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Living in a small village in the middle of nowhere had its own perks. It was much more peaceful and quiet there, unlike in bigger cities. You grew up surrounded by nature and animals, who became like family to you. Although there were not a lot of people around, you eventually got used to it. Overall, you didn't have much to complain about your place of living. Of course, there were cons, and the biggest one of them was the fact that everything was too far away. Today, you felt this in your bones.
Every year, on the first day of spring, a festival was held in the capital. People all around the country gathered in the city to greet this new season. Plenty of activities took place there: a bazaar where you could buy anything you could imagine, from simple spring-themed ornaments to various potions, numerous performances that lasted the whole day and night to entertain the attendees and freshly baked goods available at every corner. All of these things made you determined to walk all across the country just to experience them for one day. But given that you used to visit the capital only once a year and the path was rather long, it was easy to get lost. And that was what happened to you.
You promised yourself to find some kind of barn before the sun set so you could spend the night there. Unfortunately, you didn't manage. You ended up straying into the woods in the middle of the night, heading god-knows-where. It was so dark that you barely saw your hands that were moving branches out of your way. You only heard cracks under your feet at every step, buzzing noises of insects, and a faint howling of some wolves that lived too far away for you to worry about being eaten. The only thing you hoped for was not to take the wrong step that could easily end the journey on the spot. Unfortunately, that was the plan that Fates had for you. As you took the next step, suddenly you didn't feel the ground under your foot. Before you managed to react and grab one of the branches, your body rapidly tilted forward, and you started to fall. You hit a steep hill and ended up rolling so fast you couldn’t stop at all. You were helpless. The last thing you remembered was a large pain in the back of your head.
***
You opened your eyes, saw a faint light in the right corner, and closed them again. You opened them once more and blinked a few times. Yes, there was indeed a light. No, it wasn't the sun. It was a lantern hanging on the wall. You were in a room, lying on a soft surface, perhaps a bed. Realizing that, you wanted to examine your surroundings, but as soon as you wanted to raise your head, you felt a strong ache.
“Ouch…” you mumbled quietly. After you had spoken, you heard a sound. It was quite difficult to figure out what it was, but it was there with you in the room. You weren't alone. Then, you heard footsteps. Someone was carefully walking towards you. Maybe they were scared, maybe they didn't want to disturb you, but for sure, they were cautious. You didn't know who it was until you saw them bending over you.
“Oh, you're awake.” said the blonde-haired woman.
Now you knew that you were trapped in a closed place with a complete stranger. Although the stranger was a rather attractive woman, that didn't change the fact that you hadn't known her. You were clearly injured, unable to move your head, so technically, she could do with you whatever she wanted. You tried to move your body, but when you slightly raised your right leg, the pain came back.
“Ouch!” this time you yelled.
“Don't move!” The woman shouted in panic. Her loud voice shocked you enough to obey her order. She went to the leg you tried to raise and touched its knee. You hissed.
“You have bruises all over your body, but this is the largest one.” She explained, pointing at your leg. Her voice is rather relaxing, you thought. “But you must have really hit your head.”
You could definitely feel it, but before you said anything, because you had a lot of questions running through your mind, you heard a sound of tiptoes. Then, you felt that something had jumped on the bed next to you. A dog. It was a dog.
“Hank!” The stranger yelled again. “Don't disturb our guest.”
“No, no, it's fine!” You protested. “I like dogs. I don't mind... him? It's a male, right?”
“Oh, that’s great then.” She sighed in relief. “And yes, that’s a male.” She added and left your sight. Since you couldn't move your head, you didn't see where she went, but you heard clinking sounds, almost like she was moving something.
Whatever it was, Hank was the one who grabbed your attention. The white-brown dog carefully approached you and started sniffing your entire body, which made you tickle. You giggled quietly, not to scare him. But when he got to your face and started licking it, you couldn’t help but laugh.
“Aww, he must like you.” The woman gushed over you two as she came back holding a tray in her hands. A glass of water and a plate were placed on it. When she tried to put it next to you, she almost spilled the liquid on your face.
“Ah!” She yelled, trying to balance the tray. Luckily, she succeeded, and the water didn't spill. Now that you thought about it, the woman didn't seem to be a threat. She wasn't as intimidating as you thought at first. Actually, she looked more panicked about this whole situation than you were, especially when you watched her place the tray slowly on the bed, her arms shaking a little bit.
“I know your head hurts, but I need you to sit so you can eat and drink. I will help you.” The woman placed her hands under your back and head and tried to move you into a sitting position. Despite the pain, you also attempted to help her.
“Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch!” You howled with every move, but luckily you managed to half-sit. You were still lying on a pillow, so your head could stay protected, but now you were able to take a look at the room you were in.
You didn't know what else to expect, you hadn't really thought about it, but the room was rather... cozy. You were lying on a soft, two-sized bed that took up half of the room's space. The room was decorated with plenty of vines, flowers and other types of plants. In the left corner of the room was a wooden, hanging chair with a guitar next to it. In the right corner was a small chest of drawers with your backpack laying on it. It looked rather untouched. The walls were made completely of wood, making it seem like you were in a cabin. As soon as you were sitting, Hank jumped on your lap.
“Hank, you can’t!” The woman scolded the dog, took him away from your lap, and placed him on the floor. “I need space for the tray.” She added and then placed it on your lap. On the tray, there was a glass of water with some kind of herbs floating in it. Next to it was a plate with pieces of dark bread smeared with honey.
“Oh no!” She straightened up and covered her mouth with her hand. “I forgot to ask you if you like honey! I'm sorry, I prepared it when you were unconscious so you could eat it immediately after you wake up.”
“No, it's fine, I like honey.” You tried to calm her down. You were taken aback by how much she panicked over such a silly thing. Indeed, she was more stressed than you.
“Oh, thank the Fates.” She sighed in relief, placing her hand on her chest.
Even when she was just looking at you from above, you knew she was a rather attractive woman. But now that you could see her clearly, she was even more gorgeous. She was slightly taller than average and had a slim body. She was wearing a short, flowy green dress that complimented her figure. And if you squinted enough, you could see that her blonde hair had some pink undertones.
“Okay, say “Aaaa”.”
You were so hypnotized by her beauty that you hadn’t noticed what was happening. The woman was now sitting next to you on the bed, holding one of the pieces of bread towards your mouth. Yes, she wanted to feed you.
“Wait, wait, wait!” You held her back. “I can feed myself!” And when you tried to demonstrate it, you failed. The pain was so strong that you couldn't even lift your arm.
“I know it's embarrassing to you, but I need you to eat so you can be full of energy. Now, open your mouth.”
Defeated, you did as commanded. The blonde woman held the bread close to your mouth, and you bit it. And just like that, you ate the whole plate, piece by piece. It took some time, but luckily the woman seemed to be patient. It was rather suspicious, but you were so hungry that you hadn’t even thought about it.
"Now let's drink." She grabbed the glass of water and held it to your mouth.
Drinking took some time, too. After every few sips, she took away the glass so you could catch a breath and then continued to water you. After finishing the entire glass, she placed it on the tray.
"Feeling better?" She smiled at you as she placed the tray on a nightstand that was next to the bed.
"Yes, I think so." You answered. You thought it was finally the perfect time to ask her some questions that were running through your head. But again, as soon as you opened your mouth, she interrupted.
"Do you feel energized enough to sing a song?"
Now, that was an odd question to ask. Before you could even grasp what she had just said, she stood up, ran towards the guitar, quickly grabbed it and came back to sit next to you.
"So yes or no?" She asked again, placing the guitar on her lap. A wide smile appeared on her face.
"Wh- Why am I supposed to sing?” You furrowed your eyebrows.
"You want to recover quickly, right? In that case, you need to sing with me." The woman gave you a look as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, and you were just dumb.
"But how does it make sense? How is a song supposed to heal me? Are you crazy?-"
You didn't say anything else. The sudden feeling of the woman's soft hand holding yours made you silent. "Just trust me." She said quietly and proceeded to play a melody on her guitar. Although you didn't recognize the sound, it sounded rather appealing to you. "Now, sing with me. Even if you don't know the words, just try to sing along, all right?" She then opened her mouth and let out her voice, accompanied by the sound of the guitar.
Even though she had just ordered you to sing along, you couldn't. She was singing in a completely foreign language. You heard different languages from the foreigners you had once met, but you couldn't recognise this one. It was too alien to you. But that wasn't the only thing that stunned you. You couldn't help but notice how beautiful her singing voice was. Even though you hadn't understood a word she was singing, you were still hypnotized. Listening to her was like eating the most delicious candy. It felt too good to be true.
"Why aren't you singing? Nothing will work if you don't sing." The woman pouted, annoyed by your disobedience.
You had no other choice but to do what she had told you. When she started to sing again, you attempted to do so as well. You tried to follow the sounds she made, clearly not understanding anything. And when you were just about to give up and tell her that she was crazy and out of her mind, something happened.
