Palindrome

It seemed like the forest felt a disturbance in the balance, when I walked alone in the woods there usually were a myriad of birds and small animals, but now-with William leading on, there was nothing. Did they know of his other nature? Did they feel his inner Beast the way I did? My heart sank, I didn’t need further proof he wasn’t one for me and my beliefs. I remembered the words of the Goddess in comfort, she had put her seal on this relationship. We talked lightly while walking deeper and deeper into the woods, avoiding all dangerous topics, and even though the forest reacted to William as something unnatural, he seemed at home. I recalled the dream, vision, whatever, where one of my ancestors had happened upon the Beast, he probably used the woods as hunting grounds.

I was just about to ask how much longer we would be going, when the path we`d followed widened out to an open space in front of a small lake. The sun glimmered on the surface, making the water shine like diamonds and the grass was deep green. He let me walk out first, gawking at the sight which had laid hidden in the midst of the forest. I turned to him with stars in my eyes. “However did you find this? It`s…” I was at a loss for words. “It`s Heaven on Earth.” William gave me his crooked smile, making me forget about the surroundings. “I`ve seen Eden, this is more beautiful.” His words didn’t register at first, I was occupied by his movements, his body closing in on me. I closed my eyes in bliss as he let one finger trail down my chin and neck, down my front. “But that is because Eden didn’t have you.” His lips followed the same path as his finger, I leaned backwards to give him better access, my body had missed his touch, the fire he ignited. I tangled my fingers in his hair, tugging him closer so I could kiss him. William dropped the backpack and embraced me, his hands traveling down to my behind. Before the kiss got too deep for me to cut off, I put my hands on his chest and pushed slightly, I turned my head to the tranquil water, “Do you want to take a swim with me?” Instead of answering, Will just took a hold of my shirt and dragged it over my head before he removed his own t-shirt.

His body was like a piece of art, chiselled by Michelangelo. He didn’t have the bulging muscles his brother boasted, but he was lean and muscular, defined to perfection. The skin was golden, a hint to his ancestors, spotted with tattoos. He let me study him silently, it was so different now in the daytime, at our own pace. I let my finger trace one tattoo, it just said “Exodus 22-18.” I smiled, the thought of dating-if you could call it that, a boy with a bible-verse tattooed on him was a bit funny. I looked up at him, squinting because of the low sun. “What does this say?” He glimpsed at the tattoo, grinded his jaw together, lifted me up and gave me a quick kiss. “Oh, nothing, it`s just a family-thing, we all have it.” His kiss made me forget everything, and once again I had to stop myself from going too far too soon. I stepped back and took off my pants and underwear in one drag. While he was still standing gaping, I ran to the water and threw myself in. It was cold but refreshing after the long walk. I heard the splash signalling that Will had followed, and I swam under water to get further out. I pushed my hair out of my face when I surfaced, breathing heavily.

There wasn’t any noise, but I felt a thickening in the air behind me, it almost simmered. I could just about reach the bottom where I was, and I was faced the opposite side of the lake, trees leaning over the glimmering water. A finger touched my left shoulder, it left a trace of warmth on my cold skin. I was burning on the inside, making me struggle to catch my breath. “She walks in beauty, like the night. Of cloudless climes and starry skies…” His voice was just a mumble behind me, I don’t know if it was intended for me to hear the words, the start of the poem by Lord Byron. “It could have been written for you.” His naked body pressed up against mine, I felt every excited part of him as his hands travelled up my front and cupped my breasts. “And all that`s best of dark and bright, meet her in the aspect and her eyes; thus mellowed to that tender light which Heaven to gaudy day denies.” It felt like he was making love to me with his words, my body reacting to them in the same way it reacted to his hands caressing me slowly. “One shade the more, one ray the less, had half impaired the nameless grace which waves in every raven tress, or softly lightens o`er her face.” He had half turned me and kissed my face tenderly as he recited the words, his hands touching me restlessly. “Where thoughts serenely sweet express, How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.” He kissed the spots he mentioned, “And on that cheek, and o`er that brow, so soft, so calm, yet eloquent, the smiles that win, the tints that glow, but tell of days in goodness spent.” He stopped and kissed me so soft it felt like a dream. I let my hands rest on the swelling of his buttocks and pushed him gently closer to tell him I was impatient; my heart skipped a beat when I felt his substantial length pressing against my front. I moved my hands to his shoulders and used him as leverage as I wrapped my legs around him, moaning when he positioned himself right between my thighs. “William…” I didn’t know what I was asking for, begging for, or even praying for. He filled me with one hard stroke, and my whimper echoed over the water. He didn’t stop, he kept pounding into me and I used the weightlessness given by the lake to meet his every grind. I was hanging on for dear life, figurately and physically, it was so intense. I opened my eyes briefly, and William was staring intently at me, drinking in every expression. His eyes softened when he met my eyes, the purple in them popping up when the sun hit them. William started walking towards the shore, still inside me. I complained, I wasn’t ready to leave the water. He shut me up by kissing me fiercely and biting my lip to blood. When he licked the drops of blood that fell down my chin, I stopped complaining and just went with it, he could do what he wanted to me. William dropped me down on the grass, next to an oak-tree. I could hardly stand on my own two feet so he supported me, but flipped me around so I was facing the tree. “Hold on to the tree, I need to be rough.” Without a word, I leaned my hands on the tree, shielding my face, and spread my legs. The pounding continued, on the verge of being too rough, but never tipping over. I felt it building, this sensation which had connected lovers over centuries, millenniums. I clawed into the tree, the rough texture adding to the scene. For a split second, I saw us from the outside, him taking me hard against a tree, both writhing in ecstasy, and crying each other’s names. The image made my insides clench together, William felt the difference and let one hand go of my hip and reached down between my legs. By the first touch of his fingers, I exploded. The orgasm filled every inch of me, and it kept going and going till I was seeing dark spots before my eyes and I saw I was in a heap on the grass, my breath harsh in my throat. William was on his back, muttering the word “fuck” to himself over and over again in an amazed voice. I must have blacked out, I had no recollection of him reaching his end, or us getting on the ground.

