The Essence of Eternity - Awaken

Chapter IV - The party!

When I finally manage to get out of bed it’s already half twelve… Oh s**t! I missed my mum’s arrival. I was supposed to pick her up from the airport. Oh s**t! Oh s**t! I go directly to the bathroom and wash up, put on a T-shirt and tracksuit and I run down the stairs, when I hear them talk. I pause and walk silently in the living room, to find my mum and dad sitting casually, drinking coffee and discussing, like they are best friends ever. My mum sees me and gets up, we hug and kiss, like it’s not only a day we are apart. So many things happened in that day, they seem unreal to me now in the daylight.

"Happy birthday, my love." she says.

"I wish all your dreams and hopes become the future you are looking for!" Is this a wish or a curse, I am wondering.

"Happy birthday, sweetie."  Dad adds.

"I hope you know your dad is always here for you. I love you so much."

"I know, Dad. Thank you both. I am so happy to have my birthday celebration here this year. Thanks Mum for coming all the way."

I pour a cup of coffee while my dad put Irish music on; I feel so happy. I can’t wait for tonight!

My parents give me gifts. Sitting on my dad’s comfortable black sofa, I open my mum’s present first and I am really surprised to see it’s a dress. Actually it’s THE dress. It’s a beautiful little black one, with the most incredible back I have even seen. It is quite plain in the front but the back is heavenly, made of black lace, so beautiful and sexy; the see-through part stops right above my waistline. I never expected such a gift from my overprotective mum. Would I actually be bold enough to wear it?

The best present ever.

"Oh thank you, thank you so much, Mum! It is the most beautiful gift you have ever given me."

"And it is special indeed my love" she says. "This dress is not new. It was mine. It is the dress I was wearing the night I met your father."

Holly s**t! We both turn to face my dad and there he stands, completed stunned and speechless, full of emotions, full of memories and suddenly he turns and disappears in the kitchen. My mum has a satisfied smile on her face which means she got what she expected from him! Well, what do you know? Maybe there is still some hope for these two.

I decide to give him some space, so I stay there with my mum and open the present from Dad. It is a pink gold four leaf clover hanging on a leather string, engraved with the words from the poem, sunshine, rain, roses and my name at the back. It’s very beautiful, and hopefully it will also be lucky! My day is already perfect, so I decide that there will be no confusing thinking today. No Kellan, no Dubhghall, no Otherworld, no myths, no stories. Just me, a normal girl having fun on her eighteen birthday!

My dad comes back into the room, already back to his old self, to inform us that he is leaving for the pub, he expects a big order to arrive and he wants to prepare for the evening event.

"I will be in the pub until late afternoon so if you want to join me for lunch you are welcome…" he says to my mum.

"Ok thank you, maybe I will." and she turns to me.

"Who me? I have already made plans with Kellan, so you two are on your own."

That is a lie. I do not have any plans with Kellan. I do not want to see him alone before tonight, so I plan to visit O' Maley's in town and wander around as I used to do. I plan to enjoy a quiet day to myself, maybe even find a book or two about this mess in my head.

I spend some time with my mum in the house and when she goes to have lunch with my dad I decide to leave as well. I dress quickly and head to town.

I put on some music and start walking. I pass through the fields that separate my dad’s house from town. It’s only a ten minutes’ walk and I always used to enjoy this pathway. Everywhere around there is shrubbery, low plants and small trees and so much green. Ireland has such beautiful and unique parks and lakes and at this moment I am very attached to the plant life around me. I remember when I was young I used to lie on the grass for hours; it felt like I was creating a special bond with the earth. I guess my mum had something like this in mind when she gave me the name of a fairy!

Inside the city limits I see the canals that lead to the lake and the port and it feels so relaxing and beautiful. Coming from Athens, with the huge population, all the traffic and the noise, Galway is a paradise for me. I love walking, especially when I am alone and I can enjoy the area undisturbed. I reach the shop that I am looking for and I enter to find the old couple that owns it. They recognize me too… I wave and immediately start looking around. I go to the library area that holds books about Celtic and Gaelic myths and Irish history and I start reading the titles. I grab a big leather book and I find an armchair to nestle down and start reading. This is another thing I enjoy about this place. It is not a bookstore that you go, buy your book and leave. Here, you can sit comfortably and search the books for whatever you may need.

