Windflowers. [TFWC]

It was the year of Our Lord 1533, on the 'morrow the Princess Elizabeth would take the throne of our glorious Nation under God, and i was out in the meadows on this late summers day gathering herbs for mothers kitchen to assist in the preparation of the celebratory feast, which was to take place upon the village green in that place of Pendle were I resided.

For the better part of an hour i had been gathering and was now venturing deeper into the edges of the woods to pursue the rarer varieties as my basket was now almost filled to overflowing, the afternoon sun had beaten down warmly upon me amidst the grasses and flowers which had reached up to and beyond my waist, but here the air was cooler, a somewhat chill draught had arisen, i glanced around and saw a patch of windflower growing away in the short distance, and cheerfully thought that there was to be found the cause.

But then the birds did startle and i heard movement within the undergrowth, with trepidation i quickly ventured out of the woodland edge and back into the sunlit field, when upon reaching toward the centre i did glance back and there sure enough was a tall figure emerging from the forest, it was the person of a man that i did perceive to be dressed in a curious fashion the likes of which i had never seen, and that he was hailing me.

I did consider to flee, but his manner and countenance did seem cheerful enough, and so i stood my ground and awaited his hurried approach.

"Hello hello!...and thankyou for stopping" he breathlessly announced upon arrival.

"And good day to you Sir" i courteously replied.

He was of around thirty years of age i surmised, though lacking in beard and with not much of a head of hair, such that he had however was cropped short and of a dark colouring with a curious shine, unusual but not altogether displeasing, and nor were his features which were clean cut with eyes of clear shining blue, setting off his fair complexion, his smile was also most agreeable.

"I knew i'd find you here, i just knew it, and there indeed you are!" he exclaimed.

"I do not understand Sir, what business do you think you have with me?" i asked in perplexion.

His manner of dress most intrigued me, the pantaloons such as they were of a most unusual tailoring, blue in colour and of a fabric seemingly coarse yet refined most regularly stitched, his shirt such as it wasn't had little by the way of sleeves but was also finely woven and coloured black hanging loose and without button, whilst the shoes upon his feet were of a soft looking fabric but yet again finely crafted.

"Well yes, good question, and please forgive my startling you like this, what business indeed, and were am i to begin, oh dearie me..."

"By perhaps telling me who you are...?" i helpfully interupted.

"Ah indeed, forgive my rudeness, my name is Johannes Van Damen, and you would of course be Mary...." he offered with a smile.

"That is indeed my name, and also perhaps you would be good enough to tell how you know of it...?"

"It is like this Mary, i have known you in the past i have known you in the future, but seek always to know you in the present, there is no better way than i can explain myself except to say that we are soul bound, may i present to you as a token the Anemone you were about to gather before my interuption..."


From behind his back he produced a bunch of windflowers and presented them to me, which i took slowly and questioningly before placing them within my basket, in his strange words i felt him to be sincere, but i saw little sense in them, and considered that here was a fellow that had been confounded by the woodland fairies and was under some love struck charm, but he began to continue.


"Both you and I are strange children of the Fates, destined to be reborn throughout every seventh generation over millenia, destined always to fall in love, destined always to fail tragically, but always leaving behind a child to carry on down the lines through the generations, until the end of days." he recounted with a somewhat wild look on his face.

"You are making declaration of love toward me Sir! I have to say for one who has just the now accosted me in this meadow your words are most unreserved and impudent, i do not know you, i never wish to know you, and with that i bid you farewell..."


I turned heading toward the path that led out of the field and back in the direction of the village, this fellow was either a notorious wandering seducer of unfortunates or touched in the head and either way i wanted none of it, but he was following after me and persisting...


"But wait Mary i can prove what i say is the truth and explain my reasons in coming here, which i would not have undertaken without the gravest neccesity, please hear me out or all is lost...!" he wailed pitifully.


I should probably simply have quickened my pace back toward the village, but there was something of this fellows company i enjoyed, and his wild tales and declarations of love were amusing in themselves, so i decided to turn and indulge him whilst uncovering his game.

"Very well then, what is this proof that you speak of that would declare your words as true...?"

"There is a portal by which means i returned to this point in time from the still to you distant future, i could reveal this to you."

