Calytrix's Journey

Chapter III: New Witch

My teleport destination happened to be midair, in front of a large water source. I had no way out of this situation. A small scream escaped my lips before my forced swim. As I was falling to the bottom, I felt something grab me... pulling me up. 

"Are you okay?" I heard a young female voice.

The leaking water made my eyes sensitive and difficult to open. The water in my eyes blocked my vision until it disappeared or dried. I was drenched, so I couldn't get the water out of my eyes for the next few minutes until my hands dried. I couldn't tell where I was or how the person in front of me looked.

"Yes, I'm good," I said a few moments later with closed eyes. "Are you the one who pulled me out of the lake?"

"I pulled you out as soon as I noticed you drowning," a young female voice said.

"I can properly swim!- even so, thank you," I thanked her because it was proper conduct.  

Despite unintentional harsh words, remembering and using good manners towards kind people was vital. Though I could have easily swum up, I appreciated the help.

"It's very rare to see any visitors in this forest except me. Did you come here because you wanted to be all alone?" she asked.

"Yes. I wanted to take a break from everyone," I lied, with my eyes still closed.

"Why are your eyes closed?" she continued to question me.

Upon explaining my physical condition, she used a dry cloth to gently wipe the area around my eyes. Though unpleasant, my vision quickly returned to normal after a brief period. I disliked being touched, particularly by strangers. I took the cloth from her hands and did the rest of the drying off myself.

The girl who helped me was younger than me. She was a lot smaller and slightly thinner than me. Her black hair, long enough to reach her hips, highlighted her big, black eyes. She enhanced her naturally pretty face with a skillful makeup application, but her fashion sense was odd. Her outfit consisted of a red corset and a dark red dress. Although that clothing was traditionally worn by witches for special occasions, I detected no magic emanating from her or our vicinity. She wasn't a witch.

"Your dress is pretty," I said my first thought.

"Thank you," she said with a big smile. "Your styling is nice, too."

"Were you going somewhere special since you're so dressed up?" I asked.

"No. I don't think there is anything wrong with a girl dressing up just because she wants to be cute," she answered.

"I agree, but why witch clothes?" I asked again.

"Because it matches my fashion sense," she quickly said. "It's a style both of us like, judging from your looks."

"Yes, I like these clothes the best," I said with a smile.

"I actually came here to feed my ducks." 

She pointed out to the big bag full of bread near her. 

"But I can't see them. Your lake jump might have scared them."

As she looked around the lake, searching for her ducks, I surveyed my surroundings as well. We were standing near the shore of a large, murky, gray lake which was surrounded by a beautiful evergreen forest whose viridescent leaves and needles blended perfectly with the emerald color of the grass. It was in its perfect, natural shape, untouched by humans.

It was my first time at this place, but it felt like the black-haired girl and I were the only ones there. I saw absolutely no signs of human activity whatsoever. Perhaps we were far into the woods. Based on what I saw, I had no idea where we were. It could have been any place. There were no special features that would tell me what region I was in. I had to rely on someone to tell me where I was and point me toward the nearest town.