Fifteen: The Memory  

Ten Years Ago… 

“Floryn, dear? Are you up?” A feminine voice calls from the door of the estate. Floryn was up, in fact, he could not sleep last night. He took a firm spot by the window, watching the sky change color intensely as the sun began to rise. He had watched every plant unfurl and every Fae person begin their early mornings at the shops. He needed to remember every detail of this day; he needed to be watchful, curious, observant in any way that he could so this memory did not fade from his mind. 

Because today was the day in which he learned who he was destined to.  

It was a dream for all Fae children; a person born for them, meant for them, carved from the trunk of Mother Nature’s tree of life. A person who would match them so well that they would never be interested in anyone else for the rest of their lives. Once a destined pair made eye contact, it was hard for them to look away. 

Very rarely did destined pairs split from one another, and even rarer did a Fae child not have one. It was custom to attend a ceremony on the fifteenth year of life. Fae children of all social status and walks of life would gather at the grand palace to perform the ceremony of touch. It was then that they would find their destined pair, a bond, a friendship, a love that would last for a lifetime.  

So, Floryn races down the stairs of the estate to his mother who waited patiently by the door. She wished him a gentle farewell and watched tenderly as he gathered his things and loaded up into the ornate carriage. His father was already waiting for him in the carriage; a proud smile rested on his mouth. 

The trip to the grand palace did not take long, since Floryn’s family was well off enough to live close to the palace itself. The ride was smooth thanks to the expensive material of the wheels; it felt as though the carriage was hovering above the ground. Floryn sticks his head out of the window, brushing aside the curtain to get a better view. His father laughs at him when he draws his head back in, eyes wide with amazement.  

“Do not act so shocked. You’ve seen the Fae lands before.”  

“I know, but it’s different today! It all feels so different, and I need to see it all.” His father laughs again, patting his head a few times with affection and ruffling his light brown hair. 

They arrived a few minutes later, and Floryn could not believe his eyes. The palace shot up dramatically into the wispy white clouds like daggers or sharp Ork teeth. It was incredibly wonderful with diamond encrusted window frames and giant crystalline glass doors that opened by themselves when you got close enough to them; the product of Elven magic. It was blue in color, sparkling and glowing from miles away. It was a sight to behold, and Floryn was unsure if he could behold it all at once.  

“Come along now, the ceremony is about to begin.” His father takes his hand and leads him to the doors that swing open with ease. They arrive in the foyer. The ceilings stretch high, so high that fog settles at the top. An expensive and remarkable chandelier threatens to crush them from above if it were to fall; it looked that heavy.  

“Welcome!” A speaker announces from the top of the staircase. It’s a woman adorned with a fancy gown that glitters with each movement she makes. She has a kind face; it’s clear that this day was important to her, too. “The ceremony of touch shall begin in just a moment. We need all young Fae to gather in the center of the foyer in two lines.”  

Floryn races to do just as the woman asked of him. The lines formed quickly, and Floryn could tell that every child alongside him was just as excited and proud of this moment as he was. His heart hammered strongly in his chest, against his delicate rib cage. He wondered then if the other Fae could sense how nervous he was. 

“Let the ceremony of touch begin!”  

The ceremony of touch was simple. A Fae connection started with touch; a touch of the hand. Once a destined pair touched skin to skin, their bond was sealed. Floryn had heard what it felt like, the tingling, the buzz of destiny’s touch. He wanted so badly to feel it today, to find the one who would be destined to him forever, who he would be destined to.  

He exchanged touch with a girl nearby, nothing. Then a boy a little farther, but he felt no tingling. Another boy a bit further down, nothing. Another handful of Fae children, still nothing.  

He kept going until he felt nearly every Fae child’s hand. None there that day was who he was destined to. At the end, there were only three children left. Him, and a boy and girl. They exchanged the touch of their hands, gasping when they felt the force of destiny flow between one another. They were destined, but he was not.  

He had nobody.  

All these people, and he was destined to none.  

How could this be? Why had this happened to him? In a room full of people, how could he be the only one who felt nothing?  

This must have been a sick joke.  

“That concludes our ceremony. Thank you to all who attended.” The woman’s voice announces from the stairwell, and Floryn feels sick to his stomach. It couldn’t be over, he had not found the one he was destined to!  

Not only this, but everyone was noticing the fact that none had paired with him. Hundreds of eyes filter to him, staring long and hard. Floryn grew uneasy under the pressure of being watched. Pathetically, he lets out a whimper of sadness and bolts from the foyer. 

The sky looked beautiful as the sun peaked from behind the Fae wood trees, but Floryn saw none of it through his thick tears.