The Boxfield Elm

by Cinda Swans

  He smiled softly. "I've dreamed of you plenty," he said, "But real life is better."

  His hands caressed her ass, her breasts, her shoulders. She kissed the strange, tattooed images up and down his arms, seeing winged dogs and laughing horses and the leaves of strange plants drawn in his skin. It looked like the history of a dream world.

  Aeron's slim, gentle hand held her inner thigh for a second, firmly, and then he asked, "Can I touch you here?"

  She sighed in pleasure. No boy had ever asked so courteously about each step.

  "Yes," she said.

  "How do you want me to touch you?" he asked.

  "Oh," she said. It was hard to explain. But as she began to try, she felt his finger slide between her moist lips. "Yes," she said. "Like that. To make everything slippery. Touch me softly like that. Then deeper."

  He caressed her gently, taking his time. She rolled under him, looking up at his face while he looked up and down her body, his eyes glowing with pleasure and sweetness. She felt herself getting wetter, full of more expectation and excitement. Then his finger slid inside of her, penetrating her slowly but firmly.

  "Hook your finger up against me, inside. Just press, don't move," she said.

  He nodded, and she felt his cock swell with pleasure where it was against her thigh, and the feeling of knowing that her speech and her swelling sex was growing his desire sent her reeling, higher into clouds of pleasure. The pressure of his finger inside of her made her whole body feel full of pulsing light. She began to rock her hips lightly against his hand.

  Then she reached her fingers down to find his cock. It was, somehow, as graceful and mysterious and familiar seeming as the rest of Aeron. He groaned with pleasure at her touch, and she felt his joy as her own.

  Bri felt as if she were a version of herself that was somehow more expansive - as if everything were magnified. She saw each hair and freckle on Aeron, she saw each crease in his lips, the soft fringe of lashes around his closed eyes, which pressed together more tightly as she increased the pressure of her hand on his cock.

  "Aeron," she whispered in his ear. "Can I make love to you?"

  He squeezed her in his arms. "I don't normally go to home base on first dates."

  He studied the length of her warm body, the glow of her flesh, her auburn hair spread on the pillow next to him. "But seems like this is a good time to make an exception."

  Bri smiled. "Ok good," she said.

  A thought pushed its way into her head. What if this were it? What if Aeron went away - for real - tomorrow? Maybe this was all she'd ever have of him.

  Aeron touched her face again, with the backs of his knuckles, as he had at the bar. Then, the gesture had ignited her fire. Now, it was a sweet acknowledgment of the shadow of sadness that passed across her face. "Bri," he said. "Don't look so sad. Not when you're so naked and in my arms. Be here with me," he said.

  "Okay," she answered. "One sec." She got up out of the bed and dashed into the bathroom, with its gleaming marble sink. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror - her breasts rosy, her face warmly lit. She felt so alive.

  She came back and Aeron was there, naked, waiting for her. She joined him, setting a condom on the table. He wrapped her in his arms and she quivered happily.

  "Want me to put that on?" he asked.

  "Do you mind?" she said.

  He smiled. "Of course not. I'm glad you have one. And then, yes, you can make love to me. And me to you. And - " he kelt upright, taking his hard cock gently into his own hands, opening the condom, sliding it down the length of himself "-and," he said, holding himself in one hand while with the other he touched her again, gently moistening her, preparing her, pleasing her, "and we will make love to each other, and then there will be more love," he sang, as if it were an old song.

  Then he knelt before her and honored her whole body, her whole self, she felt, bare and generous before him. He pulled her in toward him and entered her, slowly at first, then with ardor. They sighed together, and Bri felt as if every part of her were touching every part of him. They moved together, slowly, relishing every tiny sensation, their hips undulating to the same rhythm. Heat and tension rose up through Bri's abdomen, she felt her muscles begin to tighten and fill with pleasure.

