Sharon Amber awoke with a start. She hadn’t meant to drop off. If she had overslept… Sharon turned to look at her digital clock. It was 11:28 PM. Relief washed over her. It wasn’t too late. She could still meet him. Sharon climbed out of her bed fully dressed and threw on her coat, careful not to make any noise that would wake her father or brother. She intended to be there at the arranged time, and she did not want to disappoint him.

He was the most fascinating boy she had ever met. His name whispered in her mind as she crept out the window. Gerald.

Sharon climbed down the tree that grew next to her house, dropped from its lowest branch, and rushed into the forest. As she ran down the forest path, Sharon’s amber locks shimmered in the moonlight through the ever-thickening branches above. Why is he so secretive? Sharon thought. Why doesn’t he tell me his last name or where he lives? Is it the mystery that surrounds Gerald that makes him so…so appealing? Indeed, there was certainly a mystical quality to the object of Sharon’s infatuation.

It was a beautiful spring morning when she first met him. Sharon was walking through the woodland near her house. She enjoyed these hikes because the forest was an important part of her life. It was then that she felt she was a part of nature and found spiritual healing and wisdom.

As she moved down the forest path, Sharon heard the pleasing tune of a flute drifting through the many sounds of the forest. The strange but lovely melody was like those played by a wandering minstrel from days of old. She had heard its like at Renaissance festivals she attended with her family each year. Curious, she wandered from the path and moved through the foliage, following the charming air, until she came upon a small meadow. At its heart stood a majestic oak tree, and up among its branches, a young boy was perched. He leaned against the tree trunk as he played the unfamiliar melody that had so entranced Sharon. When he finished the song, he placed the flute on his lap and looked up into the clear blue sky. Then he looked down…and saw Sharon.

He displayed shock and surprise, startled to see someone else in the meadow. “Oh, uh…hello,” he said, awkwardly.

“Hi,” said Sharon as she looked up at the boy. There was an uncomfortable pause as they both considered what to say next. “You play the flute well,” said Sharon, breaking the silence. “What was that song?”

“Oh…um…just a melody I know.” He paused. “Where did you come from?”

“From the path through those trees,” Sharon said as she pointed toward the foliage behind her. She studied the young boy among the oak’s branches. He was dressed entirely in green and his features were delicate and handsome, almost elfin. He had shining blonde hair and deep, forest green eyes that seemed larger than usual. His jaw line was thin and delicate, and his chin was small and almost pointy.

“C’mon down, I want to see you up close.” said Sharon. The boy hesitated. “C’mon, don’t be shy,” Sharon laughed. “I won’t bite.”

The boy blinked twice. Like a bolt of lightning, he dropped from the limb he was perched upon and leapt from one branch to another with surprising agility. Then he landed in front of Sharon, giving her a start. She had no idea he was so athletic and nimble. He stood half a head taller than she and his captivating, seemingly bottomless green eyes were more enchanting than Sharon could say.

“I-I’m Sharon,” she said shyly as she held out her hand.

After a brief hesitation, the boy took it and told her his name: “Gerald.”

After that first meeting, an enthralling friendship developed. Sharon saw Gerald almost every day after school and during the weekends. Each time she arrived at the oak tree in the meadow he would appear as though he had stepped out of thin air. He’d play some of those lovely folk melodies for her. And then they would talk.

Sharon told him everything about herself, where she went to school, her likes and dislikes, and also about her family. Her mother had died of cancer when she was very young and her father had been raising her and her brother Brian alone ever since. She openly admitted that her life was pretty dull. Except for the death of her mother, nothing major had ever happened in her life, good or bad. She regretted that she couldn’t tell Gerald anything remarkable about herself.

Sharon found Gerald’s analysis of her last name to be quite charming, however. “Amber,” he said, “a translucent golden brown. An apt name for you.”

Sharon smiled shyly as she fingered her honey blond tresses. Unlike the other girls in her school who frequently griped about their hair, Sharon had no complaint about her amber locks. She had grown them to a length that just touched her shoulders, and kept them nicely washed and combed. But as far as Sharon knew, no boy had ever looked at her the way Gerald did. For whenever he gazed at her with those enthralling deep green eyes, she blushed and her heart skipped a beat. Sharon had to summon all of her restraint not to burst out giggling like a schoolgirl with an out-of-control crush. Sharon wouldn’t call herself pretty by anyone’s standards. But she didn’t consider herself ugly either. Frankly, she thought herself to be of average appearance, not the sort any boy would fall madly in love with. But Gerald treated her as though she was the loveliest thing he had ever seen. All in all, he was a nice, cute guy who made her feel content and at ease. Never had she known anyone like him.

She pressed Gerald to tell her all about himself, his last name, where he went to school, where he lived. Everything! But each time she asked, he would laugh, change the subject, or slip into another enchanting melody on his flute. It was in this way that Gerald avoided her questions without seeming ill at ease. Sharon had to admire the skill in which he did this, but she always wondered why he was so unwilling to open up.

One day, on a beautiful May afternoon, Gerald made a request. “Sharon,” he said. “Will you meet me here, at the oak, tonight, midnight?”

Sharon looked up from the wreath she was weaving. “Why? Why at midnight?”

“I can’t explain it to you right now,” said Gerald. “Will you?”

