It was autumn, the sun was about to set and the last rays of the sun fell through the bedroom window where Lamila has been all through her vacation. She did not have any friends she could go and visit even though she stayed at Turda, a full fledged city with a lot of people. Her books were her only company she had, which helped her be a part of the fairy tale it brought. However, things changed one day. While she gazed at the sun set with the loneliness and void which even the fairly tale could not fill, she fell asleep for a while and when she woke up she was surrounded by a giant trees which did not have an end. She was not sure where she was however, she definitely knew she was not in Romania. These trees were as green as green could ever be and the leaves were big enough to wrap herself in. She wandered through the forest looking for a place for shelter, even she knew the danger of being alone in a forest at sunset. She eventually reached a stream and followed it downstream hoping to find a village or a town, and to her luck she did find one. She did not know if it was a friendly territory, but at this time she had to take a chance. As she reached the gates she was stopped by humanoid based creatures who were slightly bigger than a average human. Worried that they might hurt her she approached them slowly to talk to them, however they greeted her and made sure she had nothing to worry about. Pretty soon, she was escorted to a nearby Inn where she would stay and be introduced to the elders of the village. The elder did meet her after her dinner and spoke about her unusual visit to their world. She did not know how she made it here nor were the elders aware of such folk tales before. They assured her that she can stay here till they have figure this out.
Lamila being the shy type, never initiated any discussion with others, however over here she seemed different. She started making friends and the entire village knew here in a span of few days. She was happy to be here, a place where she was never was alone. One day as she walked by the streets she meet a different creature, it did resemble like the rest of them however it had sharp nails, large fangs that stuck out from its mouth, eyes which were blood red, a physique of an alpha male, a scary entity to be around with. Yet, she found small kids calling it names…. ‘half-breed’, ‘half-breed’. It was odd that he was not bothered by this, but rather went ahead with his manual labor. People too did not show any signs of compassion towards him. Everyday she would see the villagers make him do tasks that would require a group, yet they would abuse him with that load. She wanted to know why he was different from the rest and decided to talk with him; however, he did not utter a word to her. Once the work was complete he always left for his cave where he would lock himself up. Troubled by the events and thoughts that ran through her head, she decided to check with the kids one day. She learn that he had been like this for when they could remember, he takes orders from the villagers and did what was requested and responded to them alone. Once done, he would head back to his cave. None of the kids or grown ups knew why he was different, however everyone knew he was someone to be worked when needed. To learn about him she decided to give orders to him to get to know him.
Next day she went to him and asked him to help her out to pick flowers. Just like she was told, he obeyed her orders and went with her. This gave her the opportunity to talk to him, she asked all the questions she had in her mind and he replied to every single one of them. She learnt so much about him. She was shocked to hear that he has been in this town for centuries and his form was due to a curse put on him by people who hated him. When the day ended, he handed over the flowers he had picked out and left for his cave. She was happy she got to talk to him and decided to do this again to know more about him. Everyday, for a week she would give silly orders to him so that she could talk. The more she talked the more she understood that he was much gentler than he looked. He lived his life this way because he was different. He had on other place to go to. Only when people needed him, would they approach him. To him his existence revolved with the notion that in life if you are not useful you are not needed. To him those orders made him fell he was wanted. She felt sorry for him for thinking this way. She wanted to say more, however she couldn’t. She was happy that they talked a lot, she loved the bond she was building with him. However, one morning things went south for her. She went to him without any orders and decided to talk with him. As expected he did not respond to her. She tried her best to make him speak, however he kept ignoring her. Annoyed by her constant bickering and enraged with the notion of not being useful he pushed her to the ground with all the built up rage. His fangs, his claws, his eyes, all spoke about his rage, it was plain rage and nothing else. Terrified by how quickly he changed, how everything they did together lost value over such a trivial ordeal shook her from the inside. He saw the terrified look in her eyes and left for his cave without uttering a sound.
