The Painting

Disclaimer : This time, except for the concept of elves and a few mention here and there, I actually own most of this stuff. Lolz.

The painting was nothing short of exquisite. It depicts a slender auburn-haired elleth clad in a Celtic white dress surrounded by fields of gold. Her expressions were serene, looking out calmly to the sea. Sea gulls flew in the clear summer sky, and red blooms dotted the fields visited by small butterflies. The wind was strong, and yet it caressed her lovingly. Mountains at the background hinted at faraway lands.

I held a certain fascination for her, when I found it off the internet.

Somehow I feel that she suffers a longing for the sea.

I made it into the wallpaper for my desktop. As I open my laptop daily, I saw her gracing me with her presence. I feel at peace working with her around.

Inevitably, considering my imagination and tendency to dream she seeped into my visions during slumber.

There I was in the fields of gold with red blossoms and small butterflies, like in the painting only in 3D. At first I saw nothing but the scenery, but soon I felt the wind in my face, and heard the sea gulls crying out in the sky. For once, I thought, a good dream.

"Zira," my sights was immediately redirected to the source of that musical voice, and my eyes met hers. She's extremely beautiful. It was never determinable in the painting, but now I saw it clearly that her eyes were as brown as mine.

"Mae govannan," I greeted her politely.

She held out her hand, beckoning me to follow her. I never figured what really made my usually cynical self trust her but I took her soft hand in mine, and followed her.

"The sea is calling," she said softly to me. "It calls so."

"Why? What does it say?" She smiled at me sadly.

"It beckons us to the land across the sea. Aman, it is where all elves are meant to go. To return...home." What happened? Was she also a peredhel who chose a mortal life?I must be reading too much fan fiction again. Interesting notion, though.

"Where? There is only water. Surely you do not mean death?" I asked, puzzled. Doesn’t seem like the Grey Heavens here.

"Death is the gift of Edain. Elves take the ships to Aman, elvenhome forevermore." Or fade, if my Tolkien facts are straight.

"Ah," I kept my doubts to myself. Her expression was now of great longing, and I felt sorry for her. "Then you must go then, if it is your home."

"I cannot."

"Why?"

"You must go instead," her grip on my hand tightened noticeably, while I blinked with the unwarranted reply.

"I am no elf, and you have not answered my question," her eyes darkened with my statement, and she was no longer fair to my eyes.

"Because this is where the painting ends."

I woke up with a start, confused. "Astaghfirullah," I muttered to no one in particular. I reached for my Guess? wristwatch; it read 4.00 a.m. My roommate was still asleep on her bed, her pillows askew as usual. I got up, grabbed a water bottle, gulping some water down went straight to my laptop which I had left on the night before. The elleth is still there, serenely staring out to the sea. I analyzed the picture for a moment until I was satisfied that nothing was out of place.

I figured that I'd do some extra studying and sat on my desk, stretching myself before the mental exercise. Then I noticed that my right arm is slightly sore so I pushed up the flowing sleeve of my caftan and attempted to alleviate the soreness to a more tolerable level.

I looked down, and there was an imprint of a hand gripping my arm. Frightened, I flitted back at my laptop's wallpaper.

The elleth in the painting held my gaze grimly, and slowly turned back to the sea.

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Inspired by Jenny Dolfen's painting entitled "Fields of Gold".

Astaghfirullah - Arabic substitution for swear words when things go wrong(yea, something to do with God, but definitely not His body parts). Acceptable as polite.

Zira - pronounced Zhie-(ra from hurrah)

I read some Gothic mystery novels and came up with this. Part of the Islamic scripture forbids the illustration of people and animals on the decor of any home, clothing etc. I guess artworks that looks too alive is supposed to have life of its own, or something along the line, and I admit that sometimes I fancy large billboard models' eyes are looking at me! To my knowledge though laptop wallpapers doesn't count, but I decided to mess with it for fun. Hehe... hope you enjoyed it!