“But what for?” asked Sharon, her curiosity piqued. “What is it?”

“Just be at this oak at midnight and you’ll know,” Gerald replied as he pressed his forefinger to her lips.

On her way home, Sharon wondered why Gerald had made such an odd request. Why must their next meeting be at midnight instead of any of the other times they had met? She was still mulling this over when she found her younger brother sitting at the kitchen table shuffling a deck of cards.

“Hey, Sharon,” Brian said, as he fanned the cards out in his hands. “Pick a card, any card you want.”

Sharon rolled her eyes. Brian Amber had been working on card tricks since he had received a book on magic for Christmas three years ago. “I’ve played this game before, Brian.”

“It’s not a game,” Brian replied with a hint of indignation. “It’s magic. Real magic.”

“No it isn’t. I know how it’s done.”

“Well, this is a new trick. And you’ll never guess how I do it.”

Sharon was about to oblige, if only to get her brother to stop pestering her, when her father entered the kitchen. He was an imposing figure who stood six feet in height and whose eyes peered grimly out from beneath a pair of bushy black eyebrows. Wisps of gray streaked his black hair, giving him a look of authority as well as of age.

“Sharon,” said Alan Amber as he eyed his daughter with a mix of concern and suspicion. “Why have you been coming home late from school these past several days?”

Sharon shrugged her shoulders. “Just hanging out with some friends,” Sharon replied.

“Did you get detention?”

Sharon blinked. “No, Dad, of course not! I’m well-behaved, unlike some people in this household,” she said as she glared at her brother. Brian looked down sheepishly. Rarely a week went by that he didn’t get detention himself.

Alan Amber continued to regard his daughter. “It’s not just after school. You’ve been disappearing on the weekends too.”

“I told you, I’ve been walking in the woods,” said Sharon. “That’s all.”

“Do you have a boyfriend?”

Sharon was shaken by the unexpected question. Her younger brother snickered. “Yeah, right!” Brian chortled.

“Wha…uh…um,” stammered Sharon as she searched for a reply. Gerald was a friend, most definitely. But she wouldn’t consider him her boyfriend, as much as she’d like to, at least…not yet. “No…no, I don’t.”

“Then what have you been doing in those woods?”

“Nothing!” Sharon said.

“Nothing?”

“No, just walking.”

Her father’s frown deepened. “I don’t want you going into those woods anymore,” he said resolutely.

“What?” Sharon cried in dismay. “But why?”

“They are isolated and dangerous. You never know what kind of people are lurking in there.”

“But Dad, it’s on my way to school.”

“Go around them. It’s not too far. You’ll just have to get up a little earlier so you can make it. And I want you home on time! You hear me!”

Her father spoke in a tone that was harsh and final. Although his manner was calm for the most part, Sharon knew from experience that he was a real bear when he became angry. And the last thing Sharon wanted to do was irritate her father. So she nodded her head in assent.

“Good,” he said.

With that, Sharon left her father and brother in the kitchen, bounded up the stairs, and shut the door to her room. She was still seething over her father’s demand. She was sixteen, almost an adult! Her dad couldn’t restrict her like a baby, not anymore! She made up her mind. Regardless of what her father said, she was going to meet Gerald tonight!

Now she arrived at the spot where she had first heard Gerald’s beautiful melody. She stepped off the path, swept through the tangle of intertwined branches, and entered the meadow. She saw no sign of Gerald…not yet. But she knew he would arrive in time. He always did. As she waited, she looked above and gazed at the multitude of stars as they twinkled in the sky. The view was always spectacular on a cloudless night this far away from the city lights.

A hand rested upon her shoulder.

Startled, Sharon shrieked and spun around.

“I’m sorry,” said Gerald, barely visible in the moonlight. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

“S-scared me!” Sharon replied breathlessly. Then she noticed a peculiar luminescence radiating from Gerald. She stared in wonder, not believing her eyes. Tiny translucent orbs emitting all of the colors of the rainbow emerged from behind Gerald and began to encircle them.

“Gerald,” Sharon stammered in alarm and confusion. “What…what is…”

“Come with me, Sharon,” Gerald said as he moved toward her. “I will take you away to a wonderful place, to become one of us.”

“One of…who…?” Sharon was frightened. What were these orbs? Was this some kind of trick? Confused, Sharon backed away. This was far outside her normal range of knowledge. She didn’t know what to say or how to react.

Gerald continued to approach her. “You are the only one of this world that I know…and love,” he said in a soft, soothing voice. “That is why I asked you to come here, for only this particular astronomical alignment allows me to bring a someone with me when I return home. And that someone is you.”

The shining orbs of multi-colored light continued to whisk around the pair as Gerald’s arms wrapped around Sharon’s waist and pulled her close. Sharon was awestruck and terrified at the same time. She placed her hands on Gerald’s chest as he lifted her from the ground. No, he wasn’t lifting her at all. They were floating! They both hovered in the air as the orbs spun around them, moving faster and faster as they rose above the grass.

“Come to my world,” Gerald said as they faded away. “There, we shall be happy forevermore.”

Gerald’s final words echoed through the night as they completely vanished. When they were gone, the orbs of light ceased their circular motion and drifted down upon the grass, their luminescence slowly dying. Then, one by one, they winked out, and the sounds of chirping crickets were all that remained.

Next Chapter: Chapter 2