Druantia's Daughter

She came into existence one afternoon on a warm spring day in a nest of branches and feathers.

She knew nothing about her mysterious beginning. She just knew that she now existed. She didn’t know who she was, what she was, why she was but she knew that she was. The feathers that tickled her skin and the cool breeze that kissed her face awakened her awareness of the world around her.

Discovering the muscles in her body, she realized that her arms could move. First she stretched out her right arm and then her left. She delighted in experimenting with all the different ways her arms could move, surprising herself with her own laughter. For several days she did nothing else. Then she moved on to learn about her legs, her head and neck, and her torso, but nothing was as entertaining as her arms and especially her hands and fingers.

One day, she noticed that her eyes felt uncomfortable. Blinking them, she began to see blurred lights. Blinking even more, her eyes began to focus and she got her first view of her world. The tree branches and the blue sky above her pleased her but the bright sun hurt her eyes. She wished it would go away.

Finally she sat up and saw the forest that surrounded her. Somehow, she knew that the forest was taking care of her but there was too much to see, too much she didn’t understand. She closed her freshly opened eyes and went to sleep.

Someone trying to describe her might have said, “She is the most beautiful woman in the world.”

That person would have been partly right. She was the most beautiful ‘woman’ anyone had ever seen.

Her hair was such a pale gold that it was almost translucent until the wind blew and the sun caught it at just the right angle, making the sprinkles of gold in it sparkle and dance.

Someone looking into her large, round, pale blue eyes would feel like they were being called into another world filled with wonder and magic. The spell would be broken only when she turned away. Her bright smile would radiate happiness, acceptance, and love.

Her body would have seemed to be designed from the dreams of all young men.

Her soft white skin would call out to be touched.

At the same time her looks would bring to mind the fragility of the precious vases and statues in the world’s great museums. No artist could improve on her beauty.

She was perfection.

However, she was not a human. She was something else but it would be many years, decades before that became completely clear.

During that time, she spent her days learning about the forest. She met and came to completely know the trees as they knew her. She grew to know all the animals, celebrating the births in spring of all the new squirrels, rabbits, mice, deer, bear, foxes. She was there when each animal died, witnessing the passing with love and comfort making sure no animal was alone at their end.

For quite a long time, maybe decades, more likely centuries, this was her life and she was content. She loved the forest. She was an important part of it. Wherever she looked, she saw friends, family, loved ones.

All was well until one day she noticed a new need that she had never felt before. Without understanding why, she began to build a nest, but this one on the ground. She collected leaves and branches left for her by the trees and the birds. She shaped a nest twice the size of the one she slept in. She padded the nest with feathers she received from the birds. Then she waited. For what, she did not know.

She waited as each year new babies arrived in the forest and old friends died. Every day she checked the nest. She covered it with dead branches that had fallen from trees to protect it from rain or snow. After a windy day, she collected any feathers that blew away. On calm days, she would bring more to replace old ones or make the nest softer. She still didn’t know why she needed this strange nest but she was certain she did.

One day she was surprised to see a new form of life in her forest. There were several of them. She had never seen anything like them and she took every opportunity to learn more about them.

They walked on two legs like she often did but they were not like her. They were much darker than she was. She saw them take branches from the trees and sharpen their ends. They used the sticks to kill some of the forest animals to eat. She understood that. They also put pieces of the animal’s skin on their bodies. She did not understand that.

One day a young male of this new kind wandered into her clearing. From her nest in the tree, she saw him long before he saw her. She should have been scared of him. She was not.

He stepped over to look at the nest on the ground. He wondered, “What kind of bird would have made this? I will bring the elders here to see this. They will know what it is.” He decided to head back to his family, his tribe.

Turning around, he gasped. The most beautiful woman he had ever seen stood naked in front of him. She drew him in with her intense and beautiful eyes. He had never seen anyone so pale and delicate. ‘What kind of magic was she? Was she a spirit? How should he greet her? Would she hurt him if he did not show the proper respect?’

She took a step closer to him, so close he felt her deep slow breaths on his face. She pulled his face down toward her and kissed him, erasing all his confusion, all his fears.

She smiled at him as she drew him down into the nest. For the rest of the afternoon, they happily and passionately explored each other. They fulfilled each other’s needs for love and lust. They worshipped each other’s bodies until, by twilight, they were spent. They then fell asleep holding each other tenderly.

The man woke first, shortly after dawn. He stared down at the one he was sure was his true love. He closed his eyes and pictured the wondrous adventures of the day before. He planned to try to convince her to come home with him and join his tribe, his family. If she would not, he would need to learn how to live in the forest the way she did.

As sunlight filled their nest through a break in the tree branches, she opened her eyes. She smiled at him and kissed him. They coupled again, this time more gently and lovingly. When they finished, she rolled him onto his back. She told him she loved him, put one hand on each sign of his face and kissed him so deeply it felt like it would never end.

He felt needed and loved in a way he never had before as she twisted his neck, killing him.

She rolled his body out of the nest. She ripped off a piece of his cheek with her teeth and delighted in the flavor of the fresh meat. With blood dripping from the corners of her mouth onto her pale breasts, she called out to the other animals of her forest to share in the rewards from her fresh kill as she always shared in theirs. The meal finished, she turned and went back to her nest.

She noticed a drip of blood on her belly that she had missed. She used her finger to wipe it up and enjoy one last taste of her lover before falling into a much needed sleep.