The Riddle of the River People

What I beheld at twilight in the Deep Woods

Recap: Our narrator is a young maiden, unable to say her own name and cursed to wander the fairy woods until the spell on her is broken. She is followed by a talking fox (also cursed), and they are making their way along the river to find a nearby village.

I thought I was dreaming when I heard the sounds of singing and dancing.

After our detour with the giant, Fox and I did not make it to the next village before sunset. We were still miles away, following the river, when the darkness fell.

I had never spent the night in the woods before. I had purchased a deerskin blanket with the provisions I’d gotten from the triplets, but that was all I had.

Fox and I found a hollow in a tree and curled up inside. As I spread out my blanket, he nudged his way underneath.

“Don’t be stingy,” he said.

I still wasn’t sure if I could trust him or not. Arrogant as a peacock, he indicated that he had once been a nobleman; we didn’t really get along. But at this point, I was grateful for the company.

It took a long time for me to fall asleep; Fox snored. When I finally dozed off, I dreamed of revelry; music and laughter filled my mind.

Then I awoke in the inky darkness; it was not a dream. Somewhere nearby, a great party was taking place.

Starved of joy and festivity these long days in the woods, I nudged Fox till the snoring stopped.

“Do you hear it?” I asked.

We crept out of the hollow and ventured back to the river. On the far bank, a host of village people were dancing and singing in the firelight, making merry with instruments and food and drink.

I ran to the shore and called to them. They saw me waving wildly and waved wildly back. They sent a boat to retrieve us.

“Come and dance!” they cried.

I was whirled around among their dancers and followed their fleeting steps. Even Fox frolicked about to the sounds of their vielles and flutes and tambourines. They stuffed us full of tarts and meat pies and custards, told us jokes, and offered us warm drinks.

We ate and drank and danced well into the night. I became drowsy and fell asleep in the glow of the roaring fire.

When I awoke in the blue light of dawn, the fire had gone out. Not a soul was to be seen; all the tables and chairs and cook pots and blankets and instruments had vanished from my sight.

I cried out in dismay, awaking Fox, whose ears turned down at the scene of our isolation.

We spent the day looking for the revelers. A few times, Fox wanted to stop; he demanded that we take a rest. But I was insatiable.

We found the village we had intended to reach the day before. But I would not go in; I wanted to dance with the river people again.

Fox followed me impatiently, and my distress grew as the hours passed.

I will admit that we spent many days seeking the river people, but we found them not.

I wept instead of sleeping. My heart ached for what had been stolen from me. A life of wandering I might bear; but not with the hope of joy at my fingertips.

Eventually I gave up, my eyes tired from tears. We spent another few nights in the forest, curled up beneath stone ridges or in the yawning holes of twisted trees.

Then one night, I heard it again.

Fox and I ran back to the river, where the party had commenced again like it had never ceased. They welcomed us back with open arms.

After dancing for a little while, my heart became embittered. I knew they would be gone in the morning. I sat down next to a gentle old man who looked like my grandfather.

“I will never be happy again,” I told him. “I have sought all this time for your people, that I might dance with you and be glad. But you will be gone by tomorrow.”

“Do not fret,” he said with a kind smile. “Don’t you know about happiness? You will never find it if you look for it; it is always right where you are.”

I thought about this for a while. And when I became tired, I laid down near the fire and slept very deeply, as I had not done in many days.

I was not afraid when I awoke and all the festivities had vanished around me.

Fox and I set forth into the woods. But this time, the music of the river people played on in my mind. Though we headed into the unknown, bound by time and fate, I hummed along to a song that no one could take from my soul.