The Dreamer Pt. One

‘See! I have brought you the leaf blood of a fair fireflower from the mountain of Gnularosh,’ she whispered hurriedly. ‘Drink it, and you will be healed of this dreadful illness, this terrible longing for death!’
Adialon looked upon the flask Melorelah held in her fair hands. His eyes turned to look sorrowfully into hers. ‘It is not for me to drink, Melorelah, but for you. I desire not healing, but an ending and a beginning. The healing is for you.’
Tears began to glisten in Melorelah’s sapphire eyes. ‘Your time is not yet, Adialon! Stay, and help those you still can!’
Adialon’s eyes tightened in sudden agony. ‘Do not speak it! I cannot bear it!’
‘But Adi!’
‘No! I will not return, for I have completed my task and paid dearly for it. It was not enough that I lost my right hand,’ he held up the still throbbing stump, ‘not enough that I must hunger and thirst after my goal, night after night, not enough that every breath brings a shudder from my innards. I am through!’ The tears began to leak from the corners of his eyes. ‘Do you understand, Melorelah? I am through, for I have given all I have to give. There is nothing left.’
Adialon slumped against the boulder in despair. Melorelah took his hands in her own, then drew them up to her tear- streaked face. ‘Dearest brother, dearest heart, I beg of you, do not lose hope!’
‘What hope is left, Loreh? It is gone now. I feel that I am drawing ever closer, day by day, to falling prey to the darkness. It appears attractive to my eyes.’
‘Stay far from it, brother! Come back to the light, and find your joy again!’
‘The light is joy indeed, Loreh, but the darkness is peace. I long for that peace as a bird longs for the sky, or a fish longs for the water.’
‘You must not leave, Adi!’ she cried. ‘What hope is there for us, without you? We need your strong spirit, your quick wit, your goodly heart. We need your song, your wise words, your inner light.’
‘The light is nearly gone’-
‘Then share it! Share it again, as you used to, and it will grow. I know it!’
‘I know it also, Loreh,’ he said softly. ‘I know it also. Would that I did not!’
‘What is it about knowing your greatness, your influence that hurts you inside? Why does it not fill you with your old joy, your old love for life?’
‘Because it is not my joy! Nor is it my love, my influence, or my greatness! It does not belong to me, but to that God whom has given us breath. And it hurts, Loreh, it hurts to feel such burning emotions at every turn, with no reprieve. It is far too much of an incredibly good thing.’
‘What would it take to make you able to bear these things? What would it take to make you want to stay, to live your life among the living?’
‘If I could know- not simply desire, but know- that my time had nearly come, I could bear to stay.’
‘Perhaps it has come; perhaps you are not ready for it, Adialon.’
‘Then woe is me. I desire to leave but am unable to do so, I am born to fly but have clipped my wings. How do I repair them now, Melorelah? How can they be regrown?’ He buried his face in his hands as the tears cascaded down his cheeks.
Melorelah held his shaking form in her arms and wept with him, asking in her heart for some way to help this precious soul…
. . . . . . . . . .
‘Call for your bird, Adialon. Would you not enjoy seeing him again?’
Adialon raised his head slowly. ‘I would like to see Thrifka, yes. There is a message I would have him carry.’
He arose from the ground and drew the thumb and pointer finger of his left hand to the corners of his mouth. Melorelah covered her ears as the piercing shriek rent the air. Twice more he blew his whistling summons, then sat back down upon the rock.
‘Will he hear your call, Adialon? He is likely many leagues away.’
‘He will hear,’ Adialon said softly. ‘He always hears when I call, for he carries a piece of me with him wherever he goes. He will hear.’ As he spoke, an answering shriek from an untold distance reached their ears.
‘It is incredible! How is this possible, Adialon? I knew that eagles have great hearing, but this?’
‘I could have whispered his name from twice the distance and he would have heard and answered my call. As I told you, he carries a piece of me with him.’
Adialon reached into his tunic and pulled out the pouch that hung around his neck, then looked at Melorelah. ‘Do you know what this contains?’
She shook her head, puzzled. ‘How could I? Unless- but you would not’- her jaw dropped. ‘No! Adialon! How could you- how have you-
‘I searched far and wide as I completed my task, Melorelah. I have found all but one of them- the pieces of my broken Heart of hearts.’
‘And what can you possibly intend to do with them?’ she asked, horrified. ‘You know the tales of our people far better than I. You must know the danger that lies in gathering one’s heart when it has been given away, with love, to others. I never knew that you were the one protecting our people from the enemy all these years past. It is true, is it not? It was to protect us that you left, three years ago.’
‘Yes, it was. It was my Heart of hearts that they were searching for. I therefore did what I had to do- I shattered the priceless jewel, my precious Heart, into a thousand pieces, and gave each piece to a different person.’
‘To whom, Adi?’
© 2010 by Adam Scott Campbell. All rights reserved.