Radiance

Chapter Six

“And often is his gold complexion dimm’d;

And every fair from fair sometimes declines,

By chance, or nature’s changing course, untrimmed;

But thy eternal summer shall not fade…”                                                                  

       Sonnet XVIII - Shakespeare

 After a simple but magnificent breakfast at the Pryderi’s house they showed Tamar to a spare room with magnolia walls. The three of them settled down to sleep for the morning after such an awestricken night. The others slept but Tamar could not. Birds sang so beautifully outside her window, beings passed in harmony as they went about their day. She couldn’t help but stare, wonder, fantasise. She feared that sleep may bring reality crashing around her ears as she awoke again. For a time she reflected as neighbours set off to work the land. How could this place exist? Yet how could it not - her imagination was far from being this creative and detailed to dream such a thing. And there was more that she hadn’t seen. Her heart skipped a beat when thinking about the eeriness of the Fallens. They seemed utterly elusive while she sat on her bed in the opposite of the Ebonies domain.

Duke waved at her from his garden and, slightly startled, she waved back. As he continued planting new bulbs of vegetables Tamar couldn’t begin to name, she watched his slow progression along the rows. He took care as he dug each hole and patted the soil once the little seeds were snuggled in. She wondered if he was a lonely man. Evalynis had said he lived alone and such simple joys thrilled him, his helpfulness seemed endless. He could be nothing but pure of heart, and to Tamar, nothing exciting. He reminded her of the security of Honey End Farm, of her own Winsome Cottage; placid, predictable and routine. Even now, here, she longed for more.

Sliding off the bed and out the door she crept down the hallway and into the garden. The meadows greeted her with a gentle sway. Inhaling the peacefulness she practically skipped down the lane, hand trailing over the barley. Ignoring the glances of curious passers-by she grinned and headed out of the narrow gateway in the direction of the river as Abednego had dictated the night before. It didn’t seem to matter who saw her, they would only assume she was returning to the place from whence she’d come. Evalynis and Abednego had agreed not to tell anyone of her origin, not yet. Tamar promised herself she’d be back by the evening. They wouldn’t believe her that she wasn’t the One they needed so she wasn’t their responsibility, she was free to explore she told herself.

Enjoying the warming sunlight on her face and arms Tamar strolled past the fields where she saw the workers bent over cutting through the stalks. She happily carried on straight past the daffodil field without considering going home, there was far too much to learn. How could this have taken so long for her to find? How had no one found it before! She scolded herself for letting her curiosity dim so much in the past years that it never occurred to her to ask more about the unattended field. Of course there was a reason. But this wouldn’t deter her now. Too many months had been wasted on futile thinking and now she found a world of new life laid out before her and she wouldn’t miss it. Practically running through the little thicket upon hearing running water she skidded to a halt as her feet met the edge. The river flowed faster than she expected and large rocks lined its sides, but it was still beautiful. The white water rushed over submerged boulders and whispered its way further downstream, a race to the freedom of the sea.

A little way to the right what must be the Belljune Bridge connected the two lands. Tamar had to admit, she was a little disappointed by this. Her image of the Fallens gave her the impression the bridge would be extravagant. It was their passage onto Radiance Lands that step closer to the Clarity people; surely they would take pride in that. Little did Tamar know, it was built like those who made it, simple and sure. The weathered bridge was solid and made from strong oak. It was only wide enough to allow two people to cross at the same time but it could hold the weight of many more. Tamar walked down to the bridge, her sights set on the other side.