Susanna had gone off to gather firewood, leaving Vincent by the oak tree to practice his formerly untapped ability. While at first he could only produce small sparks, it did not take him long to produce large fireballs the size of his head. This can be very useful, he thought, staring at the yellow and orange light that glowed in his hands, prancing its lively dance.

With the flick of his hand, this fiery orb disappeared. While it was easy to be mesmerized by the flames, he needed to demonstrate control, lest there be any unfortunate accidents.

Besides, he needed to take advantage of Susanna's absence. There was much that needed to be done...

A full, silvery moon was rising in the air, reflecting its soft beams around the land and providing Susanna plenty of illumination. She had been desiring to go on an evening stroll to walk off her meal and to stretch her legs, and this was a good reason to do so. (And while she was finally alone away from Vincent, she could find privacy to fulfill some "natural duties.")

As predicted, the night air was chilly and Susanna was beginning to wish that she had not left her dress on the distant shore. Its fabric was light and thin, but it would have been much better than gathering wood while shivering in her underwear. She did not want to take long in collecting the sticks and twigs necessary to sustain the campfire, but she would need enough for the entire night. If need be, she would make multiple trips.

"Hopefully Vincent his honing his skills," Susanna said to herself. "I really hope I don't find him engulfed in flames."

There were many branches scattered about the ground of the island and it did not take long before Susanna had an armful. She had taken her time, especially as she walked among the flowers. The moonlight glowed upon a patch of campanulas. Their name came from the Latin for "little bells" and are so named because their blossoms resemble a string of purple bells. They fluttered in the wind and Susanna imagined them making gentle ringing sounds.

"Vincent is a very talented creator."

As she made her way back to the old oak tree, Susanna contemplated wistfully. She did not want to fall asleep that night, because she would have to wake up to another day. When that day came, she would have to face the difficult decision of returning home. She strongly desired to stay here on the island with Vincent or to remain with him in the glade and be happy and carefree. However, she knew that this could not be. She had to go back.

Susanna did not believe in utopias or paradises, shielded from the world. As enchanting of a haven this was, she could not escape the world there. Her family would look for her. She had obligations to fulfill, duties to which to attend. As much as she desired to abandon it all and frolic through the woods with Vincent, she knew better than to get caught up in wayward desires. She was a woman, not a girl.

She could not stay and the bitterness of this truth caused Susanna to weep...because she knew that Vincent could not go with her.

Vincent could hear rustling through the grass and a couple of twigs snapping nearby, signs that Susanna was returning. She had not be gone long, but had left long enough for him to prepare a little surprise. In the darkness under the oak tree, she would not be able to see it yet.

"Vincent?"

"I'm over here," he called. He lit up a flame to help guide Susanna to his location.

"Oh there you are," she said. "And it seems you've been practicing! I was only gone for half an hour, but you seem to already be wielding this new skill well."

"It's not that different than when I use my other powers," he said. "I just have to focus on fire, rather than flying. Did you get enough wood?"

Susanna dropped the load of firewood on the ground. "Enough for now. I started with some smaller pieces for kindling. Later once the fire is established, I can go back for larger branches."

She arranged the wood in a pyramid shape, then shoved a handful of leaves and grass underneath. Vincent lit up a fireball and tossed it on the kindling, which quickly ignited. The leaves burned the fastest, giving off a lot of smoke that blew everywhere, causing Susanna to cough and rub her eyes. Soon, the fire spread to the rest of the branches and began to burn fairly steadily.

"We've done it!" they exclaimed together. Susanna rubbed her hands and placed them over the fire, already enjoying its warmth. It proved to be voracious, devouring the kindling and demanding more. She placed the rest of the wood she had gathered on the fire. Larger pieces would take longer to burn, but these little branches could not resist the fire long.

The campfire burned brightly, sending its light throughout the clearing surrounding the oak tree and causing shadows to dance about the area. Vincent waited patiently until Susanna noticed something hanging from one of the oak's branches.

"What is that?" she asked, going in for a closer expectation. "Is that...what I think it is?" she said with increasing excitement.

She grabbed it and took it back into the light. It was a dress! It was a soft periwinkle cotton sundress with a skirt that went down to her ankles. It was her dress! At least, it looked exactly like it. The one exception was that it was covered in a shiny, glistening sheen...

"Vincent...did you create this?" she asked with fascination.

He nodded.

She admired it all around in the light, before eagerly slipping it on. She spun around and the skirt flying around with her. This dress was even finer and smoother than its predecessor; despite being cotton, its texture was that of velvet or silk. It was even better.

"I'm sorry if the dimensions aren't quite right," said Vincent. "I had to create it from memory. I've never made anything of that size, either, so--"

"I love it."

