The Ring

The Ring

Samantha had been hiking all morning through Dun na Ri Forest Park in Ireland. She was so caught up in the majesty of the ancient trees that she almost missed the mound of dirt to the right of the path. In fact, she would have missed it altogether if there had not been something glittering at her from the top.

Intrigued, she walked over to the mound, which was knee high and very narrow. When she reached the shiny object, she realized it was a gold ring. Once she brushed all the dirt away, Samantha realized there was writing engraved on the inside.

She squinted at the inscription and began to form her mouth around the words. She recognized the writing as Gaelic, but the words were tiny. Mo shiorgrha - my eternal love. As she spoke the words out loud there was a crackling in the air around her and the earth began to vibrate. The last thing she remembered was a flash of bright light and then total darkness.

When Samantha opened her eyes, she was lying on the forest floor and there was a man bending over her looking anxious. He began speaking to her in a rush of ancient Gaelic that she did not understand. She did understand the words mo shiorghra, which he said over and over. As he helped her to her feet, she realized he was dressed very oddly and was somehow familiar. Before she had a chance to protest, he cupped her face and kissed her mouth like he had done it a million times. At that moment all of her confusion faded away and she knew that she was exactly where and when she was supposed to be. The ring had brought her home.