Where the Flowers Are

The flower blew softly in the wind it's fragrance drifting on the wind filling the small glade with a heady scent, something not missed by the Troll woman whose powerful nose twitched in recognition. Lifting her voice she called to her daughter who trailed her mothers movements slowly through the jungle. Both made their way to the flower kneeling and carefully cutting the stem, lifting the flower to enjoy it's scent before being deposited carefully into a half full herb pouch. With a soft smile the woman brushed a hand over her beaming daughters cheek and gestured ahead of them "Find us another Miia". Nodding quickly the young girl chirped in excitement "yes mother!" and she took off at a full run ahead laughing as she waded through the small sea of flowers that waved and bobbed in her wake like ripples on a pond.


Cresting the small hill the young Troll spun around looking over at the twin falls across the crystal clear pond of water, her eyes widening as she noted someone standing near the rocks at the base of the falls. Tilting her head she crouched low and crept closer to see, before heading back to her mother. Reaching the woman the child urgently tugged on her arm as she excitedly rambled on about someone at the falls, curious but wary the mother tapped the curved dagger at her hip and quietly padded with her daughter to the edge of the hill. Crouching down they both peered over and saw the man, a Tall broad shouldered Troll kneeling as the base of the rocks. Responding to the pale look on her mothers faced the child tilted her head "Who is that mother?". Clearing her throat the woman patted her daughters hair gently and whispered "This is the Tear Falls my dear". With a curious look the girl shifted her attention from the Troll man to her mother "Why do they call it that?". Gesturing her daughter to lay low she lowered her voice as she spoke "They call it the tear falls because that warrior down there, his life mate is buried at the base of the falls."


Pausing for effect she continued "many years ago his wife was taken from him to the spirit world, and he buried her remains here...visits it every week he does, laying flowers at her grave". The child tilted her head and inquired "A Witch Doctor would not help this?". Patting her daughters head they peered down at the man whose large body seemed now so frail, so weak as he sat doubled over at the grave his body shaking in pain. Curiosity got the better of the child who waived her mother on excitedly to continue. Nodding down to her before shifting her attention back to the warrior, her eyes mirroring her pity for the warrior "An evil Hexxer cast a curse on them in old days, he is unable to see her spirit or hear herwords, cut off from his life mate, twin souls severed for all time, yet she can see his pain, feels it every day unable to offer him any solace". Looking up the child watched as the warrior rose, grabbing his spear and turning to trod off slowly, his head hung low, a great white mohawk shielding his anguished face from the child.


Peering down she focused on the bundle of flowers that sat at the base of the falls. The woman watched the warrior leave before she cupped the back of her curious child's head continued "You see child, love traverses even death, so powerful a thing that even it shines through to the other world, but so does duty you see?" and with that she pointed to the rock where the faint outline of a beautiful troll woman wreathed in cloth stood watching the warrior walk off, her face a mask of enduring anguish. "Each week she waits for him, watching calling out to him, calling out in vain as her mate can not hear her words, yet she remains afraid to move on to the next place, for fear of leaving him, see child she is cursed to watch her mate suffering this way knowing she can never heal this pain...this is her curse, her duty".


Eyes narrowing the child snorts "love is a silly thing, I will never do something so foolish for a boy ,
father says to expose your weak side is weakness itself" she ended with a confident grunt. Turning her eyes away from the ghostly image of the woman, her eyes narrowed at her daughter and she spat back with an irritated tone "hold your tongue child, your father speaks with his tusks and not his heart." waving her finger at her daughters nose "you should be so lucky to have a man love you thus, to make you the center of his world, caring for you so deeply that sun rises with you each day". Shifting her attention back to the woman she spoke softly again, almost reverently "a life mate is a part of you, forever bound to one another..you my child I pray to the Loa that one day you should be so lucky".

Her small curious eyes widening at her mothers reaction she reached a hand out to touch her mothers arm, the meaning of her words hitting home in a profound way, if she was to lose her mother...no that was too horrible to fathom and she quickly shook the thoughts from her mind and peered back down to the woman at the falls. Both watched, mother and child as the shimmering woman knelt before the flowers running ghostly fingers through the colorful petals before her. Unable to touch the warriors gift even feel it, her eyes slowly closed and she she wept. Glowing translucent fingers clutched at her chest, her body wracked by sobs, desperate her hands reached out and clawed violentlyat the flowers on her grave desperate to touch something of his...yet again and again her fingers passed through them taunting her with their beauty a beauty she could never again have. Crying out her wail filled the pond with a beautiful terrible sound, a heart wrenching sound of desperate anguish and pain causing even the beasts of the forest to pause and listen, to hear the keening song of the Witch of the falls. There would be no solace tonight, no peace in this place, as her sorrowful voice slowly drifted away, being drowned out in the roar of the falls, she faded from view mingling her tears with the water that rained down upon the small bundle of flowers laid with such care at her grave.