The woman started glowing. Literally. Her skin, hair, even her clothes and guitar were shining. You hadn't seen anything like this before. You were so in awe that it took you some time to notice that you were glowing too. Not only were you shining,but you also felt a giant relief all over your body. As both of you were singing, the pain started to slowly fade. Seeing that the singing somehow worked and the woman was right, you continued to sing along. The glowing eventually faded away with your pain. When both of you returned to normal, the woman stopped.
"Feeling better?" She smiled.
"Y-yea, I-I guess..." You stuttered, still shocked by what you had just witnessed. "Are you a witch?" You had many questions to ask, but that was the first thing that came to your mind.
"I'm not a witch." She shook her head. "Now try to stand up."
You easily did as she commanded. Finally, you left the bed and stood next to it. You could freely move your arms, legs, neck, and whole body. You left a sigh of relief.
"Thank you so much." You bowed your head to your healer. “But.. Why did you do this to me?” You furrowed your eyebrows.
The woman stood up next to you. “What do you mean by that?”
“Why did you heal me? After all, we don’t know each other. I could be your enemy, and yet you helped me. Do you want something in return?”
You had never seen such behavior before. Not only did she took you home, fed you, but she also healed you with her magic. You couldn’t help, but notice how suspicious it looked. She wanted something from you, there was no other option. You started thinking about how many coins you took with you so you could pay her, but then you noticed her shaking her head in disagreement.
“I don’t want anything from you. I healed you because I wanted to, because you needed help.”
You widened your eyes. “Are you sure about it?”
She nodded. “It’s a pleasure for me to help someone.”
You both stood in silence for some time as you took your time to process her words. She could easily ask for some kind of payment, but she didn’t. Like she said, she wanted to help you and even found pleasure in it. Although you were still suspicious of her actions, you decided to take her at her word. After all, you were grateful that all of your belongings could travel with you to the capital.
“If that’s so… thank you again.” You told her and then immediately went to the chest of drawers and grabbed your backpack.
“Where are you going?” The woman asked, confused.
“What do you mean? I'm going out. I have a long path ahead of me.” You furrowed your eyebrows. Although you were grateful for her help, it was more important for you to start your journey to the capital as fast as you could.
“In the middle of the night?” She crossed her arms and tilted her head to her side.
That was when you noticed a small window above the bed. It was pitch-dark outside.
“No, no, no.” You started panicking. “I have to go. The festival will start soon, and I can't miss it out-”
The woman quickly walked towards you and grabbed your shoulders, making you look straight at her. “I can get you there in time, but please stay with me for tonight. It's dangerous out there.” She told you in a demanding voice.
Just the sound of her voice, even in a deeper tone, made you less nervous. “And how can you get me there?”
“You just saw me healing you by singing. There are a lot of different things I can do.” She giggled. ”You seem not to know a lot about magic…” She added and left her hands from your shoulders. You sighed. The festival was your first priority, yes, but missing out one day of your journey couldn’t be that bad, right?
And that was when, to your surprise, you felt pressure on your eyelids. Although you just woke up, you clearly hadn’t slept long enough. You left out a yawn.
“I healed you, but I can't regain energy.” She said, noticing your tiredness. “You can sleep in this bed for tonight.”
That woman not only helped you recover but also offered you to stay for a night. Is she a goddess?, you thought for a moment, but that couldn't be true. Gods are known for their short temper and reluctance to help any mortal being.
“Alright. Thank you once again.” You answered after some time of thinking.
“I will get you pajamas.” She smiled at you. Gosh, she has a beautiful smile, you said to yourself in your mind. She then went to the chest of drawers and started rummaging through them. Finally, she pulled out a cotton pajama set.
“Here you go.” She gave it to you. “You can change here. I will be back in a moment.”
As the door closed, you started to undress and put on the given pajamas. It fit you perfectly and smelled like fresh laundry. Your sight turned to the bed. Hank was peacefully lying on it. You laid next to him and started petting his soft fur. And when he turned on his back, exposing his belly, you couldn't resist rubbing it. He looked too cute.
“Now he really must like you. I’ve never seen him like that.” The woman spoke at the sight of you two as she entered the room. You noticed that she was also wearing pajamas. She laid down on the other side of the bed and started petting Hank with you. As she got closer, you smelt a scent of roses coming from her.
“I found him about three years ago.” The woman broke the silence after some time. “Someone must have abandoned him there, which is odd since not a lot of people come to this forest…”
“Oh, so we are in the forest? Good to know.” Finally, there was an opportunity to get answers to your burning questions.
“Oh, right, I forgot to tell you.” She laughed nervously. “We are currently in the forest, where I have found you. You were unconscious and bruised all over your body. I couldn't just let you lie there, so I took you to my house.”
