The Tale of A Dancer and A Singer

In front of the wooded fortress lies a sea of red roses that stretched over a mountain and ended before a forest. On every petal was a droplet that slowly moved its way to the center of the stigma. A blue butterfly with white spots lands in the center of the rose and collides with the droplet. Neither party was at war with each other nor served to nourish the roses. It flew away, knocks over old petals, and heads to the forest. As the sun shines over each rose, a wind emerges, lifting withered petals into the sky, and maintains attitude. The red petals moved in coherence with the wind—a cluster of red clouds spread like a sea of red flames throughout the field. The clouds floated long enough for a boy who lives in the forest and a girl trapped in the fortress to see it. 

           The boy ran to the sea of red flames, stunned at its beauty and bewildered at nature's creation. He lifts his hands and turns his back, trying to catch one while revealing a scar on his left shoulder. The girl saw him as he extended his limbs to catch a petal and calls out, "Dancer!" He stops and sees a girl with black hair and a crescent birthmark on her hand. She opens her mouth and releases a medley. Each note served a purpose. It spoke to the Dancer's heart. It sung to the swaying roses. It caught the attention of the forest spirits, and it penetrated the fortress's walls. The Dancer moved to Singer's song. With every step he took, petals flew in every direction. Spinning, he leaps into the air and dances on the red cluster. The Singer was astonished by the boy that danced on flames. The Dancer was thrilled with their performance. As he declines back to the ground, he looks over to see her face. Instead of joy, he saw the Singer's startled look as four men clad in armor― from head to toe ―took her toward the fortress.

He runs after the armored men. No matter how hard he tries to close the distance, the gap stays the same. They run past the flowers into a field of dirt where the grass doesn't grow, and the seeds refuse to touch. All the plants stood a mile away from the fortress as if for caution. The Dancer noticed how distant the plants are and began to slow down little by little as he thought more about it. The thieves outran him and escaped behind the massive, wooded pillars. The boy stops in front of it because the spirits raised him and told him to "never enter the fortress." Heading back to the forest, he sits, looks at roses, and waits to see if the Singer will return. Clouds covered the sun and released a fury of droplets onto the field. The butterfly couldn't collect nectar with all the rain. Its wings were wet, making it unable to fly. The roses were overwhelmed and began to wither. As the butterfly crawled on the ground, it retreats to the forest so the rain wouldn't hurt it. 

"Lower the Gate," yield one of the soldiers as they pull the girl deeper into a town within the fortress― a place with small homes, a merchant's market, people in tattered clothing, and a tent covering the entire area from the rain. The soldiers positioned themselves in front, on both sides, and behind the girl to prevent her from going anywhere and prevent her from putting anyone in danger. "Take her to the Tess," cried a voice from the crowd. "No, banish her," as one toss a piece of bread at her. The girl was afraid, not because of the consequences of her actions, of Tess. As the group pushed to their leader's home, one of the citizens tossed a withered small rose to the mud. Tess's fortress was not a place for flowers to grow.

They entered a small gray house. A woman wearing a tattered red shirt, blue pants, glasses, and short hair was seated in front of the group. "Tess, I'm sorry…" cried the girl. Tess interrupted the plead with a wave of her hand as a sign of silence. Suddenly, the soldier behind the girl fainted. The sight didn't faze Tess. Instead, she said, "All of you go to the showers now."

After rinsing off the residue from the field, the girl returns to Tess. She chose to stand in case there was an opportunity to run. As the Singer waited for Tess to speak, she noticed a small butterfly flew into the room from a crack in the window. "Do you know how foolish your actions were," yelled Tess. "A man fainted because of you. If I would've let you return to the city without supervision, imagine the lives at risk", as she slams her arm on the arm of her chair.

The girl interrupts, "I know, but there's just so much beauty out there…"

"There, the field of roses. The place where the spirits play and laugh at our limitations. Home to the yellow dust that claws our eyes, stuffs our noses, blocks our ears, and clogs our lungs. For some, it's a minor reaction. For others, it's life or death. This is why I built this place to protect those that can't go out there."

"But Tess it's cruel," said the Singer.

Tess replies, "Cruel! What's cruel about the fact that the air I breathe is both a gift and a curse. If you think that's villainous, then call me a villain. I, the person that made a home for people to live in. Me, the person that made a line between the plants and us. If I'm a villain for keeping nature out, then mother nature is a villain for creating it."

