Mrs. Janina walked past him with a cup of juice. “Last year there was a terrible fight over one of them. A man almost drowned.”

But Adam’s thoughts went somewhere else when he saw Radek and Emil laughing like two madmen. Emil was holding Jessika’s wreath and, goaded by Radek, he sneakily made his way behind the group of women.

Adam stiffened. Emil was playing a dangerous game, considering the prize all the men were expecting. In the best case scenario, he’d cause even more rumors, and in the worst—Adam might have to diffuse a fight. But he stood still, watching the wreath with pink and violet flowers with a sense of longing. If they were alone here and Adam picked the crown out of the water, would Emil insist on honoring tradition?

Mrs. Janina gasped when she too spotted Emil pushing his wreath onto the water along with the others. “The audacity. No respect for tradition. That man is always up to mischief. He is thirty today, he should know better by now!”

But Adam said nothing, his gaze pinned to the one wreath that he wanted to see floating, as drowning was a bad omen, and Emil had suffered enough misfortune for a lifetime.

The women left the water while the nearby stream pushed their offerings across the small lake, toward a group of shadows skirting the edge of the forest. The huge fire added a sheen to the ripples on the peaceful surface and transformed the folklore tradition into something greater, a declaration that the people of Dybukowo still held on to their ancient roots, not ready to forget their ancestors in the name of modernity. It was actually quite touching.

An insistent cawing made Adam flinch, but he couldn’t take his eyes off Emil’s wreath. A swarm of crows took a nosedive above the water and descended on the flowers. Adam held his breath in disbelief. A whole murder of crows picked at the wreath, fighting over it in a cloud of cawing and feathers, until one of the biggest birds, with wings like steaks, ripped it from another’s claws and darted off into the night.

Mrs. Janina shook her head. “Serves him right. What possessed him to take on a female role in the celebrations? I’m telling you, Father, there’s something very wrong with that young man.”

Emil stood at the shore with his shoulders hunched as the birds disappeared carrying the flower crown he’d poached. Adam felt rather than heard the comments exchanged in voices more hushed than Mrs. Janina’s, but when Nowak cleared his throat and said that Emil might attract crows the same way poor old Zofia had, Adam was done with the conversation.

He walked away from his place close to the pastor and passed the burning fire as the breeze blew gently from behind his back and pushed him toward the shimmering water.

“Hey,” he said, joining Emil, who stared at the remaining wreaths as they glided languidly toward the men along the invisible stream.

People by the bonfire were already dancing to the sound of drums and flutes, but their joy didn’t reach Emil.

Radek appeared out of nowhere and patted Emil’s back. “I won’t be going into the forest. See you at the party? You’ll meet my friends.”

He ran off to the group of city people in hip clothes Adam had noticed earlier.

“He invited some people from Cracow. They’re loving it here,” Emil said to Adam, but wouldn’t look at him, gaze still stuck on the water.

Adam watched the dark space beyond the first line of trees. “Why would you go into the woods?” he asked, and his first thought was that it might be an opportunity for sex, just like for the straight couples, but he tried to keep judgment out of his voice.

Emil inhaled so deeply it was hard not to stare at his powerful chest. “To find a fern flower for good luck. But there’s no point in trying this year. The wreath told me all I need to know.”

Emil had endured a tough life, battling death and misfortune, yet Adam had never heard his voice as beaten down, and the itch to hug him was hard to resist. “Why not? I’ve never done that. Could be an adventure.”

Emil snorted, and Adam’s heart skipped a beat when their eyes met. “You want to go? Be my good luck charm?”

“Looks like you might need one tonight,” Adam said, mesmerized by the fire reflected in Emil’s eyes. He wished to see that kind of spark in them every day.

Emil smiled, and for a moment, Adam thought he’d grab his hand, but he just brushed his fingers over Adam’s forearm and led the way toward the fire. “Let’s not wait then and beat everyone to it.”

Emil grabbed one of the large torches available for the search and lit it from the bonfire.

Tags: K.A. Merikan Folk Lore Paranormal
Source: readsnovelonline.net