Fairy Tale Meets Fabio

Fairy Tale Meets Fabio

Long, long ago, and far, far, away from anywhere your mama might have told you about, a lone man walked the floor of the pine, needled earth.  It was a time so far back, you could smell the green, the dark richness of the soil and the worms within. 

His senses were keen like the animals that surrounded him, often raising his head to the clean blue of the sky to smell what was about.  Sometimes, those skies would darken by the shadows of countless birds, while the land creatures loped by his side.  It was a time of plenitude of creatures, and only taking what was needed from the land.  The man did not even know the word for “waste”. Souls were refreshed and awakened by this peace and graciousness. 

The man could hold a rabbit or help an injured boar.  Once, a mother bear put out a frantic plea to the man to help find her lost cub.  After two long days and many miles, he found the cub, safe in an old abandoned bear den.  Of all the animals, though, the wolves held the most reverence, they were of the same spirit and shared a love for running and straining their taut muscles through the woods. The forest floor often was a blur as paws ran with feet and flew over rocks, brush and packed dirt, only stopping to gulp enough air to satisfy their lungs.  

The man knew the mind of the wolf and most  of the other animals, no words were needed, yet they communicated much. There was respect and kindness with a gentle quietness.  This language, talking to the spirits and living in harmony with nature, were tools handed down through his tribe and transcended all life.

He was separated from his tribe since he was a wiry twelve year old.  Now, sinewy muscles, bronze skin and long hair helped accentuate his handsome features, but the squirrels and chipmunks took no notice, nor did the man. This “romance book cover looking” of a guy, however, didn’t mind his looks wasted in the woodlands, he had his animals if not his tribe, and cared about deeper impressions. 

Aside from changes in the weather, deciduous trees, and occasional shifts in the animal habitats, things were predictable in the man’s world, and he found contentment in all its beauty. Although he longed for some human contact, he never strayed from his delight with the animals.  

Yes, you guessed it, as fate would have it, one day while foraging for mushrooms, he heard a strange noise.  He froze as did the wolf by his side. They listened, smelled the air and waited.  The sound came again, so foreign to his ears, it took him a while until he realized it was a scream!  Usually, he assessed, planned and executed into action anything in the wild that needed tending but this was a new challenge.  

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Finally, his feet led the way as his mind caught up.  He followed the scream to the riverbank and saw a shape struggling in the water.  The river looked greedy, not wanting to share the figure but swallow it up whole.  He sliced through the rushing water, however, and grabbed her around the neck and swam as his strong muscles fought off the river’s pull.  Once on the bank, he placed her on the dirt and marveled at the sight of another person in front of him, and a woman at that.  

While he was busy marvelling, she coughed violently, then vomitted, not the way he hoped for a first encounter.  She continued this until there could be no question of anything left inside her.  Then she shuddered as she looked up at him, not sure if the cause was from the man or river.  He stared with deep hazel eyes that gave no indication of what he was thinking.  She swallowed and tried to speak but coughed again and thankfully, nothing more followed.

She looked at the wilderness around her, then back at the man and smiled, for she felt calm instead of fear.  When you are a woman, and of these times, running away from abuse, curses and some evil thrown in, any alternative can be salvation.  Again, those hazel eyes stared, then a hand took her arm, gently -relief. He helped her up onto her unsteady feet and checked her body as she blushed, how could she know it was an injury check. She waited for him to speak, but when her curiosity was met with silence, she spoke up.  She touched her chest and said, 

“Mariana”

He said nothing, so she repeated the gesture and her name. He reached out, and to her embarrassment, touched her chest and said something somewhat similar to her name.  

“No, I’m Mariana. Now you, what’s your name?” And she put a tentative hand on his broad chest.

He looked at her and said something she did not recognize. He saw the look of confusion, so said it once more and slowly.

“Calian.”

Then he spoke words in a language that was unfamiliar and captivating with its songlike flow.  Consonants and vowels never held such a trance-like power before, making her long for comprehension.    

“I’m sorry, I don’t understand, but I do have the time to learn, and this looks like it could take quite a while.”

