SILAS
SILAS
The river flows quietly, lazily licking its banks - cuddling the fish in its reeds - the gentle wind whispers in the willows as they admire their proud, golden-green leaf-hairs in the river-mirror. In the sky, near the clouds, an eagle soars, its wings majestically outstretched. The bird guards the horizon ... far, on the horizon - these clouds been bitten by the peaks of the mountains, the other edge of the sky hides behind the forests.
There is a tiny village nearby, but it is not visible, it remains silent in the shade of birches, in the thickets of wild strawberries and ferns. On one of the winding ice banks, a small sandy strip has stuck into the edge of the grass - a carpet with a flower and bird pattern has been spread on it. A little girl sits on it, naked and staring at the sky, watching the big bird, its smooth flight and she´s dreaming - the sun kisses her cream-colored skin and the warm wind tickles her shoulders, playing with the child's hair. The girl sighs, stirs - stretching her elbows towards the sky - her tiny, still budding titties peek curiously at the world. The child pulls herself to her feet and steps into the water. The fish flee to hide among the rushes and water lilies, the girl takes a deep breath and dives into the currents in the middle of the river. Her slender body, her hips not yet curved and her tiny plump ass, her titty-nubs flickering like ice cream cones, become covered with delicate scales when the sun's rays catch up with her underwater. A child finds a half of a broken clam on the riverbed, the crayfish have probably feasted on it, the girl grabs the half of the clam and rises to the surface, she swims deftly and quickly to the shore and sits down on her rug - examines her find carefully. A pearl is attached to the inside of it - about the size of a strawberry, a beautiful, shiny and perfectly round, black pearl. The girl fishes it out and rolls it in her palm - under the black surface of the pearl, an internal, dull glow glows, as if greenish smoke is swirling inside it. The girl puts the pearl in her mouth and gets up, she twists the rug around herself like a loose, simple parka and runs home - her straight legs flash from under the edge of the simple garment, her bare feet barely touch the soft grass - when she runs there - it seems as if she is flying - so smooth is her run. Grandma sits on a bench in front of the house and smiles: "Hey, little one!"
The child waves to her and comes to the grandmother, sits on her lap and then hugs the old woman, spits the pearl into her palm and explains:
Look, I found it at the bottom of the river!" The grandmother narrows her eyes and smiles, stroking the child's back: "Well, this is a very great treasure, take care of it - don't lose it, you might need it...." The child hugs the grandmother, kisses her cheek and promises not to lose it - and goes to the room to hide her treasure. She finds a small glass bottle among other things - puts the pearl in it and hides it under her pillow.
When she goes to bed in the evening, she checks the bottle with the pearl and smiles happily: "My treasure..." - then falls asleep in a deep, childishly sweet sleep. She dreams of fairies and dragons and wonderful birds, big butterflies and dragonflies, young birch trees and lush ferns, red, sun-flavored wild strawberries and rain-scented daisies. And her dream rings with the nightingale's song and the silver of the full moon ... In the morning, after eating porridge and drinking milk, the little girl gets ready to discover the world once again. Today she would like to explore what is to be found on the other side of the meadow, on the edge of the forest, where ferns and junipers grow under ancient oaks. She packs some bread and ham into a small, strapped basket, and a leather bottle of fresh spring water, a tightly rolled blanket and a flint and mica. Now she is ready to travel. Then she has an idea - she sneaks over to her bed and takes a bottle of pearl from under her pillow, from her grandmother's sewing drawer she finds a fairly long, rosy, and thick piece of yarn - from which she weaves a necklace and then attaches her treasure to it, hangs it around her neck - a bottle of pearls hanging right between her tiny titty-buds, the girl pats her chest and then looks at herself in a large, floor-to-ceiling mirror: "So, soft leather, low-soled shoes - they're good if you need to run. Puffy, slightly baggy pants - they're good if you need to climb over rocks or crawl under fallen trees. A shirt with wide sleeves and a tight-fitting vest are good - they have lots of pockets - where you can store the treasures you find." The bandana keeps your hair out of your eyes, you're a beautiful girl..." the child smiles at her reflection in the mirror, then starts to laugh brightly. The grandmother, who had been dozing behind the table, wakes up and looks at the laugher with a surprised look. The girl pats her chest and squeals mischievously: "Look, grandmother - I have three tits!" - laughs and then runs out the door - past the well, over the fence and onto the path - which leads over the meadow, towards the grove. The basket on her back swings as the child runs quickly, but it doesn't bother her. Butterflies fly above the meadow, their multi-colored wings are variegated with different patterns. "Ah-haa, this is where grandma found the patterns to knit into socks - scarves and sheets..." - finds she answer to her question - the grandmother had only chuckled when the girl asked her about the patterns.
