Nymph Water
1
Aurora sighed as the bright sun hit her bare arms. After nearly a month of rain it had stopped and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. A playful breeze blew through the open valley and ruffled her dark red hair.
“Aurora,” a woman’s voice came from behind the young Dryad.
She spun around; her light green dress swirled around her knees. Standing behind Aurora was her mother. The short woman was holding an old wooden bucket in her dark hands.
“Yes, Mother?” Aurora asked in her high, childlike voice.
Her mother held out the bucket and Aurora took it. “I need you to go to the lake and retrieve nymph water. Now that the polluted rains have stopped our Life trees need clean, pure water.”
Aurora nodded, her hair bobbing with her head. She turned to walk towards the lake when her mother called out to her.
“Aurora, do be careful. You know how powerful nymph water is,” she warned.
“I’ll be very careful, Mother!” she said before running south.
The nymph lake wasn’t too far away from Aurora’s tribe’s village. Along the way she gazed around her. Young dryads were playing tag and healing flowers, they’re faces full of so much joy. They were carefree with no worries. The few who recognized Aurora called out greetings; one tiny boy ran over and asked her to play catch with them.
“I can’t, I have to go to the lake,” Aurora explained, smiling slightly at the young boy. “I’ll play with you later.” His face lit up and he ran back to his friends to relay the news.
Aurora continued through the dryad villages. Each village consisted of three tribes and each tribe was three families. The lake was about ten villages away from Aurora’s village but the walk was nice and after being trapped in her Life tree for so long because of the rain it felt nice to stretch her legs.
When Aurora reached the lake nymphs were splashing around in the water, their laughs flowing into each other. A few dryads stood up to their knees in the sparkling water to speak with some of the nymphs.
“Young dryad,” a serene woman’s voice spoke from the water.
Aurora looked down and bowed her head in respect to the nymph. Her pale blue skin shone in the sunlight and the reflection of the water made her black eyes shimmer.
“I need nymph water for Life trees,” Aurora explained.
The nymph nodded her bald held slightly. “All dryads are using our water to keep their trees safe. Do you have a bucket, dryad?”
Aurora handed the nymph the old bucket and she swam away with it. While Aurora waited for her to come back she looked around the lake. After being confined to their dwellings for so long due to the rain everyone was so relieved to be able to run around.
The nymph came back with Aurora’s bucket; it was almost filled to the top with nymph water. The nymph placed it on the ground next to Aurora’s feet.
“Next time we will need payment.”
“Of course,” Aurora said as she picked up the heavy bucket. “Thank you.”
The nymph didn’t reply, instead she lowered herself into the water and disappeared from view.
Aurora began the walk home. The water in the bucket sloshed from one side to the other with each step. Aurora had to stop more than once to get a better grip on the handle. She was close to home when the ground became uneven under her foot and the bucket flew to the left, onto a bed of tulips.
They sprang to life, their stems flew up to be five feet and the flowers bloomed. Aurora gasped; her light green eyes were wide in shock. She had never seen anything like that happen before. Without thinking she turned to another bed of flowers, this time roses that had wilted because of the excess water. Aurora poured some water onto the flowers and watched in awe as they shot up like the tulips. Once they had stopped growing Aurora ran the rest of the way to her village.
When she reached her tribe, Aurora hurried to her Life tree. The year before she had planted lilies but they had died during the winter and the rains hadn’t helped them. Without a second thought Aurora dumped the remaining nymph water onto the flowers. The sight of them growing brought a large smile to her face.
“Aurora, what are you doing?” her mother exclaimed as she saw the flowers shoot up.
“Watching the pretty flowers grow,” Aurora said simply before turning back to watch her plants come to life.
“Aurora,” a woman’s voice came from behind the young Dryad.
She spun around; her light green dress swirled around her knees. Standing behind Aurora was her mother. The short woman was holding an old wooden bucket in her dark hands.
“Yes, Mother?” Aurora asked in her high, childlike voice.
Her mother held out the bucket and Aurora took it. “I need you to go to the lake and retrieve nymph water. Now that the polluted rains have stopped our Life trees need clean, pure water.”
Aurora nodded, her hair bobbing with her head. She turned to walk towards the lake when her mother called out to her.
“Aurora, do be careful. You know how powerful nymph water is,” she warned.
“I’ll be very careful, Mother!” she said before running south.
The nymph lake wasn’t too far away from Aurora’s tribe’s village. Along the way she gazed around her. Young dryads were playing tag and healing flowers, they’re faces full of so much joy. They were carefree with no worries. The few who recognized Aurora called out greetings; one tiny boy ran over and asked her to play catch with them.
“I can’t, I have to go to the lake,” Aurora explained, smiling slightly at the young boy. “I’ll play with you later.” His face lit up and he ran back to his friends to relay the news.
Aurora continued through the dryad villages. Each village consisted of three tribes and each tribe was three families. The lake was about ten villages away from Aurora’s village but the walk was nice and after being trapped in her Life tree for so long because of the rain it felt nice to stretch her legs.
When Aurora reached the lake nymphs were splashing around in the water, their laughs flowing into each other. A few dryads stood up to their knees in the sparkling water to speak with some of the nymphs.
“Young dryad,” a serene woman’s voice spoke from the water.
Aurora looked down and bowed her head in respect to the nymph. Her pale blue skin shone in the sunlight and the reflection of the water made her black eyes shimmer.
“I need nymph water for Life trees,” Aurora explained.
The nymph nodded her bald held slightly. “All dryads are using our water to keep their trees safe. Do you have a bucket, dryad?”
Aurora handed the nymph the old bucket and she swam away with it. While Aurora waited for her to come back she looked around the lake. After being confined to their dwellings for so long due to the rain everyone was so relieved to be able to run around.
The nymph came back with Aurora’s bucket; it was almost filled to the top with nymph water. The nymph placed it on the ground next to Aurora’s feet.
“Next time we will need payment.”
“Of course,” Aurora said as she picked up the heavy bucket. “Thank you.”
The nymph didn’t reply, instead she lowered herself into the water and disappeared from view.
Aurora began the walk home. The water in the bucket sloshed from one side to the other with each step. Aurora had to stop more than once to get a better grip on the handle. She was close to home when the ground became uneven under her foot and the bucket flew to the left, onto a bed of tulips.
They sprang to life, their stems flew up to be five feet and the flowers bloomed. Aurora gasped; her light green eyes were wide in shock. She had never seen anything like that happen before. Without thinking she turned to another bed of flowers, this time roses that had wilted because of the excess water. Aurora poured some water onto the flowers and watched in awe as they shot up like the tulips. Once they had stopped growing Aurora ran the rest of the way to her village.
When she reached her tribe, Aurora hurried to her Life tree. The year before she had planted lilies but they had died during the winter and the rains hadn’t helped them. Without a second thought Aurora dumped the remaining nymph water onto the flowers. The sight of them growing brought a large smile to her face.
“Aurora, what are you doing?” her mother exclaimed as she saw the flowers shoot up.
“Watching the pretty flowers grow,” Aurora said simply before turning back to watch her plants come to life.