Fae in America

When Eherwin kissed her, Aurora was lost in the moment. Lost in the feeling of their lips pressed together.

When she thought back on it, she was astonished that she didn't panic. There are so many aspects of a kiss that one could over think. How long should it last? Should she be moving her lips, or just pressing them together?

These questions and more had plagued the woman in the past, but not this time. This time Aurora just.... let it happen.

As the two pulled apart, she could tell that the tall elven man was judging her reaction. Looking at her for some clue as to how his taking this action had gone over. In this way Aurora's natural reaction was actually helpful for once, as her face going a little red and looking away somewhat flustered made it quite clear how she felt.

"As I said..." Explained Eherwin. "If we were back with my people, it would be considered far too forward to even attempt such a thing without asking first. So I hope I...."

He then stopped, obviously thinking about his words.

"I remember hearing someone use the phrase.... read that right. Meaning, did I understand correctly that you were... interested?" He said after a moment.

"Yes." Aurora answered, somewhat unintentionally to both questions. "If you wanted to ask, did you read that right? That would be correct."

Eherwin gave a satisfied nod. "I had heard it, I think, a few times in a movie. So I wasn't sure."

Before she realized it, the two of them were walking through the park again, hand in hand.

"I almost forgot." Aurora spoke up. "You were going to tell me a story."

Eherwin responded with a look of confusion.

"An elven story." She clarified. "When we had time."

"Ahhh." The elf said in understanding. "I did say that yes. Hmmm, I confess I had not thought of one ahead of time."

As they walked Eherwin had his hand on his chin in thought, considering what story to tell. Then he gave a pleased little smile as he came to a decision.

"Okay.... listen then, if you will...." He told her.

*****

There was once a boy. When this boy grew up to be old enough, he realized that something was missing from his heart. Other people had it, but he clearly did not.

So, the boy set out to travel, hoping to find that missing piece of his heart. His friends and family wished him luck, for they too knew that the boy was missing something.

He traveled far, going west to where the cliffs went right up to the oceans. He met people, ate their food, and learned to dance with them.

He traveled south, where the forests were wet and hot. There he made music. There he found faith.

He traveled north, where the trees are tall and the snow deep. It was there that he told stories, especially his own.

Still, in all his travels, with all he learned, the piece of his heart was still missing. He consulted with elders, with those considered wise and powerful.

No matter what insight they offered, no matter what he tried to fit into that missing piece, his heart remained unwhole.

It was not a friend or a lover that ended up guiding him. It was not someone who he sought out for guidance, but a rival, an enemy.

This enemy mocked him for not realizing the truth. That the boy had spent years searching for the missing piece of his heart, but had no idea what that hole was. He had simply put things into that place to see if they fit.

If he had taken the time to better learn his own heart, he might have found that missing piece where he had called home.

The boy didn't even know if what he was seeking for now was the same missing piece he had been looking for to start with, since he never knew what shape it was to begin with.

So the boy did the hardest thing he had ever done and thanked his enemy, for his mocking barbs had led him to the truth he was too blind to see.

*****

At some point the two of them, Aurora and Eherwin, had sat down on a park bench.

"That's the whole story?" Aurora asked.

To which the elf simply smiled and nodded.

"It's..... a cautionary tale?" She said.

"We do tell it to the young, to try and teach them, if that is what you mean." Said Eherwin. "But like many elven stories, the deeper meaning is left up to interpretation."

Now it was Aurora who was nodding. "So, the boy could be looking for anything. Maybe some people think he is looking for love. But others might think the boy is looking for his purpose in life, his calling."

"Just so." He said, smiling.

There was a quiet moment between the two then, as they sat together.

"Are all elven stories like that?" Aurora asked him.

"No. As I have said, our people are often just as diverse as your own. So our stories are just as varied."

"I guess that makes sense. Like, you have plays instead of movies, right?"

To that Eherwin nodded in confirmation, so Aurora continued:

"Do you have plays that are like ours then? Where characters actually speak and act?"

Again the elf nodded. "Yes. Although I haven't seen any of your plays in person, only on my television."

Aurora didn't realize it, but she tilted her head at that.

