15 Apr 2007 at 03:05 - 16
(The First Part of a Story in which human characters meet a naiad, a being related to the Sylvari.)
It all started on a beautifully sunny day early in the summer holiday before the final year of college. Until that day, Vana had never even imagined that there could other races sharing the world with humans. She had read some myths and legends, yes, and some fairy stories, but to learn some of the truth behind them, to come face to face with them, well, that was unexpected to say the least.
Three young girls, due to start their final year at the college in Ashford after the holiday, were enjoying a day out together. Although they each had quite different characters, the three girls had been best friends since they had started attending lessons together as children in Serenity Temple at the Sisters of Dwayna School for Girls. On this particular Monday, they were enjoying a walk in one of the beautiful unspoiled forested areas which covered the foothills north-east of their home villages, which locals referred to simply as ‘The Forest’. After the confined student life they had been living in Ashford Academy, they appreciated the peace, freedom and natural beauty of the countryside.
The Forest was huge, extending from the fertile farmlands which provided for all the people of the county out as far as the mountains in the east. The girls had gone out early, and caught a lift on a trader’s wagon to get to a particularly beautiful, yet little frequented, picnic site within the forest, where they had enjoyed a delicious lunch of fresh fruit, home baked bread, and apple pie made from the finest Malone apples. They had then walked from there among the trees, deliberately trying to lessen their chance of meeting other people for a while, so that they could relax and enjoy themselves more freely as young girls rather than having to behave as the cultured young ladies their schooling was preparing them for.
There was no fear in those days in the land. Apart from the occasional black bears, there was nothing to endanger the girls, and the bears would leave you alone too if you respected their space properly.
At first they had been following a trodden path between the trees, but after a while one of them, Vana, had persuaded the others to leave the path and make their own way between the trees. Vana Runedottir was an adopted only child, having arrived in the land as a baby with her mother, and never having known her father. After her mother had died Vana had been taken in by the nuns of Serenity Temple, and subsequently adopted by a local childless couple. She became a shy and introverted child as a result of this trauma in her early life, and tended to play alone, inventing her own games, and becoming something of a romantic dreamer with a vivid imagination, and was also, according to her friend Minnie, quite naïve. But now, almost a grown woman, she enjoyed being with her close friends, and was normally very considerate towards other people, and well liked. Vana was a pretty girl too, with light curly shoulder-length hair, big eyes, and a contagious cute smile, though she wasn’t particularly pleased about being called cute.
Her friend Minnie Taylor, on the other hand, was quite the extrovert. She had two older brothers, and was quite confident in mixed company. She had had more boyfriends than the other two. She was attractive to men, with her flaming red hair, and liked to wear her best clothes without special cause. Her figure was good too, though Minnie herself always felt she would like to lose a little weight; something she would have found hard to do if she tried, because she enjoyed eating sweet foods. She usually livened up any occasion with her deliberate silliness. In fact, people who only met her at parties often never learned that she was really an intelligent and sympathetic person, since she often pretended to be a fiery haired flirt just for fun. She tended to be a little accident prone too, although it was difficult to know whether some of her accidents were deliberate, in order to amuse people or gain attention.
The practical one of the three was Anna Sà. She had lived in Ascalon County all her life too, just as her friends had, but her parents were originally from Cantha, who had arrived originally to trade here, but had decided to stay.
Anna’s Chinese name was Sà An Xin (薩安訢). An Xin sounds as if it means ‘to be at ease’ or ‘to keep one’s mind on something’ but the name literally means ‘calm and happy’, all of which qualities applied to her. Her parents had encouraged her to do well academically, and she had often been top of her class in school, and seemed to have little difficulty with her studies. This did not make her big headed though, in fact she was quite modest and encouraging to her friends. She usually wore smart clothes, her family being now comparatively well-off due to her father’s success in the trading business, and Anna was slim and elegantly attractive. But she had been brought up rather more strictly than the other two, and could appear to be quite serious and unemotional to those who didn’t know her. In fact, her habit of correcting minor unimportant facts, and her cutting wit, could make her seem rather intimidating to others, so her good looks, caring nature and sense of humour weren’t as widely appreciated as much as they deserved to be. So for example, when it came to social conversation, Minnie would chat away happily with anyone about all the latest popular songs and dances, whereas Anna was more interested in classical music, and Vana would rather just sing than talk about music.
Anyway, when Vana had suggested leaving the path to explore the forest more deeply, it was the fact that Anna was confident she would remember their way that had persuaded Minnie that they wouldn’t get completely lost.
To Vana, keeping to the path didn’t offer enough adventure and mystery. She wanted to see the forest as the wild place it really was, and not as a place for humans to go about their business, walking a well known path. Unseen birds called to her from high branches, leaves rustled in the breeze, and dry twigs and dead leaves crunched in a satisfying way underfoot.
Vana was happy to be with her friends, and was aware that this summer could be her last long summer break before she had to face the world as a grown independent woman, and either get a husband or a job. So this was a special time of final freedom between her childhood and adulthood. She knew that soon enough she would have little time or freedom to just relax, so she was making the most of her lack of responsibilities while she could. Not that she was afraid of responsibility, just happy that she didn’t have too much of it yet.
The girls walked through the forest for a long time without talking much, each one engrossed in her own thoughts, but each enjoying the company of the others in spite of that. Their friendship was close enough not to need constant chatter to strengthen it. Each knew the others well enough to understand what they were probably thinking anyway, and their differences were a source of pleasure and interest to them.
Anna for instance, took a great interest in her environment, and was enjoying the fact that this forest was still a natural place, unspoiled by human encroachment, and was trying to identify different types of tree, plant, and bird.
