Rusalka*
I was caressing the ripples of the marsh, following the dragonflies as they weaved through the tall grass, when I saw a young boy’s face peering from the cattails. I smiled at his familiar dumbfounded gaze, and laughed as he tripped from the shore to the soggy bank as so many had done before. I nodded toward him, blinking my blazing green eyes. This one is different.
Eyes shining, lips pursed, he watched my wet shape. He must have seen my loneliness, dripping from my unruly damp hair, which only love could tame. The boy stepped into the murky water, and the ripples of his splash traveled to my bare feet, tickling my toes. This one is true. I hoped he’d be the friend, the playmate, to lift this forest’s curse.
Diving in, I lingered in the deep and watched his arms scoop the water—-reaching toward me. We were so close, but now, he floats lifeless on the surface, and I—-still alone-—caress the ripples around him.
*A female folk figure in traditional East Slavic lore whose hair is permanently loose and uncontrolled. She is described as a pale, lithe, often beautiful female spirit who lives in the water, waiting to entice unsuspecting male passers-by. The rusalka was believed by peasants to be the spirit of a young, unmarried woman, who either drowned herself or met an untimely death.
