A Place To Bloom

A Woman

If that girl could lurk so close to us and we never knew she was there, an enemy could as well, and I suspected an enemy might go beyond coming out and asking us our names. Judging from the silence we shared and the way we kept our eyes on the trees that surrounded us, I wasn't alone in that line of thinking.

We were drenched in sweat. The heat grew intense, and the mosquitoes continued their relentless assault. Slapping became part of the chorus that surrounded us, a percussion to go with the symphony of loud chirps, clicks, whistles, and strings played by some distant multitude of insects.

A rustling of trees up ahead sent a shock through my heart.

The road dropped down further. The ground beside us was scarcely visible beyond the thick underbrush, and we came to a lower basin where the bright green leaves all about us could hardly be seen in the dense shade above. We came to a waterfall on our left that tumbled violently over black rocks covered in moss and roared out loud enough to drown the forest. There was a bridge of stone, ancient and pockmarked, and covered in moss with two wheel ruts running the length of it. The road then curved around to the right alongside a mass of rock covered in wet plants and mosses of every kind. We descended further through thick underbrush on both sides, still beneath a dark canopy, and up ahead was a grove where the trees gave way to a field of bright green grasses tall as a man.

I looked up at the scarce dots of sky that managed to break through the trees hoping to get some idea of the time and earned nothing but thick, dark clouds. Davod spoke so excitedly he nearly slurred through his words. "Gods, that is a sexy fucking girl!"

Up ahead, she stood beside the road, barefoot with a brown burlap dress that scarcely came down below her hips and a black rope tied around her waist. She was Goloagi, light olive-green skin and dark-green hair that cascaded down her back in curls. Through large, doe eyes of a deep emerald-green color and full lips she looked at us and smiled.

Ales leaned into me. "Are you seeing this?"

We all were. She had a face that belied an inner happiness. Her arms were exposed, revealing a number branded into each, scars long distorted as though they'd been seared into her skin as a young child but still legible: 773-614.

Standing beside her was a boy who couldn't have been more than ten. He had the same dark-green skin as the girl riding the lizard, with long, white hair pulled behind his back, and bright yellow eyes. He was mostly naked but for a strap about his waist and a loincloth to cover his privates. He, too, was barefoot, and in his hand he held a large satchel of brown paper.

As we descended towards them, the girl continued to gaze upon us. Drenched in sweat as I was, the warmth of her smile felt good all over.

It was Davod who came up to her first. "Hello, love. I'm..."

"Davod of Gath. I know." She was Goloagi, but spoke Herali with only a faint hint of accent.

He pulled his face back in shock, then turned to look at me dumbfounded.

Then she continued, looking at each of us in turn. "Caleb, Geraln, also from Gath, Faren of Suuya..." She turned to Ales and gave off a wicked grin. "And you must be Thisisweird."

"That's not my name!" Ales protested.

She lilted out a light giggle as he continued. "It's Ales. Ahh-less. It's not..."

Faren interrupted him. "Come on, Thisisweird, be nice."

"Be quiet!" he snapped. Faren laughed, then swatted his ear.

Davod spoke to her again. "And what's your name, love?"

"Ranía."

"Ranía," Davod smirked. "A pretty name for a pretty girl."