| Shee | |
|
In the darkened night of a sunless moon Shee was there, as she had always been…there Between the worlds of earth and air Shee the River's daughter the sparkling essence of water's life and the silence of deep still water, the laughter of the flowing stream and the innocence of pure sweet rain, dwelling in her secret world between thought and time. Legends have spoken about her, her beauty and her voice, about Shee, the water's essence, Shee, life's primal source. Shee had heard some of the songs, carried to her by the water's flow, and had listened in her silent knowing, amused and delighted by their affections. Some legends called her fickle and cruel, lying in wait, to pull down the unsuspecting. But, this was not her way this was the ignorance of man to fear what is not understood and to hate what cannot be controlled. Shee was her mother's daughter Shee, daughter of the moon dancer in the moonlight reflecting playfulness in waves. The earth folk knew her essence and often would pause to listen to her sparking laughter or sit watching in wonder and awe at the forms Shee could take on to share with them the eternal dance forms that were as myriad as drops of dew glistening in the morning. Yet, few humans had ever seen her, except as a fleeting glimpse in misty rain or in the moon's reflection in water or when Shee might cross over sweeping meadows, or talk to the tree spirits in the early morning or when her mother called her forth to dance with her in the winds and starlight of early morning just before dawn. Yet, Shee seldom noticed the affairs of mortals. To her they were little sparks of light that seldom made a ripple in existence, prolific motes of dust caught in their whirlwind lives. Shee seldom heard their voices anymore, except for the occasional murmur outside her waters, as they pursued their courses, of air and fire, away from her world of peace and innocence, unreachable by them, as the water passed them by. In the darkened night of a sunless moon the man made his way to the waters edge, as many men before had come to the river, seeking his sacred place of solace; and, laying down upon the rock, he thought his own, he gazed, once again, at the water as it passed him by. And he reached inside to touch the wound stretching it op[en, once again, to see if maybe, the emptiness had found some glimmering of hope, in the lonely passage of time. But, still he saw his lost love's face, as he remembered her, and the dark water mocked him with her laughter, and the soft wind tormented his memory with her remembered touch' and he spoke her name softly to himself as, once again, the tears flowed from him for the woman, coursing out the pain of his loss, until in exhaustion, he slept, by the river's edge, as the water passed him by. In the darkened night of a sunless moon bathing in starlight that none else could see, Shee… stopped at the sound of a name reflected in the water, and felt the man there, once again, sitting by the water's edge, sharing his sorrow with her river as it passed him by. And Shee scooped up the water that had blended with his tears, to taste the sweetness of his scent. Shee tasted his passion for the love he'd loved and the loss that he had gained, fueling his fleeting fiery life with a need that none could fulfill. |
And Shee, intrigued by his need, took on the misty form given to her by her mother to move her awareness across the land, and rising up, moved closer where he lay, so she might better comprehend him and his need, lying in her rock, where the water passed him by. Looking down upon him, as he slept there by her river, he seemed so small, so fragile, so fleeting, only a momentary spark, then gone. His helplessness and need touched her…somehow. Shee, who had never been touched… Shee, who knew only the joy of the ever flowing brook, wrapped herself around the man, hoping to understand his pain. In the darkened night of a sunless moon, Shee reached inside the man, as was her way, and found him dreaming of the woman that had broken his heart. Shee saw that in his dreams, the woman smiled at him and gave him praise, and in the little hours of the morning, the woman gave her love to him, and the man, as Shee watched, smiled from within his dream and Shee felt gladdened to see this, as the river passed them by. Speaking the woman's name, the man stirred in his sleep, beginning the climb back to wakefulness, and the man reached out, almost touching Shee. Quickly, withdrawing a step, Shee backed away from the man, and stepped back between the worlds, leaving the man gazing at mist, blinking sleep away, as the water passed him by. Shee floated within her river, absorbing the moon's rays rippling in the water. Shee lifted her hand to her eyes, wondering what it would be like to be touched by the man. Shee that had never been touched, just the flowing river's laughter, caressed inside by undulating foliage, covered by the canopy of draping trees, and… in the darkened night of a sunless moon Shee felt a new sensation running through her. The subtle tension of it coursed through her limbs, with pain and sweetness, in waves. And Shee, essence of purest innocence, daughter of liquid light, laughed in wonder at this new sensation, for, Shee felt…desire. Shee marveled at the power of this man for this gift, so achingly sweet, and wondered, in her stillness of heart, what else the man might show her. Shee, who had never cared for the ways of men, or for anything but her river, Shee, wanted to see the man..again. Perhaps, to tell him of her gratitude for his gift, Perhaps, to share with him, gifts of her own, to feel… or, perhaps, to see… him smile…again. And for the first time, Shee the river's daughter, discovered, what it meant to be…alone. And in the darkened night of a sunless moon, Shee ached to feel the man's touch. But Shee knew the laws of her existence She must not allow a human to touch her essence must not share the human's touch humans were too dense and containing for her kind Shee knew and had always accepted this It was a game Shee often played when Shee would travel about on land, almost allowing them close, and when they would try to reach her, they found nothing but empty air, her laughter echoing in their minds, playing in receding mist. But just once, maybe, this once… |
No, it wasn't worth the cost, permanently frozen in human form, the gateway between the worlds closed her mothers song stilled for her, the earth folk would hide, and there would be no going back, but, the man's passions were so strong, singing within her heart, the sound of his song so deep, her essence vibrating to the splash of his tears…calling. In the darkened night of a sunless moon, the man awoke near breaking day to the sound of rushing water. Reaching down to splash his face with the water from the stream, the man found his love staring at him from the rivers depths as the water passed him by. Shee rose from the surface of the water, her essence merging with the passion of his air and fire understanding more than ever before the complete and terrible longing that he felt. Shee wanted the man to see what his tears had done to her, how here essence would be forever changed by his passion and longing, drawing her into the time of men, aware of the passage of time, where life's water passed them by. The man, understood none of this, he was an earthly being, knowing only his needs and his desires, seeing only the woman he wanted arising from the lake, staring at him, baring herself before him, naked to his desires, his passions, uncaring for what he might feel, how he had bled and prayed, worshipped her purity, and... with a howl of rage the man reached out and grabbed at the apparition upon the water and felt, with satisfaction, his hand wrap itself around unresisting flesh, and pulled her upon the land, throwing himself upon her. In the darkened night of a sunless moon, the man held her apart and thrust himself inside her his anger and rage spewing forth inside her while Shee lay silent, beneath him, only her head moving from side to side as if denying his conquest, as if even now she would deny him. Curling his fingers in his upraised hand, the man struck her face, then again, and again and again... In the darkened night of a sunless moon, before the dawn of a breaking day, the man pulled himself out of Shee, shouting his hatred to her and backing away, turning, and running, running from the river where he had slept... and woken from a bed dream... a bad dream, surely just a bad dream... And, in the silence of the breaking light of morning Shee, the river's daughter, remembering moonlight that none else could see, sat upon the rock she had thought her own and wept tears into the river as its water passed her by. Diarmid 
|
| INDEXIA de VOVIN |