4. Edward

Three years went by since the witch cursed me, changing my life drastically. During the day I was still the same old Edward, overseeing the work on what was becoming a small town and enjoying myself very much. But I had to be careful. As soon as the sun vanished behind the horizon, my form changed into that of a dragon.

Which I supposed was something of a seminormal sight around here, but I didn’t doubt for one second that my father would disown me without hesitation the moment he found out about me. He hated anything supernatural. I suppose it was his logical mind that just couldn’t comprehend that there were things beyond normal physics, but that didn’t change the fact that he would banish me from this worksite and his life.

It wasn’t that I didn’t have enough money or the know-how to make it on my own, I did. However, I was enjoying my work here too much to let it go. It was the only thing that kept me sane. I had already given up on the idea of ever having a family of my own. True love, what a load of shit, I thought at least once a day. What woman would ever love me knowing I was a dragon? No, scratch that, what normal woman ever would?

I knew that was just an excuse for myself, because there were plenty of women who would see past who I had become. That wasn’t the point though. I didn’t want to make myself vulnerable to another person, hand her that much power over my secret, not as long as I enjoyed working for my dad.

Ironically, I excused my nightly absences to my father by pretending to go on dates, to find Mrs. Right. After three years of this he was becoming suspicious, and I realized I wouldn’t be able to use that ruse for much longer, not without actually producing a woman to show off.

There was just no way I could do that. I was stuck at the construction site. I could have driven to New York, where my father lived. Stopped on the side of the road at night and let the dragon free, but there was no way to keep my identity hidden once I reached New York. Even if I timed it just right to arrive in the early morning hours with the first rays of the sun, I would never be able to leave before nightfall. Or anywhere else for that matter.

So I was stuck here.

A monster living between the borders of two places that would have embraced my otherness with open arms; two towns filled with monsters like me. But I just wasn’t ready for that. First off, I wouldn’t have been able to explain it to dear old dad, and second… I just wasn’t ready.

So I made sure to get to work with the first morning light and leave before the last rays of the sun vanished. It was easier during summer, winters were a lot more difficult. More than once I had to leave in the middle of a heated discussion with Jack or another foreman because my skin was beginning to itch, the first signs of my body changing.

I made up a lie about ill health, about sudden bouts of nausea that had to be taken care of immediately, but one only had to look at me to call me a liar. I didn’t look ill at all. I was in the best shape of my life. I never shied away from hard work and if help was needed at any part of the construction sites, I was there.

Luckily, I was the boss and didn’t have to explain myself, but rumors were circulating. I worried I was running out of time. Sooner or later my secret would be discovered. I wasn’t ready for that, but I was preparing myself for it.

After a long flight—I won’t lie, I did enjoy those—I usually found a dark, secluded spot to rest for a while. I hadn’t slept since the witch put the spell on me, but I required rest during which I fell into a kind of meditative state. Still aware of my surroundings, but not fully conscious. An hour or two of those respites equaled eight hours of sleep for me, and I was strangely enjoying this perk. One was so much more productive this way.

It freed me to do my paperwork on the weekends, gave me time to catch up on e-mails and orders, all aiding me so that I could devote my time to the construction site throughout the week.

One of my favorite spots was an old graveyard. Its once-beautiful church was falling apart and my ever-overactive mind was already calculating how much it would cost to restore the building which must have been at least two hundred years old, judging by the architecture and the dates on the gravestones that were still visible.

A pond the size of a football field added a charm to it that was hard to resist.

I liked sitting high up in the belltower, whose bell had long ago fallen through the floor below and now rested cobwebbed in the basement. The rest of the tower’s structure was sound though. Deep and dark enough to conceal me from curious eyes, while I could see in all directions.

Ghouls liked to come out during the night, looking for a freshly dug grave which they would never find here. They would have frightened me to death in my human form. As repulsive and repugnant as they were though, they didn’t pose a threat to me, so I let them be.

Detached, I watched one of them holding the bone of some poor animal that must have recently died in the graveyard, while others surrounded it greedily. They snarled at each other through lipless mouths with gray skin so taut it barely covered their skulls.

What clothing they had, or used to have, was filthy and ripped and hung loosely on their skeletal forms. Every vertebra stood out on the hunched-over ghoul with the bone.

They only interested me for a few seconds. They didn’t show up every night, but often enough to have become a familiar sight.

I was just about to take a deep breath to prepare myself for my meditative state, when the most melodious humming I had ever heard reached my hypersensitive ears.

Startled, the ghouls scattered. Bone forgotten, they took off to whatever place they burrowed in.

A large moon illuminated the graveyard enough for me to be able to see the form emerge from the woods, even without my heightened sense of sight.

The scales on my back stood up when the rays of the moon hit silvery strands in otherwise lusciously black hair, making it sparkle. Emerging from the trees was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. My tail flicked involuntarily as I took her fully in.

Her hair reached down to her small waist, long legs were covered by a skirt that swept over the forest floor, but was dirty and frayed at the hem.