Dragonflies fly here too - "Their long wings are like portable rainbows, and their bodies are like gems..." - the girl discovers, smiles and waves at the passing dragonfly. She walks to the edge of the forest - there are many delicious berries here - wild strawberries - "These are grandma's favorites, when I come back I'll pick them from here and take them to grandma!" - the girl decides - and then steps under the protective shade of the forest, it is comfortably cooler here than under the hot caress of the sun. Ferns sway gently, birds sing in the treetops, the air is filled with the brown of the soil and the fresh rain, the tartness of the leaves and the sweet aroma of the flowers. The girl pulls a bottle with pearl from her bosom, uncorks it and sniffs: "Ahh, exactly the same smell?" - she hides his treasure again under her shirt. Then, a little wearily, she sits down on a stump that is squatting nearby, near a juniper, in the tall grass. The girl opens her basket and places the water bottle she took out of it on the grass at her feet ... hears a rustle and stops to watch. There! A little further away stands a large and beautiful stag, its yellow-brown fur shining in the rays of sunlight falling through the treetops
so that it seems to have a golden aura around the animal. The proud crown of antlers turns when this magnificent creature looks at her with its large, dark eyes. The stag nods once, then grabs a mouthful of grass and turns to leave, chewing the mouthful. The girl gasps for air - she had forgotten to breathe in admiration. There is still movement there - look, by the junipers stands a doe, with slightly lighter fur, but with the same dark eyes. The animal watches the girl calmly when the ferns suddenly start to rustle - a tiny deer calf emerges from their shadow - a row of white spots on its sides, holding tail up - the animal grabs a mouthful of grass and tries to chew it - but rough food is still too early for it - the animal hurries back to its mother and ...
The little girl giggles quietly when she notices that the mother deer is nursing two calves: "Hehh-hee, they still wants a titty!" - the child announces.
And than she finds a strange sight to looking at - a tiny pale body is lying on the moss, by the stone. The girl creeps closer on tiptoe.
There is a fairy there, on his back, his eyes closed. "He must be sleeping..." - the girl thinks. - "...a boy-fairy, hmmm..." And the girl now becomes a bit mischievous. She breaks a stalk of dew grass and tickles the tiny dicky of the lying on the moss fairy-boy. It immediately stands up and the green boy wakes.
"Why are you teasing me, human?" - the fairy asks sadly - "I'm already unhappy..." - and starts to cry. The girl feels the fairy's pain in her soul, she sits on the moss and covers the crying boy's back with her palm, comforts the fairy boy and asks worriedly:
"What happened to you, why are you crying?"
The fairy boy wipes tears from his dirty face and sobs pitifully: "I flew too close to the juniper and broke a wing..."
He turns his back to the girl and says, looking over his shoulder at the human child: "You can see for yourself that it's almost in half?"
The girl feels very sorry for the fairy boy, she wants to cry herself - but then an idea comes to the girl - she pulls out from under her blouse a treasure bottle with a pearl and untangles a ribbon woven from red thread. She unties the braid - now she has an even length of thread again - this is enough to repair the wing, the girl ties a pine needle to the broken part of the wing, skillfully fastens it with thread. Then she pats the fairy boy's bare butt with her fingertip: "Try to fly, maybe you fixed it?"
The fairy jumps into the air, flies around and squeals with joy - "Hey - yes! I'm healthy again! Thank you, human!" The fairy boy lands on a stump next to the girl and then sees a bottle on the moss with a black pearl inside. His eyes widen in surprise.
"This is ... this is .. .oh!!!" - he jumps into the air and starts spinning around, flying aimlessly and laughing, clapping his hands - then lands again and looks at the girl with a serious expression: "Do you know that this is the last piece of the dragon´s armor? If you bring it to him, you will save him from the curse - you will set him free - and he will be happy, would you like to help a dragon, human?" The girl falls down in amazement on the moss, her mouth open and her eyes big, shining and the child's nostrils fluttering with excitement:
"A real dragon? A real, live dragon right now? She claps her hands in delight, sitting down and bouncing on her butt.
"Yes - I do, I want to save this dragon - where should I look for him? The fairy boy smiles happily: "You don't have to look for him - he's right here, he's just afraid to come out of hiding..."
The girl looks around curiously, but doesn't see anyone, then asks the fairy boy: "What is he afraid of, am I so scary?"
