The Water Sprite

Heat

Mo Yuan was restless.  For weeks, he had made no more progress with her.  They continued to barter with each other for their needs, but no matter how hard he tried to instigate conversation of more than two sentences, she did not seem to want his company or even make friends with him, but that didn't stop him from trying.

Returning to his hut after yet another successful swap of necessities, things he really did not need but asked for anyway, he had eaten an early meal and retired to his bed for the night.  And as he once again lost himself to his thoughts of her, he never considered that he was obsessed with her. For years he had lived a solitary life, his only thoughts had been on his survival and comfort.  That there might have been another sharing the forest with him, never crossed his mind, and nor did he consider himself alone.  He had the birds and animals, a forest rich in nourishment and he had a hut to keep himself warm in the cooler months.  If he wanted conversation, he talked to the birds who were more than happy to sit there and listen while chirping merrily back at him.

But since his first sighting of her, she began to fill every second of his life.  She never left his thoughts, and he spent so much time devising ways to befriend her that the more she resisted him, the more unseemly his thoughts became. And one of those thoughts entered his mind yet again.  Only this time he decided to act on it.

Waiting for a week, he continued to watch her movements.  She preferred to clean her furs all at once, usually once a week, then she would head to the lake early in the morning, do her laundry, then take a swim.  After that she would sunbath until her furs were dry or she would try her hand at fishing depending on whether she had bait or not.  

Though the one time he had quickly rushed to the waters edge not long after she had left, he could not help but laugh at her use of animal bowel as bait.  It would certainly attract the fish, but they would not normally eat it, if anything the stench would irritate them.  They would quickly unsettle the water to break it down so it broke up and settled on the bottom of the lake much quicker.  

But he had said nothing, instead he continued to swap the occasional fish when he noticed she had not had any for a while.  And it was fishing that was on his mind when he planned his next move.

_____________

Bai Qian awoke early as was her habit when she had furs to wash.  Though she always ate before she left, because she might not have a meal to take home at the end of the day.  And as much as she was grateful for the food that the man gave her, she never allowed herself to rely on his generosity.

She had been thinking a lot about him lately.  But as much as she wanted to befriend him, she was afraid of him.  Though why, she couldn't really say.  He had never spoken out of turn, his voice was always gentle and his manners were impeccable.  His eyes were so tender, they made her want to cry, they held so much emotion and gentleness in them, she was always left wondering what the rest of his face looked like.

His head was always hooded when she saw him, mostly because night was falling and with it came the mists.  It was always cold at that time of the day, so his hood was pulled down tightly against his cheeks.  Sometimes, she got a glimpse of his lips and a light covering of hair above them.  And the few times she had seen his lips, they were always drawn up into a warm kindly smile.

But always he left her with the desperate need to see his face, to touch him, to know him and that frightened her, because she had never known such thoughts until then.  Suddenly this man had her imagining all kinds of scenarios where she would see his face which she imagined glowed brightly like his eyes.  She imagined long conversations and shared meals where they would cook for one another.  But most of all, she would touch him and he would smile.