waking up before dawn in the room you rented at a secluded bed and breakfast, you shower, dress, amd pack for the day. Your plan is to hike out into the woods in the surrounding hillside and photograph the scenery and wildlife, maybe even take a break and write some fiction, if you are so inspired. Every thing you will need for all of this is packed carefully, along with a first aid kit, some camping tools, a towel, some homemade trail mix, candy bars, and several bottles of water.

after you walk downstairs for breakfast, you eat and pack some additional foods in some ziploc backs you brought with you.

the sun still hasn't risen, and you're on your way out the door, turning on your flashlight. hoping to make good time, you use the trails at first, but with your map and the sun finally shedding it's light, you tread off the beaten path.

you enjoy the peaceful solitude and the sounds of the woods, and you're happy with the pictures you've managed to take. Hopefully they'll do you well for inspiring the fantasy story you've been brainstorming and researching for.

the trees start becoming more dense, their foilage blocking more and more of the sun. Further away towards where you're heading, and a little off to the right, something catches your eye. Was that a light? Perhaps a lightning bug? You alter your course to investigate, but realize on the way that fireflys do not glow in the morning hours, only in the evening. You no longer see it, but soon you do find a lovely patch of mushrooms to photograph

after getting down low and taking a series of photos, you realize you hear the steady sound of what can only be a waterfall. Perfect! You begin to head towards it, but in the now dim light, a mist has slowly formed. Fog? This is unusual. But then you hear something else ... something is walking through some body of water nearby ... and ... is that ... crying? It can't be ... not here ...

you push forward, as quiet as you can be. Eventually, you come to a tiny stream, and you follow it to the beginning of a small pond...

and then you see ... her

she may be the most beautiful thing you've ever laid eyes upon. Wading in the water up to her rib cage, she stands there, her arms crossed over her naked chest as she sniffles quietly to herself, her cheeks damp with tears. Soft, tiny, barely-there lights, like bokeh, blink in and out of existence as they float around her in hues of blue and grey. Her dark brown hair is wet, hanging down past her shoulders

clearly, she is alone, and saddened deeply by this fact