Charlie's Dream (23 page)

"PAARRGH," gasped the young elf, dragging in a huge breath of life, before coughing up water in a violent torrent. Charlie helped him roll onto his side as he convulsed quite violently as his lungs repelled the water that had threatened to extinguish his life. No one dared move, other than Shamir, who knelt down beside them and checked the young elf's pulse and helped balance him with his touch. Once Charlie could see the boy was safe, it was like a trigger of release in his body. He felt his entire body begin to spasm as the relief flooded through him. He tried to stand up but, for some reason, as soon as he tried, the blood rushed to his head and he reeled around, before collapsing heavily on the floor. When he woke up, only a few minutes later, he was looking directly up into Shamir's smiling face and he was shaking from the cold.

"How are you going Tarzan?" said Shamir, kindly.

"Ha, you've heard of him," coughed Charlie, trying to sit up.

"Of course, he's a big hero around here. But I think he's just been pushed aside," laughed Shamir.

"Is the young elf okay?" asked Charlie, shivering.

"He is, thanks to you," said Kanook, appearing beside Shamir.

"I need a hot bath, I'm freezing," said Charlie, still shaking.

"We were just about to carry you back to the cottage so we could do just that when you woke up," said Shamir, gently rubbing his back.

"Come on, it looks like you could do with a lift anyway," said Kanook, kindly. With that, four elves appeared beside him, carrying a hammock chair. It was supported between two poles that they had resting on their shoulders.

"Your carriage awaits," said Shamir smiling, offering him his arm for support.

Charlie struggled to his feet and flopped into the chair. The four elves turned around and started off down the path to Shamir's cottage, with Charlie swinging gently back and forth between them. By this time the whole village had heard about the accident and of Charlie's miraculous deed. The young elf, who was called Enri, had slipped off an unstable rock into the river while playing with some friends — even though he was a good swimmer, the river was fast where he fell in and, as he went under the water, he hit his head hard on a rock. The timing of Charlie's arrival had been freakish and now, as he was carried through the village on the way home, the elves clapped and cheered their approval from every vantage point available. As the procession neared the houses at the centre of the village, something quite remarkable happened. An elf emerged from the crowd that lined the street and stopped directly in front of Charlie's swinging chair. The singing and clapping stopped abruptly and the whole crowd went totally silent.

"I am Emrou, and you have just saved my child's life," he said, before bowing down. Charlie lent forward to get out of the chair to comfort him, but the suspended nature of his position and his slightly weakened state made getting out much harder than he had imagined. He lurched out of the chair, with the four elves hanging stoically onto their poles as he did so.

"GERTHUMP," he landed on top of the prostrate elf and tumbled onto the ground beside his sprawling figure. There was a moment's silence from sheer disbelief, but as a couple of elves approached to help, Charlie rolled over and started laughing uncontrollably. He clambered to his hands and knees and reached for Emrou, who was still lying beside him. Emrou began to laugh as well when he realised what had happened. Charlie struggled to his feet and then offered Emrou his hand.

"I'm too weak to pull you up. You'll have to do the work," said Charlie.

Emrou hopped up with a flick of his legs like a nimble gymnast. They said no more, but hugged each other tightly to the delight of the crowd around them, who clapped with happiness.

"Hello there," said a voice from beside them. They released each other and turned round to find Ayou standing there holding Enri's hand.

"Oh, hello," said Charlie in a slightly embarrassed tone.

"Enri wanted me to come with him to say thank you," she said, quietly, her voice loaded with feeling.

"Well, there's really no need," said Charlie, stepping towards them. Enri walked shakily forward, but before he could say anything, the tears welled up in his eyes and started streaming down his cheeks. Charlie stepped up to him and gave him a close hug, but his eyes were directed at Ayou.

"Are you okay?" he whispered.

Ayou just nodded slowly and all the elves around them stood silently. As Charlie released Enri, the young elf ran into his father's arms. Charlie reached for Ayou's hand and raised it to his lips to kiss.

"Let's warm ourselves by the fire," he said.