Vana was wondering how many other people had ever walked this way before and seen the forest from this perspective, and enjoying the fact that no one else had ever seen it in exactly this way before. Perhaps stone age people had once walked here, perhaps lovers had once trysted here, but no one had ever seen the trees looking exactly like this before and no one ever would again.
Minnie was wondering when they would stop to rest and eat the rest of the picnic they had brought.
“Hey, Vana,” she called to Vana in front. “Let’s find somewhere to stop and finish off our picnic. I’m hungry again.”
“Good idea. I could do with a rest myself. It’s so hot today. Let’s find somewhere we can sit down.”
Anna wanted to rest too. “Yes but there’s too much undergrowth here to sit down. We don’t want to flatten all the ferns just to have a picnic. Maybe we should go back towards the path.”
“Good idea,” agreed Minnie, “It’s such a nice day, and we seem to be missing all the sunshine under the shade of these trees. There was more light on the path because the trees weren’t quite as close together there.”
“You don’t want to get your skin tanned though, Minnie,” warned Anna, “You’ll look like a peasant.”
“Ah, I know, I know, we need to look fair if we’re to attract good husbands, but I thought of that. I brought some of Sarah’s primrose and oat bran cream with me. Even a vampire could go out in the sun with some of this on! And besides, it feels nice to just lie in the sunshine.”
“Why would looking fair only attract good husbands, Minnie?” smiled Anna, “Don’t bad husbands also prefer fair maidens?”
“Yes, maybe so, but I mean maybe we’d get more choice if …”
Vana interrupted them. “Shhh! Listen! Can you hear that?”
They all stood still and listened.
“Hear what?” asked Minnie.
“Can’t you hear water? It sounds like a stream to me.”
“Oh yes, Vana’s right, Minnie.”
“Perhaps there’ll be some cool water we can paddle in, and we can picnic there. Which way do you think it is?”
They stood still for a moment, turning their heads, listening. They all liked the idea of cooling their feet. But it wasn’t easy to tell the direction of sounds in the forest.
“It sounds like it’s over there to me,” said Anna pointing to her left.
“Yes, I think so too,” agreed Minnie.
Anna moved into the lead, “Come on then. A stream might allow more sunlight in between the trees for Minnie too.”
After a short walk slightly downhill they came to a clear stream of water, babbling through the wood. Overhead, the sun did shine more brightly through the leaves because the trees were not so close together here. Some pretty wild flowers bloomed along the bank of the stream and the water sparkled in the sunlight. The bed of the babbling stream was smooth pebbles, but there were no large rocks or fallen trees in sight to act as a good base for their picnic.
“This is nice,” said Vana with a smile, “Don’t those flowers look pretty?”
“They’re lovely,” agreed Anna, “I don’t know what sort they are though. Do you?”
Minnie seemed less interested in the flowers. “I’ve no idea, and we can’t sit here anyway. It’s too muddy.”
“I think we should follow the stream for a while and cool our feet,” suggested Vana, “Those pebbles look smooth enough under the water. I’m going to paddle.” She leaned against a tree and balanced on one leg to take off one of her shoes.
Vana’s open sandals had not been the most practical choice of footwear for hiking through a large forest, and she had also forgotten to bring herself a hat too, and had instead made herself a coronal of small wild flowers picked from a hedgerow earlier. The lilac flowers looked nice in her light brown curly hair, and added colour to contrast with her simple white linen dress with a white frill of lace around the hem. A rope belt around her waist gave the dress some shape.
Anna’s feet were hot too, because she was wearing stronger boots with thick woollen hose, together with a simple white smock shirt over brown short pants, and a peaked cap to keep the sun from her face. So she was quick to follow Vana’s lead. “Good idea,” she said as she bent down to undo her hiking boots.
“Wait for me, you two!” cried out Minnie, looking for somewhere less muddy to put down her backpack before also beginning to remove her shoes and ankle socks. Each of the girls had brought a backpack with food and drink for their picnic. Minnie was wearing clothes typical of the local peasant girls, a dark blue skirt, a bright yellow blouse, and a wide brimmed straw bonnet with a blue ribbon around it.
Vana was first into the stream, after pulling off her sandals without undoing them. She carried them in one hand as she tiptoed into the cool water and began to walk downstream. Minnie was next in, with her shoes and socks stuffed precariously into the top of her backpack, which she carried now over one shoulder. Anna’s boots had more difficult laces, and it took her longer to take them off. She tied her bootlaces together and hung her boots securely from her bag before she entered the water.
As they waded downstream the number and variety of flowers growing beside them increased, and so did the types and sizes of the ferns and trees in the forest. They didn’t pick any of the flowers but they all stopped to sniff many of them. The air was thick and fresh with the floral scents.
Minnie gazed up at the sky smiling. “There’s a nice bit of sunshine coming through the treetops here.”
“Yes, this is a lovely little stream,” agreed Vana, “I didn’t realise so many kinds of flowers grew wild around here.”
After they had walked for a while downstream, Vana saw a glade in front of them. The stream ahead ran over a small rocky waterfall down into a large pool. It was the sound of the waterfall they had first heard. The pool allowed the sun to shine down brightly between the trees that surrounded it, and the sparkling spray from the waterfall made the shafts of sunlight seem almost alive. As they got closer they saw a faint rainbow in the mist over the waterfall.