Later that night, when Lamila was trying to absorb all these events she found a huge shadows by her window. He sat by the window waiting for her to open it. She walked up to the window and opened it. He looked into her eyes and then wiped her tears off. He did not say a word but she understood what he want to convey. The night ended for them when there were no tears left to wipe and he then left for his cave. Next day she decided to go see him; however, she did not know if she needed an order, she was still scared because of what happened yesterday however, what happened during the night was something she thought of. Before she could speak he grabbed her hand and smiled. That was enough, she knew she was different to him now. She does not require an order to be with him anymore. They did not speak a word, however they just looked into each other eyes and smiled. This kind of communication was more clear than the ones they had before. During the night he would visit her at her window as she lay in her bed. They would just look at each other and once she fall asleep he would disappear into the night. Whether he was busy or not, she would always go and see him, and he would always make time for her as well. The bond she had built took her to the moon every day.
While this fairy tale continued there were problems brewing at her place. While she was a guest at this town, with him this place felt like home; however, over time she was brought to reality that not everyone liked her anymore. They had to make special arrangements to accommodate her because she was a guest. The elders too did not bother helping her, but rather decided to use her to learn about her world and its weaknesses. When these emotions were brought to light it ate her heart and she wanted to leave, however she did not want to leave because of the bond that bound her with him. That night when he visited her, he realized something was off from her looks. For the first time he had to voice it out, ‘What is wrong?’, as she remained silent. Once she poured it out, he entered her room and held tight, she started tearing up and within a blink of an eye they had teleported to the edge of the forest. He lifted her chin and asked her to look above. Her pupils grew large as she saw the starry night. They were so many galaxies she could see, and he pointed out the world she was from. “I will get you home if you want to leave, I promise”, he said. “I thought you enjoyed being here but if this place is hurting you, then it is better to leave”. “So you too want me to leave”, she asked as the thought of him getting rid of her like the rest ran through her mind. With a smile on his face he said, “As long as you are happy I do not mind how close or far away you are. I will always be with you no matter where you go”. While the words did comfort her, she knew this dialog too well. No one could always be with someone, especially if you are this far away and when it is beyond galaxies she know this is wishful thinking. She wanted to leave, but not like this. “It will take sometime to get things set and you will have to build some strength to handle the teleportation, however I will get us through this”, he said without any sadness what so ever. She did not know what to feel at this point as she herself was not sure what to do, but since he said he will be there to get them through she decided to tag along for one last time in this fairy tale.
Being older and wiser than the rest of the people in the village he began to look through the oldest scrolls available in town. After reading through them he identified when the next time the galaxy alignments would be right to get this done. They began their quest to find the materials to build the portal from there on. During the day he would work on other’s trivial orders and during the night time they would together search for things required. She loved every moment she spent with him and did not want to stop even for a moment’s rest. She knew his resolve in getting her home is all that ran through his head and he did push himself even more to get things done for her, she was happy and sad at the same time since she is gonna miss all of this when the time comes. Time went on, and they grew closer and closer to each other day after day, night after night. No one in the city was aware of this development nor did someone bother looking into it, because who would waste time on what a half-breed does.
Finally, the day had come, she did not want to tell others to their face that she planned on leaving, however she did write a letter to thank them for their hospitality and kindness they had show her when she reached this world. More importantly, because she got someone special because of them. It was night, he waited as usual at her window for one last time. She let him in, he held her hand and he was about to teleport them. But before he could, she hugged him. He decided to wait for while to let the emotions sink in. After few minutes he took them to their spot, where the galaxies aligned. Lamila had a lot to say but she couldn’t speak for the first time. With the arrangements and preparations complete, the portal opened and the destination was set. She stood on top of the marked circle to wait for it take her home. She was hesitant to leave and leave him behind; however, she had to leave before she regretted her stay, before she regretted his existence for being in this world where she couldn’t stay. She knew he could never be at her place because of how he looked. It will be too dangerous for his own sake to follow her. Markus knew Lamila had things on her mind that was bothering her, he walked up to her, held her tight and said ‘I will always be with you.’ while giving his first kiss on her forehead. A flash of light started to emerge out of him, Lamila started feeling something warm enter her. She could feel his heartbeat, his breathe, his thoughts, his emotions… his soul began to fuse with her own and his physical existence began to fade away. Tears started rolling down her cheeks on its own. She never knew such things could ever be possible. A faint voice spoke in her ear, ‘I made a promise, I will always be with you no matter where you go, didn’t I.’ The light started to fade away and now she teared up even more as they poured out through Lamila eyes as she sat on her bed in her bedroom. She was home, the same lonely room where she sat before this fairy tale started. However, this time, most importantly, the fairy tale did not end, it just started a whole new volume which she gets to write.
FIN