My Encounter With a Water Spirit

[Marianne Mathiasen]

Almost every day I go for a walk with my dog Mickie in the forest, or along the beach. We start our walk from a special place we have found, where the forest path starts from the top of a hill, and runs down into a valley where the path splits into three smaller paths. We have taken this route hundreds of times, and we have explored all the smaller paths in the area, or so I thought, because to my astonishment, I discovered a new, and almost hidden path at the bottom of the valley. Perhaps it was because we were out much earlier than usually that morning? The sun was standing low on the morning sky, over the sea, which one can glimpse between the trees, and suddenly, I noticed how the sunlight stroke thought the trees and lit up a very narrow path.

Actually, I think it is a deer trail, and not a path used by humans. It was quite difficult to see where to set my feet, because the forest floor was very moistly, and there were muddy holes I could step into. The trail took me deeper into the valley, where small fresh water streams ran towards the sea. This part of the forest is left wild and untouched by humans, so I had to climb over a few fallen trees, and as I reached the bottom of the valley, the trail took a left turn and ended at a bog. I found myself a tree stump to rest on. The dog was busy tracking a bird, so I sat there quietly for some time. I felt how the beats of my heart, fell in one with the sounds of the forest. I sensed the freshness of the water from the small streams, and although it still was a bit chilly, I pushed of my boots, and socks, and buried my feet into the soft wet moss. The moss felt tickling between my toes; the sun was warming my bag, and slowly I felt like I was in one with my surroundings.

The light danced on the surface of the water in the bog. A duck landed between two old trees growing in the water, and it must have scared something in the water, because I saw a shadow, followed by a ripple to the left of the two trees. I felt a breeze, water droplets hit my face, and then fog raised from the bog. I felt like the forest had grabbed me, I was unable to move, my feet were trapped in the moss. Out of the fog, I saw the most alluring creature I had ever seen being shaped right in front of my eyes. It was a tall woman with pale skin, almost the same colour as the fog. Her hair was greenish, and it was so long that it floated behind her in the water. Her big grey eyes looked into mien, and then she set of into the air with the fog following her. Then she dived back into the bog, and disappeared with a big splash of her fish tail hitting the water surface. Mickie came back from his bird hunt, and licked my hand, I felt the moss letting go of my feet, and I put on my socks and boots, so that we could go on. This was my first encounter with a water spirit her on Als, and a great way to start my day!

[Tara]

breathtaking!