Since they couldn’t walk down the waterfall, to get to the pool they first had to leave the stream. They walked barefoot from the stream, over and around some large rocks, and down a short grassy slope to the pool’s edge. The rocks here were large enough to sit on comfortably, and the patch of grass large enough to lie on. The sun shone down onto the grass, lighting a variety of tiny colourful flowers that also grew there. There were a lot more taller flowers blooming around the edge of the undergrowth that separated the glade from the darker forest around it. There were even flowers growing in the shallows of the pool, beautiful big water lilies that the girls had never seen growing wild before. It was a magical place for a picnic.
The girls made themselves comfortable, and unpacked their food and drinks. As they ate their picnic, they saw colourful butterflies and watched three or four colourful irridescent dragonflies hovering over the pool.
Anna then asked, “How come there aren’t any taller plants here? I’d have expected ferns, bushes and trees to grow here instead of these pretty little flowers and short grass.”
The other two hadn’t realised that this could be unusual, but Vana hazarded a guess, “Maybe the soil isn’t deep enough for anything except shallow roots.”
“Yes, you’re probably right. Maybe it’s rocks just a little way below us.”
Vana got up and went to look into the water. “The pool seems shallow around this edge here, where the lilies are growing, but I think it drops away quite steeply just a short way in. I can’t see the bottom of it from here.”
“Throw a stone in,” suggested Minnie, “You can tell how deep it is from the sound it makes.”
Vana wrinkled her nose at the idea, “No, it doesn’t really matter how deep it is. It seems a shame to disturb the peacefulness of this place by throwing stones. Don’t you think this is a magical sort of pool? I can imagine ancient people might have considered this pool to be a sacred place. It’s so beautiful with all the flowers and the water and everything.”
Minnie smirked, “I don’t think ancient people would have the energy to walk this far into the forest. I’m pretty exhausted myself. I don’t think we should go on any farther after we’ve finished eating.”
“I didn’t mean old people,” said Vana, unsure whether Minnie had deliberately taken the wrong meaning. “I meant people who lived a long time ago. They used to believe that places like this had spirits living in them, you know. It was part of their religion. They might have thrown golden treasures into a pool like this so that the spirits would be kind to them.”
“Yes, she’s right,” confirmed Anna, “that seems to have been a pretty common belief in a lot of places. There must be something about the beauty of a place like this that is universal.”
“And timeless too. I was thinking before that this place must have been pretty much the same for centuries. Although, really, it’s constantly changing, from moment to moment, so no one has ever seen it exactly like this and never will again. The place is full of life which is always growing and changing.”
“Or dying,” added Anna, for correctness, “But changing yes.”
“Oh very cheerful!” Minnie rolled her eyes.
“Oh, I didn’t mean it in a depressing way. Life is a circle. There wouldn’t be any room for new born life if the old life stayed or kept growing. The thing which is timeless here is the great cycle of life, always changing, yet always the same.”
Minnie was not one for philosophy. She changed the subject, “Yes, well, have you eaten enough already, Vana? Don’t you want the rest of your bread?”
“Hands off it!” smiled Vana in mock aggression, “I do want it. I was only trying to see how deep the pool is.” She returned to sit with her friends.
The food was enough, and made them all feel good. Afterwards, they all felt rather comfortable, and a little sleepy. Anna sat on the rocks next to the waterfall, in the shade, leaning back against a bigger rock to finish her drink.
Minnie said to her, “No wonder your skin is so pale, Anna. You really like to keep out of the sun, don’t you? I think I’m going to lie on the grass here for a while. I don’t think we’re going to get too many more days as nice as this before we have to go back to school now, do you?”
“Probably not, no. But we can hope. Perhaps winter will be later this year. Cold weather doesn’t suit me. Put some of your suncream on if you’re going to lie right there though. You’ll get lots of freckles otherwise.”
“Yes, yes, I was going to,” said Minnie and started rummaging through her bag to find her lotion. She offered some to Anna.
Anna turned it down, “I’m fine, thank you, I’ll just stay over here. Don’t get all sweaty, we still have to walk back you know.”
“No rush, I’ll be fine after a nice lie down here. Do you think I should put some cream on my legs?”
“You should put it on any exposed skin yes. Your legs can get darker just as easily as your face.”
“But no man will see my legs until we’re married though. Shouldn’t I save the cream for my face and neck and hands?”
Anna smiled teasingly, “Well, please yourself, but if your husband wonders why you won’t take your brown hose off when he sees the tan lines you get, you’ll only have yourself to blame.”
Vana smiled at the idea of Minnie disappointing her husband. Of the three of them Minnie was usually the one more concerned about what men might think of her.
“Well, I won’t lie here for that long anyway,” said Minnie resolutely, who seemed to be taking the tease seriously, because she was studying her skin tone.
Vana decided to join in the tease. “You’re already going a bit redder you know.”
“You need talk, you’ll get burned all down one side if you sit like that. You should turn around and lie back yourself.”
“I wasn’t going to sit like this, I was watching the dragonflies.” But Vana did turn around to put her back more to the sunshine.
Minnie said, “That’s better. I suppose, out here, I could hitch my skirt up so that I don’t get a mark around my knees, couldn’t I?”
Vana raised her eyebrows, “Up? Wouldn't it be better to use something to cover your lower legs. Did you bring a towel or anything?”
“Oh come on! We didn’t come out here in the sunshine to cover ourselves up, did we? There’s no one else around here. I want to enjoy the sunshine on my skin while I can do that without being scolded by someone. The sight of my legs won’t shock you will it, Vana?”
“Of course not, I’ve seen your legs before. But you’ll just make it look like you’re wearing longer hose.”
“It’s not as if I’m likely to be wed anytime soon. Even if I get a little bit red, I’ll have plenty of winter time and long skirts to get paler legs again. You should hitch your skirt up too, didn’t we agree we could enjoy our freedom a little today?”
