Once upon a time ...

~1 

Once upon a time there lived a little family on a very large farm. The farm was narrow and long. It was flat with tall grasses, sparce trees, wild flowers, and in the very back, many acres from the winding road where it rested, a shallow but active and sparkling creek. The waters, clear as crystal, shown with dazzling color from the smooth rocks below. The creek flowed into a pool from where, rounding back and with a sharp drop, the water fell and then smoothed out in the open pasture land. Tall trees hung over head, all trunk, strong and narrow, a burst of leaves high into the heavens at top, a mystical umbrella casting shade and flickers of golden light into the serene pool. 

About ten miles from the farm was a small town with quaint and lovely people, Sommerville. In the town was a square, about which a road made a circle round a lowered fountain, where children played in the summer. Then an old theater, an ice cream shop, antiques, more antiques, a sewing shop. Beyond that a few modern things, a lot with a farmers market where the other farmers sold their goods. Ideal was this town, in all ways.

Living on the farm of which we first spoke, were two old aunts and a mysterious little girl. The aunts were seen in town, busy and crafty, shopping with shrewd eyes, twisting narrowly toward the center of their faces pointed faces, which one would attach whiskers to if not that the old ladies were as clean and neat as the finest of people in town. Their clothes were always stiffly pressed, and clean, so clean, blacks of fine linen cloth and whites radiant as sun's rays. Their old fashioned attire went unnoticed in the region which had many Quakers and Amish. But one thing did occur to the people, that a visit from the aunts was rare. And a glimpse of the little girl was exceedingly rare, almost never was she seen, maybe once in a lifetime would anyone catch a glimpse of the fair child.

Over time, this made the little girl very sad. She wanted very much to be like other little girls who grew up and were married and had children like herself. She longed to fall in love and be kissed sweetly at the alter. She wanted to experience aging after her many years, to walk openly in public, to attend the social gatherings of the people, to be a woman and make baked goodies for Christmases, and throw parties and celebrate birthdays and anniversaries as she'd seen through warmly lit windows as she passed through the town unseen. Her own birthday was of no interest to her. How uninteresting to pass another year. Yes, she was under quite a spell. She never grew, she never aged. And as it was strange that the aunts would spook the town once in a while with their queer agelessness, old enough to be wasting away, but never finding the time to do so, they carefully guarded their secret. And their scrupulousness paid off, no one noticed them. Not a single soul.

That too was a kind of magic. The aunts had a vantage point. The pool behind the grasses and wild flowers beyond the bubbling creek was magic, and in a number of ways. It not only showed the crafty old aunts the towns delicate secrets, it gifted them with the opportunity to carefully surveille the whole of the town's people. The pool was like a magic mirror, it told secrets. It possessed a kind of magic which kept the old ladies and the girl the same age, in fact thriving, among other mystical things. It could cure disease, purify the tempted, and betray true love. This was the aunts' life work and entertainment. They watched over the townspeople as if by duty. That these two were goodly women never hurt but encouraged the flourishing environment in this tiny oasis, all against the backdrop of the surrounding world, the world outside of Sommerville.     

The little girl was almost a pet to her aunts. they'd received her from their brother after his wife had died. Her appearance was that of a little child, by means of her size. But her true age, and the wisdom that she had gathered over the three or four hundred years since they had her on the farm, made her an enigma. Her eyes clashed within the pretty little face of small delicate features. She possessed a powerful, discerning look about her. She was kept tucked away on the farm, allowed to roam among plants and animals, some who were also fed from the springs. She had a voluminous library, a small garden with greens, herbs and vegetables. She kept animals regularly on the farm, and she cared for their young. She was allowed at the spring whenever she wanted except on days and nights when the moon was full. Full moons were the times when the pond showed the aunts the townspeople, and the townspeople were better left out of the concern of the sometimes anxious little girl whose longing to be like other girls awakened with the memory of the lively town only miles away. 

One day, a few days after a full moon, the little girl, gathering flowers in the field, caught her aunt staring at her, her mouth agape. She who possessed no knowledge of the life outside, and with no secrets confided to her, found the look itself bore a revealing nature. Inside her stirred something she had never felt before. It was the promise of womanhood. She had glimpsed within herself something special, something new. She knew not why.

The first indication that her feeling was more than a fantasy was the day on which her aunt made her take her name. "From now on," she said, "we will call you Greta." Before that they called her pet names like dear, sweet, and darling. She knew this meant something special.

The next indication that something had changed was her aunt telling her that from now on, she would not cut her hair, but that it would grow until it was so long it could get caught on the breeze, and cover her back. The final indications that things were truly changing were that the girl no longer was allowed to visit the pool, not at all. She was also now allowed to visit the town, regularly. The aunts wanted her to attend church services each Sunday. They told her she must! They made her exquisitely fashioned dresses with lovely patterns and delicate details. And then, something extraordinary happened. She grew!

