SIXTY THREE: ROBIN

I opened my eyes slowly and took in the beauty of my environment. The sky was lit with many stars and the moon shone brightly too. My dress was arranged neatly beside me and I was wrapped in a beautiful shawl that was so warm and cosy it made me want to sleep. I looked around me. I was laying on a very soft bed with soft duvet and I was in a beautiful garden outside. Because of the moon and stars, everywhere was bright. My head wasn't aching anymore. I felt i had so much strength in my bones now. I was so enthralled by my surroundings that I got up to stare. I tried coming down the bed but I realized it was metres floating above the ground. Floating beds. "Floating bed! Oh my goodness! Am I in the castle again?" I thought. I jumped down very carefully and as soon as my feet reached the fine smooth soil on the ground, I began to tour the garden, with my bare feet. The air was warm on one side of the garden, and chilly on the other. I kept swishing around my weight and long hair, carefully guiding the shawl so that it'd not fall because it was the only cover on my body. Even the pearls on the shawl glistened in the moonlight. "Robin!" I called. "Listen to me, I'm not mad at you! At least not anymore! I'm glad you brought me here. I'm so happy! Please don't take me back home" I yelled despite that I could not see him. "I am no longer mad, I promise. Please let's stay here. I like this place" I was sure that he was very much around even though I couldn't see him. "Don't take me back home" I said again, slowly this time. And then I opened my eyes for real. He was bending over me while I laid in very fine grass in an open place. It was chilly there, and there was a fire burning somewhere near the grass where I laid. I was wrapped in the same shawl I had seen in my dream. He stared at me intently: "You said you don't want me to take you home?" He asked. 'Wait, it really is him.' I mumbled to myself. I slowly got up and just like in my dream, I felt no pain. My head was no longer throbbing and I felt so warm. The shawl gave me so much warmth or maybe it was his presence. His eyes looked dreamy and I felt like I could drown in them if I didn't take my eyes off them. "So much for arguing about sleep-talking" he half-laughed. "Robin" I said slowly, peering into his beautiful eyes. He helped me up without taking his eyes off me. "Robin, is it you?" I asked, unsure. "Are you really here? Or am I dreaming?" He smiled- his one-million dollar smile, and shook his head from side to side, as if to say, "No you ain't dreaming, girl" "Can I touch you?" I touched his face before he could respond. It was silky smooth. He smiled and held my hands tightly. "I am here. Okay?" he said. His breath warmed the nape of my neck as I embraced him tightly. "Where have you been? Why have you left me alone?" "It's a long story but I'll cut it short. I was held back from coming. My parents held me back. The war did too, and I missed you sore", he stopped to see my reaction, "I couldn't ignore your cries today. I had to come despite their instructions not to. I'll bear my punishment later" he explained, rubbing my long dark hair affectionately. I wanted to hold him and kiss him, the way mom kissed me on the cheeks everytime. The way Mike Tony did to make me feel loved. "Can't you stay here? Do you have to go back?" "Yes, I have to,' he said, ''But I'll stay with you a while" he promised. Silence. Suddenly, all we had in mind to say was communicated through silence. "I'm sorry" he broke the silence minutes later. "Huh" I muttered, preventing him from disengaging the tight hug. "I'm sorry. For not coming when you called" he said remorsefully, holding on to me. "I was getting rid of some weeds in the way" he said figuratively. I knew that he was talking about the vampires and elves and whatnots, the ones who he had been warring against in the contention. "I have many questions to ask you" I said. He pulled my hands and walked me towards an enclosure. I was familiar with this place. It was Joe's graveyard. I needed to ask him a whole lot of questions and he looked like he was ready to answer them all. We soon got to the epitaph and we both sat on it, with his hands placed on my shoulder. I didn't ask him but I knew that, that was where Joe's body used to lay, at least before it decomposed. "Do you remember Joe?" He asked softly. "I can never forget him" I replied, sighing. "I miss him so much". I said rubbing the epitaph with the Blue Wolf sign on it. 'He used to be here' I thought. I wonder where he is now. What better place did he talk about? "Even though he bullied you?" He asked softly. He thought I'd break down, so he rubbed my fingers and blew some air on my cheeks. My cheeks flushed with a mixture of feelings. "That's in the past. I don't want to remember that anymore" I said to him, and I did mean it. "So, if you saw him again, you would embrace him and treat him well?" I stared at him in disbelief. Was he planning to bring him back to life for me? Was that even possible? "Are you resurrecting him, Robin?" "No. I'm only asking. He can't come back. He's gone." he said and it hurt me too much. My tiny ray of hope got dashed. All of a sudden, he jabbed me on my shoulder with his clenched fist, and said, with his voice echoing back , "Why don't you ever listen to me? Aren't you scared of losing your life?" His face was expressionless. So I could not tell if he was really upset. "What are you talking about?" I winced in pain. Where he had jabbed me hurt only for a minute but I pretended it was still hurting, so he could hold me and be sweet one more time. I forgot he could read my mind "How many times will I repeat my instructions before they stick in your brain?" He hit me again. Ouch. I moved away from him but he inched closer. "Look, My Lady, don't ever go after someone just because they sound like me or look like me. It is never me, okay? If it is me, you will not have doubts in your heart. Your instincts will lead you on. Even if it appears very real, and your instincts give you a go-ahead, if I didn't inform you beforehand, don't go for it. Is that hard to take in?" He hit me again, this time more violently than before. Instead of getting mad or moving away, I smiled. It was hurting but I didn't show it. Because he called me "My Lady". I thought it meant that I had some hope. Of returning to the castle and probably living there with him forever. Sometime in the future.