“We said we could make the most of the last of our childhood, but I don’t remember exposing myself out of doors even when I was younger. And we’re not children any more. You yourself commented on how those traders looked at us on the way here.”
“Yes, I don’t think they thought we were children. But we’re way off the beaten track here, no one else will see us. Even if someone were to happen this way, we’d hear them coming. I’m going to hitch my skirt up anyway.” And with that Minnie proceeded to pull her skirt up to expose most of her thighs to the sunshine.
Anna watched her and said, “I don’t think it’s going to look any better to your husband to see a line higher up your legs. If you’re trying to look even all over then the logical thing to do would be to undress completely.”
Vana knew that Anna was still teasing, and that not even Minnie would be so bold.
Minnie replied, “Well, if my idea was to look like a cooked chicken for a husband then maybe I would do that, Anna. But I’m just wanting to enjoy the sunshine for a little while. And besides, if a man ever gets to see so much of me, he won’t be concentrating on my skin tone.”
Anna laughed. “No, probably not. But you’re going to get your skirt all creased if you lie with it like that. And it’s short enough already without being creased up higher.”
“True. Maybe I should take it off then. I was thinking I might get grass stains on it anyway.”
Vana now began to doubt the assumed limits of Minnie’s daring. “What? You’re not serious, are you?”
“Why not? Would I embarrass you?”
“Er, well, no, of course not.” Vana’s blush was beginning to contradict her. “But this is a public place. Other people could come along here and see you.”
“I don’t think so, Vana. Isn’t that one of the reasons you wanted to get off the path, to get away from people? And we would hear anyone before they got here.”
She started to untie her skirt.
Vana looked at her in surprise. “If a man came by and saw you first he might creep up closer to get a better look. We could be being watched already for all you know. Wouldn’t you be embarrassed if a man saw you lying there so exposed in your undergarments?”
“There’s no one around but us! And, to be honest, I wouldn’t really, no. I don’t know why you were always so shy even with other girls, Vana. Do you keep your clothes on when you take a bath? How will you ever be happily married if you’re so shy?”
“I never thought about that. I don’t feel ready to get married yet. I sometimes think it would have been better if I’d been a boy. Boys get to do different jobs, to travel and see the world, and to study more interesting things. All that girls do is learn how to behave like ladies to get a husband and look after him and his home. It’s unfair.”
“Well, you’re not a boy, and you won’t be a good wife if you’re too shy to undress for your husband however well you cook and sew.”
Vana shuddered at the thought. “I know. Maybe if I met the right man one day I’d start to feel differently. But you’re right, I don’t feel I could be a good wife. I think women should not be treated as some man’s possession.”
“Perhaps it’s because you never really knew your real father, Vana,” said Anna, trying to help, but only confirming Vana’s feelings of inadequacy to her. “You have never been a man’s possession really, have you?”
“Well, maybe that has something to do with it. I do love my father, he’s treated me well, but a part of me always felt a little like a guest in his house.”
“What are you two on about?” asked Minnie in a surprised tone, “I hope I don’t think of my future husband as being like my father. I hope that my husband will love me in a different way to my father. I can imagine undressing for my husband, but not my father!” She snorted a laugh at the thought.
“We didn’t come here today to think about getting married anyway, we came here to enjoy our freedom while we can,” stated Vana, clearly wanting to end this topic.
“Yes, you’re right,” agreed Minnie, “and for me that freedom includes lying here with my legs uncovered.” She knelt up and took her skirt off. “Anyone joining me?”
Anna just shook her head and lay back against the rock.
Vana knew Minnie didn’t expect her to lose her inhibitions so easily so when Minnie looked at her inquiringly, Vana assumed it was to find out whether she had any further objections. “I’ll keep my eyes and ears open for you then. I hope you have time to get dressed again if anyone comes.”
“Don’t worry about it, Vana, I don’t need you to prod me to get dressed everytime an animal makes a sound in the forest. I feel quite safe here. In fact I think I might take my blouse off too. Don’t want to get grass stains on that either.”
Vana watched her friend take her blouse off and fold it with her skirt on the grass beside her. After putting some cream on her face and lower arms, Minnie lay back and stretched out in the sunshine like a cat about to enjoy a nap. Vana couldn’t understand how anyone could relax when only wearing scant undergarments.
Anna was smiling as she said to Vana, “Relax, Vana! Minnie isn’t worried, and you don’t need to worry for her either.” Anna pulled her cap lower over her eyes and made herself more comfortable.
Vana realised she wasn’t going to be able to take a nap herself now. She sat in the glade as her two friends relaxed, and listened to the sounds around her. She felt acutely aware of the noises in the forest now, when you really listened there were a lot. The stream, the wind in the branches, birds, insects, and several other less easily explained noises, perhaps small animals, or falling branches. The forest had seemed so peaceful, empty and quiet before, yet really it was so full of life.
She realised that her heightened sense of awareness was due to her friend’s state of undress, and, realising that it wasn’t empathy, since Minnie wasn’t feeling the same way, Vana tried not to think about why it should bother her so.
Vana looked for the dragonflies again.
A dragonfly flew quite close by, and she could hear the hum of its little wings over the splashing of the waterfall. Then a bird warbled a lovely song somewhere nearby, and she looked up into the trees to see if she could see it. She couldn’t. Anna appeared to be beginning to doze, as her head was tilted back against the rock. Minnie was still relaxed, with her bonnet over her face in the sunshine. They were all a little tired after their long walk, and their meal. Vana tried to relax herself, and lay back for a while, with her eyes closed. It helped, but she didn’t fall asleep. There were too many little forest noises.
