Inner Writer

   She crested the hill and walked over to me. Her lips were curved up in a smile that was at once gentle and mothering, fierce and wild. Her dark blue eyes a raging storm at sea, hair a waist-long waterfall of shimmering gold.
   She wore a plain, short sleeved blue dress that clung to her figure through her hips but flowed around her legs. Her bare feet made no noise on the grass, a silver anklet briefly catching the sunlight. The silver bangles jangled as she swung her arms. Her neck and ears were naked but a simple silver ring adorned her left hand. Three flowers, a small diamond in the center of each one.
   She stopped before me, that smile still on her face. She was not the striking, drop-dead gorgeous that some few women are lucky to have. She had a more subtle beauty in her quiet demeanor that also covered a fiery passion.
   Tears prick my eyes as I study her. She looks so much like my mother, I think. I give a weak smile and we both sit in the grass at the same time, cross-legged.
   I blink and her dress has changed to a deep green. With almost every movement, the hue seems different. Purple, white, silver, orange, black, and so on.
   "What's your name?" I ask, already knowing the answer. She just smiles and says, "Hailey."
   "You're me?"
   The smile widens. "Perhaps."
   We sit and talk little. It's time to go and I feel an ache in my chest. I don't want to leave.
   One question, I'm told. I get one question.
   "What role do I play?"
   That gentley wild grin. "You'll see," she promises.
   We rise and embrace. Her skin is warm and her hug is comfortably firm. She's so much like my mother. My eyes water again and I blink away the tears.
   I wait for her final words, some advice, maybe. She says nothing, just grins and in that grin, she says everything. My heart swells and I grin back at her.
   It's time to leave. I turn and walk away. Pausing at the door where Wolf awaits, I look back over my shoulder.
   Hailey dances over the hill, colorful gypsy skirts billowing. The wind catches her hair and dances with her. I look back at Wolf and towards the door.
   It's time to go home.