“I will be forever grateful for your help.” You told her, because, after all, that was the truth. You were a total stranger to her, and yet, she took you to her home and took care of you. “And I'm sorry if it's an inappropriate question... you don't have to answer it if you don't want to.” You were a little hesitant. “But who are you? I mean... you just healed me with your singing. That doesn't happen every day.”
After saying that, the woman stopped petting her dog and looked down, dodging your sight. “My name is Rosé. I can do a lot of things, and healing a living creature with my singing is one of them.” Her tone dropped when she said it, and her face became serious. “I know this doesn't answer your question, because even I don't know the answer. I'm sorry.”
“It's okay. You don't have to.” You tried to calm her, seeing how worried she looked. You decided not to ask any other questions about her identity. If that was a touchy subject, you understood. “But if you can heal someone with just your singing... Why did you want me to sing along?” You asked another question, hoping that this time she wouldn’’t feel hurt.
Rosé giggled quietly. “I just wanted to hear someone else’s singing. Listening to just my voice gets boring after a while. I would like to hear other people’s voices, if only I got a chance.” And then her gentle smile disappeared again. She is a difficult person to get to know, you thought. But at the same time, you really didn’t want to cross any boundaries. You decided to just lay next to her and pet her adorable dog together.
“Well, it's getting late.” Rosé suddenly spoke. She stood up and blew out the candle that was illuminating the whole room. She then laid under the bed sheet, her back facing you. “Good night.”
"Wait!" You said loudly, but realizing that she was going to sleep, you lowered your voice. “You are sleeping here?"
She turned to you with a confused expression. “Yes? This is my bed.”
You felt blood rushing to your cheeks. So you spent all this time in someone else's bed? You didn’t know why, but you just assumed you were staying in a guest room. “Stupid me.” You mumbled quietly, so Rosé couldn’t hear you. “And you don't mind me sleeping here?”
“No.” She answered as confused as before, but then her eyes widened, realizing something. “I-I mean, I can sleep on the floor if you want to! I just... I don't have any other bed or sofa in my house…”
“No, I don't mind either.” But your cheeks still burned. “Good night... Rosé.”
She smiled at the sound of her name and then turned to her previous position. “Good night.”
But no matter how much you tried, you couldn't fall asleep. After all, a rather attractive woman was lying just next to you (if you ignore her dog that was peacefully sleeping between you two, of course). Your heart was beating fast from nervousness. You tried to control your heavy breaths so you wouldn’t wake her up.
You thought about her a lot that night. About her unique beauty, about her sweet voice, and about her caring personality. You were lucky that she was the person who had found you in the forest and not a hungry wolf. But you couldn't help but notice how lonely she must have been. She said that not a lot of people visit her forest, and it was pretty obvious, given the fact that she didn’t find sleeping next to a stranger abnormal. Who knew how long it had been since she had her last visitor?
And that was when you realized how much you two were alike. Because you were lonely too. Living in a small village with no neighbors around can be tiring. And it was hard for you to reach out to people who lived the closest to you. They were either too busy with their daily lives or not interested in new friendships. Maybe that was why you were suspicious of Rosé? You were so detached from human connections, you couldn’t even believe in her sincerity. After all, you spent all of your days alone, convincing yourself that the constant emptiness you felt was normal. But when you saw Rosé for the first time, the emptiness disappeared. And that was why you cherished the yearly spring festival – it gave you an opportunity to connect with people. You listened to their voices, their laughs, their histories. It was not something that you could experience daily.
You understood Rosé. And you felt bad for her.
After some time, you finally managed to fall asleep.
***
You were woken up by sun rays getting into the room. You opened your eyes, and you noticed that Rosé's side of the bed was empty, and you were alone in the room. You sat up, still getting your eyes used to the sunlight illuminating the room. The door opened, with Rosé entering the room. She was holding a tray with two bowls placed on it. Hank was walking next to her leg.
“Oh, you already woke up.” She smiled at your sight. She sat on the bed next to you and placed the tray in front of you two. Hank also kept you both company. As he jumped on the bed, he immediately went to the tray and started sniffing the food.
“Aww, Hank.” Rosé said in a high-pitched voice, almost like she was talking to a baby. “You can't eat it. I just gave you breakfast.” The dog listened to her orders and laid down peacefully next to the tray.
“You must have trained him well.” You told her, noticing his complete obedience.
“Yup! I like teaching him. He also knows some tricks.” Her eyes shined when she started talking about her dog. “Now, let's eat.”
