Crossroads

Prologue and Chapter One

Prologue

There was something different about her this time.  He didn’t know how long it had been since her last visit, only that she had blossomed beautifully, and he knew that it had been too long.  His eyes were immediately drawn to hers; radiant like the sun.  Instantly, he was mesmerized by her.  He saw her now in a way that he hadn’t before—almost forbidden.

Her long and lustrous auburn hair shimmered in the sunlight, tousled from the gentle breeze and brushing softly against her delicate face.  She was striking in her simplicity, yet she took his breath away.  A flawless painting was what he saw, and he couldn’t believe she was here again—all grown up.  In his eyes, she was perfect in every way. 

He had always watched her from a distance, like a guardian protecting her so she wouldn’t be found as a child.  And just like the past times, she always looked lost, as if visiting for the first time, though she had been there many times before.  What tortured him the most was knowing that he was unable to comfort her.

She was unaware of his presence, and there wasn’t a glimmer of a chance that she knew he was just beyond her reach.  An endless field of tall, thick grass was the only thing separating them, but would she ever be able to cross over?  It was nearly impossible.  He watched as she pushed and shoved, trying to pass through.  But there was only one way in, and she would never know.  He reached out his hand to help her and then stopped.  It took every ounce of energy to refrain from letting her in.  His fist tightened and shivered as he fought against what he wanted most—her.  

Suddenly, she looked straight at him, her eyes sparkling like the most perfect luminous stars.  He didn’t twitch, but inhaled the moment as if she really did see him, for he knew instead that her eyes were focused elsewhere.  Although she seemed a world away, he imagined feeling her sweet breath on his lips.  He gasped at the thought, wondering why he was feeling this way.  The heat that infused throughout his body wasn’t anything that he had felt or remembered before, whatever was left of his memory.  He was trained not to have these types of human emotions, and yet it confounded him how she appeared to have taken him over.  He didn’t mind at all.  He liked the way she made him feel.  After all, she didn’t even know he existed, although a part of him wished she did.

He watched as a butterfly landed on the tip of her finger, and she let out a huge, heartwarming smile.  The innocence of her smile sent desire to every part of him.  He knew he was completely spellbound by this human being.  If only he could breathe in her scent, embrace her in his arms, and feel her warmth just once, even if that was all it could be.  In the end, he knew it was hopeless.

 Gradually she started to become translucent, as if he had made her up in a dream.  As always, she never stayed long, just long enough for him to want her even more.  Where did she come from?  When would he see her again?  With these thoughts, he desperately tried to memorize every detail of her before she vanished.

“Claudia, don’t go!” Michael whispered, knowing his pleas would make no difference.

Now he could see right through her as the brilliant sun framed the outer lines of her body, blinding him.  He took a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh, knowing she would disappear.  At that very moment, she vanished completely, leaving him utterly empty.

“Michael!” a voice called out from a distance.  “What are you doing?”

Michael ignored the voice as he continued to gaze into the empty space, trying to figure out what he was feeling.

“Michael,” the voice called out again.

Michael broke away from his thoughts. “I’m coming,” he responded, annoyed by the unexpected interruption.  He walked away from where he had stood, with tangled emotions he had never felt before.