It was only a little bit in six months, and then after a year she had grown a whole half foot! Then slowly, just as if it were natural the whole time, she turned year after year toward womanhood. Each year she was more familiar with the town folk, each year she asked fewer questions as she received no answers. One Sunday when she looked the age and size of a 15-year-old, she sat beside a young man in church, a young man who she'd seen before, but had not noticed. They sat next to each other the whole time as she realized she knew him only by sight. He was very handsome. A bit older than her if she'd lived natural years. He was a very good-looking young man, she could not stop looking at the side of his face. He had dark brown, curly hair and brown shining eyes, was tall and lean with broad shoulders, and he was beautiful. In fact, Gabriel was as beautiful to behold as he was to know. Upstanding, with an air of confidence and honor, all the girls in town loved him with an aching heart, knowing that he had captured the attention of all of her girlfriends, her sisters, and girl cousins. It was kind of a given. His name was Gabriel, and his beauty almost angel-like. For Greta, that Sunday, it was love. 

Gabriel was eighteen, Greta learned from a friend. He was the mayor's son. He had traveled North, South, East and West. He was planning on leaving for college after summer. Greta, desperate with love, ran to the pond during the first full moon after this transpired, intent on finding a way to capture the heart of Gabriel. Smart girls are able to piece together simple puzzles, and Greta knew from early on that it was during the full moon that the time was right to visit the pond she had not seen in years, because it was here that she'd been forbidden to go when the moon was full. It was here she never went again when she started to grow. And it was here that the aunts went to visit the moonlight and send well wishes of love and blessing upon the townspeople. They'd said these things to her, once upon a time. 

The night was warm and the pool had specks of pure white moon light passing through the boughs over head, reflected in ripples from the breeze. Greta stood staring for a long time, and as her heart ache brought her before the quiet, restless pond, so she began to feel hopeless beside the water. The hopelessness of love seized her, and her heart felt as though it were beating inside an empty chest. She felt so empty and yet the beating of her heart was so loud within her, it struck like the seconds of a grandfather clock, one which foretold the future, that her love would be leaving her. And then suddenly, for the first time that she could remember, the sweet and magical girl began to cry tears of true despair. They grew large within her eyes and dropped like pearls upon the water. She fell to her knees and cried out in a quiet, desperate voice, "Oh God, please let my pain leave me." And then again out loud, "Oh how I love Gabriel!"

In an instant her pain drained away from her. And in the same moment the presence of her love filled her. She saw his eyes shine before her sight, and the pool answered, "It is true." Greta wiped her tears from her eyes and gathered her dress to kneel beside the pool. She leaned down to touch the water but it called out to her, "Do not touch! My magic cannot be used by you anymore, only your aunts can possess it now. You love your love, but your love has not noticed you. He sees you as a girl. So here is what you must do. You must wait two years for him, until then he will be gone away. When he comes back, you will again sit with him as you did before, in the church, in the same seat as when your heart felt love for him. On that day you will wear your hair down, brushed into smooth curls. You must where a fine ladies dress, fitted at the waist, and you must have pinched cheeks. When he sees you there, you will have your heart's desire."

At that Greta awoke as from a trance, and she sat staring into the quiet still pool again for a long time. The aunts were nearby, hiding near the brook.

~2

Two years did not pass swiftly by. Each day Greta agonized, wondering what the magical pool meant by telling her she would have her heart's desire. As the time passed, she worried that maybe it meant only that she would someday see her beloved again. Being quite normal now, she had the same reservations as other girls about the impossibility of being loved by Gabriel. She knew well that everyone loved Gabriel. In a year she had grown into a woman, and in another her beauty blossomed like a rose. Her hair was the color of sand and golden honey, streaks of brilliant blonde curling softly around her face. Her face was lovely, full and round, heart shaped, with full cheeks and a small, pouty mouth and a delicate nose. Her eyes were the colors of the sea, blue and green and sand. She looked as if magical goddess, but she was sweet and pure and completely free of all mystical things. Her heart and soul revolved around the church and the hope it held. 

And then one day it was announced that Gabriel was returning! She was so overcome she could not recall how she was to meet with him again? But as it was, everything fell naturally into order, and on the Sunday after he arrived, all gathered at the little church. She came that day and courageously made her way to the front pew where she had once realized that she truly loved him. Gabriel had just celebrated his 21st birthday. He gad graduated school. His family sat beside him, very proud of their son who had graduated from University now intent on becoming a doctor. 

