The Willow Maid

Chapter 3

      The young man walked through the forest, his heart hardened with his longing. He carried a strong axe in his hand that was as sharp as a knife. He followed the winding path of the river, his eyes searching the banks for the willow tree he'd grown to be familiar with.

      He was still angered by her refusal of him, but he vowed to himself, "I'll take the green-eyed fairy, and she'll be my wife. She may refuse me now, but she'll change her mind. No matter what she says, with her I'll live my life."

     Hiding beneath the branches of the nearby willow, the maiden heard him speak. She chewed on her lip, peering out from behind the lengthy boughs. When she saw the axe in his hand, she stumbled back, her eyes widening. Her fairy companions cried out in fear, zooming upwards to hide among the higher branches.

     "What are you here for?" the girl asked in a pained voice as he entered the hidden grove with the axe gripped firmly in his gloved hand.

      "I'm setting you free," he replied.

      "Wh-what?" she asked, her wide eyes glinting with her concern and fear of what this man was planning. "

     "You said you can't leave the forest. So I'm taking down your tree, so you can be free enough to follow me back." The man raised the axe, and he swung it hard into the base of the tree. The willow shuddered violently, and the girl cried out as if she herself had been struck.

      "Please!" she cried, dropping to her knees, "Please don't do this!" She begged with each swing, each splinter of wood flying made her sob. Then finally, the ancient willow let out a loud creak, tilting forward. With a splash, the beautiful relic of the past sank into the stream.

      The girl stared at what had once been her home, a broken feeling in her heart. The only place she had ever known was gone forever.

      But the man that claimed to love her rested the axe on his shoulder with a satisfied smirk, "Now your willow has fallen. Now you belong with me." Without giving her a moment to speak, the man grabbed her hand in a vicelike grip, heaving her to her feet and pulling her behind him as he directed his footsteps back to the distant town.

     The willow maiden cast a final glance over her shoulder at the fallen tree that had been her sanctuary, then closed her eyes, allowing the despicable young man to drag her away from the only thing she'd ever known.

     The three fairies followed along, flying above in the tree tops and singing in an attempt to warn the man and save their friend:

      "See her now! A ray of light in the moondance.

       See her now! She cannot leave this place!

       Hear her now, a straying song of the forest!

        Don't ask her, to follow where you lead!"

     However, the man took no heed of their warnings and continued to pull her to the edge of the forest. With a look of defiance, he dragged her out of the forest, leaving the towering trees behind. When nothing happened, he smirked, "Yes, you belong to me now."

      The girl felt a prickle of despair as she watched the glorious forest fade from view. Then with a cry of pain, she collapsed to the ground, laying on the hard dirt of the earth.

      She had walked but a distance from the lush, green land of her birth, but it was enough.

      The greedy man stared at her in shock as her form glowed, then she began to fade. "N-no, wait!" he said, reaching a hand towards her, but the beautiful willow maid was gone. In her place grew a tall, ruby red flower with an emerald green stem.

       And as the sun sank behind the hills, the soft red petals began to open, blooming in the last light of the sun.

     The young man stared at it in shock, feeling numb with grief over his lost treasure. Then that fairies from the forest flew up into the air, singing a song filled with their sorrow at the passing of their friend.

     "She faded into a flower,

      That will bloom for one bright eve....

       He cannot take from the forest....

       What was never meant to leave...."