I crawled over to him, putting one leg over his body, he took a hold of it, still gasping for air. “Are you alright?” He laughed weakly, “I don’t know, I don’t know what this is, it`s never been like this before.” I pondered on his words, not wanting to think about all the before`s he must have had in his 500 years of living. He rolled his head to the side, gazing at me with wonder in his eyes. “There has never been anyone like you.” My heart clenched together, the weight of fate heavy on my soul. Behind all this wonder and happiness laid the knowledge that everything comes with a price.

William had packed some food in his backpack and a blanket for us to sit on, we shared the food in a comfortable silence as the sun disappeared behind the mountains. I wasn’t worried by the walk to the bike; I was pretty sure I was with the most dangerous thing that lurked in the woods.

William played drowsily with my hair; his voice almost sleepy when he talked. “Did you have to become a witch, did your parents force you?” I took some time before I answered, so he would know I was speaking the truth. “We don’t believe in preaching, or getting people over to our religion, it must come natural. Of course, it has something to say when you grow up in a family of witches, but I`ve gotten so many proofs that this is the way for me, no use in fighting it. My brother did have a short period in his teens where he thought it was embarrassing being a male witch, when the focus in media is so heavily on the female aspect of it. Dad took him for a trip, I don’t know where they went, but when they came back, Natan was a different boy. A different man.” William stilled for a second before he spoke again. “And your parents? What happened to them?” The quiet, peaceful place made it easier to talk about them. “They died in a car-crash three years ago. It was a bad one, I wasn’t allowed to see the bodies.” My voice hitched at the last word. “My brother left the same night, people tend to believe he was to blame for the crash, although I don’t know how. Him running make him guilty, I guess.” William kissed my shoulder briefly, offering me support. He stood and reached his hand out to me. “Come, I`ll take you home.”

I helped him pack up while I secretly dreaded the long walk back, I was tired after the long day and all the activities. I took one last look at the lake, memorising the day spent here and breathed out harshly as I turned. My breath turned into a cough; William was no longer there. The Beast had taken his place. I`d almost forgotten how much bigger he was, and my hands shook slightly as I walked up to him.

I thought maybe you`d appreciate a faster way back to the bike.

I didn’t grasp the meaning, was he going to carry me the whole way? That seemed uncomfortable. I started to shake my head, but then his wings widened out and flapped in the darkening night. I looked up at him with horror in my eyes. “Are you kidding me? Do you want us to fly back?” I shook my head vehemently, “No thank you, I`ll walk.” I started towards the trail, but he was in front of me with a blink of an eye.

Hannah. Do you trust me?

I didn’t answer, just rolled my eyes. A rumbling sound came from his chest, resembling a laughter. William took a step closer, embracing me with his other body, the wings engulfing us as the first night he`d shown himself to me.

My love. Wrap your arms around me.

He talked so much more formal when he was the Beast, I wondered why as I did as he said, secretly glad for the warmth radiating from him. He held on to me, and with two strokes of the big wings we were flying. My mind went blank, this was beyond everything I could have imagined. I wished the myths about witches flying on brooms were true, this was amazing!