The family sat as follows: his father sat near the center of the church at the end of the pew, followed by his mother, his two brothers and sister, then a young woman who Greta did not know, and then Gabriel himself beside Greta. Greta summoned all her nerve to join him and his family. As she was told, Greta had her long, beautiful hair brushed into pretty curls. She wore a pretty dress, white with tiny blue flowers, sewn neatly at her waist and bodice, tied with blue ribbon. When the service began, the preacher called out a greeting to Gabriel, and then to his fiancé! 

Poor Greta, nervous already beside him, felt her stomach turn. Her caught her breath, and she, nearly fainting, had to grab hold of the pew in front of her in order that she not fall. Her eyes filled with the same large tears from before, and at that moment a still small voice inside her told her not to worry, for this was all part of a plan meant just for her.

Kind Gabriel caught sight of the beautiful Greta as she fell weakly beside him. She could not look at him as he caught her falling. Tearfully, she pressed her eyelids together and then caught the pearl sized drops from her eyes upon her delicate fingers. Gabriel asked, bending to catch her gaze, if she was alright. She, weak with disbelief, looked into his eyes, exposing her heart. Her eyes, enflamed with the fire of passion, looked directly into his eyes as if to say, "But you are mine". Her beauty and suffering startled the young man, who had thought himself to be in love with another woman.

The woman, also very beautiful, peaked round to the small figure, steadied in the arms of her beau. She disregarded this incident, standing proud as the future wife of a handsome doctor. She only reached up to smooth the hair of her temples back. She did not see her beau as he realized his attraction to Greta, nor to the length at which she'd grasped his hand. Nor did she notice that he held her hand, too. This all happened in a very short time, but for Gabriel and Greta, it was an eternity. She did not notice after church the way the two exchanged glances like star-crossed lovers as they filed out of the church, or the way he was disturbed and breathless later at dinner, nor did she notice his sudden mood shift from his usual, convivial self to a self withdrawn and silent. She did however notice that he failed to say the things he always said before the night closed, how he loved her, and he didn't call her his pet the way he usually did, nor did she feel his kiss linger as they parted for bed. She, a perfectly wonderful girl, was amazed by this. What on earth could this mean? But she knew it had to be something to do with this visit to Sommerville.

~3

Oh, how sad for her! She was not a bad girl. No! On the contrary, she was very lovely. But that was to her benefit. We must not feel sorrow for her, her story too has a happy ending! Samantha, as her sweet name was, would one day be the apple of another fine man's eye.

But in the meantime, the story unfolded like a tragedy for her. At first it was a slight change in the appearance of her love's affection, followed by an incredible change in his countenance. He became distracted, peering over his shoulder around about town. He would look as though lost while they were out, standing frozen like a man caught in a net. He became so anxious she noticed how heavily he caught his breath, and when she would grab for his hand, he barely knew how to take hers. 

The afternoon they were to buy rings, only weeks after they made the town abuzz with news of their courtship and intent to marry, the couple was all smiles. Hand in hand they walked to the jewelry shop in town, conveniently sitting beside the theater, and as Samantha and Gabriel were walking into the jeweler's, out of the theater came Greta with a small group of girls. What a stroke of luck to see her there! What a surprise to look into her eyes! What beauty is this she possessed? What God had formed her into the creature before him, so filled with passion looking so deeply into him? Why did he feel compelled toward her as if she were the only thing he saw or could see? Why did he want to seize her, hold her, love her? This second "meeting" would not go unnoticed by Samantha as the first one had. Both Greta and Gabriel could not hide their excitement and passionate longing to see each other another time. It spilled out of them in embarrassed looks and fluttering emotions. It would have been something wildly different if they had not had so many witnesses to their longing for each other. Each had to cover over the whole affair, both failed to do so.

 The crowd who knew nothing about how they were ever acquainted could not account for this spectacle. They came up with solutions to the problem within themselves, 'who's aunts are strange', 'who's father is mayor', 'who's been gone a long time', 'who was now the prettiest girl in town'. No one thought it right that they should be in love. But they knew plenty about them.

Gabriel dismissed his feelings and attended to the fitting of the ring's with greater caution. He felt he'd lost his mind. He then chose his fiancé, concerned that he must do his duty by his future wife and forget the sweet and sincere look in beautiful Greta's eyes. What's more, he could not stomach the terrible awareness of their passion for each other. Being a sensible young man, he felt ashamed. He would not believe. He did believe, but would not. Samantha recognized his pitiful return to her with bitterness. She'd seen her fiancé exchanging loving looks with another woman. She thought he was keeping secrets about an old love! That night they sat together under the full moon beside the fountain, and Gabriel tried hard to recapture his lady's confidence, with little success. How the moon shone brightly! How the air was sweet. They sat like two doves in its light. He was at peace in spite of himself.  As they started to leave, he drew a penny from his pocket for her to make a wish. She carelessly plucked it from his hand, and cast it into the water. He asked her wish, "to be your love again." 

