Chapter One-Delilah

The field was beautiful. The grass was long and green, swaying in the wind. There were clumps of colorful flowers splattering the grass. There were flowers that were so brightly colored it almost hurt my eyes to look at them for too long; even in the dark. The trees lining the edge of the field were tall and old looking, and seemed to reach towards the dark blue night sky. In some of them I could see thick rope with frayed ends swaying from the lower down branches. An image of children climbing all over those ancient trees flashed in my mind. In the distance, lights could be seen and voices could be heard. I could hear evening doves, and somewhere a trickling stream. It was what I would imagine a fairy tale sounding and looking like. I half expected a deer to come up and nuzzle my neck.

"You look like you're thinking really hard about something." I spun around, making eye contact with a familiar face. I had seen him before, though I can't remember a time we've ever interacted. He was tall and lean, but you could still see the cut of muscle under his soft looking t-shirt. He walked like he was about to fight an entire wolf pack, leaning forward and with his giant fists permanently clenched. His hair was floppy and dark, his eyes, the deepest shade of blue I've ever seen a pair of eyes before. And despite his aggressive stance, he didn't scare me or make me feel unwelcome. 

"This place is really pretty." I reply, almost in a whisper, not really sure what else to say. He took a step closer, and I watched him wearily. "Where have I seen you before?" I ask. The familiarity of his face was bugging the crap out of me. 

"I've always been in your dreams." He replies, taking another step towards me. 

"My….dreams?" I furrow my brow. Somewhere deep down I think I knew this isn't real, but it's hard to wrap my head around. 

    He chuckles at my contorted face. His laugh makes me scrunch up my nose.  It's beautiful and rich sounding, like it's coming from deep within the earth. I feel like I've heard it before. You don't forget a laugh like that. 

He's walked much closer now, so much so that I can smell the earthy scent coming off of him and see the splash of freckles across his tan face. I imagine he got them from laying in this field when the sun is out.  I imagine his eyes look even more brilliant in the sunshine, and weirdly yearn to see them that way. "Want to sit down?" He asks. He must've seen me admiring the soft appearance of the grass. 

He sits first, and I follow. I was right: the grass feels even better than it looks. I run my hands through it as though it were a girls blonde hair. I start at the roots, curling my fingertips slightly into the soft earth, and then slowly run a handful of grass through my fingers. I can't help myself, and I lay down, giggling a little. I continue to run my hands through the thick grass, imagining I could sleep here. The cool night breeze smells like cotton and dreams, and for a second I think I almost do fall asleep.

    That beautiful laugh makes me sit up, suddenly aware of what a fool I'm making of myself in front of a perfect stranger.

"It's nice, I know." He hesitates, and then lays down. "When I was little I used to sneak away from my home and come to this field. Everyone knows it's here, but no one comes here because they know it's mine." 

"Am I invading your space?" I ask, inching a bit closer to him. He smirks, shaking his head. 

"You wouldn't be here if I didn't want you to be." I lay down after he says this, angling my body so that we're touching at the hips. The tiny amount of physical contact makes my arms tingle. He looks up at the big moon, and I turn to look at his eyes so that I can see the moon's reflection. Sure enough, it's like I'm staring into a lake's surface. "I grew up a mile or so that way," he points towards the tree line ahead of us. I turn away from his face to follow his pointed finger, where I saw the lights and heard voices earlier. "I grew up with ten other brothers and sisters, surrounded by constant mayhem and noise."

"That's a lot of siblings." I say, turning to stare at his lovely face again. His eyes... they're so fucking blue, it's almost hard to believe they're real. His jaw is clean and sharp looking, complemented by cheekbones that look like they could cut through one of the huge round trees surrounding the field. My eyes travel down to his neck, where I can see dark blue lines wrapping around from the back. I gently nudge his jawline, and he complies, twisting his head so I can see the back of his neck. A large circle tattoo, which is sliced like a pie, is on the back of his neck. Each slice has smaller drawings in it, but he looks back at me before I have enough time to study each one.

I move on to his chest, which is broad and cut looking, as though he works out every day. Though tons of physical labor was probably more accurate.  I can see more dark lines under his shirt material, and imagine he's probably covered in art.

"We own a farm. I do a lot of the hard work." He smiles at my blushing cheeks. His legs are long and covered by dark brown pants, and his feet are huge, covered by scruffy looking wool socks.

"You shouldn't walk around barefoot." I say. I feel silly as he looks down at my bare toes, which are painted a pale pink that I thought complimented my tan complexion nicely. He nudges my foot with his as though emphasizing the ridiculousness of my statement. 

His eyes travel up my body, and even though I had just done the same to him, I am suddenly aware of the fact that I'm only in a thin tank top and cotton shorts. I cough, wiggling around a bit. 

"Why are we here?" I ask, pulling the hem of my tank top up. He chuckles, and graciously plays along with my subject change.

"I've been waiting to meet you since you were born." I sit up now, listening. 

"Explain." I stare into his eyes, searching for an answer to the mysterious and ominous thing he just said.  

At that moment, I hear a whistle in the distance. His head snaps up, and in one smooth motion he stands, pulling me to my feet with him as though I didn't weigh more than a feather.

"There's no time, but trust me Delilah, we will meet again." He turns to go, but then turns back and says one last thing.

"This time, you will remember."

I snap awake, and become aware of everything all at once. 

The back of my neck is drenched in sweat. 

My dog is staring at me. 

I'm extremely frustrated that my dream cut off when it did.

It was only a dream. 

After the last realization, a kind of hole forms in the middle of my chest, and I can feel tears burning at the corners of my eyes. 

I sit up, and hold my dog's head in my hands. "It was just a dream." I tell her, and she responds by licking her waggly chops. 

I sigh, and let go of her face. I throw my blanket off of me, and perch on the edge of the bed. I can see my reflection in my tall black framed mirror that I have leaning against the wall across my room. My dark eyes look wide and intense. My hair is matted in the back, making it look thicker than it usually is. Even from across the room I can tell it looks like I've just seen a ghost.

    Dream or not, that was intense. I rub my fingers together, and I swear I can feel soft muddy dirt from the grassroots in between my fingers. I cup my hands around my nose, and I swear to jesus, I can smell dirt and grass. I think about the fact that it felt like I was having an actual conversation. Normally when I talk in dreams, it's confusing and I can't remember what was said. It's like I'm speaking in fragments, or in a different language. But this time I can remember every single word that was said.

    I shook my head. I was acting like a fool. Still, as I got up, let my dog out back to use the bathroom and padded barefoot into the kitchen, all I could think about was the hole in my chest. I'm glad my mother has already left for work and I'm alone, because as soon as I get to the fridge, I slide down it's length and collapse on the floor in a heap. I feel like someone had kidnapped my new born baby.

Like the love of my life had died in my arms.