The Bridge Home

It was a starlit morning. As the sun rose from deep beneath the eastern mountains, Rylena made her way through the pixie village. Each morning she checked on those who came down from their treehouses to greet her, to greet the day.  

She looked up at the stars as she felt Konrad’s mind awaken.

Good morning my love, she greeted him.

Good morning, Konrad replied — their minds linked by thought.

Rylena stopped at a booth with fresh pink fruits filled with juice. She offered a coin to a young girl who sat behind the basket. The girl took the coin and offered her a large plump fruit.

“Thank you,” Rylena said. She peeled the thick skin away from the fruit then bit into it. Juice dribbled down her lips. She flesh was sweet like cherries with a hint of tart like an orange. “These are delicious.”

The girl and her father smiled at Rylena. “You are welcome.”

Rylena continued her walk, fruit in hand. You should try this.

Alright. She could sense Konrad dressing himself in his usual layers of leather. He was often up before her, but some nights he preferred to stay up late into the night and sit watch with other pixies.

I had thought we could go on an excursion today. She sent him images of the dense rainforests of Paisca.

She wove her way out of the markets and toward their treehouse. She could sense him making his way toward her. Quickly — he was flying. She turned, in time to catch his arms as they wrapped around her. He pulled her hips against him.

You want to visit the place I failed as a sheep farmer? Konrad teased.

Yes. She hid her plans from his mind. She kissed him instead. The same place. She pressed her lips to his before he could ask what the same place meant.

He slid his hands along her hips. Rylena sighed, her heart beating fast. Konrad raised his eyebrows and brushed his finger across her cheek.

If we must, Konrad thought.

Rylena nodded. She transported him to the house Konrad had built, deep in the forest of Paisca but somewhat close to jutting cliffs and sea. The house had been maintained through the years, something Rylena had discovered and kept secret for all of a day.

She’d hoped to save this trip for a few months, to rebuild the home and create an escape. Instead, she’d found something unexpected. Something Konrad had lost long ago.

The original inspiration had come from Konrad himself. “You’ve been dreaming of this place,” She said aloud.

“Have I?”

“Occasionally, yes. Dreams about here, about old friends.” One of the most vulnerable times for the mental link was in dreams — Konrad’s mingled with her own and even woke her up some nights.

“You’re nothing like him,” Konrad said, about his former love, Khale. He’d spent a thousand years with the same man. They’d lost one another here, in Paisca.

“Sometimes I marvel at whether I’ve changed so much, or whether there is more than one person for every other,” Konrad mused. He ran his hand across the tops of flowers while Rylena led him toward the wooden barn.

He’d yet to ask about the state of the place — kept, much like his dreams.

Rylena laughed. “There may be more than one person for one another,” She teased. “But you have changed, I’m certain. It would be a shame if, in the three thousand years since you’ve been here, you hadn’t.”

Konrad smiled, his lips spread wide and thin. Rylena took the opportunity to kiss him again, then hand him a candle. She lit it with fire magic.

She’d changed, most notably since ending her relationship with Nell and Drey. she’d always expected Nell to be her forever. She’d married him as an infant, arranged of course. A lifetime together…

Rylena sighed. No, there must be more than one person for each.

Precisely, Konrad thought, about Drey and Nell and Khale and the way fate had twisted their lives together. They walked in memories, shared freely without jealousy or sadness, until the little barks of puppies filled their minds. They both snapped out of the trance of one another. Konrad looked down, one puppy in particular pawing at a gate. He smiled so wide little crinkles formed at the corners of his eyes.

He’s chosen you.

Konrad hugged Rylena. He held her tight and lifted her feet from the ground and swung her in a circle then sealed the move with a fiery kiss. We ought to have one of the queens make him immortal.

Rylena nodded. She waited until Konrad had the puppy in arms before she spoke, clearly to keep the layers of what lie ahead under wraps. “He is a descendent of the dog you once owned here, I’ve discovered.”

“You know me so well.” He held the puppy against his chest while it licked his face and its tail smacked against his leather vest again and again.

“It might have been the dreams…” she teased.

“You answer questions I don’t know I’ve asked.”

Butterflies filled her stomach. She set her hand above the small slope that carried their next two children. Her lips pulled tight and her eyes danced in the glow of candlelight. “I have another surprise.”

Konrad’s mind started to piece things together, like a puzzle he realized she’d laid out for him. He looked around for the next hint.

It arrived, her voice quiet in the background as she approached.

“Dad?”

Enny’s eyes matted with tears. She stepped aside, out of the way, but Konrad pulled her against his side. “Dalia?” He looked at Enny. “You planned this?”

His arm wrapped around Rylena, he stepped closer to his daughter. “I thought you were lost to the plague.”

She shook her head, took the puppy from him and handed it to Rylena. She wrapped her arms around him. He met her hug with his own.

I planned the puppy, I discovered Dalia. Rylena ran her hands down the puppy’s back.

“How have you been?” What has your life been?” Konrad led Dalia out of the barn. Rylena stayed behind, her mind still caught in the conversation but her body giving him the space to talk and bond with some privacy.

After a few moments, Kornad ducked in, eager, alive, his body sparking. “Enny.”

Rylena stood, the puppy still in her arms. “Yes?”

He breathed a deep sigh of content. “Dalia. This is my wife, Rylena.” He looked at Rylena. “She’s agreed to come home.”

Rylena set the puppy down. He ran directly to Konrad. In that space, Rylena was able to wrap her arms around Dalia.

The barn, the farmhouse, the jungle…they were all memories. Beside Konrad and Dalia, she knew there would never be a greater gift than family.