After some time, Vana stood up and walked to the pool’s edge to dip her bare toes into the water, enjoying the coolness and the massage of the smooth pebbles on her soles.
So with the other two girls dozing, it was Vana who first became aware of the naiad. As she stood gazing into the water at her feet enjoying the peacefulness and magic of the glade, the thick foliage on the opposite side of the pool moved as if it had just been pushed. If Minnie had been properly dressed perhaps Vana wouldn’t have taken so much notice. But now, having just been talked of men creeping up on them, Vana stared into the foliage to see what had caused it to move.
Then there was a larger movement of the leaves.
Vana convinced herself that there was some kind of animal over there. Perhaps a squirrel had jumped into the bush from higher up. Or perhaps it was something larger. A deer? Did deer live in forests? In this forest? She wasn’t sure. It was not likely to be a black bear, the undergrowth over there was too thick for a large bear to have come so close, so she wasn’t concerned that some predator was stalking them. But it could just possibly be someone trying to spy on Minnie.
Vana stood quite still, looking in the direction of the sound. On the other side of the pool, to the right of the waterfall, the foliage was very dense and overhanging the water. She stared into the leafy shadows for a while seeing no more movement and no animal. But as she looked, there was another slight movement – some leaves moved together and she was sure something had just moved in the shadows behind them.
She decided that it couldn’t be a voyeur, because such a person would have seen her watching, and not made that kind of movement. This had to be some kind of forest animal come to get a drink from the pool.
She turned slowly to see if Anna or Minnie had noticed anything, but they both remained quite still and quiet, and may have been asleep, so she didn’t need to warn them not to frighten the animal away. Anna was not facing Vana anyway, resting back against the rocks, and Minnie was just lying still. When Vana looked back toward the bush, there was another smaller movement of the leaves, as if something was still there, perhaps afraid of the human in the bright white dress watching it from the other side of the pool.
Vana’s next action wasn’t brave, since she wasn’t thinking of the possibility of the animal being dangerous. She just wanted to see what it was. She decided to try and get a closer look. She walked around the edge of the large pool, trying to move very slowly and noiselessly, so as not to appear threatening to whatever the animal was. The foliage was quite still now. The animal was probably still there, and afraid to move again in case it gave away its position.
As she moved to the end of the pool furthest from the waterfall the ground under her feet became wet and soft, and she felt mud seeping between her toes. After the initial surprise of that, it didn’t actually feel too bad. Rather nice really, compared to the hard rocks. She continued around the pool very stealthily, trying not to make a sound herself. When she was as close as she dared to go without scaring the animal away, and without trying to get into the thick bushes herself, she decided to crouch down slowly so as to appear smaller and less intimidating to the animal. She crouched down slowly, without realising that her dress was now dragging on the mud. She didn’t take her eyes off the foliage in front of her and remained still, peering into the leaves.
After a while, she began to speak very quietly in a soothing voice, as if the wild animal would respond like a tame pet. “Come out, little one. I won’t hurt you. Let me see you. Don’t be afraid. I’m your friend.”
And to her surprise, as if in response, the leaves moved again for a moment. So she spoke again, “That’s it. It’s alright. Come on out. Let me see you. Come on.”
To Vana’s utter astonishment, the leaves parted and she saw a girl’s head appear. The girl seemed only a little younger than Vana herself but she had long thick curly hair that was so white it was almost silver. Some twigs and leaves were stuck in her mass of curls. And the girl’s face was exceptionally pale, as if she had hidden from sunlight all her life. And her two big pure dark blue eyes were staring at Vana without blinking. The girl’s expression was a mixture of fear and amazement.
Vana managed to keep calm, and managed to smile at the strange girl. She said, “That’s it. Don’t worry. You can come out. I’m friendly.”
The leaves parted wider and the white haired girl crawled out of the bush towards her on her hands and knees, still looking directly and intently at Vana. Her big staring blue eyes were almost hypnotic. As she emerged from the foliage into the open, Vana was more than a little shocked to see that the girl was completely naked; her glistening white skin was evenly pale over her whole body. The girl crawled close to Vana, whose mind was racing through a mixture of shock, surprise, fear, amazement, excitement, wonder, and many other emotions while her body remained totally still.
The strange girl knelt up in the shallow mud, facing Vana. The two stared into each other’s eyes, both appearing equally surprised to see the other. Vana’s dress was still soaking up water behind her. The other girl sat back on her heels, with her back straight, her pale wet skin silky smooth. Vana couldn’t understand what a girl like this was doing crawling around naked, deep in a forest. Vana would have been less surprised by any kind of wild animal really, and in fact something about this girl made her seem like a wild animal herself, but that idea made no sense either, because this girl was too beautiful, too evenly pale, and too clean, to be wild.
Vana’s mind raced through possibilities. Perhaps the girl had been swimming here in this pool and was returning for her clothes and was embarrassed to find that three strangers had turned up unexpectedly. Yes, that seemed the most likely. But they hadn’t seen her clothes lying around anywhere, and why would she be crawling around in thick bushes? Well, to hide her nakedness from them, of course. She had such white hair. It looked more like a doll’s unnatural hair really, but then again not like wool or anything else but the finest silky hair. With those blue eyes, she was not an albino, but perhaps there was some other rare related condition which Vana didn’t know about which caused such pale skin and white hair like that but allowed pure dark blue eyes. Such clear blue eyes the like of which Vana had never seen before. This girl would make a great fairy queen, given the right dress, wings and wand.
