Weeping Stones

Today I am twenty years old. Now considered a man in my tribe. I decided to spend my birthday with my love of my life, Koura. As per the customs of our tribe I decided to approach her father who was also the chieftain of her tribe for seeking her hand in marriage. It was years I had seen Koura. We played as children on the blue misty mountains, became partners in adventures and finally confessing our love for each other. The day we parted, I proclaimed like a warrior one day I would come and ask for the hand in marriage on eve of Moon Festival

As I embarked on the journey the elders of my village warned me against going through the Black Cove for their lived the Enchantress Black heart. Young men crossing the Black Cove never returned to say their stories. Legends say they were turned into the stones and landed on the riverbed, flowing through the Black Cove.

I began ascending the blue misty mountains where I had first met Koura. I slowly approached the old oak tree which marked the border of my village I looked back to see my village had faded into a distance. I leaned against an oak tree growing on a slope facing a cliff that rose behind small woods. The wood and the cliff provided a haven for birds. I closed my eyes savoring the sound of the woods. I felt the soft breeze caress my face, savored the slight brush of sweet lips on my own and trembled all over. It was a fleeting moment but it reinforced my determination to carry through my journey. I loved birds. I could name hundreds of them. They were my only friends. Come any Season, for twenty years I had spent most of my spare time, especially my birthdays, up on the hillside, watching them.

I never saw time had passed, the moon was rising from behind the steep cliff and sun was setting on the western horizon. Koura came to my mind again. "Tonight is the moon festival. She would be waiting for me "I thought. I started the decent, for a moment the Moon disappeared behind the clouds and reappeared. I stopped for a moment and looked at the full moon. A small wood stretched beneath me, whilst behind the trees arose a small sheer cliff. I approached the woods, there was an eerie silence. It seems the trees were whispering to each other and a soft music emitting from the woods that was when I suddenly realized I was in the Black Cove. I wended my way through the wood I rounded a corner and found myself beside a great river. Weeping willows surrounded a large pool of azure water. There was an unperturbed tranquility about the place whilst the air was saturated with a fragrance of exotic flowering trees. The moon was sweeping into the jungle floor setting stage of some unexpected thrilling masterpiece.

Suddenly I heard a splash and out stepped a young woman no more than eighteen years old. Her white wet dress clung to her honey-colored body. Wet yellow hair formed a frame around an oval face that was highlighted by an upturned pointed nose. At the sight of me she stopped. I did not move, but stood mesmerized, looking into her blue, limpid eyes. I felt inadequate before her.

Her smile was inviting. "Come, sit near me and tell me how you found the place?."

"I followed the path ". I pointed to the cliff as I stumbled on my words.