The Mystery in the Margins by Gray L L

Author:Gray, L L [Gray, L L]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Heroic Rose Publishing
Published: 2024-08-26T23:00:00+00:00

The Giant and the Nymph

How did one announce one’s presence to a tree nymph? I stood in the middle of the empty garden, staring at the tree. Did I knock? Was it considered rude? What if I accidentally pounded on her bedroom door? Or she was in the shower? Deciding it might be more decorous to avoid any tree-related faux pas, I called out instead.

“Thistle? Are you home? I have something for you.” I stood there, holding out the birdhouse and feeling a little silly for talking to a tree. I was just about to leave when two of the knots on the trunk blinked at me. I jumped and almost dropped the birdhouse in surprise, fumbling to catch it before it hit the ground. When I looked back up, Thistle stood in front of me, dressed in the same leafy green outfit from before.

“A gift? For me?” she asked, her eyes sparkling with delight. She dug her bare toes into the grass and tucked her hands behind her back shyly.

I held out the birdhouse. “You mentioned how much you liked birds visiting, so I thought you might like this,” I said, holding out the birdhouse.

Thistle accepted it, examining it from all angles. “Oh! It even has a place for food!” she exclaimed.

“Antonio DeLuca made it. He thought it might attract any birds that had been frightened away by the events of the past few days,” I said. A swell of happiness rose within me at the bright joy on her face.

“I want to put it up now! But I don’t have any bird food. I know, I’ll run down to the pet store and see if they have anything,” she said in a rush, darting back and forth in the garden, holding the birdhouse in front of her like she was carrying a priceless treasure. “But what should I do with this?”

I pointed at the bench under the tree. “Why don’t you leave it here? You can run your errands, and it’ll stay safe until you get back.”

Thistle glanced at the bench and blushed. “Yes, yes, of course. Oh, this is just so exciting! I can’t wait to see what sort of little feathered friends come to visit.” She slid the birdhouse carefully onto the bench and then threw her arms around me. “Thank you, Harper. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

I gave her a little squeeze back. “You’re welcome, Thistle.”

She pulled back. “There’s so much to do! First the bird feed. Then I must find the perfect place to mount the house. Maybe I’ll add some new flowers to the garden, too. Oh, so much to do!”

I chuckled. “I’ll leave you to it then.”

Thistle waved at me distractedly as I left her flitting about the garden and making plans to welcome visiting birds to make a more permanent home. The chime of my phone dinged from inside and I went to answer it, leaving Thistle to her plans.

Bella had sent me a message asking what time I’d be back and if we could meet up.

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