Notes from a Time Traveller by Elke Stevens

It’s funny since I’ve returned; you’ve crossed my path a few times, and every time, it feels like a size-magic shock runs through me. Like there’s something more at play, something otherworldly. The silence between us, it silences new experiences we could share as if fate itself is holding its breath, waiting for a word or a glance to break the spell. We’ve both grown, lived our lives in parallel but apart. Yet every time I see you, it feels like some part of my story is still unfinished like I haven’t written the ending.

You almost feel like one of those fairy sweethearts out of Celtic myth, an anam cara, a soul-friend I was always meant to find but never quite reach. I imagine if I could pen you into existence, I’d write a life where we aren’t just two people passing by in quiet. It would be an old fashioned story, full of smiles, shared laughter, hands brushing in those small, perfect moments. I’d be the one to court you, to show up and let you see me for who I really am, not just some fleeting figure on the edge of your life, but someone who deserves to be considered. Someone worthy of you.

Every time we say goodbye, my heart drops. It’s as if you vanish into the mist, leaving me wondering when or if I’ll see you again. And so, I dream of you, dream that I’ll meet you in the words I compose, hoping they might impress you, might draw you closer. It’s a strange thing, feeling the pulse of my beat for someone I’ve never had, like some knight pursuing a vision of love he can’t touch.

You’ve become more than just a person to me; you’re the muse I lost long ago and somehow found once more. Maybe it’s the quiet way your presence fills the spaces between my thoughts, or perhaps it’s something I can’t name, something woven into the very air around us. Like those fairies of legend, you inspire from a distance, always a little out of reach. Or maybe, one day, I’ll find the courage to close that gap, to tell you all of this to break the silence that lingers and let you see the words behind my heart.

But for now, I thank you. For existing, for being the quiet, magical thread that runs through my days. Perhaps one day, I’ll find a way to tell you, not in dreams or stories, but here, in this imperfect, beautiful world we both walk.

With all that I haven’t said,
Me.

©️ Elke T.B. Stevens 17/10/2024