Enaya: Solace of Time Read Free

stream that harbored lighted lilies floated sweetly under an arched bridge of the castle, where the stream met the ocean.
    Nile leaned forward, resting his arm on his knee. He surveyed the land, then his eyes moved to the castle that sat gallantly upon a hill. On another day or night, the towers would poke through soft layers of worldly cotton, but on this clear and majestic night, they helped to light the night sky. The stone structure always seemed welcoming and had been through the ages.
    “How was the music?” Nile asked.
    “Beautiful. Sinstad orchestrated the ceremony,” Leo answered.
    Nile opened his mouth to say something, but he gasped.
    “Go on and speak,” Leo said.
    “I stood there and watched her walk down the aisle. This was the wedding day that she and I had planned. This was our wedding day. She walked past me and didn’t even look me in the eyes. I felt like a nobody, so what else was I to do? I wasn’t going to stay around and pretend to be happy when I’m not. When we finally talked, it was just friendly gestures. She never acknowledged that we had a past.”
    “Maybe she didn’t know you still felt that way,” Leo commented.
    “She knew,” Nile said.
    “Well, perhaps she was nervous as well.”
    “I was hoping in my heart she would say ‘I don’t.’”
    Leo giggled.
    Nile cracked a smile and looked at his friend. “That was a joke.”
    Leo stood and edged toward Nile. They both stared out over the kingdom. “Somewhere out there is your princess.”
     

Chapter 3
    Something Ancient
     
    Nile woke up alone.
    He cracked open one eye and discovered the sun smiling warmly outside his window. He tried to go back to sleep, but the sunlight would not be denied, so he grudgingly rolled over onto his back and yawned. He stared at the ceiling and wished he were anywhere else than Woodlands on any other day than this one.
    He used the sheets to help pull him up and glanced out the window. He could hear the children playing. A smile found its way across his face. Nile threw the sheets over him and sprung from the bed, fumbling to the window. The wedding decorations were still intact, and children were playing with the pink ribbons that had been strung across the courtyard. Nile watched for several moments before turning toward the small nightstand he and his grandfather had built. He traced the lines, uneven but beautiful, as he tried to distract himself from the pain brewing in his heart.
    A pitcher of water and a bowl stood on the nightstand. Nile poured the pitcher into the bowl and rinsed his face. He reached for the towel resting over the arm of a rocking chair and patted his face dry. He looked at himself in the mirror and forced himself to breathe.
    Hanging on his bedpost was the outfit he had worn to Dywnwen’s wedding. He slid on the shirt and rolled up the sleeves. He stretched as the sun warmed his body. He found his way to the front entrance and lifted the plank that held the door locked.
    “Here goes,” he said. He opened the door and stepped outside to be greeted by the universe.
    Nile stood on his porch and overlooked the kingdom. His cabin sat down a hill, a few yards from the closest alley that led into the streets and the marketplace. He always said that he was far away from the castle but close enough to touch it. Nile moved forward and noticed the villagers preparing for their average day.He could smell the baked bread coming from the marketplace. He inhaled the scent of toasted wheat rye as he remembered that he’d forgotten to eat breakfast. He walked to the edge of the porch and glanced at the sky.
    It was blue.
    He stretched out his right foot, over the grass, as his left remained glued to the wooden porch. He knew that if he took that step then the day would go forward. Oh, how his heart hurt, and as much as he wanted to retreat into the shadows of his house, he knew he must press forward. Nile stepped off the porch and looked back at his house.
    He had lived by himself