White Water, White Bloom- Ch. 1
Esca guesses that he had always had the Sight- surely it must be something you’re born with, not something you develop- but he really hadn’t noticed that it made him different in any way until he was four. He had thought that everyone must have their own little friends who both helped with chores and got them into trouble from time to time. He had never been given any evidence otherwise- up until then the adults in his life had indulged his fanciful tales of the many creatures that populated his world and made a show of trying to participate in their activities, even if they never really quite understood. But today was different, today his parents were preparing him for the reality of schoolwork and responsibility, and his so called ‘imaginary friends’ were the first thing to go. Well, that and his compulsion to taste nearly everything new and strange that he came upon.
His parents never discouraged fairy tales in general and his father had always shared stories of heroes from the past, courageous men that answered the call when they were needed, with him and though Esca loved them more than any of the others he’d been told, he didn’t quite feel comfortable when that love was manipulated to try and drive his friends away. His father told him it was time to grow up, to be a man, and leave those childish imaginings behind. Esca didn’t understand why he couldn’t be and honorable man and continue to keep the company of the elusive little people only he could see.
He crossed his arms and stared determinedly at the floor, ignoring the little bearded man with green skin and an engorged belly that was trying to grab his attention by making tiny daisies grow out of the furniture. He’d tried to get his parents to understand, he’d explained how he didn’t care what anyone else thought, he already had all the company he’d ever need. Even in the face of ice cream bribery, he remained adamant, scowling darkly and waiting for the lecture to just end already. Thinking he’d really teach them a lesson for treating him so, he ran up to his room afterwards and resigned himself to stay up there all day, being joined by the bearded man and a spidery thing with many eyes that burbled when its mouth opened and ate the little plants that began dotting his bedspread contentedly.
He waited and waited up there- long past the time when light no longer streamed through his window- but his family never again walked through the door.
~~~
The fabric of his suit jacket itched and the way his hair was parted and gelled made his head feel lopsided. All the family he hadn’t seen in a long time were seated around him and kept apologizing to him incessantly. He didn’t fully understand why yet and he just wanted to go back home. A different set of fae had begun to surround him since the morning his Gran had come over and held him, weeping. They followed the sound of her wailing and made him uncomfortable- so unlike the spritely companions he was used to. Some of them had wicked grins with intimidating teeth, while others stared at him with long faces and whispered to him in an ethereal language that reminded him of cold rivers and lamenting breezes.
He’d never spent much time with his Gran before, but ever since she’d taken up in his parents’ room, he’d clung to her skirts and waited for everyone to just leave him alone. He didn’t like the pressing swell of attention, never had. He didn’t know why he couldn’t find his old friends, his relatives smelled foreign and unpleasant, and his lack of understanding combined with the fact that no one would say anything but “I’m sorry.” had frustrated tears gathering at his eyes. The man in robes standing at the front of the room had told him his parents were lying in the coffins at his sides and he wanted to just open the lids, wake them up, and go home.
He tried to be good and patient, tried to occupy himself with dry cake and overly cheesy potatoes when they moved into a larger hall, everyone congregating and sharing memories, but he couldn’t keep himself from glaring at anyone who tried to steal him from his firmly rooted position at his grandmother’s legs. She had become calm and quiet after that first night, and unlike everyone else the malignant looking fae seemed to keep their distance from her. She’d thankfully begun to run her fingers through his hair absentmindedly, breaking apart the careful stylization, and he found it somehow more soothing than any of the other gestures he had received today. He leaned into the touch and buried his face against her leg, thinking the other kids would make fun of the way he needed her so in this moment.
~~~
It had taken two weeks to pack up the past and move into the small cottage his Gran lived in. Esca found he rather liked the idea of moving to the country- watching as vast open fields, small groves of trees, and sleepy rivers rolled by. There were so many things he could do in the country that hadn’t been allowed in the crowded streets of the city and he was a somewhat rambunctious child. Even if his new room was cold and the window faced the wrong way and the wind chimes on his Gran’s porch continued to keep him up, he was excited to find new adventures. The sheets were soft, his Gran made tea and biscuits twice a day, and though the bearded man never came back the mournful fae had moved on, replaced by new friends.
