This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, events, and incidents are the products of my imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is coincidental. All characters are over the age of 18.
LATE MORNING THOUGHTS
Charlie opens his eyes. He struggles to figure out where he is. He is waking up from a heavy sleep. Oh right, he was with this young woman who claimed to be a witch and he is in her bed!
He is up and looks around; she is nowhere to be seen in her one room apartment. Sliding out of bed he dresses. Coffee, he needs coffee. At 69 he has a few old age aches and pains. Coffee will help.
He takes a deep breath; her scent is still on him. He goes to leave the apartment and stops at the front door. There is a note with a purple heart as a signature.
"Thank you for a lovely morning, see you on the beach. Work calls...
Leaving the apartment, he walks toward the coffee shop. Still feeling groggy from his morning of love making with the lovely younger woman. He smiles. She claimed to be a witch and she called herself Zelda the Green. Yes, this was all real. Wow!
With his coffee in hand, he sat trying to remember how the early morning went. This young woman in her mid-twenties had seduced him in a most unusual way. Her body was so well-proportioned and she was beautiful to behold. The sex had been beyond his wildest expectations.
Charlie had retired from being a professional masseur. He knew unusual beauty having massaged many beautiful women over the years. Yet, there is something different about his deep feelings for this young woman. Is there such a thing as love at first sight and first encounter he wondered?
She is a redhead, his favorite hair color in a woman. Yes, she is young and beautiful and her alabaster body is a work of art in itself. He likes her personality. This morning's seduction may have been a one-time experience but it had left him in a strange state of deep caring. Of course, he thinks it is silly, he is old enough to be her father.
He looks at his cell phone and it is almost noon. He chuckles, this morning he had made love to and slept with a beautiful young lady who claimed to be a witch. He laughs at himself again, maybe all this witchcraft business is mumbo-jumbo! Ah, these young people he thought and their world of new age fantasy.
Walking on the beach back to his house the salt air helps to clear his head. He decides to clean his house and feels comfortable for the first time since he moved to the beach. Fate had made him a widower and grief had left him living a lonely life until now. All that had changed. Was this the healing he needed?
After a hot shower and a microwave dinner, he relaxes on the veranda overlooking the sand dunes. Even though the surf is making background noise, he puts on a classical music piece, Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique (Fantastical Symphony). Somehow it reminds him of how magical his morning was with Zelda. Finally, sleep calls him and he crashes with pleasant thoughts of Zelda.
RED SKY AT NIGHT, SAILORS' DELIGHT.
RED SKY AT MORNING, SAILORS WARNING.
Since he is an early riser, Charlie is up before sunrise for his morning walk on the beach. Somehow, he can't get Zelda out of his mind. As he approaches the boardwalk and his favorite bench, the sun breaks the horizon. No 'Green Flash' this morning but the reds and yellows in the morning sky are dramatic set against the blue to black high above. It is live art! No one could paint a picture that captures these colors he thought. He wonders if the old sailor's tales were true about red skies and storms.
Someone is sitting on his bench. Well, it is not his bench but it is his favorite morning place to sit and watch the ocean in the twilight of the morning. His heart skips a beat. Is it Zelda who had seduced him the previous morning?
It looks like someone else! This lady has red hair blowing in the breeze and she seems to be taller. Perhaps a little older than Zelda.
The offshore breeze brings a sweet feminine fragrance to his nose as he slowly climbs up the steps of the boardwalk. This lady sitting on the bench is not Zelda but looks just as interesting as Zelda in her strange gypsy style clothing.
"Hi," she spoke in a soft voice, "Are you Charlie?"
"Yes, and to whom do I have the pleasure of sharing my bench with this morning? Well, it is not exactly my bench but it is the one I like to sit on each morning watching the sunrise."
As Charlie sits down, he notices how her hair shimmers red and yellow in the morning sunlight. With smart alacrity she says, "I am Lilith daughter of the Fae Beach Circle, coven of Zelda and other witches. We are of the Feri Tradition."
Oh no, Charlie thought, another woman who believes she is a witch.
"I find it fascinating that for a second morning I am sharing this bench with another beautiful young lady as the sun is rising over the ocean. Why have you decided to join me on this bench?" Charlie queries.
Lilith took a deep sigh and looked into his eyes, "Mr. Charlie, life is full of mysteries and magic spells. Our coven adopted this beach years ago instead of a place in the woods or along a river. When the moon is full, we dance and swim in the moon lit waves and converse with the sirens of this beach. Zelda told me to meet you this morning here at your bench and later have coffee and a conversation with you."
"I am curious to know what all this is about. Why are you so convinced I would have coffee with you?" Charlie gave a friendly laugh...
"If you want the rest of the story, we will have it over coffee, and anyway, so it will be...!" She smiles and says, "...and you will pay!"
"I find this witch business cute and interesting, but in today's world it must be just a hobby for you and your fellow witches..."
Lilith flush red and stands, "Perhaps Zelda was wrong; you may not be the one I need!"
She picks up her shawl and turns and starts to walk away when Charlie says, "Wait a minute, please don't go, I am sorry, I meant no ill deference."
"Ok, let us go for coffee but understand this, everything you know may not be as you assume." She huffs and grabs Charlie's hand tightly as they both stand. She stops in a moment of contemplation and then stands silent for another moment. Somewhat deep in thought, she says, "Interesting!"
Unlike Zelda who seemed sweet and carefree, Lilith is more in control and direct. She grabs his hand tighter and almost pulls him along the boardwalk.
