MALE ORDER

The bus weaved its way through fields of crops recently harvested. Nothing
much remained behind, a pumpkin here, a squash over there, and lone
cornstocks with mealy ears dotting the fence-lines where farmland
turned into woodlands. The lowlands were falling away as the bus climbed
steadily, and he could feel the air becoming cooler. Only three other riders
remained on the bus with him now, and everyone was spread out enough
to command an entire two-seat space or more for themselves.

Bending over, he pulled the map from his carry-on bag for the tenth time,
studying it again for any overlooked clues to his destination. She had sent
this crude map, along with a long letter of introduction, almost a month ago
now and had ended it with a challenge of sorts. "If you're really that kind
of guy in your letter, and if you can find your way to my farm using only
this map I've drawn for you, then we'll meet at Stone Point on September
19th, at 3:00 P.M. to check each other out. Don't worry, if you don't show
up it really won't bother me that much. It'll mean it wasn't meant to be
anyway. Take care. By the way, my name is Faith."

Folding the map carefully, he stared out the window, wondering what she
looked like. Neither of them had sent pictures. Maybe she wondered what
he looked like too. This "sight-unseen" aspect excited him as well as
scared him. But he had made the decision and he would tough it out. The
prospect of meeting someone like her after all these years filled him with
a confident resolve. He quietly dozed off as the bus labored up the hills.

"Stoney Point!" "Stoney Point!" "Sir, we've reached Stoney Point. You
said to give you a holler when we got to Stoney Point, so here we are!"
The bus driver stretched open the folding doors and stepped down and
walked over to the baggage compartment, where he produced a key and
unloaded two bags in the approaching fog faster than a body would expect.
Wishing him well, the bus driver got back on the bus, turned his headlights
on, and drove away into the wispy afternoon.

Picking up his backpack and one small suitcase he shuffled over to the
only seat available, a stone bench probably cut from the very rock it
rested on. Three or four people could sit on this bench comfortably, but
with his two bags there really wasn't any room for anyone but him. He sat
down on the cool stone and checked his watch. 14:20. He had arrived
forty minutes early but that was alright. He'd have time to relax and check
out the area. He could hear surf beating against rocks and assumed the
ocean was straight ahead. He got up and walked over to the edge of what
now appeared to be a cliff. Two hundred feet below he oberved the sallty
spray filling the air after each and every wave pounded into the rocky
beach. Taking a deep breath, he turned around and headed back to the
stone bench, to wait for her.




( Please feel free to join in. Let's collaborate. )

His mind drifted back, thinking about how he had ended up in this
situation in the first place. A simple night out with the guys, that's what had
started it. After a few cold beers and a couple games of pool at Mom's
Saloon, (their favorite neighborhood bar), talk had turned to a magazine
one of the guys had found in a booth over by the wall. Seems it was one of
those "lonely-heart-club" periodicals, and everyone was having fun with
some of the ads. To make a long story short, he had ended up with the
magazine at the end of the night and had actually taken it home with his
"to-go" order of a midnight cheeseburger.

Three or four days went by, and one night he sat down and began to read
the magazine just for something to do. He came across her ad near the
end of the last page and read it. Then he re-read it. Then he read it again.
"WANTED : KINDRED SOUL IF YOU'RE INTO COUNTRY LIVING, AREN'T
AFRAID OF HARD WORK, AND ENJOY LIFE AS IT IS, THEN I THINK I'M
READY FOR YOU. WOULD LIKE TO MEET AND HAVE RELATIONSHIP WITH
A GOOD MAN. ARE YOU HIM ? "
A P.O. Box was given to reply with a letter describing himself. And for no
good reason other that boredom and curiosity, he had responded to the
ad. Three weeks later he received a letter. Three weeks after that he got
her long letter and the map. Never thinking twice, he purchased a bus
ticket to where he thought she might be giving him directions. Up north,
close to the coastline he imagined. He took a leave of absence from his
job, not really caring if they liked it or not. He didn't need to work
anyway, just put in the time to keep his mind occupied. Saying goodbye to
his buddies proved difficult. He didn't tell them the truth, just that he had
something to do and he was off to do it. He wasn't about to tell them that
he had become interested in a "lonely-hearts-club ad, . . . very interested.
After reading her very long letter, he knew he "had" to meet her.