The crowd of elves around them gradually parted and they made their way to the big wooden benches that were scattered around in front of a blazing fire. As they walked, each elf touched him lightly on the shoulder as he passed, in a show of emotion and respect. By the time he reached his seat, he was feeling decidedly like royalty.

"You just tell me when you've had enough," whispered a voice from behind him and he turned around to find Shamir kneeling beside the bench.

"Thank you, I will," said Charlie nodding.

"But first, I'd better give you a light show to remember us by," said Shamir, disappearing before Charlie had time to really react. The dancing began in earnest then, with a twenty-piece band sending the crowd into a joyous frenzy, racing around the giant fire. Charlie loved watching them, but tonight he was far too tired to join in because his legs still felt like jelly beneath him and every muscle in his body ached. Ayou danced with the others for a while, but her eyes always sought out his amongst the crowd, in a way that warmed him more than the fire did.

"You have captured our hearts and rekindled our trust in your kind," said Kanook, sitting down next to him and taking his hand in his own.

"That's quite an opening line," said Charlie, smiling.

"Yes, I'm sorry, I've been preparing it for a while and it sounded false I'm afraid. It's just I didn't know how to express my love for you and all you've done and coped with here."

"I think you just have," said Charlie, squeezing his hand tightly and spontaneously kissing him on the cheek.

"Thank you for opening your hearts to me," he whispered.

"Thank you my boy, thank you," said the old elf, bowing his head.

"B-O-O-O-M-M-M," went a wild noise way above their heads, pulling them out of the moment.

"Woah, what was that?" gasped Charlie.

"One of Shamir's smaller rockets, if I'm not mistaken," laughed Kanook, wiping his eyes clear of tears. "You just wait until the big ones come," he continued, patting him on the shoulder.

"Thank you again," he whispered, before bowing and walking off into the crowd. Charlie just nodded and sat back in his seat to watch the display above him. Suddenly, Ayou's face appeared in front of his and only a couple of inches away.

"Hello, beautiful," she said, before kissing him on the lips.

"You taste salty. It's all that dancing," he said, pulling away.

"Mm, sorry. I. "

"No, no I like it. But, I need to tell you something," he said as she sat down beside him. "I can't promise you anything, you know that, don't you?" he blurted out, before gathering himself slightly to carry on. "I've been trying to think of a way to make everything all right. To be able to promise that we'll be together, or even promise that I want to be together, but I can't. I know I want to come back and I care for you so much. You've touched me and changed me in the most beautiful way, but I have to think about Marie as well, and I don't know how I fee.." Ayou stopped him from saying anymore by kissing him. When she stopped, she took a pace back, while still holding his hands lightly in hers.

"I know all of that, and I know how difficult it is for you. I love you, but I don't want that to be a love that destroys you, or me. I love what I feel with you and now that I have let you go in my head, the memory of what we shared is sweet again. If life brings us together, I will rejoice in my heart and you will always be welcome there, but no more guilt about how I feel, okay? I'll be more than alright after being with you," she said, in a most tender way.

"Thank you," said Charlie, before suddenly releasing one of his hands from hers and pulling her away from where they were standing and into the shadows behind one of the houses nearby. Once there, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her passionately, while letting his hand wander down to caress her beautiful curvaceous bum. In truth, he had never dared such a move before, but in the heat of such a strange and wonderful moment, he had the courage to do so, and it felt great.

"BOOM, BOOOFF, BAANNGG," went the great explosions of colour in the sky above them. All the while they kissed, not in the same way as before, but still with a freshness and passion that sent Charlie's heart to heaven. Reluctantly, they stopped for breath and Charlie was just starting to feel strong enough to take it further, when they heard a scuffling noise behind them.

"I think we're being spied on," he whispered.

"Mm, and I know by whom," said Ayou, pulling away from his embrace as she realised that her plans of making love were dashed.

"Okay, Lantor, you toad, you can come out and bring your little gang with you," she shouted into the darkness. There were some more scrabbling noises, followed by the emergence of three young elves from the blackness.

"I knew it was you," said Ayou, approaching her brother and giving him a sharp punch on the arm.

