"We plunge into the Dark Night with faith, we fulfill what the ancient alchemists used to call our Personal Legend, and we surrender ourselves fully to each moment, knowing that there is always a hand to guide us, and whether we accept it or not is entirely up to us."
That night, Brida spent hours listening to music, entirely given over to the miracle of being alive. She thought about her favorite authors. One of them--the English poet William Blake--had, with just one simple phrase, given her enough faith to go in search of wisdom.
What is now proved was once only imagin'd.
It was time to perform one of her rituals. She would spend the next few minutes contemplating a candle flame, and to do so, she sat down before the little altar. The process of contemplation took her back to the afternoon when she and Lorens had made love among the rocks. There were seagulls flying as high as the clouds and as low as the waves.
The fish must have asked themselves how they managed to fly, these mysterious creatures who plunged into their world, then left as quickly as they entered.
The birds must have asked themselves how the creatures they fed on and that lived beneath the waves could possibly manage to breathe under water.
Birds existed and fish existed. Theirs were universes that occasionally collided, but they could not answer each other's questions. And yet both had questions, and the questions had answers.
Brida looked at the flame before her, and a magical atmosphere began to grow around her. This was what normally happened, but that night, the feeling was more intense.
If she were capable of asking a question, it was because, in another Universe, there was an answer. Someone knew it, even if she didn't. She didn't need to understand the meaning of life; it was enough to find someone who did, and then fall asleep in his arms and sleep as a child sleeps, knowing that someone stronger than you is protecting you from all evil and all danger.
When the ritual was over, she said a little prayer in gratitude for the steps she had so far taken. She was grateful because the first person she had asked about magic hadn't tried to explain the Universe to her; instead, he had made her spend the whole night in a dark forest.
She needed to go there and thank him for all he had taught her.
Whenever she went in search of that man, she was looking for something; whenever she found that something, all she did was leave, often without even saying good-bye. But he had shown her the door through which she hoped to pass at the next Equinox. She should at least say "thank you."
No, she wasn't afraid of falling in love with him. She had read things in Lorens's eyes about the hidden side of her own soul, and while she might have her doubts about being able to dream of a dress, as regards his love, about that she was perfectly clear.
Thank you for accepting my invitation," she said to the Magus when they sat down. They were sitting in the only pub in the village, which is where she had first noticed the strange light in his eyes.
The Magus said nothing. He noticed that her energy was quite different now; she had clearly managed to awaken the Force.
"On the night you left me alone in the forest, I promised that I'd come back either to thank you or to curse you. I promised that I'd come back when I found my path. But I didn't keep either of those promises. I always came in search of help, and you never let me down. It may be presumptuous of me, but I want you to know that you have acted as God's instrument, and I would like you to be my guest tonight."
Just as she was about to order two whiskies, he got up, went over to the bar, and returned carrying two bottles, one of wine and one of mineral water, and two glasses.
"In Ancient Persia," he said, "when two people met to drink together, one of them was chosen to be King of the Night, usually the person who was paying."
He didn't know if his voice sounded sufficiently steady. He was a man in love, and Brida's energy had changed.
He placed the wine and the mineral water before her.
"It was up to the King of the Night to set the tone of the conversation. If he poured more water than wine into the first glass to be drunk, that meant he wished to speak of serious things. If he poured equal quantities of both, they would speak of both serious and pleasant things. Finally, if he filled the glass with wine and added only a few drops of water, the night would be relaxing and enjoyable."
Brida filled the glasses to the brim with wine and added only a drop of water to each.
"I came to say thank you," she said again, "for teaching me that life is an act of faith, and that I am worthy of the search. That has helped me enormously on the path I've chosen."
They both drained that first glass quickly. He because he was feeling tense. She because she was feeling relaxed.
"Only light subjects, all right?" Brida said.
The Magus said that since she was the King of the Night, it was up to her to decide what they should talk about.
"I want to know a little about your personal life. I want to know if you ever had an affair with Wicca."
He nodded. Brida felt an inexplicable tremor of jealousy, but she wasn't sure whether she felt jealous of him or of Wicca.
"But we never considered living together," he said. They both knew the two Traditions. They both knew that they were not each other's Soul Mate.
"I didn't want to learn how to see the point of light," thought Brida, but she saw now that this was inevitable. That was what love between witches was like.