Beside the pool the aunt's went. The moon shone brighter than years before. Maybe a century had passed since the moon shone so bright. It seemed to emit its glow through the air. Greta quietly came to the place near the water where she could not be seen. She knew now that she had gotten her wish. Her Gabriel had seen her, and he had known her love for him. She desperately wanted to know the rest of the story, and crept to a hiding spot near the aunt's, watching for the first time their enchantment. They said nothing. They simply waited beside the pool, their moving lips soundless and silhouetted before the backdrop of the empty landscape. Greta felt relief and misery, all at the same time. She did not believe that anything more would come of her and Gabriel's interactions. She understood this very well. He was in love with another woman. They were to be married. But now at least he knew that she had loved him. She cried again. 

As her tears fell upon the ground she peered out toward the aunts who reached down to the water and stirred it into tiny whirlpools. As the water turned in swirls from their hands and moved to the center of the pool, the voice of the water rose up and spoke to them directly. "It concerns your Greta," the pool said. "She is to be married." Greta's heart sunk at the prospect. How could she marry another! Not now! How could she love anyone so much as Gabriel! She fell into a tree, sobbing. But the voice spoke again. "Your kindness for other's has done this town much good, indeed has even done good for this world. But what you should know is that the love by which you have guarded and blessed these of this town has bred a pure goodness that is enviable. It has been enviable to those who have passed through here, and enviable to your niece who longed to find love after living as a child these many years."

"Greta's heart waited so long for the love she would find in Gabriel. But before he could accept the gift of her perfect love, he had to know that she was the only one for him. The lasting love between them is my especial gift to Greta, the dear girl who heeded your warnings, behaved so beautifully here, and has blessed your lives up until now. Soon you will be blessed with her beloved children."

Greta fell kneeling to the ground, she fell to the earth as her hands felt the cool ground. She looked out from her hiding place with awe. Her eyes filled now with happy tears. The luster of the moon glowed radiant for a long time and grew fainter as she sat watching the aunts beside the water. As the moon began to fade, she gathered her strength and fled the scene. 

The next day as morning broke, Gabriel went to see Samantha at her room. He stood outside the door reflecting on the past week's events. He realized that although he felt he loved Samantha very much, something had transpired between him and the beautiful young girl who sat beside him that first Sunday he had come home. Perhaps God was testing him and his loyalty. Perhaps he was a weak man and had been overcome by the beauty of the damsel in distress. Perhaps. That was surely it. He knocked on Samantha's door. She came fully dressed, with hair made up and coat buttoned. Her bag was in her hand.

"What is this?!" Gabriel asked, shocked at the sight of her ready to leave so early in the morning. "Were you planning on telling me you were leaving?"

"I want to go home. I've already arranged a ticket." Samantha's face was decidedly solemn. 

"This ... makes no sense! Why would you leave so hastily? Was there not an understanding between us last night?" Gabriel was puzzled. His face betrayed his exasperation. "I demand you tell me why you chose to leave!"

""It is only because you are in love with that old love still, Gabriel. How can you love us both at once?!" Samantha's face remained plain and solemn. 

"What old love?" Gabriel shook his head a long time. He had realized then she'd seen he had feelings for Greta. And all he could say was, "I don't even know her name." 

"How could you not! This small town!"

"She's only a young girl! You're being silly, Samantha! Please put your things down!" Gabriel held his hands out, still shaking his head. 

"I want to leave. You call me when you see this girl. Then you tell me if you have decided it's me you love."

"Of course I love you!" 

"But Gabriel," Samantha began to cry, "You did love. But how can you love me and this young girl? I saw this in you both!" She sat down on the bed, and dropped her bag to the floor sobbing. 

Unfortunately for Samantha, at this point, were her beau's thoughts about this. He, too, wanted to know about this strange thing that had transpired between him and the mysterious young girl. And so he fell silent. And his silence fell upon Samantha, who caught in the moment ran from the room and away. 

Gabriel sat on the bed and grasped his head in his hands. His life that had been perfect only days before had completely fallen apart. He couldn't believe the way something so complete could dissolve into thin air overnight. Last night she had said her wish was to be loved by him. Today she ran, and he let her. 

Somewhere near by was Greta. Somewhere put there was this lovely girl who had captured his heart in an instant. He was expected to settle this matter. And that, he found, was what he wished. 

He stood in the still room, engrossed in its silence. He listened to his heart beating wildly and then moved to the window to peak outside, to see if she was there, the girl, and to check for the sunshine, if it were there.

 And there she was. Sitting beside the fountain. Gabriel smiled a broad smile. He stood a long time watching her. And he knew. 

The End