"Did I say something wrong?" Eherwin asked her, seeing that tilt.

"Oh, no." She quickly responded. "I just....."

Now it was Aurora who was stopping to carefully consider her words, consider how best to say something.

"Do you want me to correct you, if youdosay something incorrectly?" She asked.

"Yes, please." Eherwin said to her, almost like he was happy she was offering.

"Okay, I just didn't want to upset you, or make you feel... self conscious about it." Aurora explained.

Still smiling, Eherwin held up his index finger in an obvious, attention getting manner.

"Back home, if we want to correct a language mistake, we make this gesture to someone who is learning."

Aurora held her own finger up to show she understood, then said:

"You said you had seen human plays onyourtelevision, but it would sound better if you saidthetelevision."

She was quite happy with how Eherwin responded to this. It became clear that, obviously, the elven manlikedbeing corrected. Helikedlearning new languages, and wanted to use them correctly.

Which caused a curious thought to go through Aurora's mind.

"Did you start watching our movies only once you had a good grasp of the language?" She asked, already suspecting the opposite.

"No." Said Eherwin. "Even when I spoke almost none of your language I watched them. They were both entertainingandhelpful, even with my limited understanding."

"So you have seen quite a few already? Do you have any favorites?"

That apparently was a serious question, as the elf didn't have an immediate answer.

"I'm not sure. I would say there are two different types of movies that I find most entertaining which are... opposites? Very different?" He told her.

Aurora could already tell when he was looking for input on his English. "Opposites sounds right, what types?"

"The first are your war movies. Like I said, when we elves tell stories about our real wars, they are not meant to be dramatic. But while an elf would use a fictional war to tell a tale, human movies blur the line. Having fictional characters fight in real wars."

"You mentioned something about that, yeah." She responded.

The elf nodded. "I very much liked watching Lawrence of Arabia. Also a movie called All Quiet on the Western Front."

"And the other kind?" Aurora asked.

"Human romance movies." He said simply.

"Yeah, those are pretty opposite types." She responded as the two shared a smile and a laugh.

The two took a while to discuss some of the movies that Eherwin had seen and why he enjoyed them. The elf openly admitted that he always had a fascination for how other races viewed romance. He was of course smart enough to understand that they were still just movies, that reality was often different, more complicated.

"There is an elven story, not unlike your Romeo and Juliet." Said Eherwin.

"Oh? Like a tragedy?"

"Yes, but I was thinking more about how they start. In your Romeo and Juilet, they fall in love at sight. We have a story of a young elf woman falling in love with a young man from his singing voice, before she even saw him."

"We of course know such things are true only in stories." Continued Eherwin. "That one of the real reasons love is so special is because it deepens, that it can become stronger over time.

Eherwin had said this mostly to comment on how stories, and movies are obvious simplifications. But for Aurora, all it did was get her thinking about what differences there might be in the elven and human concepts of love.

Not wanting to ask him directly about it, she instead asked more about what other romance movies he had seen. Aurora was surprised to learn that Eherwin had seen Annie Hall, and she had to wonder how much his vision of human dating had been skewed by Woody Allen.

Aurora however found herself most surprised when Eherwin said:

"Your movies of course help in learning English, but not as much as television."

"Really?" She asked.

"Yes. Have you seen the show called Sesame Street? It is amazing." Replied the elf.

Aurora had to stop herself from laughing at the earnest way he had said this.

"I wish I had something like Sesame Street for the other languages I have learned." He continued.

That helped put the whole thing into perspective. It wasn't a little kids show to the elf, it was educational. It was only a few months ago that he was still learning words that started with R.

"I guess they really don't make movies like that, do they?" Aurora wondered aloud.

Together the two of them talked. They talked for so long that they both grew hungry as the time slipped away.

"Should we get something to eat? Or do you need to head home?" Eherwin asked her.

"Oh, I could eat something for sure." She answered honestly. "What did you have in mind?"

"I want to keep trying human fast food." Replied the elf.

Eherwin had of course seen such food and restaurants in movies and on TV. It was one of the earliest specialty foods he had wanted to try. But he openly admitted that his experience with them so far had been disappointing. That said, he was hoping to find one he liked.