"Ah some sort of magic portal you say, well i have heard of such, and their association with evil warlocks, be you such wickedness...?"

"On my word no, i am a man of learning and science, in my time the creation of magical portals as you describe them has become possible and i have constructed one, in order to return to this point in time and find you here"

"Well i am truly flattered that you have undertaken such efforts merely to waste my time talking nonsense to me in the middle of this meadow"


I laughed and briefly considered hitting this fellow about the head with the flowers he had given me for the fun of it before scampering off, but i saw that he also laughed and seemed to relax.

"You never change do you, always Mary the contrary, questioning everything and turning the whole world on it's head"

"Apparantly not if so you say, but please continue, why this point in time, and again, why me?"

"As i mentioned i believe you and i have been star crossed lovers throughout the generations ever destined to meet, but in my time the tapestry of fate has been cruelly slashed by untoward forces and the thread severed, that which you were has been taken and lost, and shall never again be, my intention is to restore that connection"

"Not that any of what you say makes sense to me, but restore the connection how precisely...?"

"By taking you with me back into the future, i did much research to trace through your ancestry to locate you back to this time and place, once again reborn after seven generations, i know also that tomorrow you and i shall meet in this present time and that once again our dream shall be passed on though the generations, and i would then also intend to return you back here to make that appointment with your destiny..."


In my foolishness his words were beginning to beguile me, though i questioned my sanity on account of this, but still there was the familiar about him, as if someone that had always been present in my dreams, the attraction that he spoke of i did also sense, but the strangeness of his tale also filled me with a certain amount of dread, and i began to feel as the moth toward the flame.

"Well Johannes your tale has provided me with much amusement, i really don't know what to make of it all, but it has passed the time of day most engagingly and i think you mean well, though i really must now be on my way home, you may walk with me and continue in it if you wish."

"Very good my Lady, i am truly sorry if i have confused you with my ramblings, but i do percieve that in some way they have awoken murmurings of truth within your soul...?"

"Yes perhaps, but then my mother always says i am of a wildy curious and dreamy disposition, and i have known much strangeness."


Playfully i linked arms with him as we walked out of the meadow that now shone like gold in the fading sunlight, and made onto the stony cobbled path that led down into the village which i began to glimpse in the distance, i was still pondering his tale, and many questions were begining to form in my mind, he too seemed deep in thought but also most content and happy, once again he began to speak.


"The tragedy that i spoke of in my time, it involved the death of yourself such as you were in the future, if you can possibly follow this, my Mary was killed in a most unfortunate accident upon the road shortly after we had first met, she died without producing a child, that would have continued our story down the generations, i have much missed and wept for her and for myself..."


His words sent a shiver down my spine, i saw that though he still smiled tears had also began to run down his fair cheeks, despite a chill that made all the hairs on my arms stand on end, i also felt a warmth deep within, and pulled him a little closer as we walked.


"I am sorry for your loss, but you also said that i was to meet you tomorrow when in fact i have met you today...?"


"Yes indeed you shall meet me tomorrow, but myself such as i am in this time, who has yet to discover the delights that await him, and he shall also record the curious tale that you shall tell him and note the place and time of your first meeting, which i shall in the distant future read."

"This seems a most artfully crafted narrative..."

"Indeed so."


We had now reached the outskirts of the village, my house in which i lived was to be found on the other side and we continued to make our way toward it. The village happened to be deserted for some strange reason with all busy elsewhere, so none noted me walking arm in arm down the street with the curiously dressed stranger, and just as well, when we arrived in the centre at our small village church of Saint Mary Magdalene he stopped.


"Shall we go inside...?" he asked.

"For what reason...? i responded in surprise.

"The portal that i spoke of, it is within the church, you would like now your proof Mary...? again that smile.

I hesitated, whilst for me this had all been a charming tale which i had felt somewhat drawn toward, the seeming nearby proof of it did surely make me begin to tremble, yet the vision of a magic portal into the past and future filled my thoughts with wonderment, and so i decided,

"Alright then, let us see the proof of your tale..."

