In olden times – perhaps as long ago as the days of the Celts – in Grande Bretagne winters were of a death inducing chill. Spring, while beginning to hint at the warmth that was to follow in summer, also arrived with the early hints of the insects that would bedevil the residents of the island as June slid inexorably into July. And when July had arrived, the insects again reigned supreme. And with the insects – mosquitoes, ticks and such – came, the wafts of death dealing miasmas that rose from the fens and rose from the dells and silently and invisibly engulfed vast areas of the land. It was only in the autumn - and often only for a day or two - when the sky became deeply clearly blue, the breeze became a slight and sweetly scented kiss, laden with waning vestiges of the smell of late ripening blackberries, and when the temperature and the humidity were of such a degree that they made the people want to fling themselves to the grass and to the clover and enjoy life, or to hurl themselves across the meadows and brooks in joyous song and dance, that life was a joy.
They called these the halcyon days. Halcyon is the ancient name for a bird, the kingfisher. I suppose the name of the bird was applied because even today in temperate climates where the kingfisher still flies, on days when the temperature and humidity and scents all verge on perfection, the kingfisher joyously flits through the sky emitting a call that sounds like ball bearings being shaken in an echo chamber. As such the halcyon puts his sound and his name on those days.
The nearly never ending kiss in the bar in the mezzanine in the Officer’s Club at Ton Son Nhut has signaled the beginning of my own personal halcyon days.
Adrianna is all of those things from distant Celtic times. For me she has swiftly become the sweetly scented breeze and the brilliant blue of the sky. She is the center and the spirit of what quickly has become a never ending halcyon existence.
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Thus ends The Story of Adrianna. If you would like to purchase the eBook please go to:
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Copyright © 2012 by Noel McKeehan
More can be found about the author at:
noelmckeehan.com
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, or in any eBook format without permission in writing from the author.
Published by Lulu.com
Fantasy
ISBN 978-1-105-57035-3
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