The Shadow of Beauty

Ch 5- Invitation

Almost a week later...

It had been a beautiful sunny afternoon when blue gray clouds began to boil in the sky. Rain was on its way. Before the storm came, Kendrick went into his orchard and garden to check the plants he'd grown over the past five years. It always brought him great pleasure to walk amongst the trees that actually towered over him. He never thought such a thing would be possible but here it was; an orchard and garden of his size to tend and use.

He checked the berry bushes first, finding several ripened fruits which he ate right on the spot. As he savored the sweetly tart berries a sound tickled his ears.

He paused.

It was singing...ethereal yet sad sounding singing.

Kendrick's head perked trying to pinpoint the sound but his nose told him more.

That electrically floral scent...it was her. She was in his orchard.

For the past few days, he'd caught whiffs of the little winged girl's unique scent in his forest. Her fear scent was always intertwined heavily with it. But given what happened with the poachers, he couldn't blame her. Everything was afraid of him; that was a harsh fact. He'd pretty much given up long ago trying to pacify the fears of smaller beings with gentle, quiet action. It didn't matter what he did, fear always accompanied. And normally he didn't care if they were afraid.

But for some reason it had actually bothered him to see her so frightened, shaking and pleading in his hands. He felt guilty and ashamed for it...not a common feeling for him

He didn't even know why he'd tried after all these years to pull up those gentler actions when he'd encountered her. Perhaps it was the simple fact she wasn't a human...or maybe it was something else? Either way, he decided to just leave her be and not try to find her anymore. It would only make her fear worse if she thought he was hunting her.

But he was puzzled as to why she hadn't fled further away.

Surely she knew he lived here and would do everything to avoid him?

Yet, his nose didn't lie. She was somewhere in his orchard which lay in a valley just behind his mountain home.

Kendrick looked around, keeping his steps careful and gentle to mask his approach. He scented the air and detected she was close.

The singing was an aria, angelic and mournful. Kendrick had never heard such a voice. Both of his hearts suddenly seemed to flutter and goosebumps rose against his skin from down his arms and up the nape of his neck. He shivered, blinking with bewilderment as a chill raced up his spine.

What was that? Nothing had made him feel like that before.

His nose and ears led him to one of his apple trees with a low deep fork just at his eye level. Sitting in the fork and facing away from him he finally saw her, pretty wings glistening in the light. Kendrick was enchanted by the angelic voice and crept up as close as he dared to listen to her sing. The song rose and fell with graceful ease as she traversed the notes. That emotional chill chased through him again when she held a particular note. He couldn't hold back a shuddered breath.

Suddenly, she stopped singing; her lovely voice stolen from him. In a flash he ducked on the opposite side of the tree just as she turned around. He was squatted down in a frog-like crouch up against the tree trunk, staring up at her from below. He could see the underside of her delicate neck as she peered around. A quiet exhale left his nose, not daring to make a sound.

After a moment she seemed to dismiss her search and reclined back into the fork of the tree again. Kendrick kept quiet and waited, leaning into the tree trunk. Her voice returned, humming at first and then picking up where she left off. Again, her lovely voice produced that same sensation, tickling like tiny bird wings fluttering up his shoulders and neck. Kendrick closed his eyes, listening with rapture until she finished the song and all was quiet again.