As 3:00 P.M approached, so did the rain clouds. He wondered who would
be there first , she or the rain. What if she didn't show up at all ? Where
would he get shelter from the storm ? He stood up and began to pace. He
carefully began to check out the surrounding area for outbuildings of any
kind, . . .old sheds, barns, whatever. Nothing close by. Off to his left,
across a large field and two stone walls, stood an abandoned house that
appeared to have one-half of its roof still intact. That might do as a last
resort. It was all there was. At 3:15 P.M. he donned his backback and
grabbed his suitcase. Big, big. big raindrops began to fall. This was going
to be a wet one ! Running like a bat-out-of-hell, he took off for the old
house. He was over the first stone wall and running for the second when
lightning struck a tree in the field. Down he went as the clap of thunder
exploded above his head, scaring the bejesus right out of him. The rain
was coming in torrents now at a sideways angle. As he tried to get up and
run for the second wall, something hit him from the side, knocking the
wind from him, causing him to fall hard. Rolling over on his back, he lay
there for a second, feeling the rain hit his face, . .and then he heard her
laughing. Evidently she had been running in the rain too, probably with the
same intent of reaching the old house. She had run smack into him without
seeing him at all thanks to the heavy downpour. She continued to lay on
her back and laugh, and he could not keep himself from joining her. Her
laughing was contagious. Finally, he helped her up and they ran together
for the shelter of the house.
Under the partial roof they stopped and faced each other. He looked into
her eyes and said "Hi, I'm Sam." With a smile on her face she reached
out to shake his hand and said,"Hi, I'm Faith. Glad to meet you."

With a strong tug and a twist of his arm, she sent him flying back out into
the rain, to land unceremoniously on his backside in the mud. The rain
quickly soaked him again as he tried to stand up and he glowered at her
as he came to a full standing position. "What the hell was that for?", he
hollered.
"Just want to see what you're made of mister", she answered. She moved
closer to him and with a quick swing of her foot she knocked his legs out
from under him again, and back down he went into the mud and rain. She
backed up and watched as he pulled himself together. She was beginning
to laugh lightly to herself. "I'm not so sure of you mister, you seem too
urban for this country. A strong wind might blow your ass away!"
"Look lady, I don't know what your problem is, but I wouldn't try those
moves again if I were you. You're just overflowing with hospitality aren't
you ?" And with that he side-stepped her next rush and she was the one
who now sat in the puddles of mud and water. It was his turn to laugh.
He jumped on her back as she tried to get up, yelling in the pouring rain.
"Maybe someone needs to teach you a few manners my dear!" And with
that he pushed her face down into the mud, until it was completely
covered. He rolled off of her, laughing heartily.

The strength of the shower increased.

[edit on 5-8-2008 by SIEGE]

