My family was a normal family of peasants. My father was a merchant of magic materials, and my mother was just a housewife, but she would help him with work when needed. I was the middle child of three boys, and both of my brothers and I would also help father when he needed, which was most of the time, since business wasn’t going so well. Father took work very seriously, so he wanted me and my brothers to follow in his footsteps as merchants just like him. However, I never felt connected to any of that work. It was then that I found out I have some rare condition where I’m unable to connect to magic in any way. Both my parents were obviously very surprised by that, and although they never said it aloud, I could tell they were really disappointed. After all, they wanted me to take over the family business with my brothers.

 

I started to feel more and more distant from my parents, so I finally decided to move out. I went to live with my uncle, my father's brother. He was a hunter and taught me everything he knew about it. Soon he felt more like a dad to me than my actual father, and his daughter felt more like my sister than any of my brothers.

 

Uncle Edward was laid back and carefree, but he still took his work very seriously, so I wanted to be a good hunter just so I could impress him. But it felt like he realized I didn’t actually enjoy any of that, and that only made him disappointed in me. Unlike when my parents felt the same way, I actually felt bad for disappointing him. He would always tell me how he wanted me to do something that I actually enjoyed, but hunting was all that I could think about doing because that’s what he taught me about.

 

-It feels to me like your uncle is really a good man,' the nymph interrupted me. 'And by the way you’re here right now, I guess you didn’t listen to him…

-He is. I tried to think about other things to do, other paths to follow, but all of it felt too uncertain to me. The truth is that I was scared of making the wrong decision and ending up failing at it.

-So you chose a path you knew you hated instead of an uncertain one?

-Pretty stupid, I know. But I don’t like to work with uncertainty. My uncle always told me that you shouldn’t go after prey you aren’t certain you know how to kill. So that works for other things in life. You shouldn’t go into a path you don’t know where it leads.

-That’s certainly a way to keep yourself safe. But considering how unhappy you are now, do you think this mentality really works?

-I’m here and I’m healthy. Isn’t this working enough for you?

-Life should be more than just not dying, Jonah. You might have survived all these years, but how many of them have you actually lived?

-What use is there in “living” if I won’t have money to buy food? How is being happy going to pay for a bed at the end of the day? There is no use in taking useless risks if I won’t be alive the next day to benefit from any of it.

-Perhaps you’re much too practical, Jonah. But I can feel the strong emotions you have about this theme, so I just ask that you continue telling about yourself. What else did your uncle teach you about?'

 

My uncle always said there are three rules to being a good hunter: don’t go after prey you aren’t certain you can kill; don’t use your weapon if not to kill; and the most important one, that he always made sure I understood: life is something sacred, so don’t ever kill any animal or plant without a good reason. I remember to this day when I was just a kid and he was teaching me how to shoot an arrow. I thought it would be fun to shoot a bird that was in its nest just because. I never saw Uncle Edward so angry at me before. He told me, actually he shouted at me, that because of me the little birds in the nest wouldn’t have anyone to take care of them and would also die. I’ve never felt so guilty in my life, and never felt so much ever since. Uncle Edward forced me to bury the bird I had killed and climb the tree to pick the babies that were in the nest, and he told me I would need to take care of them until they could live by themselves. Since then, I understood that taking a life is something extremely serious. It is something that doesn’t only affect you and the animal you’re killing, but all the others around them.

-These seem like good rules to follow,' the nymph commented

-They aren’t good or bad, just rules. They simply exist to maintain balance.

-Perhaps… and these are the rules you follow for everything since then?

-Yes, my uncle always said they don’t apply only to hunting, but all aspects of life.

-Well, I can’t disagree that they seem like reasonable rules to follow, but aren’t they also the reason you’re unhappy with your work now? Why don’t you just follow what you think is right?

-I’ve been living like this and I’m healthy so far. So why change it and maybe put myself at more risk than necessary?

-Life isn’t only about remaining alive, Jonah. Should you let an innocent person die if saving them would put your life at risk? Should you ignore others only for you to remain safe? But more important than any of that, are you, Jonah, comfortable ignoring what your heart says is the right thing to do?

-… I don’t know… I honestly don’t know…

-I can feel the conflict inside you, so I won’t press you too much on it. I think I got to know you better with this talk, but I would love if we could talk again one of these days.

-Sure… I guess I should be leaving already. I got to deal with that wood guy…

-Well, I’ll see you later, Jonah.

 

I walked back the path I came from inside the forest until I saw James and the other two men alongside him. They approached me, clearly anticipating me to confirm the “spirit’s” death.

So, mister hunter, is the spirit dealt with? - the slim man approached me, asking anxiously for my answer.

-Don’t start with that with me. Did you really think I would just enter this forest and kill anything I saw moving for you?

-I- I don’t know what you’re talking about, sir? - His face couldn’t make the lie any more obvious. Sweat was streaming down his face and his mustache was shaking above his mouth.

-Cut the bullshit. I met that “spirit” of yours. Even talked with her, actually. Maybe you should listen to her and just go look for some other forest to cut down.

-Wait! - His previously cowardly posture was replaced with an angry one, like he was trying to intimidate me. - I already paid you and for your stay at the best inn in town. You can’t just leave without completing your job.

