The Maiden and The Four Waters

Walla stood on the wooden jetty, she looked out at the eerily calm water.

She watched as a small splash in the water appeared.

Her chest heaved with fears as she remained still.

She noticed another small splash, her breathing escaped through her lips.

“Walla!” Mariana’s head popped out of the water.

Walla jumped; the fear quickly left her body “Do you know what happened here?”

Mariana ducked her head under water, another small splash with the bottom of her skirt “Come join me.” She popped her head above water.

“Mariana, do you know what happened here. Earlier today?” Walla questioned.

Mariana ducked her head under again. She used the bottom of her skirt to splash water towards Walla.

Walla sighed “If I come in the water, will you tell me?”

Mariana popped her half her head above water, her eyelashes fluttered as the sunlight hit the water.

Walla sat on the edge of the wooden jetty.

Mariana watched as she raised her head a little higher above water. “The king told you what happened.”

That wasn’t enough for Walla, she hungered for more information.

Mariana ducked her head under the water again.

Walla lowered her head in annoyance. She felt hands touch her ankles before feeling herself being pulled from the wooden jetty edge. She struggled to grasp her breath as she felt the splash of the water hit her face.

She felt the hands let go of her ankles, she popped her head above water as she gasped for air. Her heart raced as her body filled with air.

Mariana swirled around Walla, she beamed with a smile as she moved around Walla. Her skirt softly hitting Walla’s legs.

Walla closed her eyes for a second to rid herself of a nauseous feeling before opening her eyes.

Mariana stopped behind Walla; she wrapped her arms around the young woman’s shoulder “Did you like the celebrations?” she whispered in Walla’s ear.

Walla nodded her head for a second, she tried to keep alert. She hadn’t been forced by Mariana before, this time felt slightly different.

“It’s gorgeous. I rarely get to watch them but when I do.” She found awe in her words as she let go of Walla, she shifted herself in front of Walla. Her skirt carefully twisted around Walla’s legs.

“Mariana, can you please untangle me.” Walla tried not to sound like she was begging as she watched the water maiden.

Mariana listened as she swirled around Walla to untangle her skirt from the woman’s legs before ducking under water.

Walla squinted her eyes as she looked up at the clear sky, she allowed herself to just float in the water as it felt uncertain around her.

She felt her face splash with water, she turned her attention to Mariana sitting on a rock standing just above the water “Can you come out of the water?”

Mariana shook her head as Walla swam closer to Mariana.

“Is that why your curious with us?” Walla rested her body carefully on the rock.

“I’m curious because the King says the land is bad for us. If it’s bad for us than it must be good, right? I watch from here when the sky goes dark, I see the lights in the windows. I watch as land creatures meet the water’s edge, watch as they do quite a lot of interesting flirtations. The way they splash around in the water than return to the land as if they have nowhere to be. Watch as boats float along with their hooks crashing into our buildings.” Mariana softly heaved as she looked down at Walla “You can come and go; we cannot leave the water. This is our home; our home is being ruined.”

Walla watched as Mariana dived headfirst into the water, the bottom of her skirt flicked into the water.

Rain droplets began to ripple across the water as the sky began to fill with clouds.

Mariana popped her head above the water, she smiled as she looked up at the pour of rain “The king loves when it rains. The way it sends the underneath into a daze, the way the animals move amongst the rainwater.” Her words felt like a daze as she closed her eyes, letting the rain drop down onto her face. “Come watch” She opened her eyes as she reached her hand out to Walla.

Walla looked down at Mariana’s hand, she couldn’t see the water maiden with any claws instead flowering water hyssop wrap around her thumbs and ring fingers almost like a glove leaving Mariana’s other fingers free.

Walla placed her hand in Mariana’s. Walla took a deep breath before feeling the gently tug of being pulled under the water.

Like several times before, Walla felt the touch of a metal cup in her grasp and felt the sweet liquid travel down the back of her throat.

When she opened her eyes, she felt a small wave of fear as she noticed the King sitting at the table and Mariana floating behind him.

The King studied Walla for a moment before rising to his feet, he glanced over the young land woman as he took pride in his silence, he tossed a glance at Mariana.

Mariana lowered her head as if she could read his thoughts, she tried to keep her cheeks from blushing as she adverted her gaze.

“We’ve seen the men disrespect you, they don’t see you as someone with power.” The King forced his glance back to Walla as Walla took in his words “The ones who fished this morning, they threw the lines in with no care, almost taking our young cradle and child in it.” The king studied Walla’s face, he could see something, but he wasn’t quite sure what expression she was trying to show him. “We’re lucky the child survived the scare.” The king paused.

Walla lowered her head for a moment, scared almost feeling like she was being punished for the mistakes of the men in her town, she closed her eyes for a second before opening them and looking up at the King. “They don’t listen to me because I’m a woman. Only men hold power, woman are to be quiet and follow orders.” She swallowed her pride before speaking again “My father destroyed his legacy, dragging our family name through the mud. The village refuses to see my determination to keep them safe because of what my father has done.”

Mariana lifted up her gaze as the flowering water hyssop closed their flowers as the green began to disappear began to disappear from her hands.

The king shifted his glance uncomfortably to Mariana “It’s always the young who must suffer for the actions of the old.” He almost felt like those were for him rather than for Walla as he returned his gaze to the young woman. “You can’t survive down here, those men certainly haven’t.”

Walla wished she had the courage to bargain for their bodies, but she knew she didn’t want her village put into any further pain with burying whatever would be left, if there was anything left of the fisherman.

“My daughter finds you quite curious.” The king stated, “I tried to forbid her from continuing seeing you, but it feels you’re her new shiny object.” His words weren’t insulting nor calm as he studied Walla “Something I’ll never understand” He paused for a second “Until Mariana works out a way to keep you down here, I’ll allow you to travel between here and up there.”

Walla felt startled by his words “Stay? As much as I take care with being gifted to see the four waters, I feel I cannot stay here. I must be above.”

The king folded his arms across his chest, the moss squashed under the tension of his muscles on his arms. “You say they take pride in ignoring you, you take wonder in our realm. Is this not what you would like? Mariana certainly begged for you to stay.”

Walla shifted her gaze to Mariana, seeing the young four waters woman feel guilt for not asking Walla herself. “I’ll travel between, but I cannot stay for eternity.”

With that final sentence, Walla felt a forceful rush of water push her onto the riverbeds edge.

Walla coughed up water as she tried to gain her breath, she kept herself hunched as the sun broke through the cloudy sky.