that her chair rocketed backwards and crashed onto the sandstone tiles.

  "Oho, the coffee's kicked in," said Marie, winking at Michelle, who promptly laughed and sprayed her last mouthful of tea across the table.

  "You are both pigs," announced Gemma, striding towards the back door, leaving the girls laughing in her wake.

  By the time they caught up with Gemma, she had left the main garden and was heading through the vegetable patch that was divided off from the rest of the property by a large stone wall that was utterly covered with a wild, climbing rose. Great bunches of delicate, pink flowers invited visitors who were courageous enough to risk its thorns and the floor for metres around her was littered with pink confetti. They linked arms and wandered through the flowering zucchini plants and burgeoning stands of peas, with only the briefest stop to sample the raspberries that were just beginning to ripen in any numbers. At the end of the vegetable garden, they turned right and headed out of the cultivated area and onto a gravel path that was just wide enough for a single car and which was lined with beech trees that were obviously hundreds of years old. Their huge limbs intertwined with each other, having bridged the airspace over the path maybe two hundred years before. Now, they created an intricate cobweb of branches that anchored the trees to the sky above.

  "My God, these trees are astounding," said Marie, as they marched along.

  "Yes, aren't they," sighed Gemma. "Shamir and I planted these the year we arrived in the village. I wanted to plant poplars, but he was right, of course," she offered, as an afterthought.

  "But why are they here? I mean, they're beautiful and everything, but if you didn't own the property then, why did you plant them?" asked Marie.

  "Mm, she asks good questions, I noticed that before," said Michelle, before Gemma had drawn breath.

  "Yes, doesn't she, you two will be well suited," Gemma said, with a sly grin. The girls just looked at each other and raised their eyebrows simultaneously.

  "To answer your question, we planted the trees as a mark of respect to the elves of this area. The main house was no more than a burnt out shell after a fire had ripped through it killing the evil landlord who owned it at the time. Twenty or thirty people died in the fire, and for years afterward, people believed that it was haunted. His only son was charged with his murder and put to the guillotine, leaving the title to the land vacant for a long time. We finally bought it when I returned from the elfin valley. The landlord, a certain Pierre Dauphin, had stripped the land around here to the point that there were only two or three stands of trees left on the entire four thousand-acre property. We planted the trees as a sign to the remaining elves that our intentions were good. In the end, we planted well over a million trees around this area over a period of forty or fifty years, but these were the only ones we planted before we owned it."

  "So, where does this path lead, why was it the first area you planted?" enquired Marie.

  "It leads to the one remaining area of woodlands near the main house. There is a small cottage on the edge of the forest where Michelle's parents live and where I lived before leaving for the valley. We planted this avenue as a bridge between the remaining trees and the property we hoped to one day own and restore. You have no idea, this place was an absolute wreck when we arrived and the elves had all but been wiped out. It's much better now, of course, we're able to provide a relatively safe haven for them here, like we've done on a number of similar properties scattered around the place. Now, their numbers are flourishing."

  "So, there are elves around here?" asked Marie, as she glanced around.

  "Yes, I've been with them many times."

  "Truly," muttered Marie.

  "Oui and, if I am not mistaken, your arrival is right on the full moon, which is the perfect time for you to meet them as well," said Michelle, happily.

  "Wha, is that right Gemma?" asked Marie, with her eyes now as big as saucepans.

  "Uha, that's right, I'm hoping that we can meet with them tomorrow night," said Gemma, in an absent sort of a way.

  "But, can I ask, why is it only possible to see them at certain times?" said Marie, more timidly.

  "Well, our eyesight has been blunted by years of thinking and acting through fear. We think we can see everything, but that's simply not true. Fear keeps us from being present, it's only when we learn to see through eyes that are without fear that they will simply come back into focus for us, along with an entirely different view of life. Until then, we can only see them when they lower their vibration through natural magic," answered Gemma, tenderly.

  "Here's the cottage she's been telling you about," interrupted Michelle, pointing at a wooden house up in the distance that looked like the seven dwarfs might come running out at any moment. There was smoke streaming out of the chimney and Marie couldn't help thinking how small the place looked against the enormous trees that loomed behind it.

  "What a cute house, the whole thing looks like something out of a fairy tale. But what species of tree is that behind it? I can't quite make them out from here," she asked, as they continued to close in on the house.

  "Ah, well, the ones directly around the house are elms, but we experimented with a number of varieties throughout the forest. Essentially, though, we used four types, Oak, Beech, Elm and Ash, with the odd Hazelnut, Willow and Poplar thrown in for good measure. They're a grand scale now, aren't they," said Gemma, looking at the view ahead.