As she sat up, the rain quickly washed away the mud from her face,
allowing him to once again enjoy the natural beauty she radiated so easily.
She didn't appear to be upset, nor did she seem at all surprised by what
had just occured. She reached out a hand to him and he took it eagerly,
helping her to her feet. He pulled her in out of the rain, and began to wipe
her down with a towel from his backpack. Minutes later she returned the
favor, taking the towel from him and gently trying to clean him up. She
made him turn around and around, drying him here and there as if
inspecting him.
"My farm is seven miles inland from here", she exclaimed, "and we'd get a
whole lot wetter and colder if we tried to make it there in this rain. Best
thing to do would probably be to sit it out for a spell, and maybe it'll let up
enough for us to take off. What do ya say ? "
He agreed whole-heartedly with her, and they sat down together in the dry
corner and watched the rain continue to beat down. He produced some
heat tabs from his backpack and proceded to heat some water for tea. He
made two cups when the water was good and hot, added honey to each
cup of tea, and handed her one. She thanked him, took a sip, and seemed
to immediately unwind. He took a long steaming sip himself and settled
back into the corner, taking in her graceful features. Neither talked for
thirty minutes.
Around them the storm was coming in full force. Winds blew now from
every possible direction. Searching in his suitcase he found two flannel
shirts and advised her to change into somthing dry. Looking him right in
the eye, she began to unbutton her soaked blouse. Halfway down she
turned her back to him, peeled off the blouse, and asked him to hand her the dry shirt, which he did. The shirt was a little large but he could see that
she was happy to be dry and warm again. After he changed, he hung both
of their wet shirts on a peg in the wall, hoping against hope that they might
dry somewhat.
As the fog moved in with the rain, so did the dark. Sam glanced at his
watch and was surprised to find that it was 7:30 P.M. It had been raining
hard for 4-1/2 hours. Faith found two roast beef sandwiches in his pack,
and a can of pears, with which she began to fix them a little supper. (The
sandwiches had actually been meant for his lunch, but it turned out that
after ordering them at the bus stop he became too nervous to eat). He
unrolled a sleeping bag tied to his pack and handed it to her. "Here, use
this to sit on and sleep in tonight. It'll keep you warm." For himself he
brought out a wool blanket, unfolded it, and used it as a dry bed. They ate
in silence, enjoying every mouthful of the deli's delights, and savoring the
sweet tasting pears. He made some more tea for each of them, added
some honey, and they both seemed to relax a little, listening to the rain.
Later, Faith in her sleeping bag and Sam rolled up in his blanket, they took
turns telling each other why they had applied to the Male Order business.

After awhile, only the rain could be heard, as both drifted off to sleep.
Sam's arm fell over her shoulders, keeping her close. And so they spent
their first night together . . . .who would've thought.

Sam was gently awoken by soft sunrays on his eyelids. Groggy at awakening he at first didnt quite realize where he was. Gras. Mud in his hair. Shirt wrinkled. There´s something beautiful in waking up somewhere else than expected. Then he startled.

She was gone.

The usual rush of mixed thoughts followed: Did she decide that she didnt like me? Is she playing hide and seek? Is this another one of her "toughen up" exercises?

In any case, his body had stiffened on the hard ground and he wanted to stretch his muscles like a cat.. He did so, stood up and walked around. Around the Barn, looking here and there. But she was nowhere to be seen.

Should I follow her? he thought. But that wasnt his style. He was not the predator type. If a woman retreated he would retreat as well. Or not?

The last evening seemed like a distant dream. A romantic miracle. The meeting of a soulmate. There was no indication whatsoever that they were not totally and completely lost in each others presence and willing to surrender to each other. Rather unusual feelings considering they only knew each other a few hours.

He took his stuff and slowly walked back in the general direction of the busstop. Except that there was no busstop for the direction he came from, so he figured he´d have to keep walking until he found it.



[edit on 5-8-2008 by Skyfloating]

But where exactly did he think he was going to go? Back to his job after only a day? Back to the treadmill?

It was going into the unknown, breaking loose from the mundane, that had brought him the gift he experienced yesterday. Having had a taste of the wonderful, taking a busride back didnt seem too inspiring.

He turned and started walking in the opposite direction. He was just going to walk 7 miles in that direction. She said she lived 7 miles from here. And if they were meant to meet again, they would meet again. And if they were not meant to meet again, something else interesting would happen. Because he wasnt going back home for awhile.

The road he was walking on turned into a dust path. And that path eventually winded downwards, down to the ocean. Improbable that she lived down there, but what the heck, he thought. He was carefree enough to accept walking alone and never ever seeing her again.

4 miles and there it was. The big blue. The white noise produced by the waves splashing against the cliffs had a soothing effect on Sam. The path ended here though. If he wanted to continue, he would have to walk over the rocks protuding from the cliff. But first, time for a rest.

If only I had something left to drink. There were no people, no houses, no signs of civilization around, much less a drinks trolley. There was a bottle that had been washed onto the shore though...and...

...there was a message in that bottle.

That certainly took his mind off the thirst for the time being. I thought this stuff only happens in movies. He grabbed the bottle, popped open the cork and then found the opening was too small for him to pull the mint-coloured piece of paper out. He´d need to break the bottle or apply tweezers. Patience Sam. he told himself. He´d always been the type to want it all now, immediatly. But this was his new life as mellow-minded Sam. He decided to wait until he had tweezers and put the bottle in his backpack.