 This book recounts the first years of Ireland, or Iwernia as it was called, the Iron Ages, the Celts, and the various tribes that have landed the island for many years; the Norse Viking invasions, the Norman’s invasion, the knights and the kings but nothing that I can connect with the Dark Stranger. This is more of a history book, so I decide to search for something closer to myths, The Celtic Myths and Legends, or LeborGabálaÉrenn itself. I find a book about Irish legends and I rest comfortably in my chair again to continue reading. This time the content is more exciting. It talks about Danu, the good Gods, and Domnu, the bad gods of Celts but again I see nothing I can relate to the Dark Stranger.

After a few hours reading I decide that it is time I go. I am starving and want to prepare for tonight. So I close the book and put it back on the shelf, looking for another one to buy when the old lady approaches me.

"You will not find what you are looking for in there."

I turn my head and claim "I am not looking for anything specific…"

"In darkness you can find truth and light! Never fear."

What just happened? Did she just refer to him?

"What do you mean? What darkness? Who are you talking about?"

"He, who has many names…he, who walks our land for centuries, he who searches for his lady. He has come to you. He can walk you through your destiny! He is indeed the one to do that…"

What? I barely speak.

"Dubhghall?"

"Yes, this is the name we call him."

"What other names does he have?"

"The Dark Lord, the Mighty Warrior, the Earth Walker…"

Huge panic attack! What is going on? I cannot believe I am having this conversation with the librarian. But I keep asking.

"Who is he? What is he?"

"He is from another world, and he has been restless."

"What do you mean? How do you know of him?"

"I have seen him too. I am not the one he has been looking for."

"How do you know?"

"He used to be really sad!"

Then the old man approaches and says "Come on Aisha, leave the girl in piece."

To me he says, "Don’t believe what she says. Lately she has lost her mind a little bit. Will you buy this book my beautiful girl?"

I stand there completely confused.

"No thanks. Maybe I’ll come back on Monday!"

I keep looking at the old lady and she does not seem crazy to me. She seems aged and wise; like she has seen many things in her life, like my grand mum.

I leave the store and I keep playing the dialogue with the lady again and again in my mind. I do believe what she says. She gave me more information than the previous four hours reading. Dubhghall is one of his names, she says. The one he likes to be called? Who is he searching for? His lady? Which lady? He called me 'my lady' yesterday night. He is from another world. I start panicking again. I need to calm down and hold the thought for later. I said today would be a relaxing day!

I enter the first take away store on my way back to satisfy my hunger. Alicia stands at the checkout. I did not notice her before. I am in their bakery shop. Awkward.

"Hello…"

"Hey I know you. You were with Kellan yesterday at my house."

"Yes, how are you? Great party…" I murmur.

"Well, it would be better if I had not seen you with Kellan…"

Wow, straight to the point…What is it with people here? No sense of courtesy!"It was nothing. Nothing is going on between me and Kellan…" I continue murmuring.

"Ha! It did not look like nothing to me. FYI, Kellan and I were together before he left to study and I am planning to rekindle our relationship."

She has this awesome confidence and she is pretty as hell. I guess she is not used to guys rejecting her.

"Good for you then. I will not stand in your way. I have no romantic interest in Kellan." If only this was my biggest concern right now. "I will see you tonight." Alicia says and it seems quite threatening.

I walk out of the shop and on my way back home, my mobile rings. Kellan. Well I guess it was about time he calls. He hasn’t even wished me Happy Birthday. I pick up and before I manage to speak…

"Hey pumpkin, where are you?"

"Well happy birthday to you too, Kellan!" I reply a bit annoyed.

"I am standing outside your dad’s house and I have your present. Get your butt back here to let me in!"

For f**k’s sake, he is so annoying! I hang up the phone and start walking faster. In five minutes I can see the house. I see him sitting on the porch waiting and he looks so handsome. Today he is also wearing a green army jacket and I can’t help thinking that we do dress alike. The thought makes me smile and when he sees me he smiles back. He stands up and gives me a big hug. He lifts me in the air and whisper in my ear…

"Happy birthday, my Tita! I wish for crazy love, tons of happiness and great achievements in your Uni. You know I keep you in my heart since that first day we met." And he gives me my present.

We enter the house and go inside the kitchen. I leave my food on the table, still starving, to open his present. It is a very beautiful gold charm bracelet with one orange gold pumpkin and one little green gold fairy.

"Thank you so much Kellan… for the present, for your wishes, for letting me staying with you in Edinburgh, for keeping an eye on me and being my friend all these years. You know I love it. It’s perfect!"

I ask him to help me put it on. I can see he is satisfied with my reaction.

"Well, it reminded me of you!"