The man walked her back to his thatched home as the animals peered from within the safety of the forest, not understanding the presence of this other female animal.  She instantly felt peace and only looked over her shoulder a few times.  There was a simple beauty to his place.  She scanned the tools, the warmth of the design and the feel of contentment that seemed to flow from the earth and into his home.  The outside garden area seemed to let all of nature seep into his dwelling, giving it a natural and open feel, which was exactly what Mariana 

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longed for. She noticed no other people around, she thanked the gods, only animals and they appeared to have a special bond with him.

Mariana had inherited her own strengths that were often the cause of envy and attacks.  She had survived abuse at the hands of a man, a curse from a cruel overseer and vicious encounters from neighbors.  What made her laugh, was the idea that the curse and abuse were connected and ultimately, only helped her gain release from its control.  She was cursed to silence in her village, so when she was able, she ran away where the curse did not hold its power and the abuse ceased. Without her voice, she could not wield the power over the wind and of nature, once away from the town whence she was cursed, she was free. 

The weeks of learning the land as well as each other turned into months.  Mariana and Calian often spoke in a mix of the two languages, and had endless days sharing knowledge and  finding treasures in the river and woodland.  Although she knew she could trust Calian, she kept her powers a secret, she knew all too well the pain that others could wield once they found out.  Mariana was in no haste to disclose her ability and the months pleasantly flowed without a need for its use.  Her intentions were not to keep her natural born gift hidden, but time seemed to have its own power over her. 

They walked along the well worn path to the river and found a dusty rose feather of the grosbeak bird, a brilliant yellow from a flycatcher and two eye catching orange ones from a crossbill. She tickled him with a crossbill feather and they both laughed.  Suddenly, he froze and pushed her behind him, as three men emerged from the woods. One burly and very dirty looking man sneered at them both as he pushed his way to her.

“Well, well, so you thought you could escape me.” He literally spat out the words followed with some wretched looking phlegm globbed out at his feet, probably for effect.

“You are coming with me and this man next to you is dead if he tries to stop me.”

Knives were drawn from the other two men as the man moved in.  He was wasting no time in collecting what he clearly thought he owned.

“No. Calian yelled and held her behind him” He might have missed some of the man’s evil words but understood all too clearly his intent.

“Fine. But just to warn you, we’ll leave your body out for the animals when we’re done, no burial from us.” Another glob on the ground, this time closer to Calian.

They moved in and slashed at air as Calian deflected the strikes, knocking one man down with a heavy blow to his head.  The other kept circling like a wolf, mistake- as Calian expertly dodged then struck him repeatedly, until he also was in a heap next to the first attacker.  When Calian finished with the man, the burly "spitter" struck a cowardly blow to Calian as Mariana screamed. He hit him again while he was down, then rolled him over to a drop off by the river. He was trying to throw him over the cliff when Mariana spread her arms out.  She summoned the wind with a quick plea.  At first, there was only a slight stir in the air but she kept pursuing. Gratefully, man had some difficulty moving the muscular Calian, but was nearing the precipice, when the wind increased to a roar. It swirled first low to the ground then spiraling 

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upward, rising like a reverse tornado. The man stopped and stared, his last mistake of this world.  The wind gripped under his feet and flipped him clear off the cliff only stopping to hit each rock cragg, on the way down. The wind offered no mercy today.   Once the other two men roused and saw what happened to their leader, they scrambled upright and fled, tripping often with a little help from the wind.

Calian got up from his head injury in time to observe Mariana commanding the earth’s element.  He was amazed at the woman he cared for and admired her even more for the

strength she possessed and ruled with such ease.  He knew the spirits of the earth would never grant someone such power unless they had faith in her.   Instead of shunning her, as she feared, he ran over and held her tightly.  Mariana knew she had found true magic and a place within this world where she finally could be both strong and loved. 

They walked back to the hut hand in hand down the path away from the river and all thoughts of the men and their invasion.  Suddenly, a fairy flew around the pair several times, then led the way back to the hut.  Mariana stopped short and stared after her as Calian simply smiled.

“Yes, it’s what you’re thinking it is, what else would you expect in this land!?”

At that moment the birds fluttered away and a sunbeam of light hit Calian’s teeth at the perfect angle and sent a dazzling shine into Mariana’s sight.  She thought she even heard the tinkling of a bell to match his sparkle.  Paradise and perfection in the woods, she thought. And of course, the charming couple lived happily ever after.

Doreen Shea

3/2021