Over many a rock he climbed until he came to something resembling a beach, but a rocky one and then finally a path, leading back up. And once up there, now seriously longing for something to wetten his dry tongue he saw a house.

Her House. Hopefully.

I dont care if Im unwelcome at her place. Getting some water is more important than anything else.

The house was....

[edit on 5-8-2008 by Skyfloating]

The house was... a roomy one-storey structure made of brick but panelled with dark wood on the outside.


...the house was also empty. Sam had a foreboding of this while walking towards it, as the unhinged door lazily swung open and closed in the breeze.

It was now late afternoon and clouds had started gathering again. "Hello?" he called from outside, already sensing that nobody was home.

The stench of spoilt food came from a semi-open kitchen window. He entered the house with suspicion and treading carefully as if not wanting to wake the dead. To his right he saw what was causing the foul smell. Flies were surrounding leftovers that had not been thrown away but being baked by the hot sun for at least a day.

A moment of shock rushed through him when he realized he was indeed in Faiths apartment. His letter was hanging on a pinboard...

...along with four other letters, from other men, it seemed.

Didnt Faith return home after our night together?

He walked over to the pinboard, and was about to tear his letter down
when he noticed a hand-written, one-line sentence at the bottom of his
letter. It was written in red crayon and starred, and said :
" *No way Jose' !"
Looking over at the four other letters he saw that they too had the same
message written in red crayon at the bottom. " *No way Jose' !"

A chill went down his spine for some reason and he cautiously backed up.
Looking around the room again, taking in every little detail now, he
realized that his first impression of this being Faith's house was incorrect.
It was his letter alright, but he was suddenly sure that this was not her
house. Someone else lived here, but not Faith. And they probably lived
alone, seeing as the place was not exactly clean enough to invite
visitors. Nothing feminine stood out here. As a matter of fact he felt quite
sure that the resident was male.
He went to the refrigerator, opened it, found what he was looking for, . .
a case of bottled water, and helped himself to two pints. Stashing them in
his backpack, he proceded to get as far away from the place as possible,
as fast as possible. Back outside, he re-traced his steps until eventually
he found himself back at the top of the hill, looking down on the ocean. It
was here that another less-traveled path seemed to fork off to the left.
He followed it and quickly found himself walking steadily upward through
dense forest. The trees were so tall they practically blocked out the sky
entirely, but he felt better now about his destination.

Sitting on a tree stump, the woods serene, silent. Trickles of sunray here and there. Far away from the chatter of the world. But the chatter of his mind would not yet stop. Confusion. Is the woman in danger? Is it any of my business? Is it okay if I just walk away not only from my old life but also any involvement in her possible drama? Can I get her off of my mind? Did the guy mark the letters with "No way Jose"?

Images of their one night together in the grass kept returning. Infatuation. Not having known her for more than a night his mind could create all kinds of idealizations and romantizations of her.

Thats when he remembered the message in a bottle he was still carrying with him. He would want to read it before dusk set in. Instead of using tweezers he got it done with branches he broke off of a bush.

This is so unreal he thought as he started reading the letter. Its exact wording was:

WANTED : KINDRED SOUL IF YOU'RE INTO COUNTRY LIVING, AREN'T
AFRAID OF HARD WORK, AND ENJOY LIFE AS IT IS, THEN I THINK I'M
READY FOR YOU. WOULD LIKE TO MEET AND HAVE RELATIONSHIP WITH
A GOOD MAN. ARE YOU HIM ?

Thats all.



He didnt know what to make of it or how to explain it, so he didnt. He simply stuck the paper back into the bottle, stuffed the bottle into his backpack and continued toward his destination.

The air became cooler, fresher, and the wonderful aromas of leaves, and
pines, and fertile earth rolled over him. He inhaled deeply as he looked
for a place to rest. Sinking down under a tree, he immediately
retrieved the water bottles and drank one completely down, as if overcome
by dehydration. A big burp made him smile to himself. He pulled out her
map and studied it again carefully. From the bus stop at Stone Point to her
house was supposedly seven miles. A dotted line represented the path he
was on now. Maybe two or three more miles he guessed. On her map,
the only landmark on the dotted line was what he took to be a waterfall.
He told himself that after resting, he would continue until he found some
semblance of a waterfall.

