Amy Hayze sat on the edge of a precipice looking down into the chasm below. It was a long drop and clouds of misted spray rose up obscuring the white water at the end of the waterfall. It looked soft and comforting. She wasn’t afraid to be perched on the edge of the stony outcropping high above the falls. She looked up into the bright white light above her and felt its warmth and life. She was content. Happy even, here in this place between life and death.
She heard the wind blow through the trees behind her and knew instinctively that she was in danger, yet she didn’t want to turn to face it. She didn’t want to leave the contented bliss of this moment. She reached down and grasped the edge of the rock ledge she sat on. If she ignored it, it would pass, but even as she thought it she knew she was lying to herself. The choice had to be made, and she was suddenly inexplicably scared.
Clouds began to obscure the warmth of the bright white glow of the sun. Standing, she turned to face the trees and the winds that brought the darkness of a storm. At the front of the clouds was a rider that seemed dark and malevolent, as it bore down upon her. Thunder rumbled as the rider sped toward her menacingly. She knew the decision had been made for her and she jumped, falling through what had seemed soft clouds but were insubstantial mist. She opened her mouth to scream…
*****
“Amy wake up,” Greg said shaking her shoulder gently. “Amy it’s just a dream.” Amy looked up into his worried eyes, taking a large breath as she came back from the dream. He saw her eyes refocus and stroked her face. “Maybe you should see someone about these dreams,” his voice held concern.
“Maybe,” she agreed. Recurring dreams always manifested for a reason, that much she knew. She could go to see a psychologist for counselling about it, a psychiatrist who would probably diagnose her with some form of PTSD or she could go home, to her mother, who was an expert on analysing dreams in addition to many other unusual skills.
She got up and went to get a drink. How on earth could she explain her mother or even her former life to Greg? He was so sane and rational. He lived in the real world and was cynical about all religions, especially the alternative ones. If she told him that her mother was a white witch and head of a Wiccan coven, he would laugh. He would accept it as one of those things that eccentric people did, but he would treat it as a joke. If she told him, she used to be part of that coven he would lose respect for her and realise she had been one of those eccentric people who didn’t live in the real world.
She went back to bed and wrapped her chilled nakedness around Greg’s warmth. “Since we’re both awake,” she purred into his ear. She didn’t want to think about the dream, and she knew Greg could erase her mind completely. Her hand slid down over his body to wrap around his rapidly hardening manhood.
“You’re insatiable,” he murmured, “Not that I’m complaining.” He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a heated kiss. She melted into that kiss letting the rush of chemistry between them fill her mind.
She positioned herself over him and covered his body with feather light kisses. She stroked along his exposed skin, with the flat of her hand and wasn’t surprised to notice that Greg’s arousal matched hers as usual. Then, as her dark hair tickled over Greg’s lower belly, Amy took his thickness into her mouth.
Greg groaned at the pleasure and pushed his fingers into the softness of Amy’s hair. After a few moments, he pulled her mouth from his body and rolled her over onto her back. He parted her thighs and gazed at the folds of her pussy where it nestled shyly between her thighs.
“So beautiful,” Greg whispered as he bent forward, eager to taste the warm wetness of Amy’s excited body.
“Oh, yes!” sighed Amy when Greg’s busy, inquisitive tongue found her molten core. “Just like that. Oh God, yes.”
Greg tongued Amy with mounting desire. His arousal only grew further at the soft moans of pleasure she made. Her words of encouragement spurred him on, and he was eventually rewarded by Amy’s long, and almost animal-like keening as her climax washed over her senses. Then, when Amy’s body had begun to relax, Greg moved between her widespread thighs and felt the molten heat of Amy envelop his cock.
Slowly and tenderly he moved against Amy’s body. He increased his pumping pace as Amy’s breathing became more urgent, until he was finally thrusting forcefully into Amy’s welcoming, wet heat. Amy herself was rocking her wide hips up to greet each charge from her lover. She pulled at his torso with her hands and was using her legs to pull Greg into her body, deeper and harder. It was as though Amy meant to devour him, like some kind of predatory man-eater, but finally, when Greg grunted and stiffened above her, Amy’s second orgasm broke as well.