"OWW, that hurt," whimpered Lantor laughing.

"I'll give you hurt, I was just about to." said Ayou, launching another attack on him, which only made him laugh more.

"Yes, we know what you were about to do," he screeched, as she landed on top of him and started tickling him viciously.

"Help, Charlie, help," he shouted, trying vainly to resist her onslaught.

"You're on your own," laughed Charlie as he and the other elves watched gleefully. Eventually, she stopped and rolled off him puffing from her exertions.

"Do you think I said the wrong thing?" wheezed Lantor, lying on the ground, trying to get his breath back.

"Uhu, I think so," said one of his friends, offering him a hand to get up.

"Come on, let's get back to the party. I think I've got enough energy to dance for a while," said Charlie, grabbing Ayou by the hand and planting a kiss firmly on her mouth. So, they wandered back into the light and Lantor grabbed Ayou's other hand.

"I'm sorry if I spoiled things for you," he said, tenderly, to them both.

"That's okay, it's probably good that we were distracted when we were," said Ayou smiling at Charlie. They were just entering the Village Square, when Charlie stopped and pulled Ayou to one side.

"There's one more thing I need to tell you," he said, once the others had moved out of earshot. Ayou didn't say anything, but looked directly into his eyes, which made him stumble with his words again.

"I'm going to leave very soon, but I don't think I could bear to say goodbye to you then, it would just be too much. So, I guess I'm saying it now, because when I leave I want to slip away quietly," he stammered.

"Goodbye Charlie, I'll never forget you," she whispered.

"Nor I you," said Charlie, shaking his head.

"Come on, let's dance," said Ayou grabbing his hand. Charlie ran along beside her and, although his legs still ached, he was light in his heart. The elves were whirling around the fire in a big circle, and as Charlie and Ayou joined in, they all whooped their approval. Charlie was in between Ayou and Kanook, who was grinning from ear to ear.

"YEAHAARR," screamed Charlie, flying around with them all.

"WAHOO," called Shamir who was standing next to Ayou.

As they danced, the sparks flew up into the dark sky, carrying the joy they felt within them to the stars above. The dance finished with a flourish, just before Charlie thought his legs would collapse. Having hugged pretty much everyone there, he staggered over to one of the benches and slumped onto it. Shamir appeared beside him and dropped onto the seat next door to him

"Wow," said Shamir after a while.

"I'm ready to go home," said Charlie quietly.

"Yeah, me too, but will you be okay to walk back?" he asked, gently.

"No, I mean really home," said Charlie, turning to face Shamir.

"Oh, I see," said Shamir.

"Yes, I just know it's time," continued Charlie, watching the reaction take hold on Shamir's face.

"You're right, it is. It's just a shock that it's suddenly here. You do mean pretty soon don't you?" said Shamir, looking intently at his friend.

"Tomorrow morning I'd like to slip away before anyone gets up. I don't think I'd have the strength to go through with it if there was a big goodbye involved," said Charlie, with the words suddenly becoming difficult to get out.

"You beautiful man, you must do it in whichever way you feel is right," said Shamir, putting his arm around Charlie's shoulder.

"Can we go home now?" asked Charlie, trying to hold back more tears.

"Yes, of course we can," said Shamir, quietly.

So, without saying any more, they slipped away from the party into the darkness and onto the path back to Shamir's house. No one noticed them going, other than Ayou, who waved and smiled at them as they disappeared. Gulliver kept them company and, by the time they reached the cottage, Charlie felt like he would sleep for a hundred years.

"I don't know how I'm going to wake up tomorrow," he said, struggling to take off his shoes while sitting on the edge of his bed.

"Oh, don't worry about that. If you're supposed to go, the timing will just happen. You know, Charlie, I haven't been able to tell you how much you mea." said Shamir, before stopping abruptly.

"No point trying to tell you that I love you like you were my own son, is there?" said Shamir, as he walked over to Charlie's bed and levered his legs on. Charlie had finished taking off his shoes and laid back onto his doona and had fallen asleep as he went.

"Goodnight," whispered Shamir, pulling the covers over him.

