Mystic Woods

Mystic Woods

By Christine Diamond

A path of dry dust lay before the wanderer. Mathias was exhausted, parched and completely alone. It had been several days since his last meal, and he wasn’t sure where he was going anymore. Delusion and mirages were his daily companions. This stout brawny man came from a village where you traded your craft for coins, he didn’t know how to fend for himself in the wild. However, Mathias was clever and did know how to make tools. He rested under the shade of a slender yet sturdy oak tree. 

Her long branches swayed in the breeze like long locks of brown hair. The sunlight began to sparkle between her translucent deep green leaves. 

The tree moved more than swaying, Mathias blinked.

What had he just seen?

A rush of wind whirred around him and soon standing before him was a lovely Dryad. She slowly walked toward him, her feet barely making a dent on the soft clovers and sedum that lay under the tree, who’s trunk she had just emerged from. Her eyes were a radiant amber, almost like sap swirling in slow circles. Mathias was hypnotized. His eyes fixed upon her, his mouth slightly ajar. Awestruck, he took in the image before him. 

She was only a few feet away from his dirty face, and sweaty hair. All at once he became aware of his haggard and dreary state. She pointed her light brown finger toward the center of the woods and in a low earthen voice hummed out, “Come with me traveler….” Mathias looked around expectantly, she seemed to not worry about time. He could have song the first verse of a song before she finished her first sentence, but he dared not rush this mystical being. 

"I am called Daphne... I ammmm the tree spirit who guards and protects this forest from all who seek to harm us. You seemmmm gentle enough. Follow mmmmeee and we will care for you.” She then walked in front of him a wisp of swirling leaves falling in her wake. 

They journeyed along the woodland path made by the local deer families, and soon heard the rushing of a babbling stream. Mathias perked up, so incredibly thirsty that he forgot where he was, who was guiding him, and all sense of manners. He rushed ahead and splashed into the water, plopping his weary body down into her cool refreshing arms. All aches were massaged away and the dirt and grime wiped clean. 

Suddenly a deep ocean blue womanly form lay before him. The most magnificent lady arose from the water, she sat up, right next to where he lay. He propped himself up on his elbow and made a slight nod towards this new guardian. 

Standing up, the woman shone brighter than the reflection of the sun on the surface of a calm lake in the evening. She loomed over him and began to become brighter and brighter. The rich dark blue form she had taken while in the water was entirely replaced by a white glowing light. She called forth to Mathias and declared with a rushing loud babble, “YOU WHO COME HERE MUST NOT STAY!" 

Mathias, truly frightened, jumped up splashing water all around as he scrambled to the edge of the sparkling woodland stream. Gasping for breath, he squinted at the being that shone so brightly before him.

In a slightly calmer cadence she informed him, "I am Calypso and am the Queen naiad of these waters of life. This is no simple woods you have entered. Go forth and never return. Follow the water sprites and they will lead you home.”  

Surprisingly Mathias was no longer afraid. All he felt was the awe and wonder of her majesty before him. His stoic face was still, his body moved mechanically like it knew what to do to prepare for his travels ahead. Small light blue floating sprites created a line for him to follow and make his journey homeward. Somehow he knew this wasn’t an illusion, no trickery placed upon him by a tired mind. He had just witnessed the wonders of a secret world. He had found a treasure he could never earn, and never keep.