Page 38 of Lost Starlight
“Have humans ever flown before with pixie dust?” I asked, watching the excited pixies dance above me.
“Yes! Yes! Peter flies! Happy thoughts. Happy, believe, Fly!”
“At least, I know if I fall from that cliff, I will not die,” I said, sitting up. I shook my head, and water sprayed everywhere, and a few pixies dove away from the spray, though a few dropped down a bit after being hit by the water. I did not feel the least bit bad about it.
“Okay, I will try.” I stood up and made my way back to the small cliff. The pixies sprinkled their pixie dust over me again. I closed my eyes at the cliff’s edge, and before I could gather any “good thoughts” and come to “believe,” they shoved me off. I failed again, landing painfully on my back with a smack then sinking under the water. That hurt.
“Ancients! Stop pushing me off!” I spat as I stepped from out of the lagoon, clothes dripping, hair falling intomy eyes. They were silent, but I swear they found it hilarious. I walked back up to the cliff and held up my hands.
“Donotpush me,” I said, then turned around toward the lagoon.
I closed my eyes.A happy thought?The first thing that popped into my mind was Gwen—her beautiful smile that first time we met. She had been so shy. I spent weeks trying to get her to talk with me, but all she would do was blush and read directly from the book, day after day.
My feet fell out from under me, and I was, again, in the water.
Blast these ridiculous pixies!
If they continued to push me from the cliff before I was ready to jump, I would never fly. I would need to be clear about my happy thought before I climbed up to that ledge again. I sat on the bank to think.
Once Gwen started to have conversations with me, not just reading to me, I realized she was not only stunningly beautiful, but kind, sweet, and gentle, too. She was beautiful inside and out. Of course, I had no idea I had fallen in love with her, but I had. I smiled as I thought about our long discussions over the years. How long had we spent together? How I could not have known of my own feelings confused me, but I, eventually, understood them.
I remembered our first kiss; seeing her safe brought me joy—and suddenly, a dam broke inside me, some sort ofwall I had put up in front of my heart. I pulled her into my arms, and I kissed her. I kissed her, and she kissed me back.
But it was oursecondkiss that was just ours, andthatI treasured even more.
I remembered it–and became lost in the memory
One Month Before Present Day
“Gwen,” I said as I took her by the hand and led her behind a thick grouping of trees. I had never fully realized my feelings for that remarkable woman. However at that very moment, it was as if a dam holding back my feelings collapsed and all the feelings I had suppressed for all those years flooded to the surface. We had just rescued the children from the pixies, and I had assured Gwen that my brother would be returning to the island to sail us back home. She was incredibly surprised to discover that I had found my brother at long last.
The small clearing shone in the moonlight, and I could see the brightness in her eyes. “I do not want you to swoon in front of others, so we need to work on this slowly.” My hands were shaking with an excitement I had neverknown before. I took her shoulders in my hands, moving my hands slowly down her back, pushing her into my arms. Her body pressed against mine felt like the most right thing in all the kingdoms. What could be more right than holding Gwen in my arms?
“You are safe,” I whispered into her hair. My chin created an invisible trail down her cheek. I moved my hands to cup her face–her beautiful, precious face. Her eyes looked at me–shining like a beacon, calling me to her.
Have I really never noticed this before? What an utter fool.
“Peter?” she whispered.
“Gwen, I–” I paused, unsure what to say, but knowing what I wanted.
“Are you—?” she began to ask, but I cut her off when my lips pressed against hers. I could wait no longer.
“I want to tell you a story with my lips pressed against yours,” I whispered against her mouth.
“Oh, I–I would like to hear that,” her entire body shivered against mine.
“You would?” I asked, caressing my lips softly against hers, teasing her. How marvelous it felt. She was so warm–so soft, and there she was with me, letting me kiss her. Kiss the lips of my storyteller, my Gwen.
“Peter—”
I grinned. How delicious it was to finally hear my name from those lips—how long I had waited! I had been socaught up in saving her from the pixies that I had not fully revelled in it.
“I love my name on your lips,” I said, moving away for only a moment.
She frowned. “Kiss me, Peter,” she whispered.
And because I was obedient to the woman who held my heart, I obliged.