You took one of the bowls. It was a stew with pieces of meat, carrots, potatoes, and other vegetables floating in it. You took a spoon and tasted it. It was delicious.
“Do you like it?” Rosé asked you as she was watching your every move.
“Yes.” You answered, still in awe of the stew's taste. “It's good. Really good.”
Her eyes shined even more. "I'm glad you like it!" She grabbed her portion and started eating as well.
It had been a long time since you ate breakfast with someone, and it was the first time you ate with someone in their bed. This whole situation was really unusual, but you didn't mind it. You tried to appreciate this moment, because who knew when it would happen again.
“I forgot to ask you…” Rosé suddenly broke the silence. She placed the bowl on the tray and looked at you. “What's your name? Where are you from? And... just tell me about yourself!”
You smiled, noticing how excited she looked. It felt nice to be with someone who was genuinely curious about you. You said your name and tried to explain where your village was. It turned out she was rather clueless about the geography, which made explaining even harder.
“You must live so far away…” She said as she finally grasped the idea of where your village was. “And you came all over here by yourself?”
"Yes." You nodded.
You answered her every question. You talked about every bit of your life she asked you about – your home, your family, your everyday life. And every time you answered her, her eyes sparkled. You couldn't help but smile, seeing her get excited at every answer you gave her.
That was how you both finished your breakfast. When you took the last bite of your meal, you placed your bowl on the tray and got up from the bed.
“I think it's time for me to go.” You faced Rosé. “You said you would get me there, right?”
The moment you said that, all the sparkle disappeared from Rosé's eyes. “Yes.” She answered quietly. “Get dressed then.”
She took the tray and quickly left the room. Perhaps she wants a little more company, you thought. But it was really your time to go. The earlier you got there, the better. You took off the pajamas and put on your clothes. You even attempted to make the bed, but Hank, who was laying on it, didn't help.
You took the last look at the room. There was something about it that made it feel... unusual, in a good way, but you couldn't point it out. Maybe it was the coziness, maybe it was the smell of roses that you could feel in the air, or maybe it was the plants that made you feel like you were in a jungle. Whatever it was, thinking about leaving this room forever made your heart ache.
Rosé came back to the room. This time, she was wearing a white shirt and brown overalls. She took Hank in her arms and faced you. Her face remained expressionless. “Are you ready?” She asked you. You put on your backpack. “Yes.” Rosé looked at the door and nodded in its direction, indicating that you should open it. You did as commanded.
When you passed the door, you expected to see a corridor, a hallway, another room, or just any part of Rosé's house. But you didn't. Instead, you saw a light blinding your eyes. You blinked a few times, getting your eyes used to the new lighting. When you were finally able to see, you realized that you were... outside. In front of you was a wooden sign: "Welcome to Gradden!". Far away, in the landscape, you saw small buildings. There was no denying – you were at the capital's border.
You looked back at Rosé. There was no house in sight, only a door frame where Rosé was standing with Hank. You didn't know why, but it was impossible for you to imagine never seeing her again.
“Can we meet again?” You asked her. Hearing this, a gentle smile appeared on her face.
“Come to my forest and sing my song. I will know it’s you.”
Before you could say a proper goodbye to her, she closed the door and disappeared from your sight.
***
Without a doubt the festival was eventful. You ate plenty of delicious dishes, talked to amazing people, and listened to the most beautiful songs you had ever heard. Not only that, but your backpack doubled in size thanks to numerous valuables that you had purchased. The next thing you should have been doing was going home, but that wasn't on your mind at that moment. Instead, you were searching for the forest where you got lost that one night.
There was no denying that Rosé, whoever she was, human or not, got you wrapped around her finger. Although you enjoyed the festival to the fullest, she was always on your mind. Heck, you even bought a few souvenirs for her. If only you managed to find her, of course.
“This must be it.” You mumbled to yourself when you entered another forest. This one, however, resembled the forest you were searching for much more than any other.
If you wanted to see Rosé, you had to sing her song, just like she told you, and you did so. You started singing the song that healed you. Although you didn't remember much of it, you still tried. Since it was in a completely foreign language, you didn't know what you were singing, probably just butchering every word, but you didn't care. If that was all it took to see her again, you were willing to take the risk.
You were singing while straying the forest, hoping that Rosé would eventually hear you.
And she did.
Suddenly, you stopped. You heard an unusual sound. A sound that you don't usually hear in the forest. It was the sound of pulling a door handle. You heard a creak.
And then you saw her – Rosé – standing in the doorframe, right in front of you. Her smile widened when your eyes met.
"You came back."