"CHARLIE," gasped Marie, sitting bolt upright in bed. The dream had been so real. A circle of trees with hundreds of elves surrounding it and Charlie standing in the middle. He was coming home and he needed her to be there.

She checked the clock beside the bed and it said 8.00 am, so she jumped up, slipped on her silk dressing gown and scurried out of the room, leaving Michelle still sound asleep in her bed. She ran across the hall to Gemma's bedroom, but her bed was empty, so she skipped downstairs to the back door and hurried down the path to the pool. Gemma was there, doing her laps as she always did, although this morning they did look somewhat slower than usual after only three hours sleep.

"Hello there," said Gemma, reaching the end of a lap.

"I've just had this amazing dream and I know we've got to get straight back to Charlie as soon as possible. I know it sounds crazy, but I know he's coming back and he needs me there when it happens," shouted Marie. Gemma just laughed. "Why are you laughing?" said Marie, somewhat angrily.

"Come in for a swim and I'll tell you. It's great, it'll clear your head," she said, ducking back under the water for a second. Marie threw off her dressing gown and dove straight in, without bothering about a swimsuit.

"Now tell me, what's so funny?" she said, swimming up to Gemma.

"Well, in your dream, was there a huge crowd of elves and a circle of trees.?"

"Yes, yes, that's it," interrupted Marie excitedly.

"We got the same dream to make sure that we acted. I was trying to decide what to do when you arrived. After last night, I didn't want to drag you off quickly on some whim of mine, but this all makes the decision much easier, doesn't it?" said Gemma as she sat on the edge of the pool and watched the delight rise in Marie's face.

"Yes, it does. We need to get back on the earliest possible flight. But why does he need me there if he's decided to come back?"

"Because the transition is incredibly dangerous and no one has done what he's done. He needs as much support from this side as possible."

"Oh," said Marie, losing some of the lustre out of her cheeks.

"But don't you worry, this isn't like before, is it? He'll get back, I'm sure of it," said Gemma, quite sternly.

"Yes, you're right, I can feel him, but what..?"

"Shoosh, stop your mind going off at a million miles an hour and we'll talk some more once we've got going. I'll phone the airline and you make breakfast and wake Michelle. She'll want to know what's going on."

"Okay, you're right, I'll have a quick shower and then wake Michelle," repeated Marie, pulling herself out of the pool and grabbing a towel and heading for the door still naked and dripping.

"Come on then, are you coming or what, grandma?" she giggled, reaching the door.

"You just go and have your shower, you cheeky swine, and make sure you don't over-cook my eggs," shouted Gemma, as Marie turned on her heels and headed up the garden, laughing.

Their breakfast was simple boiled eggs and toast, none of which was overdone, much to Gemma's delight. They had a flight in little less than six hours, so they had no time to waste. The trip to the airport was a good five hours, going at full tilt, so they were pushing it to make it in time. Michelle had taken the news of their departure in her stride. Celine and Pascal had turned up for breakfast, which made it into a party of sorts. Marie relished the possibility of reliving the previous night's adventures in detail with them all. They laughed and hooted with delight as they recounted it, which burst the bubble of sadness in them about leaving. However, they were soon reined in when a knock at the front door put them on notice that they needed to leave immediately. Fortunately they were packed, or nearly anyway, so with some frantic effort, they were out of the front door in less than fifteen minutes. One of the local young gardeners had offered to drive them to the airport in his sporty new Peugeot, which he had standing outside. One could tell by a certain gleam in his eye that he had been dying for a chance to show off his driving skills in his new baby.

"I don't know what to say other than thank you," said Marie, approaching Celine and Pascal.

"I am honoured that you are my friend and that we can share our lives with you," said Pascal, stepping forward to embrace her.

"That goes for me too," added Celine, joining their hug.

"And me," shouted Michelle, as she joined too.

