Second chances
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always welcome (liten_sam@yahoo.ca) Chapter 2 She had fallen in love with that place the day she had set eyes on that little cottage on the shores of that tiny lake almost in the middle of nowhere. When her mother was still alive, she used to spend every holiday at her grandparent’s. She had always considered it some kind of paradise on earth and now it was going to be the place where she could start to live again. Memories of what her life had been before she had decided to move into her grandmother’s house surfaced in her mind as she drove to her new home that night. Her decision to leave had been a shock for most of her friends, not to talk of her boyfriend who surely did not think she could be that determined to start a new life without him. He had probably thought it to be just a temporary thing. But for what was probably the first time in her life she had decided not to give in and just do what everyone expected her to do. She needed to find herself. And the only way she thought would make it possible was to isolate herself from everyone and everything, including a job she’d never really liked. The car was filled with the last things from her old apartment. Books, photo-albums, a couple of plants and all sort of stuff that had not found place in the many boxes she’d been moving from the city in the last week. When she finally reached her destination it was past ten and although the ride had been quite exhausting, she felt as a new energy was flooding through her body as she entered her new house. Finding her way through the various boxes that were still lying around on the floor, she found a nice spot for her plants on the sill of one of the front windows of the house. She managed to empty a couple of boxes, but in the end fatigue made itself heard. She walked to the veranda, opened the slide-door and let the cold breeze embrace her. It was a clear night; the moon was shining in all its beauty. The stars where bright and their reflection on the surface of the lake gave her the feeling of being in another world, a magical world. She sat down on the rocking chair and clutched her knees to her body, letting her gaze drift at that wonderful sight. And she cried, she cried all those tears she had refused to let go in the days that had followed her grandma’s death. She had tried to convince everyone that she was fine but she was not, and eventually she had to give in to grief. ~ * ~ *~*~ As Gandalf rushed into Elrond’s study, the elf lord and Ryanna were wrapped up in deep conversation. The wizard had not even bothered to knock on the door, which at any other time would have really annoyed Elrond. But not today. “Ryanna,” he said as she ran into his open arms. “I’m so happy to see you Gandalf,” she said breaking loose of his embrace enough to look him in the eyes. “You haven’t changed my friend.” “Neither have you my child,” he replied softly making her smile. He still considered her a child even after so many years. She took his hand and guided him to one of the couches in front of Elrond’s desk while an elleth served the tea. Ryanna was handing a cup of tea to Elrond when suddenly she felt her legs give out and she had to grab the edge of the table to steady herself. The Half-Elven was on his feet in no time, his arms around her waist to support her. “Are you alright?” asked Gandalf concerned. “I’m fine, it must be the excitement. It’s not everyday that you get to come back from death,” she said forcing a smile, trying to dismiss the weakness that she’d felt grind into her body ever since a few days after her return. She knew it would not take her friends long to find out about it but she wanted to delay the moment she would have to face them as long as she could. “You should get some rest. We can talk later during dinner,” said Elrond and asked the elleth to take Ryanna to her room. Elrond let himself literally fall on his chair when the door closed behind them. “You’re worried,” said Gandalf looking at his friend. “Have I become that transparent?” he asked with an amused tone trying to ease the tension. But the look in Gandalf eyes told him he would not leave it. “I fear her time with us is not going to be as long as I wish it would,” he replied playing with the ring on his finger. “Has this happened before?” asked Gandalf. There was something Elrond was not telling him. “Not that I know of,” he replied standing up and heading towards the window. “But I can feel she’s hiding something about how she’s really doing.” “Can it be that you feel a little overprotective right now?” asked Gandalf not wanting to feed his friend’s worries more than necessary. “Maybe…I certainly hope so.” ~ * ~ *~*~ The next day, as the first rays of light touched the surface of the lake, Jeanne awoke feeling the pleasant warmth of the sun on her skin. She was still curled up in the rocking chair. Giving time to her body and her senses to slowly awake one by one, she took in the wonderful sight of the sunrise over the lake. Everything seemed to come alive as the light unveiled the beautiful landscape. After a while she stood up and as she walked back into the living room she stretched her arms and legs, still a bit sore from the night before. She looked at the boxes lying all over the floor. *It’s going to be a long day,* she thought. After changing in more comfortable clothes she had a quick breakfast and then got ready to do some spring-cleaning. It was barely past noon when she finished freshening up the cottage which meant she would still have the time to go over the papers about the property of the house. Her grandma’s will was clear, the house was Jeanne’s, but as always with these kind of things, there was a ton of papers to fill out. So she went through all of it and once she was done she decided to post it right away and be done with it. She drove into town to the local post office and on her way back she stopped at the supermarket to get some groceries and had it not been for Mrs. Kincaid, she would have been in and out in no time. But the old woman always liked to