Spirit of the Forest

“Hey! Romelia!” Tanisha hugged Romelia then quickly released her. “So, how’s the kid?”

Romelia shrugged. “Cyri was up for a bit, yesterday, but-”

“Who? Who’s Cyri?”

“That’s his name, Cyri,” Romelia said. “He was up for a bit yesterday, but he hasn’t woken up today.”

Tanisha hugged her again, surprising Romelia. She usually only hugged her when she was greeting her, excited... or scared for her.

“Tanisha...” Romelia warned, trying to pull back but found she couldn’t. “What’s wrong?”

The Water Nymph bit her bottom lip gently. “Well... Your dad wants to see you. He heard about the b- Cyri.”

“Who told him?” Romelia asked. The only one’s who knew about Cyri was Tanisha and me... Wait...

She looked at her best friend. She wasn’t looking Romelia in the eyes, but as the trees behind her.

“Tanisha, did you-”

“I’m so sorry!” she blurted out. “H-he asked how you were doing and you know how he is! His gaze is so stern and scary, and it just spilled out!”

“It’s okay,” Romelia said. “And don’t worry. I can convince him to let Cyri stay until he is well enough to travel again.”

As she walked away, she said to Tanisha, “Can you make sure that Cyri has food and water?”

“Of course!” Tanisha said. “and while I’m at it, maybe I can give him some of my medicine.”

Romelia tipped her head to the side, confused by what her friend said. Tanisha realized what she had said and panicked. “Uh... Don’t tell your dad I said that... And don’t repeat that to anyone else. You’ll get in trouble.”

“Romelia! Romelia!”

She turned around as a group of fawns ran up to her. A light brown doe was in the lead. She had white spots all over her back and belly. Her name was Valentina.

When she was a younger fawn, in the winter, Valentina had gotten very sick. Her mother had died from the cold earlier that winter and she wasn’t able to get any nutrients from of the other deer’s milk. After Ryna, Romelia’s mother, told her about this, the young girl had dedicated all her time to nursing the young fawn to health. Ever since then, Valentina had been especially attached to Romelia.

Romelia chuckled and scratched her between the ears. “Hi Valentina. How’s your day?”

“Better now that you’re here!” She jumped back a bit, crouched low playfully. “You wanna play?”

“I would love to, Valentina, but I have to go talk to my father.” She patted Valentina’s head affectionately.

The fawn nuzzled her hand. “Please be careful, Romelia.”

She chuckled again. “Don’t worry, Valentina. I know for a fact father won’t hurt me. He loves me too much.”

Romelia stepped into a enormous clearing, large enough for an entire herd of deer to rest and there still would have been more than enough room.

The grass was bright green and soft to the touch. Butterflies delicately fluttered above the clear, bubbling stream that cut through the middle, creating a small island with a tree in the middle. The giant tree in the middle of the island was covered by moss and seemed to go up for miles and miles.

Romelia crossed the small, red oak bridge that connected the small island to the rest of the meadow. She could see everything that swam along the stream. One of the Rainbow trout paused his swimming to wave a tiny fin at her. Romelia waved back as he swam away and continued along her way to the small island where a white deer waited.

The deer stood in front of the tree, his pure white fur sparkling in the day’s light, causing the clearing to light up. When he turned to face Romelia, his large muscles were able to be seen, if only for a brief moment. His antlers were large enough for a flock of birds to rest on and were tinted with a slight brownish color. His eyes were deep amber that seemed to look into a person’s very heart and soul.

Romelia grinned, running up to the deer. She wrapped her arms around the deer’s neck in a hug while yelling happily, “Papa!” All though he was a bit awkward, the deer put his head on the girl’s back and hummed happily.

“Romelia,” he said after awhile, “You need to let go of me.”

“Oh.” She let him go and took a step back. “Sorry Father- er, I mean Ordello.”

Ordello sighed. “You can call me Father... For now.” He looked at Romelia sternly. “Tanisha told me that you’ve taken a human boy into her home. Why did you do that? You know the rules. No humans are allowed in this place of heaven.”

“I do,” she said, “but-”

“Silence Romelia,” he said gently. The silver haired teen closed her mouth and waited for her father to continued. “You know the rules are in place for a reason. The rules protect us from danger. They protect us from the outside world, from the Durr Xurkolks. You know this Romelia.”

She nodded again. “Yes, I do.”

“Then why did you bring him in?”

“He was injured very badly and unconscious, father,” Romelia stated. “I couldn’t bare to just leave him there to die. Tanisha tried to make me leave him, but I refused to be reasoned with. Afterwards, his wound became infected and it took days for it to leave his body. He would have died if we left him there and it still could. The infection only left a few days ago. It could come back. He has to stay until he is well enough to travel without any worries of infection.” She grew silent, knowing there was nothing more to say, knowing that Cyri’s fate was in her father’s hands.

The silence that enveloped the two was filled with the sounds of birds singing their songs. both Romelia and Ordello could understand the words they sang. Many were going on at the same time, but they soon changed to one song.

Romelia couldn’t help but smile wide. It was one of her favorite songs that the birds sang.

It was a song filled with grief, but had a happy tone to it. The words spoke of a maiden who lost everything dear to her, but gained much more from it. It told of how she found a new family in grief and how she found happiness with them and moved on. Romelia always felt like it called out to her, but she could never figure out why it did.

For several moments the song continued until it ended and the silence enveloped the forest. The birds then started another song.

Ordello looked at Romelia and knew that he couldn’t refuse her. She had too much of a grip on him. Even if she didn’t know that she did.

He placed his head gently on top of hers. “Very well, Kikol. He may stay.”

She grinned wide. “Really?! Oh, thank you Kuku!” In her excitement, she ran up and wrapped her arms around his neck.

When Romelia hugged Ordello, he looked away, embarrassed. “I-it’s only until he gets better! As soon as he’s well enough to travel, I want him out of here.” He looked her in the eyes. “And no funny business, Romelia.”

She chuckled, “Of course not Kuku! I would never think otherwise!”