At the very moment of their mutual climax, Amy knew that the attraction between them was based more on lust and sex, than the friendship they had cobbled together, to overlay that chemical combustion that made them feel so alive and held them together as a couple. Satiated and relaxed again, she dozed wrapped in his strong, protective arms and didn’t dream again that night.
*****
Amy sat on the edge of a precipice looking down into the chasm below. It was a long drop and clouds of misted spray rose up obscuring the white water at the end of the waterfall. It looked soft and comforting. She wasn’t afraid to be perched on the edge of the stony outcropping high above the falls. She looked up into the bright white light above her and felt its warmth and life. She was content. Happy even, here in this place between remaining hidden in the rainforest behind her and bathing in the warmth of the sun.
She heard the wind blow through the trees behind her and knew instinctively that she was in danger, yet she didn’t want to turn to face it. She wasn’t ready to return to the darkness. She didn’t want to leave the light and its warmth. She reached down and grasped the edge of the rock ledge she sat on. If she ignored him, he would let her stay but even as she thought it she knew she was lying to herself. She couldn’t ignore him his attempts to reach her seemed urgent.
Clouds began to obscure the warmth of the bright, warm glow of the sun. Standing she turned to face the trees and the winds that brought the darkness she look at the growing storm. At the front of the clouds, a great wave carried a rider that seemed dark and malevolent as it bore down upon her. She took a step backwards; she wasn’t ready to leave; she didn’t want to go with him. Then she was falling through what had seemed to be soft clouds but were insubstantial mist. She opened her mouth to scream…
*****
“It’s no different to when you were in India and happily threw paint bombs on everyone for the Holi festival to celebrate Spring,” Amy argued with Greg.
“So you are saying this festival is about Spring, but it falls on Halloween, and they talk to the spirits because the veil between worlds is at its lowest,” he shook his head in confusion trying not to sound like he was mocking her. He could see that she was struggling to tell him about her family.
“Well yes but no. They choose to have the festival between the Spring and summer equinox at a time when they feel it is the most potent to ask the spirits for help. It’s no different to Christians asking for miracles at Easter or Christmas time,” she sighed thinking her words were falling on deaf ears.
“Okay and this is how you grew up, in this alternative religion?” Greg asked sceptically. She was so straight laced he found it difficult to believe.
“Yes,” she sighed. “Look you don’t have to come, I just didn’t want you to think that I didn’t want you to meet my family.”
“Oh, I’m coming! I wouldn’t miss this for the world,” Greg chuckled.
“Don’t mock them and their beliefs, Greg. Whatever you think, they are still my family,” she said sadly knowing this was a bad idea.
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Greg held up his hands as if surrendering to her rules. “I’ll ask for the time off work today. I’m not sure I’ll get both weeks but at least one of them,” he said and pulled her into his arms. “I promise I will be on my best behaviour,” he grinned at her. He loved her, and he knew she loved him, but she had baggage, and if this was the way to deal with it, he was going to be there to support her.
“Thank you,” she said sincerely. She had thought about it a lot, and she wanted him to come with her and see the real person she was, rather than just the woman she projected to mainstream society here in the city. She was a massage therapist at a day spa and was more likely to get questions about prostitution rather than the Reiki healing she practised. She had left her alternative life behind her five years ago when she’d moved to the city and rarely spoke of the beliefs in earth magic she had grown up with.
He kissed her then. “I love you,” he murmured the three words that seemed to be so hard for her to hear. “I want to know everything about you and that includes your family no matter how wacky you think they are.”
“I don’t think they’re wacky I am worried that’s what you will think,” she argued to avoid reciprocating those three words.
“Honey, we’ve been together for almost a year now, we live together. When are you going to believe that I’m in this for the long haul? Short of something illegal like drug or human trafficking, I’m happy to celebrate your family’s traditions with them. Just as I am sure they will celebrate the traditions we choose for our family in the future,” Greg said confused by her reaction. He wasn’t intolerant of anyone’s choice of lifestyle. He may be sceptical of any religious fanaticism, but he was a live and let live kind of guy.