Susanna's heart was so full of joy in this moment that it overflowed as tears from her eyes. No one had ever given her a gift that she would treasure as much as what Vincent had given her. It would make her decisions all the more heartbreaking, but she would not think on such things now.

"Good! I'm glad you like it. And it fits well?"

"It's perfect, Vincent...I really don't know what to say," said Susanna, overcome with emotion and finding it difficult to talk. "Other than thank you."

She gently picked Vincent up and brought him close in an embrace. Vincent was brought up to her chest, where he stretched out his arms. He could feel her skin's warmth and the pounding of her heart against him. Her heart was beating swiftly and he noticed that his was, as well. After a few moments, she raised him to her face. She brought him to her lips; they were all that he could see, enveloping him entirely. She kissed his face endearingly, not hastening soon to end it.

Afterwards, they gazed at each other in tender silence.

"By the trees..." Vincent said, his entire body covered in goosebumps. Even Susanna could notice. She smiled and showed him her forearm: she was covered in them as well.

Vincent's nerves suddenly returned to him. He stood up straight and ran his hands through his curly hair, returning to conversation: "Well, I told you I'm not a tailor, right? I'll confess to you that this was not my...first attempt."

He led Susanna behind the oak tree, where she found another dress...a very large one.

"Vincent, this is a tent!" Susanna exclaimed, holding the mass of fabric in the air. It was about eight feet long! If she were to somehow manage to wear it without it falling off, her skirt would extend long enough to be the train of a gown.

"Well, in my mind you were much larger!" he said, immediately realizing the folly of his words. "Oh wait. I mean, well...um, not in a bad way! You're big, but not humongous." Vincent stammered, trying to backpedal out of his words, unsuccessfully.

"Uh huh...keep talking, mister," she said, leering at him with a smile.

"No, I better not," he said, blushing with embarrassment.

"Anyway," he continued, changing the subject, "I actually went back to the beach and found your other dress. It was too heavy for me to carry the distance, but I memorized what it looked like enough to duplicate it. As for the first one...on the upside, you can use it as a covering tonight!"

"Why don't we test it out, then?"

They returned to the campfire, which was still burning bright. She wrapped the soft shimmering blanket-dress around her, then placed Vincent in her lap. She tore off a small scrap of fabric for him and covered him with it. There they sat warm and close as they watched the flames dance a fiery fandango.

When Susanna went to gather more firewood, Vincent paced around the campsite. He had many thoughts to sort out, which were currently a jumbled mess in his head. He had a lot he needed to say to Susanna, but he wasn't sure what the best way to tell her would be. He distracted himself by lighting up a few fireballs and tossing them into the lake, watching the steamy, smoky vapors dissipate into the night air.

"Alright, this should last us quite a while," Susanna said, returning with three large logs. "By providence, I found these washed up on the western shore. They're dry, so they should be good for burning."

"Excellent."

Susanna could tell that Vincent was distracted and that his mind was elsewhere. She sat down next to him, her legs folded to the side, and gestured for him to visit her on her lap. He did, playfully hopping on her foot and running up her leg on the way.

"Vincent," she said, looking down upon him, "you look like you need to talk about something."

"I do? Well...actually I do," he said. "There are a few things that I've needed to tell you, and haven't known exactly how. The truth is, I think I owe you some answers. You have had many questions today--as you rightly should. And I have tried to answer them, but I have not always done so directly. First, would you mind actually lifting me to your eyes?"

She complied and he continued:

"Susanna, when I saw you enter the glade last night, I knew who you were," he said. "I did not handle our introduction very well, obviously, but it was because I was very excited. I had been waiting for you for a long time, though I wasn't sure if I would ever actually meet you. And so when I saw you, I couldn't help but call out your name."

"You said you 'heard my name on the wind.'" Susanna recalled. "Why would the wind whisper my name?"

"Because I asked and it answered. I had to know who you were. You have been in my dreams for as long as I can remember. I have seen your face countless times. Your visage haunted me. Every morning when waking up, I have seen you there. Many times have I reached out to touch you, but as soon as I did, I awoke and you were gone. I wished so hard for you to be real, but despite all my powers, you were the one dream that I could not realize."

Susanna had been silent through this, listening carefully. "Why me? And how did you know I was even real and not just a figment of your dreams?"

Vincent paused. "I knew you were real. I knew, because you created me."

Susanna's eyes widened, unsure if she understood his words correctly. "I created you?"

"You are not my mother, don't worry," he said. "I was born from your joy. You possess a special spirit, Susanna. Wherever you go, your happiness is spread. Your felicity is infectious. For years, your laughter has echoed throughout the entire land, bringing glee and gaiety to every rock and root. The forest took notice."

"The forest?"