  "They sure are," whispered Marie.

  The front door was wide open and there was someone sweeping the path in front of the house. When the figure looked up and saw them coming down the track, he disappeared into the door, only to reappear moments later with someone with him. They both rushed out of the garden to greet their anticipated guests and, when they were close enough, they both hooted with delight when they saw their old friend.

  "Haha," crooned Gemma, opening her arms to receive them both.

  The two girls stood back and watched for a while as the old friends embraced. The couple both looked to be about sixty and their bodies had the rugged strength that only a life on the land can bring. Celine was beautiful, like her daughter, but she had her long, black hair pulled away from
her face in a ponytail that accentuated her high cheekbones and vivid blue eyes. Pascal, on the other hand, was quite different. He had a wiry frame that looked like it was as tough as leather. His face was gnarly, but kind, and his vivid green eyes sparkled with a deep wisdom that seemed immediately calming to her. It was difficult to tell, because they were almost hidden by the mass of mad, red hair that threatened to envelop his whole head if left unattended for much longer.

  "This is Marie Hosking and, like yourselves, she feeds my soul in a way that very few have ever managed."

  Before she had a chance to say anything else, Pascal stepped forward and took both of her hands gently in his own.

  "Dear Marie, we have waited a long time for you to arrive in our lives. Now that you are here, know that you are really a part of our family," he said, looking at her through a few strands of his hair that had swung down across his face. Marie instinctively released one of her hands from his light touch and stroked the hair clear from his eyes. She looked into the deep wells of green that were now visible on his face and, as she did so, bolts of lightning seemed to fire up her spine, making her knees buckle beneath her.

  The next thing she knew, she was lying beneath crisp, white sheets that smelt of wildflowers and a kind, but unfamiliar face was looking down at her.

  "Bonjour, ma petite," said the silhouette.

  Marie just smiled faintly, but before any real questions or fears could surface in her head, Gemma joined the other figure and sat on the edge of the bed.

  "Hi there, are you feeling okay?" she asked, gently.

  "Mm, I'm fine I think, I started staring at him and then bam."

  "Yes, I should have warned you about Pascal's eyes."

  "It's not much of a greeting, though, is it? 'Hi, how are you, and by the way do you mind if I headbutt your chest'," replied Marie, quietly.

  "She's okay," chuckled Gemma, turning towards her friend.

  "Mais oui, now we can celebrate properly over a meal, eh," said Celine happily. "That is, as long as you feel up to it?" she continued.

  "Okay," said Marie, levering herself off the bed. "But remind me not to look too deeply into your husband's eyes next time, Celine."

  "Ah oui, they are a dangerous place to go without a guide," said Celine, laughing.

  "You've been asleep for some hours and it is nearly six o'clock in the evening now," said Gemma, over her shoulder.

  "Wha, did I really sleep that long? It seemed like only a few moments," she said, as they entered the kitchen to find Pascal and Michelle sitting at a table laden with food.

  "Ah, Marie, I'm so pleased you're okay," said Michelle, standing up from the table and coming straight over to hug her.

  "Thanks, Michelle," said Marie, quietly.

  "I think everything caught up with me a bit," she continued.

  "I'm sorry if I alarmed you," said Pascal, standing up as well.

  "Don't be sorry, your eyes just set me off, they didn't cause it. But my God, what eyes," she exclaimed in a light tone. Pascal laughed and approached her to give her a hug.

  "You'll be okay now," he whispered, holding her closely for a moment.

  "Now, let's eat, I'm starved," said Gemma, clapping her hands together with delight at the feast before her. Michelle sat next to her and occasionally brushed herself against Marie in a measure of her happiness, and each time she did so, it made Marie's skin tingle with delight.

  "How long have you known Gemma?" asked Marie, reaching across to serve herself a second piece of raspberry flan that she didn't really need, but she just couldn't resist.

  "Mm, well I met Gemma in 1940 when I was evacuated from London as a small girl during the Second World War. I was one of seven children she took in at the nursery and, when the war ended, she adopted me."

  "So you're not French, Celine?" asked Marie, incredulously.

  "No, my mother was half French, which is where the name comes from. I didn't move to France until the late forties, when Gemma introduced me to this property. I was sixteen then, and I've pretty much been here ever since."

  "So how did you meet Pascal?" persisted Marie.

