Tia got up early like she had planned and packed a few essentials into her leaf pouch. She wanted to head out before her family got up so that she could avoid any questions as to what she had planned for the day. When she looked out of her bedroom window, the sun was just starting to peak above the horizon and present its glow.
Quietly Tia made her way out of her family hut and into the village. A few of the early risers were out tending their gardens already and glanced up as Tia walked by them.
“Good morning Tia, it’s a beautiful morning for a walk,” her uncle Lou said.
“Good morning uncle Lou. Yes it is,”
When Tia reached the big Elderberry tree she made a quick right. That was a shortcut that she remembered to the river. Although she hadn’t been down by the river in quite a while since she no longer had to fetch the water. The scenery looked a little different to her but she felt that she was going in the right direction. She then saw the large oak tree with the maple branch growing out of it, and the dead pine that laid across the path.
“Okay, I’m headed in the right direction,” Tia looked around.
The sun was now shining into the woods which made the morning dew on the flower petals and plants glisten all around her. The Pecku birds were chirping and singing high in the trees. It was like the forest was waking up just like everyone else. Tia use to enjoy this journey when she had to fetch water. I don’t know why I stopped walking out here. It’s so beautiful, she thought. Even though the reason for taking the hike was to find out what the humans were doing, Tia was enjoying her morning.
By the time she reached the river, Tia was ready for a short rest. She found a rock near the water and sat down to have a snack. Tia dug into her pouch and took out a strawberry. While she enjoyed her snack, she saw a dragonfly that was almost as big as her, land on a reed near her and the water. Even though she was a flying fairy, she admired the beauty and grace of a dragonfly. How they can fly so fast, dodge obstacles, and glide through the air with ease.
Now that I’m near the river, I could fly a little bit and cut down on some travel time. It will also be good practice, she thought. As Tia finished her strawberries, she felt a slight breeze blow across the river. Then, the smell of dead fish and mud filled the air.
“Oh, what is that smell?” Tia looked across the river.
Even though Tia didn’t see the source of the smell, it was enough to make her get moving. She fluttered up and over the edge of the river so that she could bend down and rinse off her hands in the cool water. Then, she flew up high enough over the river to see everything that was in front of her. It looked like the river was endless with rocky banks alongside it. Not to mention the large beautiful trees that also followed along as she flew. Occasionally Tia had to weave in and out of some tall reeds that were sticking up from the water, but otherwise she was flying free and graceful.
Tia forgot about the other dangers of being a small fairy though until she saw a hawk twice her size flying towards her.
“Oh no,” Tia swerved to the left and dropped down a foot.
She looked up and saw the hawk turn around. Tia knew that she needed to hide from it so she flew as fast as she could and looked for a place to hide. The hawk was right behind her now as she flew up and down, and left and right. Tia flew down close to the water and darted into a group of cattail plants. She grabbed onto the low portion of a cattail stalk and hung on tight. The hawk flew down and reached out with its sharp talons but Tia kicked them away.
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