  Then suddenly, she rolled on top of his body and knelt over him, her thighs spread over his hips, his cock still buried deep inside of her. He clasped her thighs, her buttocks in his delicate hands, and she was overcome with her own passion, losing herself in taking pleasure from his pleasure, her eyes closed, her head thrown back in bliss. She rocked her hips up and down, squeezing against his sex, feeling him grow harder and pulsing inside of her. He pulled her down to kiss her lips, and as she breathed out a gasp of air, she felt a deep orgasm begin to well up inside of her whole core. His kiss flowered hotly into her mouth, his tongue reaching back as if he were pulling something past language through her and into himself. The reach of his tongue combined with the final thrusting of him lifted her higher and higher, until she was nowhere and everywhere at once, breaking in waves of pleasure which grew into a burst of shimmering glory, flowing from her innards all the way through her fingernails. She gasped and felt him still thrusting into her, himself groaning in joy, chasing after her climax to join her on the other side. He paused, holding her against his chest, and another rush of pleasure - stranger, and vaster than the first - filled her, until they were both shaking and clasping each other.

  Aeron held Bri tight in one arm, carefully sliding his spent cock out of her quivering sex, carefully tucking the used condom back in its torn wrapper. Bri giggled at the baseness of it, but then when he rested back into the pillows she buried her face in his neck, smelling the sweet scent of his sweat, his breath. He twined his fingers in her hair and sighed.

  "I haven't had sex like that in forever," he said.

  "I haven't had sex like that, ever," she answered.

  He was quiet for a minute. "Yeah," he said. "Now that you mention it, me neither. No, no Bri, you are something unlike anything. I've always known that, and now, now I really know."

  "Aeron," she said, "I'm afraid of losing you."

  He held her tightly still, but was silent for a long time.

  "I know," he said. "It's okay to be afraid, sometimes."

  She sighed. "Isn't love supposed to be fearless?"

  "Only if you are a fool," he answered. He paused, then added, "No, Bri, whatever else happens, I love you fearlessly. I mean, I am not afraid of loving you." He kissed her neck. "There'd be no point in being afraid of it, now. I'm in it."

  She turned her back to his front so that he could wrap his arm around her middle, comfortingly. "Bri," he whispered. "If I figure out how to go, will you come with me?"

  Bri lay in the dim light for a long time, pleasure still coursing through her body, comforted by Aeron's touch, by the security of it, for the moment. She tried to imagine what the answer to his question looked like, and all she could see was the dark inside of the elm tree, raised around her. A fullness, an emptiness, everything and nothing.

  "Yes," she said.

  Chapter 14

  When Bri stirred, the light was streaming in through the curtains, and Aeron's arms were still wrapped tightly around her. She awoke feeling as satisfied as one is by the best kind of dream, but the dream was still sleeping next to her, holding her firmly in its arms. She stretched her arm, hardly moving the rest of her body, but it was enough to cause Aeron to stir.

  "We're still in a cloud, aren't we?" he said.

  She laughed. "You know, that is what I think every morning I wake up here."

  Then there was a clicking sound. "What's that?" said Aeron, his body tensing.

  Bri became afraid. "Ah, I don't know."

  "Hellooo?" called a voice. There was a rustling, the sound of bags being dropped. "Brianne?"

  "What!? Is that your Aunt Claire?" whispered Aeron, furtively.

  "Oh my god." said Bri. "It totally is."

  "I
thought she wasn't coming back until - until not right now!" he said quickly, burrowing deeper under the covers, as if he were going to hide from her under all the blankets.

  "Brianne," said a voice as a hand opened the bedroom door gently, a tiny crack. "Brianne, are you having a sleep-over?" then there was a light, girlish giggle. "I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to - " then she giggled again, still talking through the door as it was, only opened a tiny crack.

  "Um," said Bri. "Uh, I thought you weren't coming back until - um, oh geeze. I'm sorry?"

  "Ha ha ha," Claire laughed. "This is very silly. I should have called. Listen, I'm going down the street for some coffee, and I'll be back in a little bit. Seriously, don't be embarrassed. Of all the people in the world, I am not the one to be embarrassed by in a situation like this. Lord knows I've been walked in on by worse than myself," she laughed again, a deep, uproarious laughter. "Anyway, maybe we can cook some breakfast - lunch together. I think Aeron and I have a lot to talk about." She laughed again, a warm, generous laugh of true joy and amusement. "I'm glad to - well, ok. I'll be back in a while. How long? An hour or so? Ha ha ha."