  "I met Pascal here, or rather, Gemma and I found him sleeping in the woods down near the village. He hadn't eaten in days and he was in shock, having seen his mother and father shot by the Gestapo right in front of him. They did it in retribution for an attack on a military outpost they believed his parents had been involved in. He'd walked all the way from Aix-en-Provence, without so much as a pair of shoes or any food at all. We stumbled on him by accident, passed out at the edge of the woods."

  "I've still got a slight lump on my knee from falling over him that night. We thought it must be one of the old boys from the village who'd collapsed on the way home after a bit too much Pernod at the local café. We were gobsmacked when we realised that it was a young man and saw what a state he was in. It took us ages to carry him home through the rain, do you remember? " said Gemma, eagerly.

  "Yes, I remember it all like it was yesterday," answered Celine, glancing across the table at Pascal.

  "I will never forget it," said Pascal, smiling back at her. "I woke up in the main house under crisp, white sheets, with two angels staring down at me. How could I ever forget that?" he laughed.

  "The two of you were like a pair of lovebirds from that moment on," agreed Gemma. "Once I'd shown you this little cottage, I knew I was stuck with you both for good, thank God," said Gemma, with a flourish of her hand that was so wild that it sent her cutlery flying off of her plate and onto the floor with a loud crash.

  "Has she always been this clumsy?" said Marie, as Gemma knocked over her glass while trying to retrieve her knife from the floor. It didn't break, but lay on its side, spewing the last of its' contents onto the table cloth.

  "Mais oui, always," said Pascal laughing.

  "With all the amazing gifts that she has been given, the cosmos has tempered it with an uncanny ability for making mess, whatever the circumstance," added Celine .

  "I've missed you so much, I truly have. Ever since George died, it's been so difficult for you, even coming here to us was hard for you, I know that. But now, it's so good to see you happy again," said Pascal, resting his chin in his hands.

  "I had lost hope of ever doing so," added Celine, quietly.

  "You're right, I had really lost hope in everything for a while," mused Gemma.

  "The thing is, the full moon tomorrow night is the perfect time for us to introduce Marie to the elfin community here. They know that you're here and if you'd like to, they'd be very pleased to meet you," said Pascal, jumping in.

  "Yes, yes of course I would love to meet them. But how do they know that I'm here?" asked Marie, excitedly.

  "Well, because I saw them this morning. They had been in touch with the elves of the valley world," he said, laughing.

  "Oh. but I thought you could only see the elves at certain times."

  "Yes that's true, but Pascal is a special person to the elves. He has performed the dawn ceremony with them almost every day since arriving here and he is the only human who has travelled to the valley many times. He has been the human contact point for countless elves who have come to serve in the outside world," said Gemma.

  "He prepares them for life out here," added Michelle.

  "To be honest, we think he's more elf than man," said Celine, with a laugh.

  "As you can imagine, it's a huge shock for them arriving in the human world. So, he provides them with survival training when they are still in the magic valley and counselling when they arrive here," added Gemma.

  "Tomorrow it is, if that's what you'd be comfortable with," said Pascal, before any more was said.

  "Yes please," said Marie.

  "Will you be coming too?" she said, after thinking about it for a moment and looking at Gemma and Michelle.

  "God yes, we wouldn't miss it for the world. It's been quite some time since I last saw them, I can't wait," said Gemma, enthusiastically.

  "I will be
coming too, if that's okay by you," said Michelle.

  "I wouldn't have it any other way," said Marie, smiling and squeezing her friend's hand.

  "Bon, then it is decided, but now I wish to rest as I have to be up with the sun as usual, and tomorrow's preparations will be particularly important," said Pascal, standing up from the table. "Of course, that does not mean I wish you to leave at all, my beloved Celine is far more of a night owl than myself," he added, tenderly.

  "No, that's okay, I think it would be good for us to wander home as well. I'm pretty tired and there will be no sleep to be had tomorrow night," said Gemma, in agreement. Everyone nodded and began to move from the table to head for home.

  "What do you want to do Michelle? Are you going to stay here tonight?" whispered Marie, as she and Michelle walked out of the kitchen behind everyone else.

  "I'd like to come with you, if that's okay?" said Michelle.

  "I'd like that," answered Marie quietly.

  The large moon was well up in the sky, as they walked along the path that led them home beneath the ancient beech trees. Its light was easily enough to see by, so they turned off the torch they had with them. They strolled along, walking hand in hand, belting out a very passable cover version of Bye Bye Miss American Pie as they went. By the time they reached the main garden, they were all looking forward to the warmth of the house and a cup of hot chocolate before bed.

  "Can I come and live here sometime?" asked Marie, as they approached the door between the long rows of vibrant lavender bushes.