I start telling him about my day. I leave everything about the strange man out but I tell him that I went to O' Maley's shop today and then I met Alicia, who really does not like me at all. I tell him that she made it clear she is still interested in him…

"So what?"

"What do you mean so what? You never told me you were together before leaving Galway?"

"I believe you were the one that wanted to leave relationship details out of our news!" That’s true. I never had anything to tell him about a boy or any relationship so decided I did not want to know details about his love life.

"Hell yeah, but yesterday when we went to her party you could have said something. And then you kissed me in front of her. Was that to make her jealous?"

"If you remember correctly I kissed you again after we left the party. I kissed you because I really wanted to. And anyhow you kissed me first if my memory does not fail me."

"Yes I did, and I said I was sorry…"

"Well, I am not!"

"Ok fine! Enough with this…No kissing from now on. We need to keep things simple if we plan on sharing an apartment successfully, right?"

"What?"

"Am I right?"

He does not speak so I ask again. "Kellan?"

"We will see…Now go put on some music! It’s your birthday. You haven’t eaten, have you?"

"Nope, not yet."

"Ok, put on some music and I will keep you company while you eat…"

I put on some good old metal songs, I know Kellan really likes metal music and I start eating. Things get back to normal and I am telling him about seeing my mum and dad sitting together this morning, and the fact that they made plans to have lunch, and how it is the first time after a long time that I’ve seen my mother happy and my dad a little bit excited as well, although he is hiding it better! It feels so normal and relaxing to speak to Kellan about my parents. He is my closest person in the world and I could never thought of sharing such personal issues with anyone else.

With all the talking, it is already six in the evening and I want to get some rest before I prepare for tonight. Kellan leaves and I am wondering where the heck my mum and my dad are. I lie on the sofa for a nap and after twenty minutes of half sleep I hear them entering the house, making jokes to each other and looking very cheerful. I pretend to be asleep and I hear my mum going straight to the shower.

I get up and go in the kitchen to find Dad preparing coffee and listening to some kind of Irish rock music. I don’t recognize the song but I love it.

And I ask you, friend, what's a fella to do,

'Cause her hair was black and her eyes were blue,

So I took her hand and I gave her a twirl, and I lost my heart to a Galway girl!

I look at him and I smile. Why on earth did these two people ever get a divorce?

"So everything ready for tonight?" I ask casually.

"Yes my sweetheart. Everything ready…The band that will play is called ‘Black Souls’. They are local and they are good. A night full of rock! Frank, the singer, has an excellent voice."

"Thank you so much, Dad for making all this for me!"

"You are my little girl turning eighteen, my princess…"

Now my mum is getting ready in the guest room and I ask my dad to hit the shower first. I want to pay extra attention to me tonight. I feel like I am with two friends preparing to go out. My mum and dad are young, as they had me when they were in their early twenties, so we always had a more friendly relationship…especially with my dad!

It’s almost eight and both my mum and dad are off to the pub. I promise not to take long so I start preparing and feeling excited. Tonight is my night…I need to look fabulous! This is not a simple task as it is for girls like Alicia. I take a nice shower and use body lotion and perfume. I try on my mum’s present and it fits perfectly. It’s a bit short though, as I am taller than my mum, but not so short it would look indecent. The lace at the back is perfect; the fitting is actually very nice. I blow dry my hair and put on some makeup. Tonight I will look like one of these girls that know how to wear makeup and eyeliner. After a long time I look at the mirror and the result is not bad. My eyes look bigger; eyeliner always reminds me of cat eyes, my lips are full and slightly red and my hair is not bushy. Plus, I actually put cute black heels on tonight! I pack my converse in my backpack, in case my feet hurt, together with my little black cardigan in case I get cold, put on my coat and my scarf and I leave the house. No need for money or mobile tonight and the drinks are free! I don’t need to drive back and everybody I love will be there to celebrate with me…I cherish the thought.

I am careful and keep an eye out but on my way to the pub nothing special happens. No surprises…

I enter the pub and say hello to people, give a kiss to my mum and dad and I head to Kellan, who is sitting at a table with a couple of people I recognize. He stands up to give me a happy birthday kiss but when I approach and take my coat off, I see him looking at me with his mouth open…speechless.

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack tonight? You look stunning...When did you start wearing such dresses and hills?"

I laugh with his reaction, really satisfied.

"It was a present from my mum…" I turn to face my dad and my mum, who are actually looking at me from behind and in their eyes I see they recognize I am a woman now…They both nod as they approve the dress!