And so starts the ageless love

Staring up at the winking stars, Larry walked along the countryside, dejected, forlorn, eyes brimming with tears as his heart kept breaking into a million pieces. ‘Evernedale’ - Larry’s town, had the good grace of being pampered by mother nature. It was a small town surrounded by dense evergreen forests. It was said that these forests, post midnight, teemed with nightlife. Magical folk held raucous parties and engaged in harmless debauchery till the sky blossomed with its first orange hue that signified the oncoming of dawn. The townspeople frequently claimed to have stumbled upon snoring trolls, had their milk and eggs stolen by notorious pixies and claimed to have been lured into mires by laughing gnomes. Some of the gentler townspeople possessing hearts that were seeping with kindness, kept fruits and water in smalls bowls outside their doors and in their gardens as evening descended. These actions were the effect of a faint hope, that a passerby magical being receive their bountiful love. A charming tar road snaked its way through the green density to coil around the sleeping picturesque town. The piercing lush greenery had the potential to bring joy into the coldest of hearts, but not the heart of Larry. 

Larry’s life revolved around his family and his one best friend Sandy. Larry and Sandy were like two peas in a pod and one soul in two bodies. True, when they fought it seemed like the onset of third world war, but at the end of the day, you couldn’t find two happy loving souls comfortable in each other’s hearts. When Sandy was 10, he suffered from a grave accident that almost brought him to the brink of death. Day and night Larry prayed- he prayed in the golden auras of church, and to the unseen deities of the woods. After a week in hospital, Sandy was discharged. Whether science or magic brought Sandy back to life, Larry was not sure but he was grateful nonetheless. The day’s morning was besmirched with Sandy’s demise. Ever since the unfortunate accident, Sandy seemed to have lived a borrowed life. He frequently fell ill, grew steadily weaker and yet Larry felt that Sandy’s spirit was stronger than ever, until last week. After seven days of valiantly battling with death, Sandy had finally succumbed today morning, leaving the mortal plane with a smile on his face. 

Larry’s feet continued to crunch against the dry leaves strewn over the damp earth. As he ambled on, he suddenly felt himself feeling the soil at his feet. As he marvelled at the soil’s richness, he found himself becoming one with the entity, the essence, the existence of the damp earth. He could feel his being, brimming with life, and a vital force, that is the ultimate sustenance of all living things on earth. Earthworms continued to slither, ants made their homes and several tree roots took their nourishment from him. As he focused on a tree root, he suddenly felt himself getting pulled inside the root. He was now flowing upwards and spreading across the form of a huge Pine tree. He realised he was the Pine tree. He felt the warmth of the sun, supported the nest of a pair of snoozing swallows, and looked on as butterflies floated around him.He rustled as the cold breeze swirled and gradually, found himself travelling with the wind. He picked up the pace and now whirled through the trees, touched animals and mountains, whooshed through valleys and chased the multicoloured birds. He laughed as he felt light and breathless in what felt like ages. He wasn’t just flying along with the wind, he was the wind, speeding across the world. His might took various droplets of water across miles in the form of rain. As the rain continued to fall in torrents, Larry fell through several feet and landed on a leaf. He sat there sparkling like a pearl drop, marvelling at the entirety of the world, that surrounded his diminutive form. A lone water drop settled on a tree leaf was looking at the world from a new lens, rethinking the world, its form and concepts.

Larry felt gravity taking effect as he rolled off the leaf and landed in a stream of water. He flowed through bogs and merged onto a steady calm river, a mammoth water body, endless in time . Larry marvelled at the calmness, the steadiness that he felt as he floated in the form of this aqueous continuum. His surface was twinkling with the reflection of millions of stars . He smiled in serenity as he found the reflection of the moon and looked up at it. Truly, the night was beautiful. Larry felt a similar pull as he blinked in eyes, he was now staring at a gigantic blue planet revolving around him. He was the moon now- staring down at his planet, his home. A minute later, Larry realised he was looking, at the reflection of his face. He stared at himself in confusion and then looked around- He saw his own face reflected throughout the universe. He was the star , the Venus, the asteroids, the black hole, the galaxy. He was essentially a life force, weaving through the space-time fabric and keeping the multiverse together. Larry was everywhere just as Larry was himself. He felt the forlornness leaving him, as he realised he was one with the universe and so was always with Sandy. Sandy was always going to be a part of his life, albeit in different manner. Larry was no longer alone.

Somewhere close to Larry, a Goblin shook his head. 

“Its been 12 years my lady. Even now?”

The enchantress smiled “Always”

“I thought you were over him. He is just a human after all.”

“Larry is Special.” The Enchantress purred “He has a kind loving heart. I first saw him in the woods praying for his friend’s soul. It was hard saving his friend that one time and then continuing twelve years further.”

She sighed “Death was frustrated today and took him away. It was necessary for Larry to understand this aspect of Life. Besides, I believe it is the beginning of a new chapter in his life” The enchantress smiled. Larry brimming with curiosity and following the noises of whispering had emerged onto the tree where the enchantress stood conversing with the Goblin. Her Heart sped faster than usual, just the way it had 12 years ago, when she first saw him in the same spot, where he stood now. 

“Hi” He said, in a voice that felt like life’s song to her ears. “My name is Larry”

“Hi Larry” said the enchantress, hoping against hope that he didn’t grasp the emotion that flowed through the two words, the way her voice caressed his name and the way her eyes brimmed with love.

The Goblin shook his head again. ‘And so starts the ageless love’ he thought, vanishing with a whoosh, as the two lovebirds started their first conversation sitting together staring up at the stars.