“We have a family in the future?” she asked her eyes widening.
“Well, it would be a shame to put all this practise we’ve been doing to waste,” he chuckled. “Not right now but in the future some time I’d like a family,” he said without guile. “Speaking of practice,” he kissed Amy again and pulled her body against his so she could feel his arousal.
Amy loved Greg, he was everything she wanted and needed in a partner. He was safe, sane and offered her a sense of security she had never felt before in a relationship. She had never allowed herself to consider their future together. She lived each day for what it was, as if it could all come to a screeching halt at any time. If she was honest, each time she thought about a future with him or anyone, she was filled with a sense of foreboding and an ominous dark cloud seemed to surround that person. She realised she needed to deal with that feeling and the dreams which seemed to be increasing in length and intensity.
Her intuition told her that her mother held the key to unlocking what was wrong with her. She had trouble committing to a future, not just with Greg, but of any kind. She remained a casual at work despite working there full time and being offered permanency within the company and the benefits that entailed, because it would have been a commitment. Moving in with Greg had happened so slowly and gradually that she hadn’t had to commit to it, it was just a natural progression when her lease ran out and saved her from having to commit to another lease.
Maybe she was broken after the accident. Maybe she hadn’t dealt with it as well as she had thought she had and needed professional help, just as Greg had suggested. She hoped that by going home and confronting her past, she could chase away whatever haunted her dreams and kept her from committing to the life she had now. The kisses she and Greg shared became more passionate and her concerns ceased to cloud her mind, their clothes littered the floor and he lifted her to the kitchen island bench stepping between her thighs. He wrapped his arms around her as he entered her slowly and gently lay her back onto the cool surface. He began to move within her slowly, and his lips and fingers danced over her breasts.
Greg began to fuck her placing his hands over her breasts and gripping them as he stared down at her beautifully expressive face. It was one real time, during sex, that he could see her real emotions and not the reserved, carefully contained woman that had stolen his heart.
He watched as the endorphins took over her carefully guarded mind and desire, lust and need had replaced the calm façade she had worn all evening, even when arguing with him. He thrust into her with power strokes, feeling her hips rise to meet him and he revelled in the sight and sound of her.
“Oh fuck,” he groaned deeply feeling her come with him. It was a quick, hard fuck but that made it no less powerful in his mind than if it had lasted hours. He loved everything about Amy, and he found himself eager to meet her family and find out more.
*****
Amy sat on the edge of a precipice looking down into the chasm below. It was a long drop and clouds of misted spray rose up obscuring the white water at the end of the waterfall. It looked soft and comforting. She wasn’t afraid to be perched on the edge of the stony outcropping high above the falls. She looked up into the bright white light above her and felt its warmth and life. She was content. Happy even, here in this place between the darkness and the light.
She heard the wind howl through the trees behind her taking on a menacing note. She knew instinctively that she was in danger, yet she didn’t want to turn to face it. She wasn’t ready to return to the darkness. She didn’t want to leave the light and its warmth. She reached down and grasped the edge of the rock ledge she sat on. It began to crumble beneath her hands.
She stood and moved from the edge, and she could hear the laughter of the dark figure in the waves of clouds rolling in behind her. It sounded like low rumbling thunder. She couldn’t ignore the rider as he bore down on her but neither was she willing to be swallowed by his darkness. She loved the light and wasn’t ready to forsake it.
The warmth of the sun had disappeared, and she shivered with cold and fear. The rush of life that was the waterfall made her turn, and she could see one last shaft of sunlight breaking through the darkness to illuminate it. She reached out towards it and didn’t see the large cracks appear at her feet. Then she was falling through the insubstantial mist. She opened her mouth to scream…
*****
“Oh, you’re here! You’re here!” Shelly ran toward her daughter with her arms open wide. “My darling girl, you’ve been gone far too long,” Shelly wrapped Amy in a warm hug. “And you must be the man she’s told me absolutely nothing about,” Shelly spoke to Greg over her daughter’s shoulder holding her in a tight embrace for a long time.
