THE SKY WAS A BLEAK, GRAY COLOR. Thin, droopy clouds slowly trod overhead. The slight pittle of rain could be felt on one's head. Isla gently waded through Melody's river to fields where she harvested berries from the tiny berry sprites. And now she returned to a shaded part of the river to bathe herself.

Isla ducked secretively under the brush and stripped her gown and headpiece. She stepped quietly onto the bank. Smooth stones were pressed firmly into the sandy edge, the stones cascaded into a cluster of aquatic weeds under the rippling water. Brightly colored koi weaved between the long vines that reached upwards towards the reflective surface of the water. A friendly koi came to Isla and nipped gently at her little toe.

"Hello, little friend," Isla giggled. She knelt gently, her knees just brushing the water, and touched the koi's top fin. The koi retreated from her touch. "Alright, alright," she laughed, "big friend." She gazed down at the koi and the koi's eyes returned her gaze almost as if he understood her words. He then swam along the shallow edge of the river, Isla watched him curiously.

He jumped gracefully from the river and landed back down on his side on the bank. From him came a great light. Isla, startled, covered her breasts and crotch quickly and hunched down back into the brush. A beautiful sprite came from the koi. The sprite wore a long, translucent gown painted with the colors of the splotched koi. She had long, wavy, sepia brown hair that brushed her hips gently and caressed her tight, fragile waist. She looked beautifully at the frightened Isla and adjusted a seaweed crown that hugged her scalp. She giggled and swept aside a loose lock of her shining hair.

"Don't be afraid," she said smoothly and beautifully. "I am Katrina."

Katrina stepped lightly back down into the koi and faded in a bow of white light. The koi swayed a little as if in a trance before flopping into the cool water and frantically paddling away upstream. 

Shaking, Isla stepped out from behind the brush, silently noting the disappearance of the remaining cluster of koi. She stepped softly into the water and the water curled up around her toes and then her ankles, slowly traveling up her shins to her knees as she stepped deeper. She knelt in the shallow edge, avoiding the rush of current further across the river.

She took her hands and curved them over one another and cupped the clear water, pouring it smoothly down along her hair. She took her nimble fingers and gently intertwined them within her roots. Her long, unstained, unchipped nails massaged her scalp evenly with the loveliness of the water. Water droplets dripped on her arching lashes and then down, curling around the roundness of her nostrils. She lifted her hair for a moment, allowing the water to drip, splash, and return to the river. She stopped there supporting the dripping hair for a moment and then allowed it to fall and slap wetly against her wet sides.

When she felt content with her cleanliness, she stepped from the river and returned her garments to her damp skin. 

"Dressed?" Katrina stepped from the koi again, which had mysteriously appeared once again. 

Without thinking, Isla turned and ran. Her brain melted and she felt a burn deep in her stomach as if she had done something very wrong.

Something she didn't want to be caught doing...

Something like falling in love.