17 Only in Our Dreams (17)
Caeli walked for what seemed like an eternity in the misty forest. Pieces and parts of the surrounding trees vaguely visible between the thick shrouds of fog.
Her foot steps fell silently, the rubbing of her clothing barely a whisper.
The forest was silent.
She was more accustomed to the lively woods she had always wandered through. The sound of animals flitting through the brush, the harmonic clicking and whistling of the bugs in the air, the swishing of the wind through the trees, a constant and chaotically resonant cacophony of nature. She had always felt that it was like a band of minstrels, everyone making the softest noises but the sheer number of players filling the air to the brim.
She wasn't sure how long she had been walking. She also realized that she wasn't sure where she was walking to.
She had a feeling, like a pit, in her stomach that urged her forward.
She had forgotten something.
No. That wasn't quite it.
She was looking for something.
Maybe.
She continued as she looked at her surroundings. The surfaces of the leaves covered in water droplets, the fog so thick it gave the atmosphere a palpable moistness.
Suddenly she walked into an opening in the forest. A large pond in the center and a small cottage at the waters edge.
She had been here before.
Right?
She continued forward, the surface of the small body of water stone still. She stepped towards the door of the house.
She stood at the frame and felt her arm rise to knock involuntarily. The movement seemed rehearsed, mechanical.
Suddenly, before she could knock, the door creaked open quietly.
Caeli stepped through the threshold and was suddenly standing amid, what she imagined to be, the physical manifestation of warmth and comfort.
The inside of the cottage was small but meticulously clean. Plants hung from every corner and shelf of the house. A warm and cheery fire crackled in the oven that lit the room in a mesmerizing glow.
Caeli could smell food cooking, bread perhaps? And roasted meat.
She felt her stomach growl with anticipation. How long had it been since she had eaten?
A small riffling noise came from her left hand side and she turned to see what had caused it.
A woman with long white hair to her waist slowly turned away from the table that had been set with various fruits and vegetables, gleaming in the firelight from being rigorously scrubbed.
The woman had been humming but suddenly stopped.
She stared at Caeli with visible shock.
"Oh my....", the woman whispered. She slowly brought her hands to her mouth in an attempt to stifle a sob.
The incredibly beautiful woman with deep brown eyes and barely a wrinkle on her skin smiled widely behind her hands. Tears welled as she looked Caeli over, starting at her face, moving to her feet, and back again.
"Hello my dear. I was not expecting you so soon. I can hardly believe it's you really, I suppose that means I did a poor job of preparing myself.", the woman said, her voice soft and weepy but warm and kind.
"I'm sorry do I know you?", Caeli replied, fear sprouting in her stomach.
"Of course, no, of course not. I suppose that means we don't get much time together. Surely not as much as I had hoped. But that's alright, the goddesses have their ways and my duty is to have faith, not to understand.", the woman chuckled to herself.
"Come and sit. We have much to discuss.", the woman turned and waved at the table with food upon it. She rapidly wiped the wetness from her eyes.
Caeli slowly stepped towards the table and looked around the cottage as she sat. This place was so familiar and she just couldn't place it.
"My name is Ventus. And I'm your mother."
