Earnest walked through the forest each day for his work as a lumberjack but something about today was different. The air was crisp and the creatures seemed more chipper as they went about their life's. The sun's light shone bright through the green foliage overhead, making his path dabbled with green and yellow. After a successful day of work I was free of my duties and decided to walk the long way back to town. Following along the river side as he did every now and then, but since today was just a strange day he decided to stay in the coverage of the forest. Who knows, maybe the rumor of merpeople were true and they would try to lure him into the waters in they saw him.
He chuckled at himself, shaking my head, but when I lifted my head and froze. Across the river was one of the most lovely sights he had ever beheld. A lady with black hair that created a curtain across part of her face and back as she was bent over a book. When he listened he could hear that she was humming a tune. Gradually his breath returned him but he was still skeptical of her. Maybe she was a mermaid, a siren to trap me with my nieve mind. He didn't move other than to breath as he waited for her to make her move. Then she did.
She laughed and turned the page. Her laughter was like music to my ears and my unease vanished. This was no mermaid because how could she make the sound of angels. But still I didn't move for fear she would run off screaming. Instead he watched her read with a smile on her lips until knew if he stayed any longer he would be considered a Peeping Tom.
So Earnest left when he knew she wouldn't hear him move and as he walked her image stayed in his mind. Her long finger, pale in the evening light as they turned the pages of her book. The blackness of her hair that reminded him of a starless night cascading down her back so long that it reached the earthen floor where she sat. I was to far away to see the color of her eyes but I imagined them to be a bright blue that held the ocean in them.
He hoped that the next day he would see her again, maybe this time he could actually talk to her.
So the next day after work I hurried along the same path that I almost gave away myself when I crashed through the foliage. When I came to the same area I slowed and looked through the leaves to see her on the other side for the river. When he did see her he crept closer and saw that instead of reading she held a large pad of paper and was drawing. Looking up every few seconds to capture another detail. All thought of calling out to her was forgotten as he watched her draw with her elegant hand, humming the same tune. Every now and then she would sing the words to the song, I couldn't understand the words though because they were in a different language but the beauty of her voice was undeniable. With all thoughts of approaching her gone so was the sense of time and before I knew it dusk was there and the world was getting darker.
Earnest left disappointed that he didn't reach out to her but with an odd sense that flowed through him. A feeling that fluttered around in his chest that made him feel like doing ridiculous use things.
The next day at work he spoke to the men in a causal tone if anyone lived in the forest. One man replied that a single mother lived with three of her daughters north along the west side of the river. After work he left the same as the past two days, hoping his luck would last a third day. As Earnest walked he came up with an excuse to be there, walking at normal speed as to not appear strange. When he pasted along the river he glanced towards to other bank, looking for the pale skinned girl. I pasted the usually area but kept going, She must be around here somewhere. I kept walking and looking until suddenly my legs where knocked out from beneath me.
I chocked on the dirt as the impact crushed the air from his lungs. Then something sharp pricked the skin of his back and when he tried to get up the sharp end dug deeper.
"Ouch, hey what's going on?" I could only see the forest and the dirt beneath me.
"How about you tell me why you're on my land?" The voice was female, and she was upset to say the least.
"I-I'm sorry ma'am, I didn't know." I tried to get up again but she didn't move her weapon. "Please, let me explain!" Slowly she pulled her weapon back and Earnest should up, brushing dirt and twigs from his pants.
"I apologizes, I was only coming by this way from work," He looked up and froze, it was her, the girl from before but instead of a book or pencil in hand she held a sword that was still pointed at his chest. A bow and a quiver of arrows slung across her back.
He coughed to clear his throat and tried again, "I don't usually come this way but I got lost on my way back until I found this river." Her face was impassive as she rose an eyebrow in a perfect arch.
"Is that why you have been coming back for the past two days, because you got lost?" My eyes widen and she smirked as I started stammering.
"I -I don't know what to say; Sorry I guess, I didn't mean to disturb you." He ran a hand through his hair, dislodging a stray leaf. She watched him with curious eyes, eyes that were in fact not sea blue but bright mint green. Ernest could feel the coolness of them wash over him as the silence between them spread.
"Follow me."
