In the distance, the drumming of a woodpecker reverberated through the old forest, complementing the creaking of the watermill. The wind died down, only to regain strength moments later. Leaning to the right, I rested my face on my knuckles, breathing out as I sunk in. I felt a strand of hair break loose, crossing my vision to hang in front of my face. I aimlessly stared past it, attending the spirit, watching the tree branches stir the humid summer air. Her ability to hold still proved to be another uncanny attribute about her. What was she thinking of, as she watched the flowers dance in the breeze?
“… Honestly, I don’t know what to do with you.”
The spirit’s eyes flicked back to me.
“I can’t hide you forever.”
I could keep her out of the house, out in the garden. That was what she was here for, and she expressed no concern for sitting outside in the dark, as she did when we first met. If anyone did notice her, I could dismiss the concerns by saying she was a spirit I tried to shoo away for weeks. Would that be the wrong to do? Was it cruel of me to even think of such an option? What would Father think of me?
The girl straightened, drawing in a breath as if she were about to finally speak. At last, her shoulders fell once more, her eyes narrowed to a slit as they lowered to the table. It looked as if she sighed, and I fleetingly wondered if spirits even breathed air. Guilt overwhelmed my chest as I thought about throwing the spirit out of my grove, simply for the fact she was a spirit. Even if she could survive without me, she clearly expressed her adoration for my garden, a gesture I would normally accept with pride, but for some reason could not with this girl.
“I can accommodate for a bit. Just… For now, I just don’t know how I can let you stay for too long. I don’t have many guests, but they do stop by from time to time.”
The girl raised her eyes. Rather than sparkle, they were still uncertain. Unlike a child, she exhibited moments where she was not quick to draw conclusions, her memory retention much stronger than I thought. I admitted the indecisiveness of my commitments, to both myself and the spirit, silently cursing it.
“Right, here are the rules then. If you see someone, you must hide. As long as you can do that, you can stay for a week or two. For now, just two weeks. Then we can reconsider how our deal is working out. Sounds like a plan?”
Once again, she nodded vigorously. She did not spring out of her chair like last time, but I could tell she was cautiously optimistic about this latest invitation.
With the deal done, I sat back and thought about the next task at hand. Now, I had a child to take care of. That was a reality I did not consider before making the deal. I quickly regretted my rash decision, but figured I would make do with the consequences. Other than feeding her, I needed to hide her from any guests, expected and unexpected. I did not think I should tell Jane yet, even if she was my closest friend. Aside from a loose mouth, it would be shortsighted for me to burden her with such a secret. As for unexpected guests… Well…
“Can you disappear?”
The girl tilted her head and did not move.
“… You know… vanish… Become invisible…”
She still did not move. I raised a hand and brought it over my face, covering my eyes briefly, then revealing them again as my hand lowered to my chin. It seemed, somehow, the spirit understood this silly action, and she shook her head. She was not quite a ghost, then.
“That does complicate things a bit then…” I stared off into the trees, murmuring to myself. “At least you’re small. And quiet.”
The girl nodded.
“Well… at the very least, maybe… Perhaps I could dress you up. That way, if someone does notice you, you don’t look immediately out of place.”
She perked up at the mentioning of dress up. Her eyes resumed the naive curiosity of a little girl. It seemed as if the idea of dressing up was familiar to her.
“Hm? Have you dressed up before?”
She shook her head. I observed the ragged brown cloak draped around her, covering the carelessly stitched dress bound together by crisscrossed strings at the chest.
“Where did you get those clothes, anyway?”
The girl looked down at her clothing, as though realising she had them for the first time. She reached up to tug one of the shoulders of her cloak, examining the rips and tears in the fabric. Though it stretched, it did not loosen its grip around her neck.
“… Are those… a part of you? Or can they come off?”
The girl looked up, nodding, and as if on cue, the cloak fell off her shoulders, slithering around her thin body to droop in front of her. She held it up towards me and dropped it on the table. Then, she brought both of her hands to her chest and tugged on the strings, ripping them off. I sat up as she started to pull the dress off her shoulders.
“Ah, wait! Uh…”
The spirit looked up, her eyes wide and innocent.
“Let’s… We can do this inside… please…” I supposed there was no harm undressing her out on the porch, given how unlikely it was for anyone to see. Still… “I’d feel better in there…”
She let go, letting her dress hang halfway off her shoulder, and lightly nodded, not quite understanding, but willing to obey. I slid my chair away from the table and got up. The girl did the same, grabbing her flower and following. I scooped up her cloak and opened the sliding door for her. Briefly dusting my feet at the threshold, I stepped inside after her, catching one last glimpse of the flower clearing as I slid the door shut. The wind picked up one last time, and the flowers seemed to dance in wild circles as I lowered the sheers.