~~~
The Maven Lady, as she informed Esca she must be called, had been insistent that today after school he had to tell his Gran about the fae. He had been able to keep them his secret for seven years- a private escape from the cruel children who mocked him, the adults who scolded him and didn’t understand, and the strange cloying he felt when he remembered the time before. He pouted and shook his head at her, picking at the grass beneath his feet on the playground. He wanted to dance with the winged fae he could see hiding in the copse of trees just beyond the fence, but for some reason the People all gave The Maven Lady a wide berth and as such he knew to pay her the same respect he held for very few people in his life. Esca did find her rather pleasant, her face kind, her words wise, and her ability to change form infinitely fascinating (plus she had given him a name, something he usually had to work for if he got one at all) and though he trusted her, this was an idea he didn’t like.
But she had been asking for days now, and this time she made sure to clarify that it was no longer a request. She tried to assuage his frayed nerves, combing through his hair just like his Gran so often did when he came home with a scraped knee or bruised pride. Right now she held the shape of a young woman, black hair flowing in a breeze that didn’t exist on this plane. For all intents and purposes she would have looked like a normal human to anyone gifted enough to see her, but when her palm brushed the heavy iron of the necklace his Gran had given him, she hissed and drew back.
Esca looked over at her, a question clear in his face, but she just shook her head and once again told him to ask about the Fae. With a reassuring smile she stood, and in an inky swirl became a set of ravens that flew away in the same direction.
~~~
After his parents’ death, there hadn’t been many things that surprised Esca, but when his Gran merely smiled at him fondly and said, “I know dear.” in reply to his blurted confession, surprised was the only thing that could possibly describe his feelings. She laughed openly at his stunned silence- the expression exaggerating the wrinkles around her eyes and mouth. Rising calmly, she put the kettle on to boil while he tried to regain his composure, and fetched a small, leather bound book from a hidden compartment in the cutlery drawer.
Ruffling his hair and tutting lightly when he tried to pull away, she sat close by him and began unwinding the tie that kept the overstuffed book shut. When the cover fell open it revealed pages and pages of pencil sketches and hasty scrawl inked all around the edges. Some of the papers were yellowed and worn, others nearly fresh, but all of them detailed the creatures he had been cataloguing all these years in the safe confines of his mind. “You have much to learn child.”
His parents never discouraged fairy tales in general and his father had always shared stories of heroes from the past, courageous men that answered the call when they were needed, with him and though Esca loved them more than any of the others he’d been told, he didn’t quite feel comfortable when that love was manipulated to try and drive his friends away. His father told him it was time to grow up, to be a man, and leave those childish imaginings behind. Esca didn’t understand why he couldn’t be and honorable man and continue to keep the company of the elusive little people only he could see.
He crossed his arms and stared determinedly at the floor, ignoring the little bearded man with green skin and an engorged belly that was trying to grab his attention by making tiny daisies grow out of the furniture. He’d tried to get his parents to understand, he’d explained how he didn’t care what anyone else thought, he already had all the company he’d ever need. Even in the face of ice cream bribery, he remained adamant, scowling darkly and waiting for the lecture to just end already. Thinking he’d really teach them a lesson for treating him so, he ran up to his room afterwards and resigned himself to stay up there all day, being joined by the bearded man and a spidery thing with many eyes that burbled when its mouth opened and ate the little plants that began dotting his bedspread contentedly.
He waited and waited up there- long past the time when light no longer streamed through his window- but his family never again walked through the door.
~~~
The fabric of his suit jacket itched and the way his hair was parted and gelled made his head feel lopsided. All the family he hadn’t seen in a long time were seated around him and kept apologizing to him incessantly. He didn’t fully understand why yet and he just wanted to go back home. A different set of fae had begun to surround him since the morning his Gran had come over and held him, weeping. They followed the sound of her wailing and made him uncomfortable- so unlike the spritely companions he was used to. Some of them had wicked grins with intimidating teeth, while others stared at him with long faces and whispered to him in an ethereal language that reminded him of cold rivers and lamenting breezes.