 

I couldn’t care less about his attempt to intimidate me; however, the two men behind him would be more trouble than they’re worth, so I just threw the bag with the money he had given me and started to walk away.

 

-No, wait! I still paid for your stay at the inn… I’ll pay you even more to kill the nymph.

-This city is practically falling apart, James. The “best” inn here is any one that isn’t filled with rats and drunkards. And I’m not interested in your money anymore.

 

I started walking again, and this time just ignored anything else he might’ve been shouting. It was only when I got inside the inn and got my things ready to move that I noticed I had left my sword and the bag in the forest. I got the rest of my things and made my way to the forest so I could grab my stuff on the way out of town. It was already evening, close to sundown, and with me there was only my bow, a quiver with a few arrows, and a hunting knife. I marched to the place I had left the rest of my things, but as I did, I heard a loud commotion and moved closer carefully.

 

Deep into the forest is where I saw it. James and the two lumberjacks, both holding an axe, stood around something that I couldn’t see, but I feared I already knew what, or who, it was. I sneaked closer, and my concerns were unfortunately confirmed. Laying on the ground, surrounded by the three men, was the nymph. Red blood flowed down her green skin and I could see she was still alive but panting heavily. There was a big wound in her stomach, probably from one of the axes. One of the lumberjacks was about to hit her again with the axe while she was still on the ground, but I managed to grab my bow and shoot at him. Even with the low lighting, the arrow hit him in the chest, and he dropped to the ground. The other lumberjack noticed my presence and lunged at me with the axe in hand. He was much taller than me, but still moved quickly, so much so that I almost couldn’t dodge when he first charged at me.

 

I saw my sword leaning against a tree, so I waited until the man attacked so I could sidestep and grab it. With the sword in hand, I just waited for an opening, but the man got more careful once I had a weapon, and wasn’t charging at me so mindlessly like before. He moved and swung his axe at me, but his weapon was too heavy, so his movement became slower and he became visibly more tired. When he lifted the axe above his head, I stepped in his direction and sliced him in his stomach. The man then fell, and I approached James.

-H-Hey. Wa-Wait. Why would you do this? I’m sure we c-can work things out. Once I start operations here, I could pay you as much as you want.

-I told you before, James. I’m not interested in your money anymore.

-But… Wait just a second, sir. Just please… don’t hurt me…

 

The man was trembling with fear. His voice was quiet, and he had fallen to his knees. I felt only disgust and pity for him at that moment, but only if that wasn’t the case, I doubt he would be any threat, especially in this state, so I just signaled with my head that he could leave, and he ran away from the forest.

-James! - As I shouted, he stopped running and slowly turned to face me. - You won’t cut any tree in this forest, and if I get to know you did, I’ll cut your legs off. You hear me?

 

He simply nodded with his head and started running again. I ran to the nymph and got on my knees to check her wounds. She was still panting, her eyes were half closed, and that weird aura of hers was weaker than before. I knew there was not much I could do in that situation, but I gently lifted her and held her in my arms.

 

-Those bastards… Don’t force yourself too much, I’ll try to move you to…

-Don’t worry, Jonah… I had this coming for me for some time now… You were right… I grew distant from humans… I couldn’t tell what is best for you anymore…

-Shut up. Don’t talk anymore, or you’ll waste energy.

-You got into a fight… just me? I thought… you shouldn’t get into fights you don’t know you can win... Or did you already know the outcome of this? - She said smugly even with her tired voice.

-Are you really talking about this now? Just remain quiet so I can move you.

-I already told not to worry, Jonah… There’s really nothing you can do now.

-But…

-The only thing I ask of you… Bury me in this forest… amongst the trees…

 

She said this and went silent. Her eyes went blank, and she finally stopped panting, but most noticeably, I felt her aura fade away. She’s dead, right in my arms, and just like she said, there was nothing I could do. I carefully lifted her and walked deeper into the forest with her in my arms. In the center of the woods, there were the bigger and older trees, so I decided to bury her body there. For the next two hours, I dug a hole big enough for her and laid her there.

 

When her body was completely buried underground, a weird thing happened. Many animals from all around the forest drew closer to where I was: deer, rabbits, doves, and even a bear and snakes, none of them even acknowledged each other or me. At the same time, a weird light came from underneath the ground, where her body rested. The light was bright but not blinding, so I could see a large flower bud form there, and once the flower opened, there was a baby inside that bud. A green baby that had this aura that brought me a feeling of dread and comfort at the same time. I knew for certain that was a nymph that had just been born out of the body. I slowly reached my hands to the baby nymph, trying to grab her, but as I was about to, a deer moved closer to her and grabbed her with its teeth.

 

-Hey! Wait! - I tried protesting, but all the animals ignored me and moved in unison following that deer that had grabbed her.

I understood that this was the way they behaved to take care of newborn nymphs. I reluctantly left the forest, unable to do anything but hope for the best. I wondered if the first nymph even knew what would happen if I buried her, but wondering this now was useless.

 

Once I left the forest, I walked to a man offering carriage service.

-Hey, I have 30 pounds. Where is the furthest you can take me?

-That would be in the neighboring town, sir. Do you have any business there?

-I don’t know