Chapter 11: Dreams?

I sigh contentedly on Friday morning and remain in the warmth under my comforter even though I feel the need rising within my bladder to use the bathroom soon. I think I can hang on a little longer though, not wanting to disturb Etain, whose lovely head is resting on my chest, her light snoring reminding me of the slumbering bees who are probably only now waking up for another long day of foraging.

Yes, Etain is still sleeping in my bed, five nights on. She has done so ever since she begged to stay with me on Sunday night after Caoimhe retired early ready for school next day, the poor girl exhausted after the excitement of the weekend with the unique Etain as our guest.

I had been exhausted too, and I confess that I put up little resistance, agreeing with her sentiments that, “although I know that I love you Richard, I want to be absolutely certain of our mutual feelings before we ... you know. Can I somehow ‘soothe thy savage breast’ by singing to you?”

Well, it has been a long time for me to share a bed with anyone, let alone a maiden and, even though it seems odd, even as the thought crosses my mind again, knowing she tells us that she’s at least about 1600 years old, I just cannot help react to how young she looks and conscious too, that if we did settle into the long term relationship that she seems to desire, when I’m seventy and clearly mortal and running out of time, she’ll still look only twenty and as immortal as only a goddess can be.

In a matter of just a few days, Etain has insinuated herself into every aspect of our lives, my daughter and I.

Even though her house has had the electric power restored and she still prefers cooking half our meals over her own open peat fire, she is learning to use our switched on domestic appliances.

She cooks our breakfast every morning and most of our main meals, and prepares Caoimhe’s school snack box to take with her for lunchtime.

So Etain sleeps with me at night, testing my resolve to keep my hands off her delectable body every night and every morning. Now she spends most of the day with me too, travelling to my various work sites in my car or, if I am at home making online meetings or updating servers remotely, she will do the housework or continue to explore the extensive grounds on her side of the cottage and forage for food that I didn’t even know existed.

Then we collect Caoimhe from school together, which almost makes me feel that we are becoming a family. And, of course, Etain has instantly got on with the Moms that we share the school runs with. They don’t have the same school bus system here as in the US, due to the short distances and the schools are much smaller and more neighbourhood based.

Some of the Moms were included me with moving eyebrows and winks. They think that Etain is perfect but then they don’t know that she’s a powerful witch who can calm me with a touch and immortal so she will outlive me and my child’s children and my grandchildren’s grandchildren.

It is a lot to think about as we lie there at dawn.

I think that she goes to the faerie ring too, and even went out Wednesday in the middle of the night, as I noticed her gone when I woke up alone in the middle of the night. I didn’t hear her go or even feel her return but she was back here Thursday morning, much as she is this morning, Friday.

She snuffles and hums with a low drone sometimes. She never really disturbs me, if anything her presence is a comfort, she is always warm to the touch.

Monday I had actually travelled with her through the Faerie Ring to a similar portal in Cork, behind a garage in an overgrown garden from where I called a cab to pick us up. They don’t have Uber or Lyft in Ireland but there are plenty of local cabs listed online.

What of my brief experience in the Otherworld?

Well, not much to say other than it mind boggling to take in while you’re there.

I was only there for about 90 seconds on the way to Cork and only about five minutes on the way back. First of all the bramble area of wood in my back yard was replicated in the Otherworld, only outside of the brambles there was no wood, just grass land and rolling hills as far as I could see, under a gorgeous blue sky, while in my back yard it was overcast and drizzling. We took one step and the brambles disappeared back to the Ordinary World, leaving us in grassland.

We walked down a well trod grass path, around a thicket and into an unfenced and overgrown back yard.

As soon as we stepped into that yard, the heavens opened up with heavy rain and the garden was suddenly enclosed by a close boarded fence, with a boarded up house at one end.

Frighteningly unreal transitions from world into another and back again, with no sign of another soul ... or devil or god for that matter.

A gate next to the sealed-up and part derelict house enabled us to get out of the garden into a Cork street which was just a short cab ride to the office where I had to spend half the day setting up and testing a new server.

While there, the beautiful Etain, never far from my side, chatted and charmed all the men and women she met in the offices. She even went out of her way to touch one woman who Etain told me later she sensed had a difficult time in her immediate future and had a quiet word of advice for her to avoid what was to happen. Etain said the woman was almost in tears in gratitude because no-one had understood what torment she was going though or had the solution that Etain suggested.