The night was dark, darker than usual, something in the air wasn’t right. The air otherwise warm seemed chilly, so much so that she could see the clouds formed every time she would exhale…

She sat in the classic wooden cottage in the middle of a forest. The one with tall trees so high up that it was difficult for the eyes to measure up the height. the forest floor was much cleaner no roots popping up anywhere, looked like a hill slope, just the one where wolves roamed free and deer s were still easily grazing yet alert. The silence of the forest was eerie and yet it kept assuring…. it wasnt yet the time…..

she sat close to the fire, could feel the heat of burning logs, the fire lit up the surroundings and her face glowed like that of Marys on a Christmas eve. her eyes black yet soothing, expressions calm showing no feeling but content, may be, her nose straight symmetrically placed , no smile yet a warm peach face, cheeks slightly bruised and on a closure look, eyes lightly puffed ( probably from hours of crying or a hell of lot of drinking)

in front of her was a table, dark brown, oak wood , hand polished, strong heavy adorned with the carving on the border, she sat staring at a candle she had lit before she went to get a book. A heavy leather covered, yellow paged Latin written encyclopaedia… full of potions, spells, maps, recipes, procedures, and what not… a dream every witch, wizard, sorcerous would love to have and every human dread…. sacrifices and death patterned rhythmically throughout the book…

She sat with the book on her lap on a big leather cushion chair, wondering, still deciding, whether she wanted to open it or should she just accept the faith. deciding on the world that she lived in and the world where her loved ones now lived…. with great determination and after a hell of debate with oneself she opened the book, her fingers running through the scripted index….as if she could brail the whole thing. her eyes still watching the candle flame as if wanting to figure out whether she really wanted to explore the words so written…. the time had slowed down, darkness creeping in, with her calm eyes turning to more of a determined gaze she started scanning through the book, the potions, the procedures, the spells were all intricately woven with measurements that now would have to be converted after careful study.

And then on the right hand corner of the book was something scribbled…

 ’With this drop of blood,
I call you back to me, 
For let love be the eternal bond,
That strings my heart to thee’

She knew the words so simple were never that easy, looking for references she scanned the book further, only to find that all she needed now was some blood and a candle which stood burning right in front of her.

The temptation was overwhelming; the thought of him being around itself was something she could never get over. Gathering all the courage she could and mustering all the conviction it took to play with magic, to leave this world vulnerable to the perils of the hands of the world where her loved ones now lived she stood up, her legs were weak but her determination still over powering, the need of having him here, the desire to be able to see him again was overwhelming.

Above the fire place on the mantel there was a Swiss knife, she always kept it there, was always used for a varied reasons, she took the knife in her hands, her long thin frail finger now looked to have gained a muscle or two… she rested herself on the big leather cushion chair where she sat all this while, the high back rest and arm rest created a cubical in itself… the book now lay open next to the candle where the wax had started to trickle down its brims…

She pulled out the cutter from the knife and holding her finger above the candle she slit open the tip of the index finger… the pain was immense as she had not anticipated…..yet somewhere the pain and the blood flowing out made her feel happy inside…the blood flowed and the candle…..

With the determination the words were heard

” With this drop of blood,
I call you back to me, 
For let love be the eternal bond,
That strings my heart to thee”

with the blood dripping down on the flame, it extinguished…. the darkness now still, silent, quiet, no sound except a faint sound of breathing and may be the heart racing …. In anticipation…

she knew he was there, she could feel his presence, his scent lingered in the air around, she could feel him exhale on the nape, on the back of her shoulders and ears, for some reason now her breathing was calm , her heart at peace, the fear, the anxiety, the debate, all had died down and a peace prevailed… the world she had known with him was coming back… she realised she was sitting on the edge of the chair and behind her… every time she could feel his breath on her nape it sent shivers down her spine, his scent prominent the one he always wore, all she wanted to do now was to turn back throw her arms around his neck and hug him tight…. before …. before the melted wax now mixed with blood would solidify…. she wanted to freeze the moment , close the doors of the bridge forever, a selfish thought just ran in her mind wanting to keep him in this world for ever….all this was a matter of seconds when she turned around …. only to realise…..

The chair was empty….
and everyone around was trying to get her to her feet….

” Stick to the bloody Absolute you nutcase….. ” He yelled
” Monk is just not for you …….”