Tara,


You are my best friend. I have not been truthful about myself. Meet me in our Spot at 5:00 and I will entrust to you my deepest secret.









Always,








Caine


I stared at the note for a long time confused. Caine had been acting strange lately and now he gives me this note. I shook my head and looked at my watch. It was four forty-five. I groaned. As usual I would be late.

I bounded down the front steps and jumped into my truck throwing his note onto the passenger seat. I sat there for a second then started the engine and took off. His note seemed to draw my eyes to it. It leered at me until I stuff it in the glove compartment. Outside of the entrance to the path I glanced at my watch one last time.

‘Yep, I knew it, I’m late.’ I thought. My feet automatically started on the nonexistent path. I smiled as I stepped into our meadow.

Our Spot was an unnatural clearing in the middle of the woods. There were strange yet beautifully smelling flowers around the edge of it. The entrance was two trees bent in an arch with vines twisting around them. It was a sacred place to me.

I could see Caine in the middle of it lying on his back. I stepped up to him, blocking the sun. His eyes snapped open and he gasped.

“Tara! You scared me.” He exclaimed sitting up. He smiled at me, his bright blue eyes holding mine for a moment. I caught my breath and looked away. I didn’t understand the feelings churning inside of me but I knew that I wanted to keep this feeling of falling that I got every time I looked into his eyes.

“What is it that you wanted to tell me?” I asked as I plopped down beside of him. He cast a sideways glace toward me. He hesitated for a moment then looked away.

“I’m not sure if I can tell you. You might never want to see me again.” He glanced down at his hands. Laughing I took one of them in mine.

“You’re my best friend; I don’t care what it is. Gee, you can’t get any weirder.” He shook his head and pulled his hand from mine.

“You’d be surprised.” I rolled my eyes and turned to him.

“How ‘bout this, you tell me your secret and I’ll tell you mine.” As he looked at me I gave him a smile. “Please.”

“Okay.” He leaned over toward me. My heart thumped in my chest. It was so loud that I was sure he could hear it.

“How about I show you?” He whispered in my ear. I nodded dumbly as he stood up. My eyes followed him as he walked to the left side of the field. I struggled to see what he was trying to show but he just stood there. Suddenly Caine’s body started to glow. I watched in wonder as his light brown hair darkened to the impossible color of royal blue. He turned around and walked toward me. Stopping just a few feet in front of me he stared intently into my eyes. His started to change. They transformed to the color of an obsidian stone. His tan skin paled to a snowy white. I felt lightheaded as I watched. He turned his back to me and bent down until he was resting on the balls of his feet. My brow furrowed in confusion. I started to voice my confusion but then I saw it. A faint shimmering outline appeared behind him. As I watched it became bolder. He had wings! The wings were the span of six eagle wings. His were a translucent black-purple, the tips of them curling into swirls.

Caine turned and looked at me. His eyes asked a question that I knew he needed the answer to.

“Caine I-“Tears filled my eyes as I choked on my words. He was so beautiful that it physically hurt to look at him. I knew now he would never love me back. I shook my head and wrapped my arms around myself.

“I knew it.” I looked up and saw the regret and disappointment in his eyes. “You think I’m repulsive.” My eyes narrowed, his words snapping me out of my panic. I jumped up and stalked to him my hands balled into fist. I stopped inches from his face

“Now you listen here.” I hissed jabbing him in the chest. “I don’t give a crap what you look like. I don’t care if you aren’t human. You are first and foremost my best friend. Now do you want to know my secret or not?” He stared at me with wide eyes and slowly nodded his head. I stared him in the eyes and did the bravest thing in my life.

“I’m in love with you. I have been for a couple of years now. Now that I know what you really look like I know that you could never love me back. Compared to you I am a monster.” I paused, looking away. My heart stopped when I heard him laughing. I turned back to him horrified. He smiled at me.

“Silly, I’m not laughing at you. I’m laughing at me. I was being stupid. I thought you would hate me.” He smiled sheepishly. I laughed and made him sit down.

“Caine, I love you for who you are not what you are. I have loved you for so long that you being a-a- what exactly are you?” I scooted back and took a long hard look at him. He looked like a faerie but something was off. It had to do with his skin. Something was…different. I looked at it closely. I could faintly see tiny triangles on his arm.

“You have scales!” I exclaimed jumping up and down ecstatic that I had figured it out.” So are you part snake and part faerie?” He laughed and shook his head. “What?” I asked confused.

“You’re pretty close I am part reptile, but not a snake.” He flapped his wings. “I’m part dragon.”

“Wow.” I murmured as I looked around. Caine took my face in his hands.

“Remember how you said this field was unnatural? “ I nodded. “That’s because it is. You told me once that you wanted a place for only you and the person you chose. A place you could be alone to think, to write, a place where no one could find you. These flowers that you like so much, they aren’t flowers. These are faeries.” As he lifted his arms up a million flower petals burst into the air. I stared in wonder as they fluttered around us.

“Tara, this is all for you. I love you with all my soul. Will you stay with me and take me as I am?” His snow white skin flushed a light pink. I looked at him in awe.

“Of course Caine, I don’t care what you are because to me you’ll always be Caine.” He smiled at me and gathered me into his arms. Above us the faeries giggled and took back the forms of flower petals.