Winter Wish

3

Fulgor Family



Luna was again lost in romantic thoughts as she pushed open the big wooden door of the house with all her might, and she couldn't help but smile mischievously as the door slammed against the wall, making everyone in the house jump.

"Sorry, I pushed too hard!"

Her mother sighed and shook her head from side to side as her brother Felix, the one she got along with the best, ran over and took the bag from her back. "Let me help you Luna, don't hurt yourself!" he said, his voice quite sarcastic.

"Thank you young man," Luna said and patted him on the shoulder.

Felix was still shorter and thinner than her, a little slow in his development, but his father always consoled him by telling him that he was just like him and that he would grow taller when the time came.

"Why are you wandering alone in the forest?" Albin asked, looking at her with wide-open eyes, ands she embraced her lovingly.

"Because it's fun, Albin."

"But mom says the forest is too dangerous to go alone."

She emphasized the word 'too' with all her strength.

Luna suppressed a laugh because she didn't want to upset her, but Albin talking like a little sage really made her laugh. Not only was she curious and interested in everything, but she had such a mature face and voice that it was easy to forget that you were talking to a little girl. Of course, Luna had taken care of her since the moment she was born, so it wasn't easy for her to forget that.

"Right, now that I think about it, I think I was wrong. Next time I might ask Felix or Fabian to come with me."

Her words brought a big smile to her sister's face. "That would be nice," the little sage nodded and walked calmly to where she had just been sitting, placing the basket she had been playing with a kitten in her lap and shaking one of the balls in it to attract the animal's attention.

Luna left her to her own devices and went into the kitchen to help her mother. Most of the downstairs consisted of the kitchen and the living room. There were no walls or screens between them. This large space was where the family usually spent most of their time together. Since Julian, Clara, Marcus and Diana had married and moved into their own homes, they didn't have as much space as they used to. Of their married siblings, only Silas and his wife Digna lived with them.

Digna was a very frail woman and if she didn't take care of herself she often got sick. Since they didn't have a baby yet, her brother Silas had asked his parents for permission to live with them. He hoped that they could take better care of Digna and that his wife would not be so tired.

Silas and Digna, Luna, Fabian and Felix lived upstairs in the house. Luna had the privilege of having a room all to herself, while Fabian and Felix had been sharing a room for years, despite their protests. Albin usually stayed downstairs with her parents, but some mornings Luna would find her sister frolicking like a cat between the sheets. Obviously, if she didn't find the love of her life and continued to live in this house, she would soon have a new roommate. Diana had only been married for six months, but she was already used to living alone.

"Albin is right to be worried," Luna grimaced as her mother continued to speak calmly, still holding the potato she was peeling. "You shouldn't go into the forest alone."

"I only went to collect firewood."

"You could have asked one of the boys to do it."

"Then I'd be missing all the fun!"

Luna didn't want to act like a child, but she loved the quiet of the forest so much that she went there whenever she could, often in secret because no one wanted any of the family to wander alone in the forest.

She understood their concern very well, but she never went further inland and, of course, being a coward like any other human being, she did not go into the forest at night. It was just that sometimes she felt the need to be in a quiet and peaceful place to think, so what was wrong with that?

"The dark forces that live deep in the forest are not a figment of imagination, Luna; they are real."

She knew that.

Everyone who lived around here knew this legend.

Many, many years ago, when this land was a wasteland, a lone wizard settled here, bringing his dark powers with him.

He sealed off his habitat with a secret circle he drew around the forest, banning people from it, and to this day no one but him is allowed to live in it.

That's why no one knew who the wizard was. Was was that wizard a man or a woman? How old was he? Why did he never leave the forest? All they had to answer these questions were rumours.

Because according to legend, all the people who had hoped to go there and meet the sorceress were cursed to death by the sorceress and disappeared.

In Luna's short 24 years of life, there had never been a trace of such an event, and even though this mystery was one of the things she was most curious about in life, she had never ventured into the forest, never even thought of trying it. Yes, she may have been curious, a little bit crazy and a little bit rebellious, but she was too much of a survivor to ever want to be cursed and destroyed. So while she could understand why her parents didn't trust her, their worries were unfounded.

"I know, mom," she smiled slightly, hoping to reassure her rather than contradict her. "I'll be careful next time."

"I hope Luna..."

When her mother finally looked at her again, she was smiling and, twisting two fingers, she called her to her side and kissed her.

"I just want you to be well and happy."

"I know, thank you."

"Good," Esla nodded. "Then now please help me chop the onions."

She was trapped, but there was nothing she could do.

She couldn't help sighing in despair as she rolled up her sleeves and began one of her least favorite tasks.

She had a formula that allowed her to put up with every little thing that bothered her in this world: The wonderful man of her dreams...

If he were with her now, he would do her duty for her, he would not let her beautiful green eyes turn red, knowing how much Luna hated chopping onions because it burned her eyes.

Laughing to herself, her boredom was instantly gone. It really did her good to think about the love of her life.

What would happen if they met?

It was so much fun just to imagine it, and that's why it hurt Luna the most that she hadn't met the love of her dreams yet. If they had met, who knew what wonderful memories they would have made together?

She knew that the man of her dreams was looking for Luna just like she was, waiting patiently to come into her life, dreaming of the day they would meet.

One day they would meet, and perhaps the second they laid eyes on each other, they would both realise that this was a love that would last eternal.

This dream... Thinking about it and wishing for it really gave Luna a lot of joy. Sometimes she felt sad and disappointed, but at the end of the day her dream gave her the strength to cheer up.