We entered into the church which was beautifully quiet and still, decorated with all flowers of the field throughout, in preparation for the festivities of the 'morrow, i went over to the statue of Our Lady and lit a candle and made a little prayer, as i always did upon entering, and then turned to Johannes who had been in silent contemplation, stood within the central aisle, he turned to me and gestured to follow him, leading on past the rood screen into the inner sanctum, before which i hesitated to pass as it was forbidden.

"Come Mary, just this once you may enter within"


I made the sign of the Cross and passed inside, Johannes was stood before the Altar in the centre of the geometric mosaic pattern over which hung the perpetual flame, he took out of his pocket a small black box which i saw had upon it bright little flashing lights as if some artifact most magical, his fingers worked with this in some curious manner and then i gasped and almost fainted as before him flashed upward what seemed to me a brilliant shimmering mirror of silver, but as a liquid, a truly wondrous sight, the light from which filled the whole of the inner sanctum.

"And open Sesame" he said whilst turning toward me and laughing.

"Johannes i am much afraid, this portal that you have conjured seems most unnatural and foreboding." i said putting it mildly.

"There is truly nothing to be afraid of Mary, put down your little basket there before the Altar, step through the portal with me, and i'll return you after a year lived within the future to this very moment in time, whereupon you can once more pick up your little basket and hurry home."

"And within that future i am to have a child with you that i must leave in your charge...?" I said wide eyed and slack jawed.

"Yes, and another when i return you here, after you marry me before this Altar..." he said winking.


The audacity of the man knew no bounds, but i also glimpsed the greater vision that he followed, and saw that it was concerning the greater redemption of our souls, that would at the end of days be eternally bound as one, never more to undergo the trials and tribulations of our coming together down the ages, and with the realization that this was my dream as much as his, and being the hopeless romantic my mother always said i was, i decided that i would enter through the portal with him, so i put down my basket, stepped forward and took his hand.


"Let us see this future then" i said smiling.


We stepped forward, into and through the shimmering mirror, i felt briefly my whole body become as if every part of it was independantly alive, wriggling and squirming deep within and almost collapsed with the sensation, but then we were through, and Johannes turned, his fingers manipulated the lights upon the box and the mirror was no more.

"Welcome to the year of our Lord 2013" he said bowing theatrically.

"But i see no difference, except wait, where is my little basket...?"

The epilogue...

And so i had found myself cast 480 years into the future, and at first all had seemed most wondrous, the astonishing advances in science and learning, the gadgets and the gimmicks as they were known, and the amazing motor vehicles within which Johannes had taken me to live in a city far it seemed to me from the place that i was born, though he said it was not actually that far, as the world had apparantly become a smaller place over the years.

I moved into his house with him and took the place of his former Mary, she had left behind many precious possessions and clothes and i was told these were now to be mine, and they fitted most well, and life seemed so Heavenly, in the arms of my beautiful lover for such we had quickly become, and also in a matter of weeks i had become with child.

But then i began to perceive that the lives of that generation were empty and grey, that many roamed the streets with eyes full of lust and hatred in equal measure, that they were lost in shallow delusions and fantasies, that no longer anyone truly believed in anything, that within the grey city pervaded an atmosphere of desperation and fear, and i desired to return to the time from whence i had come, but for the sake of Johannes i kept quiet on this matter, though he saw my heart was becoming increasingly troubled with what i saw all around.

And then came a day when I asked that we could go to that woodland place were we had first encountered each other, and Johannes seemed most disturbed when i suggested this, and seemed most reluctant to revisit there, saying it had much changed since my time and that it were better i remembered that golden field as it were, but i became ever more curious and insisted, and so we drove to the village and climbed the small path up the hill to that site of our first meeting.

When we arrived at the crest i saw that were once there had been the field and the woodland area was now nothing more that a busy and noisy motorway, i saw also that Johannes was crying and pressed him as to why this was so, for though the site was not pleasant it did not greatly move me.

He explained that he and Mary had been living in the village, in the house which was also the one were i dwelt in my proper time, and that one night in the early hours she had left the house and walked up this hill alone, before casting herself into the oncoming traffic, it was not known if this was an act of desperate suicide or whether she had been in a state of dream and sleep walking, either way that was were her life had ended, and i again felt the chill as at the time of our first meeting.

