Cool Waters (part 2)

‘And on that heavenly swing sat the most beautiful creature the girl had ever seen. She might have called it a fairy or a goddess even… but she did not believe in the existence of these. So she had to settle for calling her a woman, but mere woman are never as beautiful as that!

She was shapely and he skin looks as smooth as butter. She had very long hair that hung along her back like a curtain of silk. The girl was spell- bound. She watched this apparition swing calmly, back and forth; back and forth… the only sound was of her feet gently touching the cool waters each time. The word beautiful fell short of describing the sight. The girl could have stood there, gazing, for the rest of her life, had she not noticed the woman had turned and was now looking at her. Their eyes met and the girl turned her eyes away. She was afraid.
‘Who are you?’ the woman asked. Her voice was like a wind- chime in a far away temple. The girl swallowed. ‘I, er, am, er, I am a girl who lives close by… or far away, where these woods end, or start even. I just wandered in for water, no, I wasn’t looking for water. I am not thirsty. Actually I am.’

The woman laughed, a clear laugh, from her throat and not her belly. She smiled but it never reached her eyes. Her eyes shone like jewels. ‘You are funny’, she said to the girl. The girl blushed. That was a good thing, was it not? To be funny was good. ‘But don’t worry,’ said the woman, ‘You are young now, but you will grow up some day. Then you will be a pretty girl, like me.’

The little girl felt a sharp pain in her stomach. That was it! She knew it right then. The woman had said the very thing she had been thinking. She wanted to be like this woman. In fact, that was all she wanted. This lady had it all. She was beautiful, calm, wise and well- spoken. That was what everyone wanted to be. That was what she wanted to be. To realize this gave the little girl immense courage. She spoke up, ‘May I stay here with you for a while?’ ‘Of course you may’, said the woman politely, ‘You can stay as long as you want.’ Just the right thing to say, the girl observed, just the right way to say it too. This woman was perfect…