I woke startled in a white room, with white marbled pillars holding up wide arches, on a bed made of goose down, buoyed by pillows that comforted me in very intimate places on my body. On the table beside the bed there was a sketch pad, the edges of the ivory pages were gilded with gold. Appropriately enough there was a sketch, beautiful rendered on the open book. The sketch seemed like it was completely finished work of art. It was a lush island of mountains, trees and rivers that formed rushing waterfalls, floating in the sky surrounded by white floofy clouds. Circling the mountains there was a series of squiggles that obviously resembled birds on the wing. Above the sketch in beautiful calligraphy were a series of numbers followed by the words, LaMarque en Lafluie. I vaguely remember those unfamiliar words from a memory of when I met a boy.

I was twelve years old when my family moved into a new town. I was depressed because I had to leave my friends behind, and was overwhelmed by where to cram all my crap into the smaller room that I now had to occupy. I had been a brat all day and finally my mom had insisted despite my protests that I was too old to go visit the playground in the city park down a few blocks from our new house. I reluctantly agreed and sulked down the road to the park.

The sidewalk circled around the bandstand and into a wooded area. On the other side of the woods the sidewalk continued into a clearing, a playground nestled into a valley surrounded by trees. There among all the swings, slides, and see-saws was a balance beam elevated about 7 inches off the ground. On the beam, his back to me was a boy, maybe a year older, walking along. He was dressed strangely, all clad in green velvet, almost like Peter Pan, an elf of a boy. He swiftly turned, his shoulder length brown hair blowing around his face. I drank in and drowned in his dark blue eyes, they seemed almost a glow! He saw into my soul. He was the most beautiful boy I had ever seen before or since.

He smiled at me. First shyly, then more confidently. I smiled back, biting my lower lip and brushing my hair behind an ear. He walked silently, towards me. I swear it looked like his feet never touched the ground. “Your name is Gabrielle, no?” He questioned. My brow furrowed, “Yes, but how do you know?” “I have been waiting for you, for the Sages have told me your name, and that we were destined by the fates to meet here.” Oh, my god, his eyes! I thought. I wanted to rush into him and kiss him! He gently, lovingly reached out, touching his worn rough hands to my soft ones. He led me to sit on a swing, in silence. In perfect silence we sat, knowing we were perfectly made for each other. I don’t know how long we sat there like that, when you are in the moment everything either seems to speed way the hell up or slow completely to a halt, but I knew with no exaggeration that it was at least 30 minutes.

Screeching pierced the air. He looked around, terrified. He brushed my face longingly, “The Screechers, they approach. They must not find you, they must not find us! Gabrielle, my love, our time together is not now, but will be in time. Just know that I love you now and forever and long to meet you at LaMarque en LaFluie! For now, I must go! When the time is right, you will search for that place and find me there and we will be together.” He started to run away from me and the sidewalk. He ran towards the woods. His body started to vanish as if he was running into a fog. He turned, and I could see right through him, his ghostly image. He put his fingers to his lips, and then waved them in the air, waving, then he vanished for good. I searched the area, looking to see where he had gone, but he left no trace, no footprints, yet I could see my own footprints everywhere I had walked with him in the playground clearing. I never told anyone of that experience, but always treasured it and pondered it in my heart.

…Now, here I was on this unfamiliar white room with a sketch of an island in the sky with those words he had said to me so long ago… “search for LaMarque en LaFluie and we will be there together.”