Cassandra

Cool, clear water gently flowed between the river’s walls. It whispered past the leaves that grew down towards the water and occasionally splashed against a rock that stood up from the river’s bed in a futile attempt to stop its journey. The night was dark. There was no moon to light the river’s path, and yet a solitary shadow lingered near the river’s edge. A silent, unmoving figure that almost seemed to be a part of the night.

And then, she sighed. A long, deep sigh that echoed with despair. The edge of her black cloak brushed the grass at her feet as her shoulders moved causing the loose fitting hood to slip from her head. The cloth fell gently around her shoulders, revealing her long white hair that seemed to have a radiance of its own.

Her eyes were downcast, almost closed. She had come here to find ... yes, what had she come here to find? It had been a long time since she stood in this place, so long that she had begun to believe that it was gone, lost to the passage of time. She had followed the river, listening to the sound of the water and carefully feeling her way. When she reached the bend in the river, she knew she was getting close and she began to count her steps.

“One hundred and five,” she said and stopped. Her eyes stared straight ahead as she reached out to the side with her left hand and she smiled when her fingers touched the tree.

“Hello, old friend,” she whispered while she gently pushed her palm against the rough bark. The tree had borne the years well and she could still feel its strength and steadfastness. She felt the wrinkles and crevices that time had etched in the old tree’s skin and she almost felt young. Then the sound of the water called to her and she had turned to the water and had stood there, unmoving, until she sighed.

A sudden sound made her open her eyes, as if she might see what caused it. While her eyes stared out into the darkness without focusing on anything, she listened for the sound to come again. Clink. It was the sound of ... glass ... hitting against ... stone. She concentrated on the sound and then detecteded the scent of something that did not belong to the river. It was ... Vodka? She laughed quietly as she imagined someone throwing the empty bottle into the river. It clinked against the rock a few more times and then was gone and she knew that it had moved past the rock and was now floating away.

Another realization came to her as she silently bid farewell to the traveling bottle. Morning was approaching. Perhaps she should find a place to hide from the sun’s glare. Perhaps not. This was a good place. She had always returned here when she needed to feel renewed and each time she wondered if it would still be the same. Someday it would be gone. Civilization would eventually tramp across it and devour it as time moved relentlessly on its path to the future. Perhaps it was time for her to fade into the past.

“Cassandra.” She was started by the voice behind her, but she did not move. He knew her name. She searched her memory for his voice, but the years had brought so many voices.

“I knew I’d find you eventually.” He was close. She could feel his presence. How had he managed to come so close to her without her sensing his approach? As she slowly turned around to face him, she reached out to prevent him from coming any closer. His dark eyes embraced her softly as her hand touched his chest.

“Why didn’t you take me with you?” he asked. “You showed me the world and then you left me behind.”

“Robert?” she asked. His mind touched hers and she remembered the young man she knew so long ago but this voice spoke of years that the man she knew so long ago could not have experienced.

“I wanted to stay with you forever,” he continued.

“Forever was just a word for you. For me, it was a lifestyle.”

“I’m here, aren’t I?”

“Yes, you are.”

“Why didn’t you take me?”

“You couldn’t have known.”

“But I did,” he protested. “I always knew. Do you know how long I searched for one to bring me across. I wish it could have been you.”

“You had no idea what my world was like. I couldn’t just rip you from the world you knew.”

“You were my world.” She had not moved her hand from his chest and he smiled as he put his hand on hers. She gasped softly at his touch. He felt strong, like the tree.

“Do you have someone with you now?” he asked softly.

“No, I have learned to do things for myself.” She slipped her hand from under his and turned away. She remembered. She had brought him here to say goodbye so many years ago. They sat under the tree and listened to the river in the darkness. When he fell asleep she had slipped away into the night, afraid of the feelings that he awoke in her.

“You couldn’t kill me and you couldn’t take me. My dear Cassandra, you’re a vampire with a soul.”

She laughed and turned around, her sightless eyes seemed to stare directly at him.

“I have a place near here,” he told her. “It will soon be morning.”

Cassandra remained motionless for a few moments then she slowly reached out her hand and he wrapped his fingers around hers and drew her close to him.

“We have forever,” he said as the two shadows became one then slowly slipped away into the waning darkness.