have a quick chat with all of her customers, especially with those who had been away for some time. And Jeanne was no exception. She had even made her promise she would visit her for some tea the following day. By the time she got home, and it really was only a 15 minutes ride from town to her place, it was 7.30. She put the soufflé Mrs. Kincaid had insisted in giving her in the oven and unpacked the rest of the groceries. While she waited for her dinner, she sat at the table outside on the veranda. Deciding that tonight she would treat herself, she got up to go retrieve a bottle of red wine to go with her dinner. Leaning to the slide-door frame she lifted the wine filled glass to her lips and let the amber coloured drink slowly flow into her mouth, her cheeks slowly flushing at the familiar effect red wine had on her. Her gaze drifted once again at the beautiful landscape surrounding the lake. The last rays of light were touching the lake, blending sky and water and bathing everything around it in warm colours. She had not realised how much she’d missed this place. ~ * ~ *~*~ As the days passed, Ryanna’s body had started to age very fast, as if time was catching up on her. Retiring once again to her chambers, she stopped in front of the long mirror that adorned one of the walls. Such a short time and she was again looking at the reflection of an old woman, white locks streaking her black hair and wrinkles around her eyes. Suddenly she noticed Elrond smiling behind her. “You find it funny?” she asked turning to face him. It was not the first time he’d walked in on her in front of a mirror. “You know, it wouldn’t really bother me that much if I didn’t have to look at all of you looking just the same as when I left, no wrinkles, no white hair…” she commented, trying not to think about what was happening to her, but it only made other memories surface. She could see it in his eyes. He could not hold her gaze long. He always felt she could read right through him when she looked at him and now he did not want her to see the guilt in his eyes. He walked to the balcony and simply stared at the night sky, his hands resting on the marble railing. She walked to him and covered his hand with her own. “Why did they grant you to come back if you have to leave so soon?” he asked looking down at their hands. “You know the Valar has its own plans and usually don’t feel the need to fill us in on them,” she replied trying to ease the tension. Not that she was not sad her time was coming to an end again. But she’d been given the chance to come back, and she was grateful for every moment she could spend with her friends. “I think there’s still something I have to do before I leave, although I’m not sure what,” she added seeing the serious expression on Elrond’s face. He was still for a while. “Are you going to tell me what’s on your mind?” she asked. “You know, my empathic power has somewhat lessened in the last few years…” she said. When he turned around to face her she saw the all to familiar worries reflected in his eyes. She reached out her hand and slowly touched his face. “You’re still carrying all the weight of the world on your shoulders, aren’t you?” she asked, more a statement than a question. “Old habits are hard to break,” he replied forcing a thin smile. It broke her heart to see him like that. She wished she could help him in some way, ease his pain, at least for the time the Valar had granted her to stay. She shortened the distance between them and pulled him in her arms. At first he tensed not used to be the one being comforted, but in the end he relaxed and returned her embrace, letting her take away some of his worries even if only for a short time. ~ * ~ *~*~ As Jeanne was finishing her dinner, she felt a cold breeze coming from the lake, goose bumps appearing on her skin. Clouds were building in the sky and it was getting dark. Jeanne decided she would not want to push her luck too much and went back inside as the first drops of rain started to fall. A few minutes later it was literally pouring. She locked windows and doors and went back into the kitchen to do the dishes. Just as she was done cleaning up the kitchen she noticed all the papers and bills that were still lying all over the dining-table and decided it would be better to go through them right away. *Just this and then I’m going to bed* she said to herself. Half an hour later there were two neat piles of papers, one with the bills to pay and the other with old documents that would find their place in a nice box in the attic. Barely managing to hold back a yawn she switched all the lights off, walked up the stairs and went into the room that had once been her grandparent’s. She changed in her pyjamas and sat down at her grandma’s vanity. She picked up her hairbrush and began to drive it through her hair, with slow and rhythmical strokes. Tears started to streak her blushed cheeks as memories of herself as a child, her grandma braiding her long hair, began to fill her mind. Suddenly she shook herself out of her reveries, wiped away the tears with the back of her hand and walked to the bed and crawled under the covers. She switched the night-lamp off and the room fell into darkness. ~ * ~ *~*~ The hallway was dark, only a dim light at the end of it. She was walking bare-feet and the only sound heard was that of her white nightgown touching the cold floor. Suddenly, she felt the presence of someone walking behind her, the footsteps behind her adjusting to her quickening pace. She ran as fast as she could but she never seemed to get to the end of the hallway as if she’d been running through water, moving slower and slower. Suddenly she tripped over the hem of her nightgown and fell feeling the cold floor under her body. Frightened as she’d never felt before, she turned around to face her pursuer but all she could see was a cloud of light and a hand stretched out to her. And then she heard a familiar voice. “My child, do not fear, telin le thaed.” [I’ve come to help you]. It was the voice of her grandmother. |
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