The Moon Kissed Girl

The outside world was unknown to her, but she could see a glimpse of it through the window in his room. I would like to say that I have shown her only the beauty of this world. She does not know that I watch her every night and that I am the one that casts the magic of light and illusions into the night sky. Every day when the sun sets, I ensure that I am here waiting. I wait for her pale moon-kissed face to pop into the window's frame. Her eyes are stripped of color, along with her hair. Her skin is pale, and in the light of my magic, she shimmers like the crystals within the caves just a few miles from here. She is moon kissed. Unable to walk in the sun. At least, that is what I am told. I am also told that she is dangerous. I don’t see how; she never leaves the Master’s house. She seems more trapped than dangerous—a bird in a cage with no way to spread the wings given to them at birth.

I crouch behind the large willow that grows about four feet from the second-story window. It's the middle of spring, so the tree is full of fresh green leaves and small white flowers breaking out of their buds. I just wish that I could help her do the same. I look around the large trunk and wait to see her beautiful face. She appears like clockwork. The sun sets and she appears in the window when the moon rises. Some nights she runs to it with a smile on her face; other nights, her face is pinched in anger, but tonight her cheeks are stained with tears. I long to reach out and brush them away from her face. She has been crying more often. I miss her smile.

I quickly look around to ensure no one is hidden in the forest. With the cost clear, I call upon my magic. I was ten when I was given the gift of light and illusion, and I have been mastering it for the past twelve years. She has been helping me though she will never know. She first saw my illusion when I was thirteen. I was practicing in the forest, creating an illusion of a deer. It got away from me, and I ran after it. That's when I saw her in the window. She smiled so big at my illusion all I could think of was making her smile every night. So for the past nine years, I have been practicing my illusions for her, and tonight will be my best one yet.

I take in a deep breath calling upon my magic. It steered to life like a sleeping beast. It purred and pulsed inside me, ready to be used. My fingertips tingled as light poured out of them. I cast my first illusion of a family of deer. They ran out of the willow leaves—they jumped and played with each other in the small garden of the manor. My fingers dance in the air as I control each of them. Then one by one, I merge them together to create an enormous dragon. Blue and gold light twirls around my fingers as I change the color of the dragon. The beast rears his head up in a silent roar. I control the beast to look into the eyes of the moon-kissed woman. Her eyes are now vibrant with the blues of my dragon. A smile starts to crack on her cheeks. The sorrow that was in her eyes slowly faded away.

I make my dragon blow purple fire at the window. I heard her laughter from my hidden position. It made me smile. I have my dragon breath fire again, only to change it to a swarm of butterflies. They are different shades of the sunset that occurred only hours ago. Deep oranges, softened yellows, midnight blues, and chaotic purple wings flew about the sky. The butterflies flew around my dragon, and I slowly let the illusion of the dragon fade into more butterflies. I used the butterflies as a distraction as I created my final illusion.

The butterflies shot up to the sky and exploded in various colors. When the colors shimmered out, my illusion of my mother and father dancing appeared. It's my favorite memory of them, and I want to share it with her. My mother is dressed in a white gown coated in soft feathers, while my father is dressed in a sky-blue suit. He twirled her around the dance floor, and her dress fans out. She throws her head back in laughter, and my father can't keep the smile off his face. They never leave each other's eyes as he leads across the dance floor in intricate spins, lifts, and dips. My parents were in love. That much is true. My brother may believe differently, but I know better.

Their dance ends with my father bowing to my mother, kissing her hand. My illusion even shows the flush of red my mom's cheeks get at the gesture. I look over at her, and she is crying. No, that is not what I wanted. I gaze at her face and see her body trembling with tears, but a smile spreads on her face. She presses her hand against the glass, and I press mine on the tree trunk. The dark shadow that comes after my shows appears in the window's corner. She slowly turns and leaves the window going dark. I slump back against the willow tree. I will save you.

I promise my moon kissed.