The woman moved with an ethereal grace that stopped my breathing and caused my heart to skip a beat. Her arms were long and slender, frayed material clung tightly to them.

My tail flicked again, hitting the wooden walls of the tower with a subdued bang that was barely there. She must have heard it though, because the humming stopped and her head lifted.

I drew back deeper into the shadows, certain she couldn’t see me, yet captivated by her heart-shaped face. So pale, it made her gorgeous aquamarine eyes appear even bigger. An upturned nose sat over rosebud lips, so red and full I nearly flew from the tower to press mine against them. Never in all my life had I seen a more stunning woman than her.

Her head cocked as she scanned her surroundings, jump-starting my mind which had temporarily gone blank. What was she doing out here? In the middle of the night? At a graveyard?

A rushing sound from the sky above me made me curious enough to risk sticking my head through an opening in the tower. I blinked in confusion, as eleven swans glided through the night sky. Pale moonlight illuminated white feathers that reminded me of the white in the woman’s hair.

One by one the swans dipped lower until they landed on the pond, barely making a sound.

The mystery woman appeared from around the church and walked over to the water’s edge, scanning the pond as if counting the swans.

An urge to go down there to her, to share this incredible moment was nearly overwhelming, and only the awareness of my dragon form made me stay put.

The swans swam toward the shore, toward the woman, who fell on her knees with her arms wide open to embrace them.

A chill moved through me as I watched the swans move into her arms, cluttering around her with their wings spread as if embracing her back.

Next to having been turned into a dragon, this was the strangest sight I had ever seen.

After a while, the girl and the swans drew apart to enter the church. Through the hole left by the bell,. I caught glimpses of one or another here and there as they moved through the interior. The scraping sound of old pews told me that they were moving what was left of the furnishings, even though the reason why they would do that eluded me.

I didn’t know how much time passed, but at some point all quietened down there and my curiosity won out. Carefully I moved through the open floor of the tower, sticking my head through the ceiling to look for the unexpected guests.

My eyes found them huddled on the ground and deep asleep. The swans rested around the woman, with their outstretched wings creating a makeshift blanket for her. Long necks rested their heads on her unmoving body.

Had the girl looked ethereal before, she was now downright delicate. Long, black eyelashes lay in deep contrast against her pale, nearly bluish skin.

I didn’t move for the longest time, just drinking in her otherworldly beauty and imagining what it would feel like to have somebody like her wake up next to me. In my mind’s eye, I saw her stunning aquamarine eyes opening first thing in the morning, to look at me. I was sure I would have drowned in their depts.

Her lips quivered slightly, making me wonder what she was dreaming about. What words they were trying to form. Envisioning those lips calling my name made me shudder with yearning.

My tail flicked and I suddenly remembered where and who I was and why I was here. With a roar of agony, I flew up, straight through the steeple, breaking the already fragile wood. It would rain down on the girl and the swans and waken them if my roar hadn’t done so already. Not that I cared.

The pain in my chest threatened to tear my heart apart. I would never see those eyes open up to me in wonder in the morning. If they did, they would be filled with revulsion.

I flew higher and higher. Higher than I had ever been. My wings carried me to the stars, or so it seemed, as another cry of anguish, anger, and the deepest pain I had ever felt ripped through me.

Why?

For the millionth time, I asked this question. Why?

What had I done to deserve the witch cursing me like this?

I flew until my wings lost their strength to fight gravity. For a bit I hung suspended in the air, higher than the clouds. The church and graveyard, the pond, were barely dots on the ground.

Slowly at first, I began to fall, then faster. Wind rushed by me as gravity reclaimed my body, and for a moment I considered just letting go. Just to allow gravity to draw me in and break me into a thousand unrecognizable pieces. I had nothing left. Only pain awaited me.

I closed my eyes.

The wind howled by me, the speed became dizzying and my body spiraled. I made out trees, the pond, the graveyard, the church. And then her face appeared in front of me and my wings expanded, stalling the fall. I wasn’t ready yet to die or give up. No matter the pain. I wanted to see her again. I wanted to meet her.

The next few days became the most exquisite, torturous days of my life. Every night I returned to the church, hid in the nearly ruined belltower, and watched the mysterious girl collect nettles, of all things. They grew in abundance on and around the old graves and headstones.

She carried a large burlap sack which she painstakingly filled, making her even more mysterious to me. Those nettles stung, I had experienced it before and couldn’t understand why anybody in their right mind would collect them, or why.

Some nights one or more of the swans accompanied her, squawking and pecking at a bush if they found more nettles, pointing them out to her. I found myself obsessed with wanting to know her, finding out where she came from, what she was doing here.

It had been a long three years, during which I had not once looked forward to nighttime. Now though, it was all I could think about during the day. I could hardly wait for the sun to finally disappear and take on my dragon form to spy on the mystifying girl that now captivated every waking thought in my mind.