The fairy boy laughs back - "No, he's not afraid of you - he's afraid that you're afraid of him..." Now the girl sighs - "Whatever, I am not afraid of him... I don't intend to..." - she adds, her voice cracking: "Where is he, that dragon?" - The fairy boy chuckles:
"Right here, you just shout..." The girl takes a deep breath and squeezes closed her eyes, shouts in a loud, clear voice:
"Dragon, listen dragon! Come out of hiding, please?" ... Footsteps are heard in the tall grass, the bushes rustle ... the heavy steps stop in front of the girl, the child smells the forests and mountains, clouds and wind, sun and grass, hears calm, strong breathing and a rumbling heartbeat - like distant drum´s. She takes another deep breath and then opens her eyes. In front of her is a man. A strange man, hair falling disorderly to his shoulders, an unshaven beard, muscles like mountains ... the sun reflects off his bronze skin, tattooed like dragon scales. The girl's breath catches and her head starts to spin as she looks at the naked power of the strong man standing in front of her. The man smiles kindly, his golden eyes shining in the shadow of his hair. The man gets down on one knee in front of the girl and rests his hands crosswise on his raised knee, tilts his head and roars so
that the girl's soul trembles: "You called me, human child? I'm here now..." The girl gets her breath back, then stammers with a trembling voice, her heart pounding in her chest: "So - you .. ah-are you a d-dragon? And So NAKED!?" the child covers her face with her hands, but still peeks at the man from between hers fingers. The big man roars with laughter, says kindly: "Yes, it's me, Orion is my name...."
The girl lowers her palms into her lap, tilts her head and looks more boldly now, the man's voice is loud and low - but there is something ... sweet ... calm ... as if from home poured into it. The girl then answers, standing up and nodding politely:
"I'm Silas." thinks a little - "But.. why are you..." - peeks at the man's large member - "... why that thing of yours hanging bare out? Didn't mommy teach you that you should wear something when you receive guests..." Orion bursts into hearty laughter, laughs so hard that tears come to his eyes - his booming voice trembles though and over girls soul - makes Silas laugh too - and the fairy boy laughs with them. Finally calmed down, Orion says - "I have no clothes, but I can't be myself, I lack one piece of armor, that's why..." The fairy boy announces - "Silas brought you your last piece of your armor, she's a good human-child, look, look - she fixed my wing too!" And both of them now look anxiously at the girl. The child remembers the pearl in the bottle, she uncorks the bottle and extends it towards Orion's palm, tilts it out of the bottle. Orion squeezes the pearl in his fist and then kisses the girl's forehead, then presses his fist to his chest for a long time, as if sighing with liberation ... then he begins to grow ... grow ... he turns into a great dragon. The wings of the mighty creature threaten to cover the sky, on his lion-mane-covered head there are silvery sparkling horns and between his proud beard a row of sharp teeth flashes like row of pearls, but the dragon's eyes are the same golden as a naked man's were - and his body is velvety red shiny, with golden, sparkling spots, a long tail is coiled around his legs. The dragon bows towards the girl and then says, his voice rumbling like distant thunder:
"Thank you, Silas - I will paint your Name in the sky - among the stars - so that it will be remembered from time immemorial!"
Then he spreads his wings and takes to the air, rises high, finally disappears into the vastness of the sky.
"Where did he go?" - Silas asked - and the fairy boy answers in a whisper: "He went to paint your stars..." Back home ... Silas sits at the table and enjoys dinner, her face flushed and a smile on her mouth, the child bites bread and slurps soup, but hers eyes remain in the window - she looks at the sky. The grandmother looks at the child, then asks curiously: "How was your day, little one?"
Silas smiles, hers eyes shining: "You know, grandma - I saw a real dragon and a fairy- boy and deer ..." - with a dreamy look the girl falls silent and looks out the window again: "He said he would paint my stars in the sky, grandma - that's what he said, that dragon..."
The grandmother chuckles again and says, with a sly note in her voice: "Then you have to wait for the night, when the full moon is in the sky - then your stars will be visible..." Late in the evening, when the stars come to giggle in the sky, when the lazy moon begins its roll across the sky - then Silas sits on a bench in front of the house and stares at the sky. There are stars twinkling, some brighter. The girl draws invisible stripes between the twinkling stars with her finger, connecting them together - and inside her soul jolted, a sweet lump rises in the chest and tears flow down the child's face, she finds his name among the drawn, shining and flashing letters: ... "S_I_L_A_S" ... Grandma peeks through the door and asks with a sweet smile:
"Did Orion kiss you too?"