"What do you think?" Aurora asked him about an hour later.

"I think I may just not like hamburgers." He responded, putting his back in the bag.

"Well, it sounds like you have tried several different chains already, so I think you can scratch that off." She said.

"Scratch that off?" He repeated in confusion.

"Like taking it off your list of things to try." She clarified.

"Ah, that makes sense." Said Eherwin.

Getting food from a drive thru was a distinctly American experience, and the elf certainly benefited from not having to appear in public to get it. So he was willing to continue trying for that reason alone.

That meant however that the two had shared a meal essentially on the drive to take Aurora home, dropping her off at her apartment.

This time however she remembered.

"Will you walk me to my door?" She asked while Eherwin took her hand, helping her out of the car.

"Of course, it would be my pleasure." He said, never letting go of her hand.

"I had fun." Aurora said as they walked together.

"As did I." He responded.

"Should... we do it again?" She stuttered, quickly adding:

"I mean, we should go out again, sometime."

Eherwin smiled that special little smile. "I would like that. Should I call you?"

"Yes." She said, trying desperately not to add a please onto that.

Then the two of them had a moment. It was the moment where they probably would have kissed again, a kiss goodnight. But the two black wearing agents wereright there, so it didn't feel right. Instead Aurora and Eherwin instead simply bowed at each other in a similar manner.

"Until next time." He said, both his words and his eyes a promise.

*****

All Aurora was doing was pouring a cup of coffee for a customer, the same thing she did a hundred times each day at work.

But today, along with Steph she was working with Jenna, and it was Jenna who said:

"Oooh, yeah, you got it bad girl."

"Huh, wha?" Aurora responded in confusion.

Jenna didn't respond to her, instead turned to Steph. "You were right, you can see it. She can't stop thinking about him."

"What are you talking about?" Aurora asked, wanting to deny that.

Steph took the cup of coffee away to serve the customer, so Jenna and Aurora could talk. It was Jenna who went on to explain how they could tell that Aurora was distracted, that she had changed.

"I.... have dated guys before." Protested Aurora.

"Mmm hmmm, but this one is different. And I don't just mean he is an elf." Responded Jenna.

Which went right to the heart of matters for Aurora, what shehadbeen thinking of. How much of her waiting and wanting for Eherwrin to call was unusual? She couldn't deny to herself that shehadspent so much time thinking about him, more than she had anyone else.

But how much of that was just every day fascination? He was likely the most unique person she would meet in her life, just because he was an elf. Sure, she wanted to see him again, to talk to him.

But what if he wasn't a 700 year old elven man? What if Eherwin was a teenage elven girl, wouldn't she still want to see them? To talk to them? What was the difference?

Aurora could deny it all she wanted though. She knew what the difference was. That so much of that time spent looking forward to seeing Eherwin again was wondering if they were going to kiss again.

Of course none of this she said to her coworkers, or to her roommate Brittany. To them she simply either denied any accusations they laid at her feet, or ignored them in silence. Which of course, caused them to believe those accusations all the more strongly.

There however was one person Aurora knew who she activelywantedto talk about this whole mess with.

It was the woman who she went to meet up with after her shift at work, Mary.

Mary had the unfortunate distinction of being named Marilyn and from the state of Maryland. So starting in high school she had started going by Mary instead.

That was when Aurora had first met her, freshman year. By the end of high school the two were close friends. Mary was one of the big reasons that Aurora had moved out to Baltimore, following after her.

Because while Aurora could say that she had several friends, the reality was that she had Mary. AndMarywas the one that had a bunch of friends, who by association became friends with Aurora.

That day however Aurora was glad it was going to be just the two of them. It gave her an excuse to talk to her about all they normally talked about, to pretend for a moment that Eherwin didn't exist.

Mary of course talked all about her job. She was still going to law school, but had already gotten a job as a legal secretary. But when she talked about her job it was never about the law, and all about office drama.

Aurora was always happy to be her audience for that.

"But enough about me." Said Mary. "What is new in your life?"

She had been expecting this, and Aurora had a plan.