An hour later, walking down and around a bend, he indeed came upon the
waterfall. It was unusually quiet for a waterfall, but magnificent none the
less. Approximately 75 ft. high, it sat splendidly within the wooded glen as
if in a dream, where its base raced off into the forest as a busy babbling
brook. As he neared, he could swear he saw a naked woman under part
of the weaker-side fall, and his suspicions were confirmed the closer he
got. She was unaware of his presence and seemed to be softly singing to
herself. It was Faith. And he had to admit, she was beautiful.
Without further ado he stripped off his clothes and went to join her. She
was washing her hair with her back to him when he put his arms around
her and said loudly "WELL GOLLY, GEE WILIKERS, WHAT HAVE WE HERE,
IT LOOKS LIKE ONE OF THEM THERE WOMAN CRITTERS! "

The blow that caught him in the testicles came so fast that he had no time
to enjoy her surprise. Down he went, into a useless heap. The waterfall
drowned out his pain and prevented him from hearing Faith's sincere
apologies, now that she recognized him. She knelt down beside him,
touching his face, repeating how sorry she was. She helped him to his feet,
pushing him back into the waterfall itself, hoping the falling waves would
help his recovery. Again and again she took turns pushing him under the
falling water, then pulling him back out. As she did it once more, he
reached out from under the waterfall and pulled her in with him. His arms
held her firmly but she didn't resist. He kissed her then, as the water fell
over the two of them. It was noisy and quiet all at the same time.

He felt her excited nipples brush his chest as she pulled away, and he let
her go. Another time maybe, another time. He likewise made his exit,
finding his towel and clothes where he had left them and getting dressed.
Meeting again fully dressed, they sat down together and began to talk.
When he got to the part about her singing in the shower she became
silent for a few seconds, then burst out laughing, hysterically. He asked her
what was so funny and she said she just remembered what song she had
been singing. It was "Blue Skies, Shining At Me, Nothing But Blue Skies
Do I See". She burst out laughing again and he had difficulty making her
stop. Then she told him she'd have to change the words now. He asked
what she meant. "Well, I was thinking maybe we should change the words
to say "Blue Balls, Shining At Me". He looked at her as big tears rolled
down her face. She tried to stifle her screaming laughter by putting her
hand over her mouth but it didn't work. Her laughter was contagious and
he found himself laughing with her.

Twilight had turned to darkness as their laughter trickled off. And silence befell the forest again. The rush of the waterfall could and would not smooth over the many unanswered questions remaining. But who was he to spoil the moment with a bunch of questions. Their importance pailed in her presence anyway.

"Catch a deer for dinner?" Sam asked jokingly.

"Sure, lets go" she said as she stood up and started leading the way. They were not actually walking on the path anymore but through the wild. They didnt talk for about an hour. For Sam it was challenging enough to get through what city-guy thought was "wilderness", unforseen branches striking his face, mysterious bugs buzzing around his ears, and every next step an unexpected one on uneven terrain.

"Stop!" she suddenly whispered.

He stopped and watched her tip-toe forward as if stalking prey. He saw her no more...but he heard a squeal of agony and the crack of bones.

"What the f..." shivers and chills ran down his spine as is eyes adjusted to the darkness and he realized that Faith had broken the neck of a deer. She threw the deer to the ground and wiped her hands.

Sam stood, awestruck and, admittedly, a bit taken aback at the raw and ruthless attitude expressed by this woman.

There comes a time when you wonder if you'll ever really meet your
imaginary soulmate. A yearning that may give you hard times. Yet name
another experience that pumps the adrenaline into your bloodstream any
faster? It's heady stuff.
If Faith and Sam are indeed soulmates, is there something about Sam that
he doesn't know about himself yet ? Some naturally buried instinct that
rivals Faith's new hunting skills ?
Do they now run off in the forest together, playing by day and killing by
night ? Is this how it ends ? Naw.

