The Love to Paint

    Orra was a renowned witch. She had great wisdom in healing magic, but also had a temper. She was known to curse anyone who wasted her time, or used her for their own sinister gain.

    One day she came to a small, quiet village on the way back home from healing a very ill child. She stopped at the village to rest, and went to the local grocer to gather supplies for the rest of her trek.

    Orra went to the grocer with her steed, Necho, who carried most of Orra's essentials on her treks. Such as supplies like food, rope, and even tools and weapons.

    "Hello, Madam! What are you looking for today?" asked the grocer with excitement.

"I'm looking for food that would last me a few days, along with some apples for my horse," said Orra. She then removed her hood to take a look at the food laid out in front of her.

"Oh, well we have a wide assortment of-" the grocer stopped when he saw her face. "Madam? Could you be the renowned healer, Orra?"

"Why yes, I am," said Orra, slightly surprised by the statement.

"What a pleasure it is to finally meet you Miss Orra."

"The pleasure is all mine Sir-"

"William, Edward William," said the grocer, clarifying who he was.

"William," Orra repeated, finishing her sentence. "Well, Edward, may I get five apples, three potatoes, one loaf of bread and a small bundle of straw?"

"Of course Miss, just one moment," said Edward as he prepared brown paper to wrap her supplies. "There you go Miss Orra, five apples, three potatoes, one loaf of bread and a small bundle of straw, everything fresh. Some were even from the harvest this morning," said Edward as he handed Orra the brown parcel and bundle of straw.

"Thank you Edward. How much shall it be?" Orra asked as she loaded the supplies onto Necho.

"Ten shillings Miss."

"Ten shillings?" questioned Orra.

"Yes, but I assure you Miss Orra, it is worth your while. For I also wish to share knowledge of a plant with great healing power," explained Edward.

    "Well, seeing as I received the freshest supplies you had, I suppose it would be worth the cost," said Orra as she gave Edward the coins.

    "Trust me Miss, these berries are not a waste of your time. They can cure any disease or illness, even mend broken bones. They're located just Northeast of here in the forest. They look like blue berries, the only difference is that they're white in colour," explained Edward in a hushed voice, leaning over the counter so Orra could hear him.

    "Well, if these berries are as powerful as you say, they could be very useful to me," Orra said as she climbed up onto her horse.

"Yes, but Miss Orra, I must warn you. That part of the forest is also home to troublesome wood nymphs, who play tricks on anyone that enters their forest, making them forever lost," said Edward with worry in every word.

"Thank you for the warning Edward. I'll be sure to watch for them," said Orra before heading northeast into the forest.

Once Orra was in the forest, she began to watch for the white berries. Although it was much darker then in the village, for the leaves were still lushes and green like they always were in the harvest season, and blocked out the sun.

Even in the dim light Orra could still see her surroundings, but she started to feel like she was passing the same sets of trees. She recalled that the wood nymphs would make people forever lost in the forest. Orra hoped this was not the case and her time was not being wasted.

Orra got off her horse and grabbed the rope in one of her many satchels, she unraveled the rope, but it was much too short. Instead she used a dagger to mark the trees she passed, to find out if she was indeed going in circles.

    Orra marked every other tree with an "X". She did this for roughly an hour with on indication of arriving at where she started, "Maybe I'm simply imagining it, and I'm not truly going in circles," Orra said to herself, as she marked an "X" on the tree in front of her. She then turned around and was taken aback by her questionable surroundings, "What? Where did they go?" all of the X-marks that she carved seemed to have disappeared. She looked back again, and her last "X" was no longer there.

    Orra then heard faint laughter; she climbed onto Necho and headed towards the sound, when suddenly it stopped. Orra was displeased with the thought that the wood nymphs were playing with her mind. However, she continued to look for the white berries she went into the forest to find, even with her surroundings continuously changing. With every other step she took her surroundings changed, and Orra became more angry and annoyed.

    Then suddenly, she spotted one of the wood nymphs, and the nymph saw her then began to run. Orra went after the nymph, avoiding roots, rocks, bushes, and trees. However, when she turned the last tree, she was confronted with a steep rock face towering over her. Luckily, Necho stopped before running into the rock, but almost bucked Orra off in the process.

    Orra was enraged by these series of events, "I come to retrieve a remedy, but instead I am continuously tricked by wood nymphs." Orra said angrily. She then looked up, and was unexpectedly greeted by eight faces at the top of the cliff. They all seemed to be laughing, except one who looked like she was out of breath. They were all wood nymphs. Orra was furious with the nymphs, for they had kept her walking in the forest for hours, "I have had it!" Orra yelled at the nymphs, who then were hushed. "You all have wasted my time and played with me like a toy! If the lot of you desire to paint pictures for people to see, then you shall!" the nymphs became worried, for they had been cursed. "You will paint each leaf of every tree in this forest the colour of fire this harvest. If you fail me, you all shall continue to paint each year for the rest of your eternal lives!" with that, the wood nymphs' futures were sealed. The nymph then immediately began to prepare red, orange, and yellow paint.

    They painted the leaves of Maples, Birch, and Oaks with success, but began to worry. It did not matter what they did, or how hard they tried, they could not paint the pines of their forest, the nymphs called these trees "Evergreens". The wood nymphs continued to try for days without any sign of success, when they were suddenly confronted with a new problem, the leaves they had painted began to fall. However, it was too late, dozens of trees were bare, and Orra had come back to the forest to see what the wood nymphs have done.

    The wood nymphs begged Orra for forgiveness, but the healer was not as merciful as the nymphs hoped, "A month ago, the eight of you wasted my time, and played with my mind for your own enjoyment. You also failed to complete the task I gave you. So no, I will not lift your curse. You all can continue to paint the leaves each harvest, and remember how you wronged me," with that, Orra left the forest. It was the last time the wood nymphs ever saw or heard from her.

    Although the leaves had fallen, the next year new leaves took their place, year after year this happened, and year after year the wood nymphs painted the leaves. Eventually, the nymphs enjoyed painting the leaves, and they continue to do so to this day.