“Seems we are both starting from the same place then,” he chuckled. “I’m Greg,” he began to raise his hand to hold it out to Shelly when she released Amy and embraced him as she had her daughter.
“You are very welcome here, Greg,” she said happily. “Come inside, and we’ll get you settled in.” Shelly kept an arm around her daughter’s waist as they walked inside with Greg following behind carrying their luggage.
The darkness of the night seemed to make the small cottage style house look eerie, and Greg stepped warily, approaching the house of someone who considered themselves a witch. With Amy’s nightmares seeming to become increasingly worse they had travelled down after work on Friday. She seemed to sleep little now, and her eyes had taken on a haunted hollow look. In the end, he had been as eager to get here where she thought her mother could help her with the dreams, as she had been. He hadn’t considered how eerie this place would feel to him once he was here.
Stepping through the threshold though was a revelation. It wasn’t at all like what he had imagined as he approached it. It was warm and inviting with stone floors, and wood panelled walls giving it a golden glow from the fireplace and soft, warm lighting. No cauldron or dusty apothecary greeted his eyes but rather a reasonably modern interior, furnished using all natural materials. No plasterboards on the walls or ceiling, the stone of the fireplace matched that of the floors and even the carpets, which took the chill from the stone, seemed to have been handwoven in a loose weave of natural fibres. He immediately felt relaxed and smiled.
“If you want to point me in the direction of the bedroom, I’ll put these away and give you girls a minute to catch up,” Greg suggested.
“I refurbished your room remember,” Shelly warned Amy as they turned to look at Greg in unison. “Perhaps I should show it to you and explain.” She moved toward the other end of the cabin. “I needed the perfect cover for my book and couldn’t find what I was looking for, so I extended your room. All your things are still there, just packed away for when you want them. It’s still your room. It’s just a little bit more grown up.”
“It doesn’t seem any different to me,” Amy said entering the space and seeing her bed and furniture where they had always stood.
“I tried not to touch the interior too much because this will always be your home. I just decluttered a little, but everything is still here in the closet. She flicked on a light showing that the closet itself had been extended into a large walk-in area.
“Great, more space,” Amy said not concerned at all. She had worried about facing the memories of this room and with her mother’s decluttering as she called it most of her life in this house was now in neatly stacked cardboard boxes. Likewise, she was happy to have a small bathroom attached to the room now. The biggest surprise came when her mother opened the wide curtains that used to cover a window looking out into the rainforest to reveal bi-fold doors. These opened to reveal a small courtyard lit by blue and green lights that shone up from ground level into a range of rainforest greenery surrounding a sunken spa that lit up like a crystal blue hot spring.
“I feel like we have booked into a resort spa for the weekend,” Greg said acknowledging the beauty of the space.
“Earth, air, water,” Amy counted off the elements and turned to her mother. “Candles or do you have a fire pit out here somewhere?”
“Safety inspectors can be so finicky,” Shelly said unhappily. “There are some fire bowls that can be used with candles but no fire pit in this area,” she said regretfully making Greg smile at the pair of women. He could see similar thoughtful expressions on their faces and marvelled at how much like her mother Amy was. He considered that if this was an image of how Amy would look in twenty-five years, he was a happy man. He smiled to himself. Amy may not want to talk about their future be, he knew they would have one together.
Greg remained relatively quiet, content to listen to Amy and her mother talk, being drawn into the conversation when it turned to how they met and what he did for a living. They had met through mutual acquaintances who owned a house he had helped to design. They talked a little about the environmentally friendly ethos of the firm he worked for, but it was a dry subject at best unless you worked in the industry or were building a house he admitted.
“It’s been a long day for me, and with the drive up here, I’m beat. So I think I will leave you ladies to discuss things,” he looked at Amy meaningfully and bent his head to kiss her. “Good night Shelly, thank you for letting me stay here with you. It’s a truly beautiful house.”
“Amethyst?” Shelly asked in a curious but stern tone. “What’s wrong?” She studied her daughter intently now, and Amy groaned.
“Amethyst?” Greg stopped in his tracks and turned to face the women. “Amy is short for Amethyst?”
“Amethyst Ruby Sapphire,’ she nodded unhappily.