Dryad

Celestina

I survived for a long time. Maybe only a year has passed, maybe more, I wouldn't know. It's like I forgot to count, but I lost the need to count and track time. For me, it felt like nothing was going anywhere because I had everything I needed. On summer days, I would hide under the shade of the treetops. In the wind, the trees would protect me. When the leaves fell, I would have the most beautiful nest in the forest. In the winter, I would sometimes hide in the barn with the horses. They didn't mind warming up with me. Only the children could see me, but I showed myself to them only. When they would leave food outside for me, I would leave them flowers, moss and mushrooms. I would always make sure that none of them got lost in my forest. I would help them find chestnuts, strawberries and good mushrooms or show them how to take honey from the beehive, but only the bravest tried. But I also knew how to lose someone if they tried to catch me or sent a dog after me. It hasn't paid off for anyone yet.

I lost my clothes over time, but I got overgrown with plants. The forest never stopped caring for me. I like having an eco dress that I can tie flowers into without it wilting after a few hours. This is something that girls especially like, but they haven't been able to achieve it yet. The only thing I could do was teach them how to braid flowers in their hair and hope they would attract butterflies, not bees.

I was hopping around the neighborhood on that spring morning in search of food when I heard a cat snarling and hitting something not far from me. Cats don't react like this to me, only dogs do. I went around the house and came closer to her to see what was happening - she found some kind of insect that would not be subdued to her terror, or at least I thought it was an insect at first. I crouched down and took the cat in my hands, and in the grass I saw an angry fairy trying to stand up and cursing in her own language.

The fairy stood up on her thin legs and spread her almost transparent wings. I've never caught a fairy before, not this close, not even me. She is certainly small and blonde, as my children used to tell me often and compare me to them, and she wears a short green dress that looks like leaves. I really don't know how anyone ever managed to mistake me for a fairy. She said something to me and she didn't sound happy, but I couldn't make out a single word. The cat must have caught her while she was eating the honey that was left on the window:

-Why am I even bothering? You don't understand me, do you?-she suddenly spoke in a more comprehensible language.

I nodded my head and just continued to look confused:

-Is that yours? She almost ruined my dress!-she told me all upset, and I shook my head again.

The cat fidgeted in my arms and tried to grab the furious little fairy again with its paws. I would be frustrated too if I was that small and being bullied by an ordinary house cat:

-What's wrong with you? Are you too afraid to speak? I too would be ashamed if I had such a rude cat.-she continued to nag, but she could not get any vocal response from me.

I gently opened the window and chased the cat inside. Let her rather look for mice around the house. The fairy let me pick her up and she stood on my open palm, and I pointed to my neck and the scars that remained:

-Are you mute?-I shook my head, again, because I couldn't do anything better than that:

-Or maybe you lost your voice?-she asked me, looking at my cover, which can't quite be classified as clothes:

-Dryad? I rarely see them. But they can all speak.-I didn't know what to say to her. You don't just tell people that you killed yourself or at least tried to. I shrugged my shoulders and let her think what she wanted:

-You know, sometimes ordinary girls can become nymphs. Dryads are adopted by the forest as their own after their death, but they must die in that same forest and the scars are carried over to the reincarnated version. I don't believe old age or hunger or anything wild killed you. Did someone strangle you?-a rope strangled me, does that count?

She was not far from the correct answer, but I didn't feel like explaining either. Maybe it's better that he doesn't know everything. Even so, she is certainly not very fond of people, the thought that someone strangled me will not spoil her image of them:

-Anyway, I can't avoid you now. You can ask me for a favor in return when you need it. I'm Celestina. My people know how to reach me.-I'll have to assume that "her people" are other fairies:

-And you are?-she asked me, ignoring my lack of vocal abilities.

I managed to put all the letters together by hand and hoped that at least she caught something and understood. I don't even know why I was taught sign language as a child, but even those banal things sometimes come in handy when the situation calls for their use:

-Klarissa?-my nod was a bit more cheerful this time, and then I pointed to myself and spelled "MOM":

-Your mom was called like that?-I waved my free hand nervously, not knowing how to explain it to her:

-Are you both called that? You are named after her?-she quickly came to the conclusion:

-She must have loved you very much. You always have to be careful who you give your name to. But I won't take anything from you today. Now I have to go.-she told me and ran away. Someone might see her.