What if . . . .what if they're both mutants ? Or left behinds ? What does
her house look like ? Is there more to Sam than meets the eye ? Are
they really up here in the high country to escape the wrath of society or
are they up here because they've secretly funded an underground
network to "Save The Test Animals" ? Have they mistakenly funded a cell
that attacks and destroys any and all animal test laboratories ?

Despite questions over questions Sams stamina had worn out on him. He faintly understood that he had lost his true self...what made him unique...a long time ago in his 9-5 job life. Who am I?.

But currently all he really cared about is to take a long rest. 8 hours+ to be specific.

"Look...Im gonna have to lie down and sleep. Ive been walking all day"

Faith, who was walking in front of him, dragging the deer behind her, did not respond.

"If you´re gone again tommorow morning, thats OK with me"

This made her stop and turn around.

She stared at Sam for awhile before speaking. Not that he saw any more than her sillhouette in the darkness, but he sensed her examining gaze.

"I dont know if I can take this" she said.

No response from Sam because he didnt understand what she was talking about.

"You dont remember anything do you?"

Puzzlement turned into bewilderment. Was I supposed to remember something?

She suddenly approached him, grabbed the collar of his jacket and shook him...not violently, gently. "Do you know who the fck you are Sam!" she cried into the forest night. "Do you know who the fck I am Sam!"

She let go. Sam stumbled backward, also inwardly shaken.

"What....do you mean?"

His soul cried out in recognition of some memory lost, but his mind couldnt grasp what was going on.

[edit on 6-8-2008 by Skyfloating]

With a sigh Faith said: "My place is not far away. You can get showered and sleep there".

Sam responded: "I want to be a bit more awake when I talk about things with you. I know something meaningful is happening here, just bear with me, OK? Im exhausted."

She softened up and gave him a kiss on the check, her eyes reflecting the moonlight seemed to sparkle.

They had reached an opening and the house was in sight but in the darkness and in his fatigue he couldnt make out what it looked like.

He showered in an expectionally clean and good smelling bathroom decorated in shades of turquoise and light blue. Then he was gone. Deep slumber on a comfortable bed, right beside Faith. There´s something deeply satisfying about drifting into sleep after hard physical exertion.

He dreamed tumultuous dreams. In one, particularly, she was straddling
him, holding his arms down and kissing him so deeply that he felt he could
not catch his breathe. The more he struggled, the more she seemed to
suck the breathe right out of him. When he felt he had reached the point
of unconsciencness she suddenly pulled away, howling upwards to the
night sky. She then very quickly resumed the kiss, only this time she blew
air into his starving lungs, keeping him from passing out. As she brought
him back, she began to mumble and hum, never removing her llips from
his. The humming increased in fervor and sound, and suddenly his body
was wracked with blue-tinged electricity that expanded and contracted all
muscles and nerves in his body. It was as if she had passed something on
to him.

Awakening beside her in the morning, he remembered nothing.

When she arose from sleep in the morning he was gone. She smiled.

When she went into the kitchen she found that the deer had been carefully
butchered. In the refrigerator sat venison steaks. In the freezer, the bulk
leftovers, neatly bagged.

Outside, hanging over the side of the porch fence, was the hide, cleaned,
scrapped, and drying. Again she smiled.

She looked up in time to see him run into the yard, showing no outward
signs of exertion. "I've just run to the waterfall and back and you can't
believe how fast I can run now," he exclaimed to her. "I feel so good!"

She smiled inwardly. . . . . . He had arrived.

The next three days were spent in a daze, a haze of infatuation fueled by unconditional sensuality. They behaved as if they had been starving for each others minds, souls and bodies. The familiarty they shared with each other after such a short time was uncanny.

But as humans we have a tendency to start getting bored if problems arent addressed. Or was it just that he didnt want to keep any secrets from her? They had spent the whole day nude in bed (the first day they hadnt touched outdoors at all). She was sitting on top of him, attempting to open the cork of a wine bottle. The light was dimmed and outside rainshowers swept across the lands, making it all the more cozy inside.

"I´m thinking about us adding some of our blood to this wine, thereby making a bond between the two of us" said Faith smiling.

