DAY ONE
Chapter One
Once upon a time, there was a little girl who lived on a hillside. When she was still very young, her parents had left the cottage to find mushrooms and berries in the forest beyond. They never returned.
Gerta grew surrounded by the animals they’d left behind. As if aware that she was on her own, the goats, the Clydesdale, and the small shetland pony treated the little one as one of their own. The child loved to spend her days exploring the emerald everglades and hills surrounding her home. Some days she would wander her way to the treeline and sit in the soft cool grass enveloped in the shadows of the towering giants. She would close her eyes and imagine her parents’ faces as best as she could remember them.
When she opened them again, it was as if the trees sensed her longing, and they would play along, shifting their silhouettes just enough to play tricks on her eyes. They were still out there, picking berries through the underbrush. She could feel them in those moments, if not for the kindly Clydesdale nibbling and tugging at her ragged dress seam; she may have forgotten time entirely and stayed in the shadows of the enchanted forest for the rest of eternity.
One day, while playing near a crystal pond that dipped endlessly into the everglade, a glimmer caught her eye from its opposite side. A beautiful woman emerged from the depths. Water dripped from her diamond gown as she slid over the surface of a large rock to sun herself. Her skin was a faint blue. Her eyes and lips matched the deepest point of the pool at its center.
She didn’t seem to see the child. Gerta’s eyes glimmered with wonder as she traced the brilliant woman’s features. She stepped closer, nearly losing her footing and falling into the infinity pool. A rock lept from under her bare feet and tumbled into the placid surface, startling the beautiful woman. She blinked rapidly in surprise.
“Well, hello.” She sang, motioning with a hand for Gerta to come to her. The child remained frozen in place.
“Hello, I haven’t seen you here before.” Replied Gerta.
“Nor I, you. And what might you be?”
“I’m Gerta.” She said plainly.
The womans’ laughter sounded like a burbling brook.
“And what might a Gerta be?”
“That is my name. I’m a girl.”
“Well, Gerta, the human child, I’m pleased to meet you. What brings you to my pool?”
“I live here. This place is my home.”
The woman’s smile broadened. Her teeth were so radiant they nearly blinded Gerta. Everything about the woman sparkled and shone. The longer she bathed in the sun, the brighter she became.
“Who are you?” Gerta asked, full of wonder.
“You see the sun?” The woman replied, pointing to the sky above. Gerta nodded, squinting to follow her finger. Her skin was a warm tone now. The blue had faded entirely.
“Well, this,” She pointed to the water. “This leads to where I come from, and I must bring the same light to the depths. It’s my duty.”
“So, is that what they call you?” Gerta squinted her features curiously. “Sun?”
“My name is Luna.” Her voice was full of light.
By this time, the woman was so bright, Gerta couldn’t look directly at her. She gazed into the endless pool.
“What is it like down there?”
The woman’s chuckle sounded like a million dainty bells.
“It gets dark. But with a little light, the entire kingdom glows and glitters. The outer walls were forged in bronze and gold. The houses are built from materials unknown to this realm. The windows are outlined in precious stone; diamonds, emeralds, rubies, and crystals, so they capture the light most magnificently. The roads between are carved from giants’ ivory bones. The clothes are crafted and spun from every imaginable silk, jewel, and material of forgotten worlds.” The woman of the water cooed.
Gerta was overjoyed. She couldn’t imagine such a wonderous place. “What do you eat?” she asked, having a hard time sitting still.
“The most delectable things. Everything you could imagine and more. The food is divinely sweet, and the drink is indescribably delicious. Nothing like what I’ve ever tasted in this world, or any other for that matter.”
Gerta’s mouth watered. She imagined the fresh strawberries she’d eaten earlier, the creme offered by her cow Adaline. Better than those? She remembered the pies her mother used to bake. The smell would drift throughout the house and into the meadow. Better than even that?
“That sounds lovely,” Gerta murmured. She felt saddened at the thought of her mother and could almost hear the lullaby she used to sing. It had been so long since she’d spoken to anyone else, she’d forgotten the sweetness of conversation.
“Child.” Luna looked about. Motherly concern painted over her expression. “Where are your parents? Have you any friends?”
Gerta sighed. She told the beautiful woman the story of how they came to be missing and had been since.
“You poor, poor dear.” The woman cooed. The brilliance surrounding her was now hot. Gerta’s palms were sweating from being so close to her.
After they sat in silence, soaking in the morning sunshine together, Luna spoke up again.
“You know, it isn’t good for a child to be on their own.”
Gerta looked down at her feet.
“Your dress has a tear in it, little one. You have no shoes on your feet. Have you no one to look after you?” Luna continued.
“I am alone here. I have my animals and the trees that surround this place, but that is all.” She dug her tiny toes into the mud at the edge of the pool where she stood. “Although I feel as though there are others, I don’t feel like my mother and father are gone forever. They went to gather food for us from the forest. I still feel they might come back, sometimes I can almost see them through the trees, but I dare not go inside them, lest I disappear myself.”
The woman placed a hand over her chest as she listened. The shine in her face diminished ever so slightly. Gerta stared in awe. She was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. After a moment of quiet, Luna spoke softly. “We don’t have to wear shoes in my world. And there are plenty of beautiful dresses.”
“That sounds wonderful. Where you come from sounds perfect.”
“Yes, well, I used to think so as well, but I do miss the feeling of grass between my toes.”
“Can’t you come from the water’s edge and experience it still?” Gerta asked.
“No, I am only allowed to set upon this rock when I leave my place. It is the way it must be.” She sounded sad. Her voice was suddenly full of clouds and rain. Gerta felt the weight of it and wished to do anything to make her happy once more.
“How long must you soak in the sun before you go back to your world.”
“I must come ashore four times each year. Once for the beginning of each season. I am allowed four days to soak in the sun at the surface each turn of the season. When I return, I offer light to the rest of the realm for the time between.”
“So I will see you again?” Gerta asked joyously.
“I will be back tomorrow for the second of my four days on the surface.” She smiled as she slid from the rock into the shallows at the edge of the infinity pond. “If you wish, I can bring you a new dress and let you try some of the delicious food?”
“I would like that very much.” Gerta clapped her hands and jumped up and down. She hadn’t spoken to another being since her parents had left. It was very different from the conversations she’d carried on with her animal friends.
“I will see you soon, dear Gerta.” She whispered. Her voice had changed. It was as soft as the breeze rustling through Gerta’s locks.
In an instant, the woman disappeared beneath the surface. Gerta flung herself to the large rock protruding from the water beside her and looked over its edge. The glowing outline of Luna left the entire tunnel beneath illuminated. Gerta watched, her eyes bulging at the vision of the globe of light swimming into the depths. The rock walls surrounding her glittered and danced in the sunlight she reflected from them, and then all at once, she disappeared as if sucked into a different world.
The child watched the waters for a while longer. After some time, the large Clydesdale made its way to the pond’s edge and tugged at her dress.
“Tomorrow, Tomlee, I will be getting a new dress, and you will no longer be able to do that.” She mused, imagining the splendor and beauty of anything that might come from a world of such beauty.