"And me," said Gemma, completing the sandwich, which then rocked back and forth around the balcony for a while, in an ungainly, but happy sort of a way. Gemma and Marie scooted down the steps into the new car that was waiting impatiently with its back doors open in anticipation. Both of them waved madly out of their windows as they sped down the drive. Within minutes, they were cruising along the mountain road on the way to Aix-en-Provence and then onto the motorway. Although young Pierre drove fast, Marie felt quite safe, because he was focused and confident in his actions. Gemma was asleep in minutes, so she settled back and watched the rugged countryside whiz past through the window and let her thoughts wander in a pleasant, dreamlike fashion. When she finally came out of her reverie a good deal later, it was pouring with rain and they were leaving the motorway at full speed. Marie realised that she must have dozed off, because her neck was stiff from leaning against the window. She could see the huge airport ahead of them, looking like a football stadium with all the nighttime lights on. There was a definite urgency to young Pierre's manner and, as she looked at the clock on the dashboard, she could see why. Their flight was due to leave in thirty minutes and it would be at least ten or fifteen minutes before they could be inside the terminal, more if the traffic got heavier.

"God, it's going to be tight," she muttered, slumping back in her seat.

"What is?" mumbled Gemma, opening her eyes for the first time since the trip began.

"The flight, it leaves in less than thirty minutes," said Marie, biting a nail in a symbolic gesture of nerves.

"I'll give young Edward a call, he'll be able to help. He's got friends at just about all of the airports in Europe," said Gemma, fishing around in her handbag for her mobile phone.

"Good idea, but have you got the number?" asked Marie, somewhat incredulously.

"Already programmed in. I may be old, but I'm up to date," said Gemma, brandishing the phone that she'd found.

"You certainly are," said Marie, with a laugh.

"Prr-prr-prr-prr, hello, Edward? It's Gemma, (pause), yes lovely to hear your voice too. Now listen, we're approaching Lyon airport right now, but the flight is due to leave in little more than fifteen minutes. Is there anything you can do to help?

( Pause), uhu, uhu, B.A flight 234, (pause), yes, that's it. Okay thanks, bye."

"So, what did he say?" asked Marie, as Pierre changed gears and whizzed around the entry roundabout. Marie had to hang on for dear life to prevent herself from flying across the back seat.

"Edward said he'd see what he could do; which means yes," said Gemma, smiling and shoving the phone back into her vacuous bag with one hand while bracing herself against the door with the other.

"Hey Pierre, you've done well. I've never done the trip that quickly, it must be a new record," she said, patting him on the shoulder and winking at Marie.

"Merci, madam, merci," he chirped, his chest rising measurably.

"Now, we must be quick when we reach the terminal, as we're very short of time. So, don't go to the car park, just take us straight to the front door of the terminal and we'll jump out there. I'm afraid we need some help with our bags too, so you'll have to just risk a parking ticket. I'll pay it if you get one, is that okay? Will you do that for me?" she continued, speaking into his ear as he sped towards the terminal building.

"Mais oui, for you, Gemma, anything. Even the chance of having my baby towed away is worth it," he said, with a deep laugh.

"Ah thank you Pierre," she said, kissing him on the cheek.

They screeched to a halt outside the main building and grabbed the cases out of the back of the car. No sooner had they entered the building than they were literally jumped on by a group of official-looking men wearing identical airport security suits.

"Yikes," said Marie recoiling.

"We have the ladies with us now," said one of the guards into his walkie-talkie.

"I'm sorry to startle you, ladies, but it is the only way to get you to your flight in time. We will take you through the security area and stamp your passports along the way. The captain has been informed and they will wait for you before departing as long as we are quick," he continued as an electric car appeared, and they all loaded on.

They arrived through a big plastic swing door right in front of their gate, where a flight steward was waiting to take them onto the aircraft. The perfectly coordinated theatrics resulted in them sitting in two first class seats with a glass of champagne in their hands as the plane rolled away from the building.

"Wow, what a blast," said Marie, lifting her glass in a salute to their timing.

"Yes, wasn't it. Remind me to phone Edward to thank him when we get back, won't you?" said Gemma, raising her glass and clinked it against Marie's glass.

"I sure will," she said smiling.

It was absolutely freezing when Charlie woke up from a tempestuous dream about a shipwreck. He wanted to go back to sleep, but he couldn't, he was far too awake.