  The door clicked shut behind her, and Bri felt red in the face with embarrassment. Aeron lifted his head above the covers, and she cracked up, laughing freely and uncontrolled. "Aeron," she said, "you look like a little boy who got caught doing something naughty!"

  "I am!" he said, pouting goofily. "I am a little boy who just got caught naked in bed with you by your Aunt Claire. Naked in her bed! Eeeewwwwww, that is so grossss! What is she doing home early?

  "Wait!" he added. "Wait, how did she know it was me here?!"

  Bri giggled, and then grew serious. "Aren't we all a little psychic, now?"

  "Bri, seriously? You're creeping me out."

  She laughed again, the same free, uproarious laugher that had come from Aunt Claire. "I'm creeping you out, now? You're the one who - well, ok. This is all just silly. I seriously - I think that this might be the beginning of a great friendship with Aunt Claire."

  Aeron sighed, still a little red in the face, and then he laughed too. "Okay," he said. "Maybe you're right. She does seem pretty down."

  "I'll bet she can't even count her lovers on all her fingers and toes."

  He laughed again. She rolled on top of him and kissed the tops of his shoulders. "Want to take a shower, put on clothes, make ourselves presentable, and then figure out your whole past and whole future over breakfast and coffee with my loony opera singer aunt?"

  He grinned, caressing her breasts, running his hands all over her, both of them remembering the night before, the cause of their deeper intimacy now. "Alright." he said. "You talked me into it."

  "Ha!" she said. She jumped down out of the bed and went to the shower, and then he joined her, and she looked at him all anew with love. "Aeron," she said, watching the water course over his sweet body. "You're - ah, I could just look at you forever. I can't even believe it's you, still here with me. Feels like a dream."

  He slapped her ass lightly, which made her jump a little bit.

  "That feel like a dream?" he asked.

  She threw her arms around him and said, "Everything."

  A little while later, the two of them were still feeling bashful, clothed and sitting on Claire's couches as she poured three cups of steaming coffee and sat down with them.

  Claire was in her late 50s, and age had made her regal looking. She had long dark hair - totally unlike Bri's soft auburn waves, it was deep, heavy, curled in bunches and locks that flowed down her back. She wore a flowing clothes made from heavy, jewel-toned fabrics, and silver rings graced her fingers. She had high cheekbones and deep-set dark eyes, which glowed with intelligence and comfort.

  "Aeron, I always expected I'd see you again, but it never occurred to me that these would be the circumstances of our re-aquaintance."

  He didn't quite know what to say. He took the coffee she offered.

  "Claire, Aeron says he tried to write to you a couple times. I think - well, he - er, we, we have a lot of questions for you."

  "I'm sure you do," she laughed. "You know, I'm sure it hurts to hear this worse than anything, but Aeron, oh, I regretted so much not sweeping you into my arms the day they found out Cynthia was gone. I knew I'd have had to battle for you, because grown ups are stupid about that kind of thing - I was no blood relation to you, and they would have made it hard as hell. I had to leave town the next day to go far away, and instead of changing my plans then and there to take you under my wing, I trusted that out of all those aunts and uncles and cousins who showed up to deal with everything, someone would have to be kind enough to treat you well.

  "I assume I was wrong. I assumed I was wrong quite a bit, and I felt terribly for not finding you. But to be honest - I mean, I certainly could have tried harder, but I did try. Your father's family did not want to hear from me. They assumed that there was something wrong with me, if I'd been close friends with a woman who disappeared and left her son behind."

  "Wait," said Aeron. "So you knew my mother and my father?"

  "Well, that is a much longer question, and probably not the most important one. Yes, I did know your father, briefly. Aeron, he was...he was a difficult man. Your mother never stopped feeling her love for him, but I could never forgive him for what he did to her."

