The Girl with the Flowers

Go out camping, they said.

It will be fun, they said.

I will be honest with you, they were wrong.

It had been a little over a year since it happened. In an attempt to rouse me from my grief filled stupor, some of my friends suggested I go out camping like I used to. Just something to get me out of the house.

I didn’t want to go to our usual spots, for obvious reasons, but I found a trail deeper in the woods. Far away from anything, or anyone I knew.

It started when I checked the weather. My phone said there was rain coming, but I, an experienced outdoorsman, decided to keep going, despite the sky looking like it was to do more than a “light shower.”

Sure enough, an hour into my hike and still miles from the campsite, the skies opened and a veritable deluge dropped on me.

To make matters worse, instead of just turning around and going home, I decided to forge ahead. Because, if it’s one thing you should do when outdoors, it’s have a complete disrespect for Mother Nature.

Then, I somehow got off the trail and when I tried to double back I got lost. And of course, this tale of woe wouldn’t be complete without a technology mishap, I lost my phone.

Deep in the recesses of my grey matter, I knew the best thing to do was stay put. However, instead I wandered around the forest all night. Going deeper and deeper into the woods.

I wandered into a meadow in the early morning light. It was kind of nice. If I had to expire in the wilderness from exposure there were worse places. The grass was still damp with last night’s rain. It was quiet, with only a few birds and an occasional cricket.

Then I saw it.

I thought I was hallucinating. Or I died from exposure and now my mind was playing tricks on me.

There was a woman walking in the meadow.

That fact alone wouldn’t make one think anything out of the ordinary. She also wasn’t wearing clothes. Which again was a little strange, but the outdoors tended to attract free spirited types.

No, the strange part was that as she walked, fields of marigolds were blooming behind her.

I was staring, probably with my mouth open, when she noticed me.

“Oh my,” she said “I thought I had this part of the woods to myself.”

“I uh I think I might be dreaming.”

“No you aren’t. The birds have been singing about a lost hiker all morning. I guess you’re lost no more.”

“But the flowers?’ I said pointing.

“Oh I figured after the rainstorm the place could use some sprucing up.”

“I’m not entirely sure what’s going on.”

“Well you’ve had a rough night. Let’s get you somewhere to rest.”

And she took my hand, and we walked through the forest until we reached a little glen. It was magical. There was a brook that drained into a pool of the clearest water I’d ever seen, and a large oak tree that was so wide that the bottom was made into a little hut.

“Sit here,” she said sitting me down on patch of grass, “You must be hungry. I’ll be right back.”

She returned with a wooden platter filled with berries and a small wooden cup with water.

I ate and drank, and soon felt much better.

“What is all this?” I asked.

“This is my home.”

“How did you make it?”

“I didn’t make it silly. The forest did for me.”

“It did?”

“Yep.”

It was then that I realized that I was talking to some kind of forest spirit.

“Are you Mother Nature?”

“That’s what some people call me. I’ve never quite liked it. Besides, I’m far too young to be someone’s mother.”

“How old are you?”

“Well, it’s a little hard to put it exactly. But older than your kind that’s for sure. But I’m the youngest of the ancients.”

“I see. What should I call you then?”

“I go by Tara.”

“Ha, like Terra Mater I get it.”

“You’re the first one to get that. I liked the Romans they were fascinating.”

Wow, I thought, she saw the Roman Empire. My colleagues would be jealous. Imagine a historian that got to interview some who saw the Coliseum being built.

“Is your hair changing colors?” I asked. Her hair would go from red to blonde to brown.

“Yes it does that. Most of the time I can control. But today it’s doing it’s own thing.”

“Aren’t you cold?” I asked. It was summer, but the morning was crips. I was freezing due to my wet clothes.

“No not really, though I suppose I should cover up. I’m not used to having guests,” she snapped her fingers and a green dress appeared.

“Are you married?” she asked noticing the ring on me finger.

“Yes.”

“Well we should get you back. Your wife will be worried.”

“Husband actually. But there’s no rush. He passed away last year.”

“Oh I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay. That’s why I came out here. I was trying to get my mind off of it.”

“You miss him greatly don’t you?”

“With every fiber of my being.”

“He was relatively young right? By your standards?”

“He had cancer. It was very sudden. We didn’t even know he was sick.”

“Oh my that’s awful.”

“I just wish I could see him again. I want to know he’s okay.”

She pondered for a moment, “I have an idea. Come with me.”

We went to rock structure that looked like bird bath, “This is how I keep tabs on things,” she said as I peered into the water.

“Now I don’t have much sway with the other side. My powers are limited to realms of the living. But I have a few tricks up my sleeve. Look.”

I peered into the water. I saw nothing but my reflection.

“Look deeper,” she said.

I did so, and I saw my husband. He was smiling and looked happy. He was at a cabin that I didn’t recognize.

“Is that him?”

“Yes, that’s his place of rest.”

“Am I looking at heaven?”

“More or less. It doesn’t really work like that, it’s…well it’s complicated.”

I spent the rest of the day looking at the pool of water.

It was starting to get dark when she asked, “I can take you back if you want.”

“There’s nothing for me back home. Is there anyway I can stay here?”

“With me?”

“Yes, or I guess I could find my own little sanctuary.”

“Oh there’s plenty of room here. I’d like that. It can get lonely around here.”

“Well I’m here now.”

“Oh I haven’t had a friend that wasn’t a tree or bird in a long time,” she said laughing.

So I spent the rest of my days with the forest spirit Tara. We stayed in the forest where she showed how to she tended to the woods. I helped her where I could but mostly we just kept each other company, as well as pestering with questions about history.

And every day I would look at her magical fountain and check in on him until it was my time to join him.