As soon as I sat down at the picnic table, I knew
there was something wrong. It had been
two years since I’d been to this campground – still, I had camped at this
particular site for several years before that.
I was familiar with the rocks, with the vines, with the trees… With the
trees… Something was wrong with the trees.
I tracked around the perimeter of the site, checking each of the trees
in turn. As I moved to the trees near
the fire ring, I realized the problem.
One of the trees had recently been cut down. The heart wood was not sound. And the Dryad was still connected to Her
Tree. The tree had been declining for some time before it was cut. It hadn’t been very long before we arrived,
since the wood was still green and not at all dry. The Dryad had been unable to
get away. She was a young one, the tree was not large nor old, and the dryad
was just inexperienced. I felt her
sadness, her grief. Being a mere human,
I had no idea how to free her. However –
I have friends – not all of whom are human.
I sat down on the fire ring, centered and grounded, and called to a friend
of mine who is of the Fair Folk. She is
actually Royalty – but I called to her because she is my friend and could help
the dryad, not because she is Royalty. I
let her know what was wrong – and she came directly.
Many
of my friends and relations wonder about me for being close with humans –
especially with humans who are young, compared to my people – the Fae. Then,
something like this happens and they acknowledge that having human friends,
especially human friends who are Bards, is a good thing by turns.
The
Human Bard was clearly distraught.
"What
is it?” I asked her.
Instead
of words, she sent me the picture of the failing young Dryad. There were others
who could have gone, who could have helped the youngling. I was the one who was
asked. I went immediately.
The place is beautiful – in the mountains the
humans call the Adirondacks, with a lake close by. The Bard is lame of body, but sound of mind
and heart. Many of the Standing People there have connections to Fae Home. I
have visited that location many a time, frequently to visit this Bard while she
is awake and when she is asleep. This is
one of the places in Nature in the home of the Humans where the Veil is thin
and Fae Home is closer than usual.
I hugged the Bard who is very connected to Nature
in her world, and held my hand out to the fading Dryad. “Come, Child of the Tree. It is time to
return Home.”
"Why?”
“Because the physical manifestation of your Tree no
longer stands tall here. I believe it stands tall in our Home. It needs you, as
you need it.”
“How can that be?”
“When the worlds are placed close by, youngling,
the Trees can exist in more than one at the same time. The Tree here in the home of the Humans, was
no longer sound. The humans had no
choice but to cut it down, for fear it would be blown down and hurt someone at
that time. You were not prepared for that, where you?”
The Dryad hung her head and said “No.”
CHILDREN!!
I nodded and smiled. “Come with me, Child. We will walk to the Tree as it lives in Our
Homeland. You will recover your health.”
I was very proud of the youngling. She turned to the Bard and said “Thank you
for caring for my Tree here. Thank you
for getting help for me.”
The Bard said “I am named for a tree in my
World. I am careful and caring of the
Trees. I also knew who to ask for help.” And then, my dear friend, the Bard, bowed to me. “Thank you, Your Highness, for coming.”
“You are most kindly welcome, Taliesin’s Fosterkin.”
I took the Dryad by the hand and walked through the veil to Fae Home.
Feeling a trifle tired, I sat back down at the
picnic table. My friends and my husband
came back from fetching water. I doubt
they even knew that anything out of the ordinary had occurred. My husband put out the sandwiches we had
purchased for dinner, and asked if anyone wanted anything to drink. I asked for water, then moved to the fire
ring, where the fire was burning brightly.
I sat, waited for the rest to join me, and ate – knowing that I had done
a Good Thing.
©Cedar Wolfsinger 26 June 2016
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