I decided then that i could no longer bear this forsaken time, and that nor could i abandon the child in my womb to it, and i was of the mind to return to my proper place. At first Johannes had implored me to reconsider, but seeing how i was determined in this he also seemed to come around to my way of thinking, and so seven months after the time i had first arrived once more we made our way to the church were the portal could be opened, we said our heartbreaking goodbyes, and i saw in Johannes' eyes terrible resignation and despair, but nevertheless i stepped back through into my own time, and after the portal closed behind me, stooped to pick up my little basket which had waited upon my return.

When i arrived home i made straight for my room after leaving the basket in the kitchen, but that night i passed the time only in weeping and no sleeping, and in the morning i had to confess to my parents that i found myself six months with child, though i swore i knew not how this had come about, save that i had a curious dream at the woodlands edge.

They were furious with me and with much scolding and blows chased me out of the house whereupon i ran to the village church to take refuge, i entered and lit a candle at the statue of Our Lady as was my custom, and knelt there sobbing and praying, after no little time had passed though how much i cannot say, i felt a hand upon my shoulder and a pleasant familiar voice asking me if i was alright, and turned to once more see my true love stood before me...

BRAVO! BRAVISSIMO!

Yesterday I had meant to comment on this lovely tale and when it ended I thought...but WAIT I want MORE!

Today I decided to pop in and applaud your work and let you know it is as tragic as it is romantic.


But then I find more, left to read! It is hard not see shadows of even our world and time through Mary's eyes and not wish for a different future!

Mazzy Star perfectly sets the melancholy mood.
BUT AGAIN! You leave me wanting...

P.S. since you rewarded me with The Wedding Present that left me Bewitched, I will return in kind, complete with sardines, reflections, darkness, lightning and wedding imagery...

reply to post by abeverage


Yes thanks, that's pretty much it, the Blood of Eden, and the concern of a cult of women with the seed of Adonis, and the association of herb lore with sexuality.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, Greek anemōnē means "daughter of the wind", from ánemos "wind" + feminine patronymic suffix -ōnē. The Metamorphoses of Ovid tells that the plant was created by the goddess Venus when she sprinkled nectar on the blood of her dead lover Adonis.


The Greek Ἄδωνις (Greek pronunciation: [ˈadɔːnis]), Adōnis was a borrowing from the Semitic word adon, meaning "lord",[2] which is related to Adonai, one of the names used to refer to the God (אֲדֹנָי) in the Hebrew Bible


Adonis, in Greek mythology, is the god of beauty and desire, and is a central figure in various mystery religions. His religion belonged to women: the dying of Adonis was fully developed in the circle of young girls around the poet Sappho from the island of Lesbos, about 600 BC

Women in Athens would plant "gardens of Adonis" quick-growing herbs that sprang up from seed and died. The Festival of Adonis was celebrated by women at midsummer by sowing fennel and lettuce, and grains of wheat and barley. The plants sprang up soon, and withered quickly, and women mourned for the death of the vegetation god

When he died she sprinkled the blood with nectar, from which sprang the short-lived anemone, which takes its name from the wind which so easily makes its petals fall.

Adonis


(Inana speaks "My brother, awe-inspiring lord, let me ride with you to the mountains! Lord of heaven, awe-inspiring lord, lord, let me ride with you to the mountains;

I am unfamiliar with womanly matters, with ....... I am unfamiliar with womanly matters, with sexual intercourse! I am unfamiliar with womanly matters, with kissing! I am unfamiliar with sexual intercourse, I am unfamiliar with kissing!

"Whatever exists in the mountains, let us eat that. Whatever exists in the hills, let us eat that. In the mountains of herbs, in the mountains of cedars, in the mountains of cedars, the mountains of cypresses, whatever exists in the mountains, let us eat that


But who appreciates any of this these days or my tale...


Here's Hope again;

Kantzveldt
reply to post by abeverage

 

(Inana speaks "My brother, awe-inspiring lord, let me ride with you to the mountains! Lord of heaven, awe-inspiring lord, lord, let me ride with you to the mountains;

I am unfamiliar with womanly matters, with ....... I am unfamiliar with womanly matters, with sexual intercourse! I am unfamiliar with womanly matters, with kissing! I am unfamiliar with sexual intercourse, I am unfamiliar with kissing!