He’d never spent much time with his Gran before, but ever since she’d taken up in his parents’ room, he’d clung to her skirts and waited for everyone to just leave him alone. He didn’t like the pressing swell of attention, never had. He didn’t know why he couldn’t find his old friends, his relatives smelled foreign and unpleasant, and his lack of understanding combined with the fact that no one would say anything but “I’m sorry.” had frustrated tears gathering at his eyes. The man in robes standing at the front of the room had told him his parents were lying in the coffins at his sides and he wanted to just open the lids, wake them up, and go home.
He tried to be good and patient, tried to occupy himself with dry cake and overly cheesy potatoes when they moved into a larger hall, everyone congregating and sharing memories, but he couldn’t keep himself from glaring at anyone who tried to steal him from his firmly rooted position at his grandmother’s legs. She had become calm and quiet after that first night, and unlike everyone else the malignant looking fae seemed to keep their distance from her. She’d thankfully begun to run her fingers through his hair absentmindedly, breaking apart the careful stylization, and he found it somehow more soothing than any of the other gestures he had received today. He leaned into the touch and buried his face against her leg, thinking the other kids would make fun of the way he needed her so in this moment.
~~~
It had taken two weeks to pack up the past and move into the small cottage his Gran lived in. Esca found he rather liked the idea of moving to the country- watching as vast open fields, small groves of trees, and sleepy rivers rolled by. There were so many things he could do in the country that hadn’t been allowed in the crowded streets of the city and he was a somewhat rambunctious child. Even if his new room was cold and the window faced the wrong way and the wind chimes on his Gran’s porch continued to keep him up, he was excited to find new adventures. The sheets were soft, his Gran made tea and biscuits twice a day, and though the bearded man never came back the mournful fae had moved on, replaced by new friends.
~~~
The Maven Lady, as she informed Esca she must be called, had been insistent that today after school he had to tell his Gran about the fae. He had been able to keep them his secret for seven years- a private escape from the cruel children who mocked him, the adults who scolded him and didn’t understand, and the strange cloying he felt when he remembered the time before. He pouted and shook his head at her, picking at the grass beneath his feet on the playground. He wanted to dance with the winged fae he could see hiding in the copse of trees just beyond the fence, but for some reason the People all gave The Maven Lady a wide berth and as such he knew to pay her the same respect he held for very few people in his life. Esca did find her rather pleasant, her face kind, her words wise, and her ability to change form infinitely fascinating (plus she had given him a name, something he usually had to work for if he got one at all) and though he trusted her, this was an idea he didn’t like.
But she had been asking for days now, and this time she made sure to clarify that it was no longer a request. She tried to assuage his frayed nerves, combing through his hair just like his Gran so often did when he came home with a scraped knee or bruised pride. Right now she held the shape of a young woman, black hair flowing in a breeze that didn’t exist on this plane. For all intents and purposes she would have looked like a normal human to anyone gifted enough to see her, but when her palm brushed the heavy iron of the necklace his Gran had given him, she hissed and drew back.
Esca looked over at her, a question clear in his face, but she just shook her head and once again told him to ask about the Fae. With a reassuring smile she stood, and in an inky swirl became a set of ravens that flew away in the same direction.
~~~
After his parents’ death, there hadn’t been many things that surprised Esca, but when his Gran merely smiled at him fondly and said, “I know dear.” in reply to his blurted confession, surprised was the only thing that could possibly describe his feelings. She laughed openly at his stunned silence- the expression exaggerating the wrinkles around her eyes and mouth. Rising calmly, she put the kettle on to boil while he tried to regain his composure, and fetched a small, leather bound book from a hidden compartment in the cutlery drawer.
Ruffling his hair and tutting lightly when he tried to pull away, she sat close by him and began unwinding the tie that kept the overstuffed book shut. When the cover fell open it revealed pages and pages of pencil sketches and hasty scrawl inked all around the edges. Some of the papers were yellowed and worn, others nearly fresh, but all of them detailed the creatures he had been cataloguing all these years in the safe confines of his mind. “You have much to learn child.”