That idea made Vana smile to herself. But something about this girl did seem supernatural. She looked like no girl Vana had seen before. The shape of her eyes could almost be Canthan, but they were too big and blue, and Vana had never heard of a Canthan with white curly hair before. And what would a Canthan girl with a rare skin condition be doing here anyway? That was just about as likely as her being a fairy. All these things raced through Vana’s mind very quickly. She tried to snap out of those silly ideas and be practical for a moment. This girl must at least be embarrassed, and obviously needed some kind of help here. Vana tried to stop staring at her so rudely.
“My name is Vana. What’s your name?”
The stranger didn’t reply, but just smiled at her. She had a wide smile and full pale lips, and a perfect set of gleaming white teeth. After a moment or two, Vana began to wonder whether in fact this girl didn’t speak her language. Everything about this girl was so unexpected.
“I’m Vana. You?” She pointed first to herself and then to the stranger.
The white haired girl didn’t exactly speak, but she opened her mouth roundly and made a strange noise with her breath. The sound was like wind blowing on waves in the rain.
Vana thought that the girl was starting to panic. “Please don’t be scared! I won’t hurt you. I’m Vana. Vana.” She pointed to herself again. Then she pointed to the girl, and looked quizzical.
As she pointed, the girl knelt higher, leaned forward, reached out towards her pointing hand, and gently but firmly took hold of her wrist. This took Vana by surprise too. Perhaps this girl had some kind of mental handicap. Best to stay calm and continue to be friendly to her. So rather than snatch her hand away, Vana opened her hand and then reached out her other hand too, palm upwards, to try to appear trusting and friendly. The other girl took hold of her other wrist in the same way. The two of them sat like this, looking into each other’s eyes. Then the white haired girl raised herself a little and moved towards Vana on her now muddy knees, and put both her hands gently against Vana’s cheeks. Her hands felt soft and cold and wet against Vana’s hot cheeks. But then Vana began to feel dizzy. Perhaps it was due to being in the hot sun before the shock of meeting this strange beautiful white haired girl whose hypnotic wide dark blue eyes seemed never to blink.
The giddy feeling worsened, and Vana closed her eyes for a moment, and tried to breathe more deeply. She felt the girl take her hands away from her cheeks and immediately the faintness began to pass. Vana opened her eyes again, and saw that the girl had sunk back onto her heels, folded her hands in her lap, and had closed her eyes. Vana began to wonder whether all this was a dream, and turned to check that her friends were still there. They were, and hadn’t moved or seen anything. She looked back towards the girl, and noticed the mud on her legs and knees and hands now. There was mud on Vana’s wrists too, and she wondered whether there was any on her cheeks now too.
She was about to feel her cheek when the other girl suddenly opened her eyes again, and pointed at Vana.
In a voice that sounded like Vana when she was a little girl, the stranger spoke slowly and deliberately, “You are Vana. My name is …” and she made the open mouthed breathing sound of wind and water again.
Vana was surprised: by the fact that the girl could speak her own language after all, that the girl sounded younger than she looked, and by the sound she made instead of her name. Vana asked her, “What are you doing here?”
The other girl replied, “Perhaps make mistake. Where you from?”
“We attend Ashford Academy. We came out here for a day in the countryside and a picnic.”
The pale one started visibly and looked around. It seemed as if she had not noticed the other two sleeping girls before, so fascinated was she by seeing Vana at her pool. Now at the mention of ‘we’ she turned to look at Anna and Minnie across the water, who were both still dozing. The girl with the strange name appeared to be afraid now, and began to move backwards on her knees towards the bushes she had just emerged from.
“No wait! Don’t run away!” said Vana. “They’re friendly too. We didn’t mean to intrude on you. We didn’t know there was anyone else here. They’re nice people. You’ll get on fine with them.”
The naked girl paused, part way back into the foliage of the bush, and looked back at Vana, and her friends.
“Really. They’re good people. We can all be friends. We’ll help you. Please don’t run away.” Vana felt that she had to keep talking to prevent the girl from running away, although she couldn’t understand why she suddenly seemed so afraid now.
“The one lying on the grass is called Minnie, and the one on the rocks there is Anna. We all met at school and have been friends for a long time. I’m sure they’d like to meet you too. Wouldn’t you like us to help you? What happened to your clothes? Do you need to borrow some? Do you live very far from here? We can help you. You don’t have to run away.”
The pale girl seemed to be reassured a little by Vana’s chatter and turned to face Vana again. She said, “I am not think good. I make trouble you. I never … erm … never mind. Thank you. I go.”
“No, wait, stay! Why are you doing crawling around here like that? We can help you.”
“I curious you. Mistake. Why you in my pool?”
Vana found her answer quite strange. She said, “Your pool?”
“This pool?” The girl splashed the water a little with her hand.
“We were just enjoying a walk through the forest, and we stopped here for a picnic. This is a lovely place, isn’t it? Where are your clothes?”
“I no.”
“Yes, sorry, it’s obviously a lovely place. But what happened to you?”
The girl looked puzzled. Vana thought it was due to her not speaking her language very well.
“Do you understand what I’m asking you? Has something bad happened to you? Were you abandoned here or something? Did someone try to hurt you? What mistake were you talking about?”
“I understand little little. I no needs. I too curious, make mistake see you. You new me.”
“I knew you? No, really, I'm sure I would remember you if we’d met before.”
“You new to me.”
“Ah yes, that kind of new. What language do you normally speak? Maybe one of us knows a little of it.”
“Language? Tongue?”
“Yes, what tongue do you speak?”
“Ah, I speak you tongue, yes. Help me?”