"Whatever exists in the mountains, let us eat that. Whatever exists in the hills, let us eat that. In the mountains of herbs, in the mountains of cedars, in the mountains of cedars, the mountains of cypresses, whatever exists in the mountains, let us eat that


But who appreciates any of this these days or my tale...

Here's Hope again;

Well after you are finished eating... Put your hand in my hand and then I will escort you home.
Appreciation of a great story is not counted by the number of stars if you need more then just look up, the heavens are full of them...

You've crafted a rather interesting tale, touching on romance as well as tragedy.

Well done. SnF.

reply to post by abeverage



Well you know this cult of women only used Adonis for the quality of his seed in order to ensure their own beautiful re-generation, afterward he tended to wind up dead and bloodied scattered across the field.

So some are best left to just walk with the Sun for company, and some are best advised to take the hand of their Missus and go for a walk...






reply to post by Druid42



Well thank you kindly.

Kantzveldt
reply to post by abeverage

 

Well you know this cult of women only used Adonis for the quality of his seed in order to ensure their own beautiful re-generation, afterward he tended to wind up dead and bloodied scattered across the field.

So some are best left to just walk with the Sun for company, and some are best advised to take the hand of their Missus and go for a walk...

True true...I was only filling in for Sun or Inanna's brother Utu so don't shoot the messenger.

I asked for a hand and was handed a cold front chill. But as always one should endeavor, and as always I ask again, but from where I sit the sun has been hidden! The sky has filled with dark clouds and a storm that has been brewing for a long, long time is sure to come...
I pull my collar up and face the cold, on my own, maybe I will go out and talk to my lonely pumpkin.

Lovely and haunting story. Flag and stars for your star-crossed lovers.

I'm a fan of Windflowers (Seals & Crofts also have a special place in my heart!)

- AB

Thought this might go nicely with your story, since I have been on a Waterhouse study.

The title is of course Windflowers

reply to post by abeverage



Yes that's really lovely, there is a poem accompanying here

Alone. He opened his eyes and stared lifelessly into Darkness. The constant yearning from within filled his empty Heart to near suffocation. Still, he continued to think...of her. His Heart grew further breathless. Her immortal image consumed his thoughts rapidly, then completely. The unknown Misery thickly coated his myth of Being with its darkened Sorrow. He wanted to cry, for Hopelessness, and hoped tears will refill his half-emptied Soul. He closed his eyes and searched for Light.

She was born last night, here, amidst the garden of the Unconsciousness bathed in dews of Serenity. The undefinable Beauty smiled blossomly to the mystical welcoming world. She bowed her head softly to the gentle wind, only to find his playful fingers failed to resist the tempation to caress her dark silken hair. Her petal soft skin adored the tender Warmth of the morning Sun, who had yet once taken his eyes off her. Her majestic eyes, deep dark shade of Earth, gazed ethereally toward the celestial dome. She turned and passionately laid a whispering kiss upon the lucidity of Being. For eternity, she was born to walk with Spring and to calm the rage of Summer, then to bright the solitude of Autumn, to finally breathe life into the pale corpse of Winter. Nature dreamed and created Love, then she saw her, Nature created Beauty.

Within his garden, reality was but a Dream, upon which Light, without finite and Darkness, with out mortality, intertwined. In time, maybe Happiness will bloom on the unbearable Sorrow and thus will cultivate Hope from Hopelessness. Within his Heart, to love was to be. He searched, he thought...No! He searched deep and knew that he loved her...only if she knew...only if she knew. He looked on toward the endless Forever.

Look to Hope (Sandoval)...




reply to post by AboveBoard



Thanks, i'd never heard of Seals and Cross but found they'd done the song relating to Windflowers which i quite enjoyed, so maybe i will listen to more.

I was taken aback by this story.

I was playing this song in the background, as I read it.



Very well thought out, and brilliantly crafted.


Well done!


S&F

reply to post by sonnny1



Thanks, i love that music, especially with this video;

reply to post by Kantzveldt


Well, I was listening to the music first and then I read your story.

None of it intended. It was like a soundtrack to me.

It was really weird.

reply to post by Kantzveldt


Ahh....that was great! Enjoyed it very much and I always enjoy the happy endings. Thanks for sharing.