Manor House Fantasy

"Why go at all?" A girl's voice floated through his musings. She stood behind a hedge separating his house from the "Manor" next door.

"Of course I have to go …" He saw her fully; his voice stopped in mid-sentence. He didn't even realize he was staring as a million visions flooded into him. The girl, elfin in appearance with raven hair and emerald blue eyes smiled, her teeth flashing like diamonds.

Jess heard rivers whispering in many tongues, saw dragons soaring through cobalt-blue skies over patchwork-quilt plains, and deep, dark tunnels winding through mountains.

"How did you know I was thinking about -"?

"My name's Shelvin. Do you always stare at girls like that?"

"Well, no," Jess said, a little flustered.

"Don't you think girls are pretty?" Shelvin asked as she walked through the hedge.

"I didn't say that."

"Do you think I'm pretty?"

"I don't even know you."

"You're Jess. You love fantasy novels, hate school, and hate it when people pick on you. Now, we know each other. Answer my question." Suddenly, she stood at the bottom of his porch steps even though Jess couldn't remember her walking across their rather large yard. It seem to him she had suddenly materialized.

"How do you know-"?

"Never mind. I know you think I'm pretty. I also know something else."

"What?"

She stood beside him and took his hand. "You'll know soon enough."

Overwhelmed, Jess simply stared at her. Even though he truly loved fantasy, he didn't like it when logic - in real life - decided to go out for an ice cream. He concluded that Shelvin indeed fit his image of beauty, and he found himself wondering if he fit her idea of handsome.