"Shamir, are you awake?" he whispered into the darkened room.

"Yes," came the faint reply.

"I've hardly slept at all," Charlie sighed.

"I've been the same. My mind's been buzzing all night. Now I need a pee," Shamir announced, swinging his legs wearily over the side of the bed.

"Thanks for the information," giggled Charlie, while Shamir disappeared out of the front door.

"Crikey it's cold," shreiked Shamir through the closed door.

"It's time to go," said Charlie quietly, as Shamir scurried inside again.

"Yes, I know," said the wizard, simply. "I'll put on some tea and we'll have a quick cup before we go. You don't feel like any breakfast do you?" asked Shamir.

"No," said Charlie shaking his head slowly.

He levered himself off of the bed and walked outside to have a pee as well. Charlie stood on the front lawn and could feel his feet becoming numb from the freezing grass. He didn't care, his heart felt good about his decision to leave. He was longing to see his parents and Marie again. He hadn't really thought about his mum and dad that much. He'd been so involved in the elfin world that it only seemed to confuse him when he thought of home. Now it was different, he could feel them strongly in his heart and he felt saddened at the thought of the pain they were suffering as a result of his trip to the valley.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, looking through the trees to where the moon was faltering on the horizon and the vaguest touch of the new day was showing itself in the sky.

"Are you okay?" said Shamir, poking his head through the kitchen window. "I was worried that you might have fainted from the cold," he continued.

"I'm fine, I was just thinking about my parents," said Charlie, turning around and hopping quickly up the stone steps to the front door.

Once inside, he dressed in the same clothes he'd been wearing the night before, which still smelt of wood smoke, and Ayou and grabbed his walking stick from the end of his bed.

"Your parents will be pleased to have you home," said Shamir.

"Yes, but I feel bad about the anguish I must have caused them," he said, quietly.

"Hmm, you show great maturity with your feelings, but in truth you didn't do any of this. After all, they could have lost you completely, but now they will have you back. What a gift that will be to them and of course what they don't know is how you have changed in that time, eh."

"Mmm, thank you, I hope you're right," said Charlie, reaching across the table to grasp Shamir's hand.

"You'll see. This story is only just beginning," said Shamir quietly.

Gulliver was their only companion as they walked along the path by the river. There were no elves around at all, which didn't surprise Charlie, as it was still well before dawn. After such a late night of dancing, he knew they would all still be asleep. As they skirted the edge of the village, Charlie felt a pang of desire to see Ayou one more time. However, he decided against it in the end and to stick to his plan. They had decided not to go over the escarpment, but to take a slightly different path that would be easier. It was still quite steep, nevertheless, and by the time they could see the ring in front of them, Charlie's muscles were beginning to cramp quite badly.

Neither of them spoke as they walked, but when they reached the edge of the circle, Shamir took Charlie by the hand and led him through the ritual of entrance to the circle of trees. They stood silently on the threshold while the energy of the place swept through them.

"This is it," whispered Shamir, as they stepped into the circle together.

The power of the place hit them immediately and for a few moments they both staggered with the effects of it.

"Come to the very centre," said Shamir, stabilising himself.

Charlie just nodded, he was well beyond talking and he could feel a swelling of emotion in his chest that begged for release. The power of the ring was making his head spin. However, he followed Shamir's instructions and stood silently with him at the centre of the circle. His heart was pumping wildly in anticipation. Shamir was standing facing him, his eyes sparkling with the reassurance of his renewed centredness. He smiled as he looked over Charlie's shoulder, and gestured for him to turn around. Charlie couldn't believe his eyes, the entire area around the Ring of Trees was packed with elves. Everyone from the valley was there with Ayou and Kanook at the front. Their right hands were all raised with a vertical palm in the elfin salute of the heart. The tension broke in him and the tears ran down his cheeks quite freely as he looked at the sea of faces before him. He lifted his hand in the same gesture and, with one brief glimpse at Shamir, he was gone. Shamir was left standing alone with a neat little pile of clothes by his feet.