Out of the Mud

Out of the mud two strangers came, and caught me splitting wood in the yard. It was all I could do to keep from giggling when I saw out of the corner of my eye the visitors trying to act dignified with grayish-brown sludge dripping from their leathery wings and what must have once been sparkling white robes. Partly to keep from laughing, but also because I knew it would annoy them, I ignored the strangers and kept at my chore until they were so close I could smell the rich, earthy scent of the muck coating them from head to toe.1

I had forgotten how strong they could be and was surprised when the closest one caught my ax handle in mid-swing. "Insolent girl! Do you not know who we are?"2

I let go of the handle, hiked up my britches, and looked him square in the eye. "Right now, you look like someone who needs a bath."3

The back of his hand smacked into the side of my face before I could have even thought of reacting. It would have been a death blow to a mortal. Fortunately, I was only half mortal. I had been flung halfway across the clearing. My ribs ached from the landing and my ears were ringing, but I was still alive.4

The door to our cabin swung open with a booming crash. "Arnash! How *dare* you lay a hand on my daughter!" I looked up and saw my father. There was thunder in his eyes. The wind picked up and dark clouds began to gather in response to his wrath. His long platinum hair and glowing white robe snapped and fluttered in the growing breeze.5

The stranger who struck me seemed frozen with fear, but his companion was slowly inching his way back to the mud hole. When he finally spoke, it came out in a strained squeak. "Arnash, I told you we shouldn't have come. I'm sure we can explain to His Lordship that it's still too soon after losing his wife to --"6

"It will ALWAYS be too soon!" My father had grabbed each of the strangers by the collar before I could blink twice and began dragging them back up the path they had come down. "He knew a mortal could not survive the marriage trials. He knew I could not speak out on her behalf while I was in his prison. I will not return to His realm. Not now." He tossed one stranger into the mud single-handedly. "Not ever." He tossed the other one in. There was a brief flash of golden light as the portal activated and took the strangers away.7

When the light faded, my father fell to his knees. As I pulled myself to my feet, a chilly raindrop splattered on my forehead. Even before I could hear him sobbing, I saw the wings draped across his shoulders shudder. By the time I was standing beside him, the heavy rain had nearly soaked through my clothes. I couldn't think of anything to say to take away the pain of his loss for the woman I had never met. Instead, I crouched down, wrapped my arms around his shoulders, and let him cry.8

Finally, he looked up and stroked the back of my rain-soaked hair. "You are so much like your mother. She would have been proud of the way you stood up to those overbearing brutes." 9

I couldn't help smiling when I saw his red-rimmed eyes light up at the thought of her. "Maybe someday we'll be able to see her."10

I was barely able to hear my father's sigh as thunder rolled in the distances. "Dearest child, I've explained this to you before. When I gave up my immortality for her, she lost all memory of her past. She may be alive, but she doesn't know us. It's just the way things are."11

"Well, I don't like the way things are. Maybe, if she really tried, she might remember us."12

My father chuckled and the clouds began to part. "If she's still as stubborn as you, perhaps she could." He wrapped his arms and wings around me, making me feel safe, warm, and hopeful. 13

I looked over his shoulder, and saw the faintest of rainbows in the clouds. "I know she will."