"The trees. They know you, Susanna. You know their names and they know yours. You have known these woods since you were a little girl. As much as you love Cairnbridge, Cairnbridge loves you in return. The forest wanted to give you something in return. A gift." Vincent paused and swept down in a formal bow: "That gift...was me."

This was all very difficult for Susanna to comprehend. So many questions were being answered, but so many were arising in return.

"You are a gift from the forest?"

"A small gift," he joked. "I'm sorry I didn't come wrapped up. If you want, I can conjure up a bow..."

"No, that's quite alright," Susanna laughed. "But I have another question: I first discovered the glade by following a strong fragrance in the air, one that I had never encountered before. I had assumed it was you. Are you saying..."

"Do you recall the trees surrounding the glade?"

"The birch trees?" she asked.

"Apparently they wanted you to find me."

Susanna was silent, thinking on these revelations. It was a lot to take in, but in a peculiar way, it all made sense to her. The skeptic in her wished to write it all off as fantasy; however, she had a two-inch tall man in her hand that could fly, make dresses, and shoot fireballs. There was an increasingly finer line being drawn between fantasy and reality.

"I accept."

"You...what?" Vincent asked.

"I accept the gift from the forest," Susanna repeated abruptly. "That makes you my possession, yes?"

"Uh, I suppose so..."

"And as my possession, I can do whatever I want with you, right?"

"Now Susanna--"

"Does the gift object?" she interjected. "Because I don't have to accept..."

"No objections at all! But I don't know what I think about being your 'posses--'"

"Then I accept the gift," she interrupted again. Susanna then smiled at him and her tone warmed: "...and I shall treasure it greatly."

She gave him a quick peck on the head. "And don't worry, Vincent. I was joking about the possession part."

Susanna bore a wide grin. Vincent sighed in relief.

The moon had retreated behind a line of trees, allowing the stars to gain the upperhand in the dominance over the night sky. They were vast in number, a formidable army of celestial lights. From time to time, one would shoot itself across the sky, leaving a bright trailing streak that vanished almost as soon as it appeared.

"Did you see that one?" Susanna said with excitement, her finger tracing in the air.

She was laying on her back, stretched out upon the grass with Vincent doing the same on her stomach. She held him close, her hands a blanket for him, keeping him warm. Together, they gazed out into the darkness in quiet awe.

"They're beautiful," he whispered. "Have you ever tried to count them? I have. I always lose track, though. And so I just start over again. One. Two. Three. Four...."

Vincent paused for a second. "...when you live alone, you have a lot of free time, you know?"

Susanna smiled and embraced him a little closer, and he could feel himself being pressed into her skin, her welcoming flesh giving way for his body and wrapping him in warmth. He kissed her finger, stroking his hand along its length.

After a moment, he flipped over and rested on his stomach, his arms propping up his head, which looked up at Susanna's face. The campfire casts its soft amber glow upon her countenance, giving her a radiant appearance. She yawned and he watched her mouth stretch out in an extended "o" before trembling and shutting itself quickly.

"You're missing the stars," she said, noticing his new position.

"I know," he replied. "I've seen them before and they'll be here tomorrow. You look tired."

"I am."

"It's been a long day. I should probably turn in for night."

"Yeah...that sounds like a good idea." She squeezed him close one more time before releasing him. Her hands had kept the air around him warm and humid, and when his body faced the cold night air again, he shivered.

"Brr! I'd better get up to the hollow," he exclaimed briskly. "Let me know if you need anything. I'm just a tree away. I bid you a good night."

"Good night," she yawned, watching him take off into the sky, the stars a brilliant backdrop to his silhouetted form.

Vincent entered his wooden room. It was just the way it had always been. His bed of grass remained in the corner. The stone was still rolled away from when he had retrieved his shirt earlier. He pushed it back into place. Stretching once more, he tossed his body onto his bed, landing with a slightly cushioned thud. He wondered how long it would take for him to fall asleep. It would not be easy, for he did not want to. There were too many thoughts, not all of them happy. Regardless, he closed his eyes. If need be, he would force a slumber.

Not five minutes later, he heard his name being called.

"Vincent!"

It was Susanna.

He quickly emerged from his hollow and stood on a branch that served as his lookout point. Susanna was in the same place he had left her near the fire, her body wrapped in the blanket. Once more she called out:

"Vincent, can you hear me? I need you."

Immediately, he leapt from the tree and rushed to her location. "I'm here. Are you okay? What do you need?"

When she saw that he had arrived, she leaned back on the ground. The edges of the blanket were in her hands and she slowly unwrapped it until it was just barely draped on her form. She motioned it off and it slipped off her body, leaving her uncovered and vulnerable to the night.

Susanna was completely naked.

"Vincent?" she said with a little shiver in her voice.

"Y-yes?" Vincent responded, his heart racing fast.

"Stay with me tonight."