“Yes, that’s what I’m saying, we can help you. We’d like to help you.”
The girl reached out both her hands again towards Vana’s face. Vana’s instinct was to draw away, but something in the girl’s eyes made her not do that. She allowed the stranger to hold her head again as she had before. Almost as soon as the cool hands made contact with her skin, Vana felt a strange throbbing in her head, but this time it subsided rather than getting worse. Vana closed her own eyes to concentrate on preventing going dizzy again, and when she opened them again she saw that the girl has closed her eyes too. Vana felt strange shivers run up and down her spine, of excitement or fear or goodness knows what.
And then the girl let go of her again, and sat back before opening her eyes again.
“What did you do that for? Is holding someone’s face a greeting where you come from? Should I have held yours?” asked Vana.
“I am see better now, thank you,” replied the pale girl, less faltingly than before.
“Right, good, so will you trust me to help you?”
“Trust you, yes.”
“Good. So what happened to you? What are you doing here?”
“I am too curious. I see you at my pool and I want know more. I break … erm … I do wrong, I meet you. Maybe mistake, but done now.”
“Well, you’re not making much sense to me yet, but don’t worry, take it easy. We’re all girls here. None of us are shocked at you being naked, not really. Do you have a friend around here somewhere? Did someone take your clothes?”
“I have friends, yes. I no have clothes. We no need. You like clothes yes?”
Vana found this answer confusing. “Do I like them? I’m not into fashion like, say, Minnie there, but I like some. Which probably seems odd to you, come to think of it, since Minnie hasn’t got much on at the moment. But Minnie isn’t shy like me. Why don’t we go over there and wake up Minnie and Anna? Maybe one of them has some spare things, and I’m afraid we don’t have much food left, but we can share whatever we have with you, we’ll help you somehow.”
“I help you also.”
“You’ll help us? We’re fine, we don’t need any help. What about those friends of yours? Do you know where they went? Were you supposed to meet them here?”
“I have to think to where they are. I not think to meet someone here.”
“You mean you can’t remember? Did you get banged on the head?”
“No, I remember. My friends not here, far away. Friends say talk to you bad. I too... too young.”
“You’re too young to what? To talk to me?”
“Yes, I too young to talk to you. Friends think me this. Say Húman bring danger. But I curious. Meet you anyway. I curious on Húman.”
“Human? What do you mean by that? Is that meant to sound spooky? What danger are you talking about?”
“Oh bad. I think you not understand. I think I make more big mistake worse now. Maybe you unthink me, yes?”
“Unthink? I’m not following you. Listen to me, you haven’t made a mistake by talking to me, I will try to help you. But I need to understand what danger you’re in, and what happened to you. Come on, let’s wake my two friends, they will want to help too, I’m sure.”
Vana began to rise to her feet, and realised that crouching had made her ankles ache. As she stood up she felt her dress stick to the back of her legs too and realised it was muddy and wet. But she ignored those things now and extended a hand to the strange girl sitting in the mud in front of her.
“Come on, please, don’t be scared. You’re safe with us now. Anna’s family isn’t from around here either, maybe she knows something about your own language. Can you tell me what your language is called?”
“Thinking.”
“That’s okay. Just say something in your own language, maybe I’ll recognise it.”
The girl looked at her intently for a moment, and then said, “You no get it?”
Now Vana was puzzled again, and said, “Well, you need to say something first!”
“I know. You not get thinking. I thinked you not get it.”
Vana shook her head in exasperation. “I didn’t get it no. Did you expect me to read your mind or something?”
Then a chill ran down Vana’s spine. “Oh my word! You did, didn’t you? You meant that your first language is thinking, didn’t you?”
“Yes, thinking, I say that. Now I afraided you. I sorry. I sorry make you woo woo too.”
As she said ‘woo woo’ the strange girl rotated her head and eyes and Vana realised what she meant.
“You mean you made me feel dizzy earlier? How did you know I felt dizzy? Oh good grief, you’re not even human, are you? You can read my mind!”
“I sorry. Please don’t be scared! I won’t hurt you.” The girl’s voice now sounded exactly like Vana’s own when she had said this earlier. This had the effect of making Vana feel more scared, wondering what other abilities this strange girl … or being … may have, apart from mind reading and mimicry.
“Are you saying that you can read minds? And that you’re not an ordinary human?”
“I no understand read, but I see thinking. And you are Húman and I am … not Húman, yes. I not good see Húman thinking. But you help me big big.”
“You mean you’re learning about humans by reading my mind? This is crazy. Am I dreaming? What are you then?”
“I no know. I not know Húman tongue sound.”
“I’ve never met a non human before.”
“I’ve never met a human before,” smiled the pale girl imitating Vana’s voice and tone once again.
“Well you have to meet my two friends now. They would never believe me if they don’t see you for themselves.”
“I no understand ‘believe’.”
“Well, get up and come with me. Please.” Vana extended her hand again.
The white haired one looked at her for a moment, as if trying to decide whether to do as Vana asked, or to flee. Vana felt a thrill of pleasure when the stranger took her offered hand and stood up herself. The mud on her smooth shins seemed to slide right off her as she rose. She was slightly shorter than Vana, though if seen separately against a plain background people would probably guess she was taller than Vana, because her proportions were slightly different, longer shins, thinner waist, longer neck.
Vana led her by the hand towards Minnie and Anna. The chills she had been feeling down her spine earlier had now turned into a kind of electricity of excitement, since it was somehow, just about, almost believeable that this girl was not a normal human, as amazing as that would be. Vana wanted her friends to form an opinion about this stranger too, as the alternative was that Vana herself was cracking up. Perhaps she had just eaten something bad which was making her delirious or giving her hallucinations.
