Hiraeth

By Christe Eleison

A boy keeps dreaming of a girl telling him all sorts of stories. They became best of friends, meeting in their dream, telling each other stories. One day, the girl suddenly vanished. And slowly, the boy started forgetting the girl, her stories, and the time they spent in that dream.

This book is about the stories the girl shared with that boy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christe Eleison
• Release date: Sep 4, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393308126

Book preview

Prologue:

I've always wanted to write about this...

It has been a really long time since I've decided that I will write this book. I usually do start it, write continuously until midway, then just stop. One way or another, something gets in the way of me finishing this book. Or maybe, it's just me. That's a flaw of mine, I suppose. Or perhaps, it's just too hard to write a book about someone you only vaguely remember...

I remember you, though not fully. I remember some of our times. I remember some of our stories. I seem to not be able to recall your name, your face, or your voice though. But somehow, something tells me, if I ever meet you again, I’ll just know.

You remember why I decided to write all of this? I hope you do. And I hope to God that you find in your heart the memories we shared, the dreams we saw, and the stories and the smiles we gave one another...

Well, let me start reminding you of something even I could only barely remember...

...

...

Stories:

You had always been a part of my life.

We were younger. So innocent are we, we never really understood yet that a dream is a dream. For one another, what is in front of us is a playmate. Not a figment of our minds. Not a creation of our souls. We looked and we saw a person. Unburdened by the existential questions that may arise from such a situation, we saw each other as a friend, and what friends we were...

I remember vaguely the first time we met. A dream. A daydream. I don't know what it was exactly we were dreaming of, I only remember that we are dreaming with each other. And somehow, that is enough.

You look younger than me. A little bit shorter then. I no longer remember your face. Perhaps, that's just the way of things. It was a dream, after all. And dreams are meant to be forgotten.

Still, I remembered you. I remembered you existing. In a far away place, in a land far beyond school. In a city perhaps, in a town, or maybe somewhere else. I know you're beyond that mango right by the river, or even beyond the river itself. I know because I've been looking for you there... Perhaps you're on the other side of the dike. Or far beyond even that. I don't know exactly where you're from, I just know it was far from whatever far place I could reach walking with my young feet. What I know is I'll see you in that dream. Under a gigantic tree.

Reviews for Hiraeth

[Bekswhoknits · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

interesting, but i found it disjointed and difficult to follow at times. There were parts that were very pretty and evocative.