As tears begin to roll down the girl's cheek, she lowers her voice and says, "it's not the flower's fault."

"Your right. It's not the flower's fault," Tess replies as she leans back into her chair and notices the butterfly. "They're only a minor issue that's manageable. The real problem is the trees and grass that come along with it. If there was a way to negotiate with the spirits, then we wouldn't have a problem." Before Tess finishes talking, she grabs a cloth from her pocket while studying the insect. "But the spirits refuse because they need the pollen for the plants to grow," she said as she swats the bug with a cloth and tosses it in a bin. "If the Dancer comes close to us again, he will be dealt with." 

The next day, the butterfly returns to the field, flying around to find a suitable rose. The girl passes by the butterfly and stops in front of the forest. The Dancer walks towards her, ready to perform another duet. She stops him and says:

 "I can't. We're two completely different beings. You live with spirits, insects, and plants. I live with people. You dance, and I sing. You have all the time in the world as I cling onto the smallest grain of sand. No matter how hard I clench my hands together, the sand spills out—leaving me with little time and many responsibilities. My actions being here with you puts my people in harm. There are things that I need to do, and I can't waste time spending it with you."

The Singer walks away and heads back to the fortress. He looks at a rose, saw the butterfly, and waited to see if it gets to the center. But the flower was drenched and couldn't stand straight, so it flew away.

Spirits named Rhythm and Blues saw as the boy sluggishly walks away. They understood his sorrow, her worry and decided to help them. Rhythm called all the insects; Blues told them, "when the flowers bloom dive into the pollen and fly towards the fortress. Tell the humans this will stop when the Singer meets the Dancer." 

Both sides engaged in combat. Tess and her soldiers planted mixers― jars with salt, sugar, and vinegar―into the soil to confuse the bugs. If some try to push past the first defense, the armored soldiers will intercept the bugs with torches in their hands. A honey few passed the first line of defense and engaged in combat with a soldier. The soldier brought the flame close to the bee to ward it off. Black smoke blocked the bee's vision, but it didn't stop it from flying around and stinging the soldier before leaving.

Then, wasps and alates manage to make it to the second line of defense. The soldiers were now feeling the pressure. "We need more fire," yelled a soldier as he swings the torch back and forth to ward off the wasps. Standing on top of the pillar, Tess screams, "light the field!" The air around the soldiers changed as each one chanted, "light the field!" One man with a barrel in hand ran from the town, through the gate, and to the battlefield. He ran behind the soldiers as they try to fend off the bugs, making sure to pure the oil from the barrel with every step he took. "It's ready," the man yelled. All the soldiers rushed behind the line the man created. One of the soldiers dropped a torch into the oil, and a wall of flames stretched from the ground to clouds. The insects had no way to overcome flames. The fire blocked their way, and the smoke blocked their line of sight. But this wasn't enough to hold the insects for long; it will only last for three hours.

After a month of fighting, Tess could only watch from the top of the pillar as both sides were dwindling. Her best men were being treated inside the fortress for bee stings and allergic reactions. The insects appeared less due to the different scents and smoke messing with their senses. Eventually, she started to give in to the spirits' request. Instead of giving the Singer to them, she decided to negotiate. "Give us one year, and we will send you the girl for one day," she said. "In return for giving you the girl, stop spreading pollen everywhere for five months." The spirits agreed to Tess's terms.     

A year passed, the boy looked at the butterfly covered in pollen and flew into a rose to get nectar. The girl walks into the sea of roses, greets the boy, and sings a song. They dance and sing; when the day turns to night, the singer bows and returns home. Ten years later, the Dancer sees the Singer but realizes something is different. The Singer walks around the boy to look at his exposed back to find the scar on his left shoulder. He was startled by the sudden change in the girl. He has known the girl to have black hair and a crescent birthmark, but this person had brown hair with a crescent birthmark. She opens her mouth and sings the song. The Dancer ignored the sudden change and moved to the rhythm. Every ten years, the Singer changed, but she always had a crescent birthmark on her hand. The boy knew she wasn't the same person but dance to the same medley.

One day, the boy picked up a stick and wrote in the dirt, "why do you change your hair every ten years." She said, "It's a family tradition for the women in my family. To find a boy with a scar on his left shoulder and sing him a song." He smiled and motioned her to sing the song. They performed like the butterfly and the drop of water. Two parties are working together to nourish the roses.