***~~~***
With the darkening sky, the temperature felt like it had dropped quite significantly since her walk back home from meeting Tom. Charlie was glad she brought her scarf along. It felt especially cold. The chill of the night made her nervous jitters feel more intense.
As she followed the familiar path along June Park, Charlie found Rowan sitting at the same bench where she had learned of his magic. The air was still and quiet and the sound of her feet disturbing the gravel path alerted Rowan of her presence. He stood up to meet her as she approached and appeared relieved that she had come.
“Thanks for coming,” said Rowan. “I was afraid you wouldn’t get my note.”
“Sorry for missing you when you came by,” said Charlie. “I was out with a friend. I only just found your letter before coming straight here. Your note sounded pretty serious. Is something wrong?”
Rowan ran his fingers through his hair and sighed deeply. He appeared to be struggling for words, unable to figure out how to come out and say whatever it was he wanted to say. But one look in those eyes, and Charlie knew. She saw the longing for rest, for his never-ending manhunt to end.
“You’re leaving… aren’t you?” she said.
Rowan breathed out, releasing all the tension in his chest and shoulders, as if relieved that Charlie was able to come out and say it for him.
“I’m tired, Charlie,” said Rowan. “Whenever I start to believe that I can finally slow down and relax, the Fae appears right back on my heels to take me back in.”
“I get it,” said Charlie, her eyes tearing up and holding back from outright crying. “You’ve got to move. This city just isn’t safe for you anymore.”
“Charlie…”
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to make this hard for you. I just hate that things had to turn out this way. I’ve never met anyone like you, and before we could allow things to get serious, you need to leave. Where are you going to go?”
“Well, that’s the thing,” said Rowan, pausing to take Charlie’s hands in his own and looking her in the eyes. “I want you to come with me.”
“What?” said Charlie, surprised. “But, where would we go? How would we survive without a job or a place to live?”
“That’s the other important thing I wanted to talk to you about. I’m going back to The Fae, Charlie, back to my home realm.”
The significance of what Rowan was telling her was slowly beginning to sink in. She had been right about his desire to move again, but what she hadn’t expected was that he wanted to leave Earth altogether and go back to his land of magic and wanted her to go with him. Time slowed down for her at that moment, and it was like every impossibility had suddenly become possible. Not only was it amazing that she recently discovered that fantastical beings existed, but she was now being offered an invitation to live within a world of pure magic.
It was a world that she had always dreamed of being part of.
“You want me to go live with you in The Fae?” asked Charlie, almost disbelieving. “But how is that possible? I’m only mortal. And doesn’t your King want you arrested?”
“I met with Roxy later last night to talk things over. I was able to strike a deal with her that I would stop running, but only under one condition. And that was if they’d allow for you to come with me. I realize this is a big decision because we’ve only known each other for a little while. But I know that we can learn to love each other and be happy. I’m drawn to you, Charlie. You’re not like other women. I ran from Faerie to distance myself from snobs and know-it-alls, only to be disappointed to find that earth is filled with them as well. But I must warn you that once you enter The Fae, you’ll never be allowed to return. You’ll be changed forever to live an immortal life like me. You’ll become a faerie.”
“So that’s the catch.”
Charlie hesitated. The thought of escaping this world and leaving all its troubles and sorrows behind sounded like an opportunity of a lifetime. There would be no more stupid questions about pickles, no more worrying about paying the rent, and never having to fear the prospect of death ever again. She would become a being of magic, like she always dreamed of. She wouldn’t have to fulfill the desire of being able to use magic through one of her online game characters ever again, because she would be just like Rowan and able to wield it herself.
But what of her humanity? What would become of it? Would she lose her identity and become something else? And what of her family and everything and everyone she’s ever known on earth? What of the smell of coffee in the morning and those late-night gaming sessions complimented by pizza deliveries? Would she be able to live an everlasting life without ever experiencing any of those things again?
Then Charlie thought of Tom’s sad face, and how that at this very moment she more than likely had nobody else but Rowan.
“I’ll go,” said Charlie. “There’s nothing left for me on earth. I want to go with you to The Fae.”
Rowan smiled, pulled Charlie into him and embraced her tightly. “I promise to take care of you.”
Charlie liked being held in his arms, the warmth of his body against her own, filling her with a sense of security and comfort. She responded with a soft squeeze of her own. Then, after a long moment of pressing her ear against his chest and enjoying the sound of his beating heart, she pulled away and regarded him again.
“Before we go, I think I should make some final preparations,” said Charlie, “which basically means saying goodbye to my parents, without them realizing what’s happening.”
“Tomorrow morning, when you’re ready, you can return here,” said Rowan. “Roxy will be ready to take us away into The Fae. And there’s no need to worry about trouble on the other side. The only thing that will happen to me is that I will be forbidden to return to this realm. You won’t need to bring anything with you. You’ll soon find that everything you ever dreamed of will be at your fingertips.”
Suddenly Charlie became overwhelmed with emotion. She was leaving. Soon, everything she had ever known will only become a part of her past and would live an everlasting life in the most beautiful place imaginable. Part her was overcome with excitement, but it still felt like a hard thing to do. Saying goodbye was never easy. Even if she felt like there wasn’t much to say goodbye to.
Charlie leaned into Rowan and kissed him deeply. Then, she left the park to bid her world farewell.