  "What did he do?" blurted Bri, herself curious.

  "He kept her. He tied her down, and he was afraid of her powers to leave him. And then he left her, first."

  "But who was he?" asked Aeron. "Was he like her? Where did he come from?"

  "Where did she come from?" asked Bri. "A tree? Or what."

  Claire laughed. "Well, kids, I don't have all the answers, let me tell you that right now. But here's the story how I remember it.

  "Yes, Cynthia grew up somewhere not like here. She was, yes, a slightly supernatural being. Aeron, all of your suspicions, your doubt, your feeling of living in the wrong time in the wrong world, all the trauma you've endured I can't imagine. Let me validate all of it right now - you have been surviving in a world that doesn't suit what you really are.

  "And, as you know, you're not alone. Lots of your kind are left here, out of touch with their own powers, their own ties to beings that are a little more capable than humans. You can remember things about the future, for example, if you try. But who wants to be able to do that, when this is the world we live in? We'd all go insane, and yes, that is often what happens ..." her face grew sad.

  "But yes, as you know, Cynthia was a deeply curious botanist, who studied at the limits of what was knowable in her world as well. It was her curiosity which ultimately led her to the edge of her own existence. She discovered how to pass from her world into this one." Claire clasped her silver-ringed hands together, looking out at them like she was telling a bedtime story. There was compassion and seriousness in her face, but also a little flair of the theatrical, Bri noticed.

  "She saw and felt the deep pain of this place. For a time, she secretly traveled in both worlds. Then she made the mistake of telling two men - one in her world, one in this world, who she really was. They became jealous of one another, even though she loved both of them.

  "It was your father, Aeron, who persuaded her to stay here. He persuaded her with his pain, really.

  "He, too, was a deeply curious man, who loved to learn. He was ardent for knowledge, in fact. Once she was pregnant, he convinced her that it would be okay for him to try traveling in her world. He promised to keep his identity secret. She didn't want him to go, but she couldn't stop him ...

  "And he didn't come back?" asked Bri.

  "And he didn't come back," answered Claire.

  Aeron sighed deeply. It was a strange sigh of both relief and frustration. "Tell me she went to join him," he said quietly. "Tell me she's not dead."

  Claire went quiet for a long time. Then she stood and went to a cabinet on the other side of the room. It had a solid walnut door. She took a long chain from around her neck. There were a
series of tiny keys dangling from it. She chose a little gold one, and she unlocked the cabinet.

  She pulled out three books. They were richly bound in a deep, golden-brown leather. They seemed to shine at the same time that they were clearly worn and dulled from time and elements. They had an aura of otherworldliness about them. Claire also took a cigar box from the cabinet. She brought the whole pile to Aeron.

  "This," she said, "must be what you have been looking for."

  Aeron's eyes welled with tears, and he wept, looking at the pile of his mother's things in Claire's lap.

  Bri felt the letter from the tree, still in her back pocket. It was her secret, she decided.

  Aeron held the books, the box, unopened. He looked at Claire and Bri with his eyes glowing and moist. “These will tell me how to get home,” he said.

  Chapter 15

  Claire, Josie, Mark, and Bri couldn't stop themselves from clapping and cheering loudly when the meeting was pronounced over. Claire jumped up, squealing. Bri grinned, and Mark squeezed her and Josie's hands at the same time.

  They had all been waiting in anticipation of the city's review of their proposal. It had been Claire's idea initially, and she and Bri and Mark had hashed it out. Claire had tracked down a lot of money, and very quickly. It paid, it seemed, to be able to charm benevolent, wealthy people, and it was a talent Claire was not afraid to use for something she cared about.

  In a few short months, they had raised enough money to support the city in making the remaining land behind her father's house into a protected area. No more developments would go up. Not a single tree would be chopped - including the elm, of course. Three selectmen and women - two of them women Claire's age - approached the group after the meeting, and thanked them deeply for their efforts. "It would have been such a shame," said one of the women, shaking her head. "I never understood the city's logic. I am glad that there is more than once voice speaking up."