“I’ll wake her up,” Vana said, approaching Minnie. Vana crouched down, picked up Minnie’s clothes and covered her with them, before shaking her friend’s arm gently, and saying quietly, “Wake up, Minnie. There’s someone else here.”
Minnie moved her bonnet and opened her eyes and saw Vana bending over her. And then she saw the pale girl, standing just behind Vana, a mass of silky silvery white curls tumbling over her shoulders, glistening in the sunlight. Minnie visibly jumped at the sight, and sat quickly upright, saying “Wow!” making her blouse fall into her lap.
At the same time, the stranger, startled by Minnie’s sudden move, moved even more quickly herself. She jumped straight into the pool and disappeared underwater with hardly a splash.
“Wow!” repeated Minnie, “Sorry! I think I must have been dreaming. I could have sworn I saw a ghost or an angel or something standing behind you just then. It was all pale and white and shiny. It scared me for a moment.”
Vana hadn’t realised that the naiad had jumped into the pool behind her, and was now looking around for her. “Where did she go?” she asked.
Minnie laughed, “Into the pool.”
“Well, come on, we have to coax her out again,” said Vana, “Please don’t make any more sudden movements, and speak softly.” She moved towards the pool.
“You can’t be serious!” said Minnie, who really thought she must have imagined the sight. Then she noticed that the bottom of Vana’s dress was soaking wet and a bit muddy and asked, “Did you fall over, Vana?”
Anna woke up at the sound of their voices and turned to face them. “What’s going on?” she asked.
“There’s someone else here, Anna,” explained Vana, “but she’s very shy, and she’s hiding in the pool now. She seems very unusual to me, like a cross between a lost child, a wild animal and a fairy. I want you both to meet her too. She seems to be afraid of us. We have to coax her out of the pool. Try not to scare her any more.”
“Vana, have you fallen down and banged your head?” asked Minnie.
“No, I’m just hoping I haven’t eaten something bad. There is someone else here.”
Anna said, “In the pool? Are you sure you weren’t both dreaming? Maybe a fish jumped and woke you both?”
But Anna got up from her rocky resting-place and went to stand next to Vana, to look into the water.
Vana said to the pool, “Come out, don’t worry. They want to meet you and be your friend too.”
Minnie asked, “Who are you talking to, Vana? How could anyone hide in the pool?” She stood up to join them too, leaving her skirt and blouse on the grass. She said, “Did you bang your head when you fell over, Vana? I must have imagined it. Anna is right, there would have been a much bigger splash if someone had really jumped in there.”
Anna said, “And there would be some bubbles if there was someone down there.”
The pool surface was now steady, no ripples or bubbles could be seen to indicate that a girl was under the water. Vana said, “No, she’s real, I tell you. Please come out. We want to be your friends.”
Then a ripple appeared on the surface of the pool, towards the centre. They all saw it. Vana pointed and said, “There! See, she is in there.”
Minnie still thought that the pale figure must have been an illusion caused by the dazzle of the sunlight interrupting a dream. “That must be a fish. No one can hold their breath like that.”
So Minnie was most surprised when the silvery white curls re-emerged from the water in the centre of the ripple.
Vana coaxed, “That’s it. Come on. Don’t be shy. We can all be friends.”
“Yes, come on out,” said Anna, now beginning to understanding why Vana had been talking to the pool, “You don’t need to be afraid of us. What’s her name?” she asked Vana.
Vana called across the pool, “Come on out now. Tell Anna and Minnie your name. Let’s get to know each other better.”
The naked girl swam towards them and emerged from the pool onto the rock shelf amongst the lilies. She looked as if she might run away at any moment, but her shyness didn’t seem to be because she was naked, because she didn’t try to cover her body at all as she walked towards them.
Vana smiled, “That’s it. Come on out. Everything will be fine.”
Anna’s expression was one of amazement, but she controlled her voice as she said, “Hello. My name is Anna. What’s yours?”
“My name is ” and then that sound of waves and wind again.
Anna and Minnie looked at each other with puzzled expressions, trying to work out what this strange girl meant.
Vana sought to reassure her still, “You’re alright. I told you they were good people. You can trust them.” She extended a hand towards her again so that she wouldn’t slip on the wet rocks. The girl took her hand and walked out onto the grass.
“So where did you come from then?” asked Anna.
The strange one replied, “Here. I live here.”
Minnie was still trying to grasp the reality of the situation, “What? You live here? You mean you come here a lot?”
When the stranger spoke to Minnie, she sounded a little more like Minnie herself. “You not understand. I am not Húman. I am, er, what sound? I no understand much yet. May I inview you?”
Vana thought she meant ‘interview’ and said “Of course. What do you want to ask?” but the girl reached up and held her face again, staring into her eyes, just as she had earlier. Vana realised this time that she was going to have her mind read again, and tried to think of possible types of being that this girl might be.
After just a few moments of concentration, the white haired one let go of Vana and said to the girls, “I am a naiad.”
“Hello, Ann,” said Minnie extending her hand, “I’m Minnie Taylor. Pleased to meet you.”
The naiad laughed. “No, my name is not Ann. Your word for me is naiad.”
“What’s a naiad?” asked Minnie, whose knowledge of mythology was not as good as Vana’s.
“I think she means she’s a water-nymph,” replied Vana.
) like me can post the short stories and excerpts of stories they've created. Feel free to post your own, all are welcome. If you're looking only to criticize and not contribute, please DO NOT post here. Thank you. 
(Thank you for pointing out one more, Cyn! <33)
