Huntress

The lush verdant greenery overwhelmed my senses when I woke up and took the book off my face. I found myself lying down upon the grassy floor of the forest, with the stump of a fallen tree to serve as my hard pillow. I slowly stood up, feeling the moist dew’s dirt and grime along my clothes. I’m 25 now, a few years off from when I first died. I’ve spent most of my life here just studying, locked behind the studies of my family, the library which also acts as my mother's tailoring parlor. With all the time in the world, I completed all the books in that library. Most of which were studies on the world around us, convenient.

It gets empty though. At some point in my 25 years here I was just engulfed in an overwhelming feeling of abject loneliness. I have a loving family, a sweet sister, and yet I gradually drifted from them as I engrossed myself in my studies. Would It have been easier if I just embraced the experience of being here, rather than study what is actually here? I closed my eyes, laid back down again, and let this question run around in my mind. When I opened them, I found the answer.

Deep brown eyes stared at me from above. A pale girl with long ashen gray hair tucked neatly by a hood as green as the foliage behind it. She wore a pale green outfit adorned neatly with various insignias which I recognize to come from the local hunting group in our area, among others. In her hands was a crossbow half as long as she was. If my eyes weren’t so keen I would never see her blended against the leaves of the trees.

She just stared at me, her hands clutched her crossbow tightly and yet it remained steady. She pressed a single index finger against her lips, and left my gaze. Carefully, I looked over in front of me and saw the muted brown fur of a quiet elk. It glistened almost golden against the sun, munching upon the grass and plants beneath its feet.

Then, an arrow whistled. A harsh juxtaposition from the serene ambience of the forest. The deer recoiled as the arrow straight penetrated through its neck. It recoiled, and within moments its legs were shaking.

The huntress jumped down from the tree, yet she landed softly. As if carried by the wind. She walked towards the elk and gently caressed its fur as it slowly accepted its death. It went down, as if to sleep, and finally, it closed its eyes.

She hummed a gentle tune. And soon, it gave its final breath. It felt more like a prayer. One I felt the need to sit up to, where then she took notice of me. Our eyes met, and she spoke, “A man like you should never leave himself vulnerable in these woods.” Her voice was soft, yet airy, like a gentle breeze.

“These woods don’t often have predators and prey.”

“What are you, then?”

“A spectator, I guess. I would much rather watch than do anything, or be anyone.” I replied.

“I see. Then you will witness the rest of this animal.”

“You killed it.”

“It was dying,” She reasoned, “I bring mercy to those who have fought for far too long, you’ve seen it, have you? That elk had been roaming in these woods, dying. Even as it ate, it knew its days were numbered.” With her soft airy voice, and the gentleness in her tone, it felt more as if I was talking with the forest itself, rather than a person.

Besides, I knew the elk anyway. It was true that it had roamed my local area, limping everywhere. If it weren’t for the fact that this area had been effectively cleared out of beasts that it would be dead a long time ago. But maybe this peaceful serenity is what it sought for.

“What if it thought it could live forever?” I asked.

“Then it curses itself.” She unsheathed her knife with a loud shriek. Then she carefully navigated the blade through the root of its antlers until it was fully cut off. She threw one of them to me, and kept the other to herself, “Take it, it seems we’ll see each other again.” She stood up, and slowly dragged the elk away.

“Alright… see you then!”

The forest smiled, “See you around, spectator.”

I waved goodbye at her as she disappeared into the thicket of nothingness. I held the antlers she gave me and almost instantly felt the age etched into its texture. Elks normally shed their antlers annually for it to regrow, but not here, and its numerous branches indicate its age. An ancient beast, it was. I hope it’s resting well now.

I went home and went to my mother’s tailoring room, repurposed to be my sister’s laboratory for her studies some four years ago. I opened the door and was greeted by the orange glow of the setting sun, a dozen glass beakers reflected that glow everywhere creating a spectrum of colors along the entire room, “I got something for you.” I started.

“Just put it down on the table.” She said, back facing me. She was hard at work, hunched over her desk. She fiddled with various herbs and crushed powder, analyzing, creating medicine out of them. She is, after all, the apprentice of the town’s apothecary.

I set the antlers on the table with a loud slam which seemingly shook her awake. She darted her head back, and stared at the antlers, her eyes were deep and baggy as if she had not slept in three weeks. “What do you think?”

She stumbled from her work table to the one where I put down the antlers. She ran her finger across its bony texture, “Etched. These are not antlers from an ordinary elk, where did you get this?” Her voice had a sense of awe despite her languidness.

“Someone gave you this? Who might that be?”

“A hunter, huntress. She just appeared above me and killed an old elk that was eating in front of me.”

“That so? You want me to analyze these etchings then?”

I looked to whatever was behind her, a three week old project due for release in three days. I would help her if I could, but even back on Earth I was not the best with processing chemistry. I grew plants, yes, but I never made them to cure people, “If you have the time for it.” I said.

“I will after the project, so long as you help me, that is. I can’t sift through thousands of books about runes and etchings in elk antlers alone,” she chuckled, “Besides, this might be something different for you.”

“What do you mean?”

“A huntress? Giving you an elk’s antlers? You know in some cultures up north that’s a sign of trust between two people. For others a sign of hostility, and for some,” She stared at me, before saying two words forever etched into my mind, “Eternal love.”