I looked around me as we rose high above the trees, I trusted him to not let me fall. The air grew colder, and I pressed my body closer to his. I met his purple eyes and saw the same joy in his, I guess you never got tired of flying. We stopped the rise, and he used his wings to keep us floating in one place. The stars had popped out and I could just make out the lights from the nearest city, the sight beautiful.

Ready?

I widened my eyes, what was he talking about? Before I got to ask, he folded in his wings, making us drop towards earth way too fast. My eyes watered by the wind hitting them, and I felt a scream gather in my throat. The trees got bigger and bigger; I knew this was going to hurt. I screamed out his name, and crunched my eyes together, swearing to myself for being so stupid. I peeped out from one eye and saw I could soon touch the top of the trees and prepared myself for the impact which never came. William stretched out his wings and instead of hurling towards the ground, we flew through the trees with a blindingly speed, him dodging the branches with just millimetres to spare. I felt like crying and laughing at the same time, this was out of this world. Far too soon, we were at the bike and William stilled in the air, keeping us upright with slow flaps. He didn’t speak, we just levitated above the trees, under the stars. My breath came in short puffs, the feeling of floating in Williams arms filled my entire soul, pushing on my heart.

Hannah, I wish for us to stay like this forever. Flying above all that is real, above good and evil. If I asked you to come away with me, to an unknown place, would you have said yes?

A vision of us walking hand in hand along a white beach, with waves crashing over our feet, popped up in my head. It was quickly replaced by one of the town, the streets filled with mutilated bodies. Was that foreshadowing into the future if I ran away with William? I touched his face, gazing into his purple eyes, safe in his arms. “I don’t think that is ever going to be an option, so there`s no need for me to answer that. This town is my blood, I need to stay here.” We were slowly descending to the ground, the air growing warmer. Had I ruined things with my answer? Our feet hit the ground with a soft thud, but I didn’t let go of William. Instead, I stood on my toes to reach him, one hand on his heart I ordered him; “Bow down to me, I want to kiss you.” He wrapped one arm completely around me, and bowed to me, my soft lips meeting his rough mouth. Slowly, the rough texture disappeared and was replaced by lips as soft as mine, warm and inviting. William withdrew, letting one finger glide down my cheek with a sad look. “I`ll bow to you forever, but you`re right. The question was moot, our place is here-whether we like it or not.” He pulled his clothes out from the backpack and dragged them on, hiding his perfect body. I looked down at mine briefly, I hadn`t thought much about it before, it was as it was. Now I felt insecure, in front of this god-like creature. Somehow, William picked up on my thoughts and tipped my face up. “You are a Goddess, in and out. Don’t ever question that.” I felt myself blushing, happy it was dark, so it wasn’t visible. He pulled on the leatherjacket and looked at me, standing in my work-clothes. He crinkled his nose, took off the jacket again and then pulled his sweater over his head in on swift movement. I looked at all this undressing with confusion, until he yanked me closer and told me to put my arms up. His sweater was warm and smelled of William, I drank in the scent as he zipped up his leatherjacket, my libido awakening again (was it ever asleep around him?) when I thought about his naked skin underneath, I could barely see the band on his boxer, his jeans hanging low on his hips. William slung his leg over the bike, sat down and turned to give me a hand. When I was seated safely behind him, he gave me the helmet and put his own on, before kicking the bike to life.

I wanted the ride home to last forever, but it took no time at all to reach town. We both sat still for some time when he`d parked in front of my house, I wasn’t sure how to handle this. Were we still supposed to keep distance? His parents were out of town, did that mean he could maybe sleep over? I was about to ask him when he reached for the helmet with a resigned look. “I have to go; Benjamin and Belinda are probably furious. We have something to do tonight, before our parents leave.” My face fell, “Oh, okay.” I got off the bike with much less grace than William and gave him his helmet back. He scraped one foot in the gravel, “This day has been…one of the best days of my life.” I rolled my eyes, “Yeah, right, in your 500 years of life-THIS is one of the best days.” His eyes glimmered purple, “Yes, Hannah.” An arm shot out and yanked me towards him, almost tipping me over. He kissed me until I saw stars, was it like this for everyone? On one level, I didn’t want it to be, I wanted this feeling to be only ours. “And I`m looking forward till I can say I had the best night of my life.” My mind reared back to the night of the full moon, that was a pretty good night, wasn’t it? I opened my mouth to ask him, but he stopped me. “A night where you`re awake ALL night.” I blushed once again, he gave me one last kiss and then he vanished down the road.