The Girl With Rainbow Hair

The grass tingles on my legs and arms. I tuck my knees to my chest, my chin resting on them and my arms slung around them. The light fabric of my dress feels like silk and the beige colour of it is so bright that the minimalistic white dots are almost invisible.
The sky slowly swifts into a spectrum of different shades of reds which mirrors in the small lake at the side of the oak tree. The tree stands in the middle of a seemingly endless meadow of knee high grass. I came here every evening of this summer. So did the fireflies. So did she.
The days will soon grow colder and I decided that today will be my last evening out here. I either lose everything or I win everything. And by everything I mean the special girl.
I was always there before she came and I left after she did. She never saw me but I saw her. How could I not?
She is slender, a simple beauty. Just her hair is extraordinary. Every streak of her slightly curled hair was dyed in a different colour of the rainbow. It makes her look like she jumped right out of a fairytale into my world.
I'm waiting. It shouldn't take very long now. I don't know how to lure fireflies so I just put some honey dots in the branches of the tree, I hope it works. My breath tickles my skin as it hitches. She's coming.
I see her approaching with light steps, her hair and arms swinging in joy. Sometimes I think she's too beautiful to be real.
She takes off her shoes and sits down between the big roots of the ancient oak tree. Her legs dangle down into the water, I can faintly hear the splashing.
The sky turns blue again but this time in a darker tone. It feels like the sky slowly closes its giant mouth and swallows the earth.
One by one they appear. Weakly glowing floating spots fill the air around the lake and soon they are the only light left in the dark. My heart almost overflows with a magical feeling as I try to keep this amazing sight forever captured in my memories.
She is looking up, her hair falls softly on her back like streams of a waterfall, she moves her feet swiftly under the surface of the lake and the fireflies reflect in her joyful eyes. I wanted to show her something equally beautiful as her but truth is she is still the most wonderful thing in this whole scenery.
I didn't realize that I stood up and am walking towards her. I'm lost in admiration and I couldn't care less about the stones poking the soles of my bare feet. I'm drawn to her and I just can't do anything about it. My heart is beating so hard that it's pushing me forward every time it pounds against my ribs.
I'm afraid that she rejects me. I'm afraid of what will happen.
But that's the catch on adventures, isn't it? The uncertain, the unclear? Never knowing what will come and daring to do something you'd never thought of?
And I want this to be the best adventure ever.
My eyes are still fixed on her but hers are directed upwards. However, she still seems to have noticed me.
"I'm glad you finally came."
Something inside me breaks when I hear her perfect voice for the first time. My heart loses another part of it to the girl with rainbow hair.
I somehow manage to keep moving towards her. I sit down and let my feet slip into the water next to hers.
My voice surprisingly doesn't tremble when I reply.
"I thought you've never seen me."
Her head turns to me but I'm staring down at the small waves caused by the motion of our feet. I can't look her in the eyes just yet. I'm convinced it would be too much for me to handle.
"Of course I've seen you. From the very first day. That's why I came back every evening at sunset. Because of you."
My heart jumps as she nudges my arm with her shoulder to underline her words.
Because of you.
This is a fairytale. It just can't be real. I am dreaming, I must be. I always dream of adventures but this one is just too good. Too perfect.
I take a shuddered breath and slightly touch her foot under water.
"Why did you never come over?"
I can almost hear her smile through the silence.
"You seem like a little baby deer to me. As if I could scare you away by moving too fast or making a loud noise."
My cheeks blush and I lower my head so my face is covered by my hair like a curtain. The air stops in my lungs when she gently pushes it back behind my ear, stroking along my heated cheek.
I'm almost disappointed that her fingertips leave my skin but she instantly rests her hand on mine instead. It takes a lot of my willpower to keep still. Otherwise I would shake like crazy because of the adrenalin overdose in my blood.
"Stop hiding." She softly says. "You're beautiful."
I smile sadly. "How can someone as perfect as you find me beautiful?"
She gasps. "How can someone as perfect as you be oblivious of their beauty?"
I finally look up into her eyes. They're absolutely stunning. Purple and gold. Is that even possible? Maybe I'm actually dreaming.
But there's something else about them. They're glistening. From tears.
My heart stops. No. She can't cry. She shouldn't be sad. Never.
I slip into the water until my feet touch the ground. The lake is hip high so we're on eye level when I move to stand in front of her.
"Don't cry because I think I'm not pretty. As long as you think I am I will be the luckiest girl on earth."
She scoots forward, closer to me. Her hands cup my face gently and she looks at me in all seriousness.
"I'll tell you every day so you realize it one day."
I carefully take her legs and wrap them around my hips, pulling her into the water like that. She hooks her feet up and entwines her hands behind my neck. I sling my arms around her waist to support her position.
"Does that mean I'm gonna be your girlfriend?"
"What's the point of an adventure if you can't keep the treasure you were searching for?" She whispers against my lips while we hardly leave any space between us. I can feel her heart beating rapidly against mine in perfect unison. Although the lake is quite fresh our bodies are heated.
We kiss in the lake under an old oak tree while thousands of fireflies illuminate the night around us.

We return every end of the summer for 69 years until we fall into the never ending sleep under the old oak tree, the only witness of the biggest adventure I have ever been on.