"I started seeing a guy." Was her initial response.

"Oh?"

Aurora nodded. "It is pretty recent, but we have been on three dates already."

"And it is going good?" Mary asked in response.

Again Aurora nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, I have to ask.... he isn't like Donald, right?"

Mary had made it known how much she personally disliked the last guy Aurora had dated, Donald. She was quite happy when the two of them had stopped seeing each other.

Aurora did her best to assure her friend that this was not going to be another Donald. But at the same time, she intentionally avoided telling Mary the truth about Eherwin. She made it sound like he was, aside from being exceedingly polite, just another guy.

This was because Aurora desperately wanted Mary to be someone she could talk to like this. Someone that was just a friend giving relationship advice, as if itwerejust another guy she was dating.

"When do I get to meet him?" Mary asked.

To that Aurora shook her head, already knowing what she would say. "It is too early for that. Let me make sure this is a real thing first.... and...."

Mary gave her a knowing smile. "If things go bad, it helps if he hasn't met all your friends already.

Her old friend was more right with that assessment than she could possibly know.

*****

"It is hard to tell jokes in other languages." Eherwin said, with a knife and fork in his hands.

Him and Aurora were out on another date, this time at a place she found that specifically had veal as a menu item.

"Yeah, I guess a lot of the jokes I know are puns, and they don't exactly translate." Aurora said in response.

"It is not only that," said the elf. "But also a matter of context. Like here, let me try one on you."

Eherwin cleared his throat before saying:

"Lady Mormil asked her servant if she had seen her daughter. The servant replied that she had seen her at the flower shop. Lady Mormil said fine, I will ask someone else."

There was a long pause, indicating the joke was over.

"Yeah I don't get it." Admitted the human woman.

"The joke only works if you know who Lady Mormil is, and even then, I think you would have to be an elf toreallyget it." Explained Eherwin. "Too many jokes, in our languagesandyours, are like that to translate properly."

Aurora nodded along in acceptance at that.

"How is your meal?" She asked, waiting for him to finish a bite.

"Good." He responded. "I can taste the difference from the deer meat back home, but I can say I definitely enjoy this more than I do hamburger meat."

"Well, you strike me as the kind of person that wants to try a ton of different foods, rather than have a few favorites you eat over and over." She said.

Eherwin held up his finger, indicating a language question.

"Ton? Try a ton?"

"Oh, it means a lot, a large amount. Literally it means.... I don't know actually how many pounds. But the car your agents drive you around in is probably over a ton, maybe more." Aurora answered.

"Ah. But yes, I do like trying different foods. It has been one of the pleasures of visiting your people." Said the elf.

"I am getting better at it myself. " She responded. "When I was younger I only wanted hotdogs and sandwiches."

Eherwin smiled a humorous smile. "Yes, I think that trait is common amongst the children of all races. I know my son was certainly picky when he was younger."

Aurora froze, with her fork hanging in the air in front of her.

"You have a son?" She finally asked after a moment.

"Yes." Eherwin answered, just now realizing something was wrong.

"He... how old is he?" Aurora asked, fork still in the air.

"Oh, he is.... just over 300 years? He was born almost exactly on my first wedding anniversary." Said Eherwin.

In a different time, a different place, Aurora might have spent more time thinking about how this man had a son older than the United States. But that wasn't where her mind was focused on at that moment.

With a smile like a sigh, Eherwin reached out to touch the one hand Aurora still had on the table.

"I'm sorry, I sense I have made a mistake. Should I have told you about my son before we started dating? Or that I have been married? He said while gently holding her hand.

"I... guess I was just surprised. I didn't know you were married."

The elf nodded a somber nod. "Twice actually."

"But, you aren't married anymore?" She asked, finally lowering her fork.

"Well, elves have a different kind of divorce than you humans do. Or I should say, we have two different kinds of divorce."

He went on to explain in more detail that elven culture around marriages worked in a similar manner to human ones. But the kind of divorce that Aurora was familiar with wasn't common amongst elves. Mostly because elven couples would often live together for decades before getting married, so relationships that did sour often did so before a divorce was needed.