She was always one for provocative comments where you werent sure if she meant them or not. This was Sams chance:

"No way, Jose" he said, searching for a response in her eyes. There was none.

"No way Jose" he repeated with emphasis.

Surely, if she had written "No way Jose" on those letters there would be some glimmer of recognition in her eyes? As the cork popped open she put the bottle aside and gently bit his neck, whispering: "But I want to vampirize you, pretty pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease".

The way she bit his neck sent pleasant sparks of sensation through his entire body. He wouldnt resist. "Take my blood then, dear".

She jumped up out of bed. And everytime she did so her beauty touched him on a deeper level than he would ever openly admit.

She returned to bed to bed with a razor blade.

"Give me that." Sam said, taking some initiative instead of being a doubting Thomas. He poured two glasses of red wine. "Im going to cut you, and you are going to cut me" he said, as he held her hand over her glass.

"Not the veins though" she smiled. "I didnt mean for this to turn into a psycho session"

"We´re going to do a very small cut where we normally carry rings. Before rings were invented, thats what they used to do to create a bond. In fact, its where the idea of rings comes from".

"Stop bull****ing me and get on with it".

Their conversations were always on the verge of a smirk.

"Oh...was I supposed to say ouch?" she asked after he made a small cut to her finger and dipped that finger into the wine glass.

Now in ritualistic mood he handed the blade to her and stretched out his hands and she did likewise.

He took her glass, she took his glass. Their eyes met. Before drinking, they held their gaze at each other for several minutes in silence.

"Im not going to keep any secrets from you" Sam said. "Before I drink this, I would like to reveal a part of me".

"No secrets? Doesnt it get boring if you know everything about the other person after a short time?"

"You have a point", Sam laughed. "OK, nevermind".

And they drank of each other.

The door lazily blew inward with the breeze, allowing leaves of every color
to invade the interior of the kitchen, as if they sensed that no one was
home to sweep them back out. On the wall, the five letters flapped but
stayed in place. He sat with his back to the door, anger surging through
him. At regular intervals the knife came down and stuck into the tabletop,
creating deep, jagged holes that would scar the wood forever. Hundreds
of these holes already existed, but still he brought the knife down time
after time, as if he was trying to kill something over and over again.
SHE HAD OUTWITTED HIM !

He had managed to scare off two of the would-be candidates just by
intimidation. LIGHTWEIGHTS ! The other two lay buried in the woods,
never to contend again. How she had managed to slip this last one past
him still caused him grievous concern. Somehow she had used mis-
direction. He had stolen all of the letters, one at a time, from her cottage
when he knew she would be away for days at a time. She ALWAYS went
away for days at a time, always. It was so easy to figure out her pattern,
her methodical way of doing things. He wondered if she even suspected.
But now his lust for her was infused with hate. She had deceived him !
And no matter what previous plans existed in his mind for her, now things
were different. Now she would have to pay. Dearly !

[edit on 8-8-2008 by SIEGE]

Can I see that letter I wrote to you?

Sam wanted to ask but he hesitated. He didnt want to go there. But he did. But he didnt.

"Can I see that letter I wrote to you?" he finally blurted out.

"Why would you want to?"

She´s hesitating.

"It just...I cant believe that this is what became of one innocent letter. I´d be curious to see it and reminisce".

"OK...I guess so...."

Faith opened a drawer to fish out the letters, but the letters were not there.

"Oh, thats weird. I thought I put them in here...?"

You could feel the mood in the room darken...like Sam knew it would. Their space had had a shine to it since days now and that shine had just faded.



[edit on 8-8-2008 by Skyfloating]

He had been sent by the Old Ones to watch her. His primary task had been
simple, prevent her from choosing a mate and consummating the
relationship. Over the past several years he had come to lust over her
himself. He was told that if he caught her he could have her, as many
times as he wanted, and it would be okay because it would not be of her
choosing. He was never able to catch her once ! Not even close !
But he had taken care of her males ! At least until this last one. Now there
was no choice but to kill her and her chosen one. They must not be
allowed to reproduce. The Old Ones were adamant about this. It would
bring ruin and damation to the way life was. It must not happen. He
yanked the knife out of the top of the table, stood up, and headed out.