Morning was slowly spreading over La Martais, wrapping the fields and woods in a light mist. A smell of wet earth rose from the ground, mingled with the sweet scent of wild flowers still covered in dew. In the distance, the murmur of a stream accompanied the morning song of birds. The birds sang in the hedgerows, and the smell of damp earth floated in the air. Diben, his bare feet in the dew-beaded grass, watched the golden sunlight filter through the branches.
Ever since he had discovered that he could blend into the wind, he had felt something else inside him, a secret call, a force still unknown that vibrated with every step he took toward the river. Today, he wanted to understand.
He went down the gentle slope leading to the stream that wound through the meadows. Blue dragonflies skimmed the surface of the water, while a few frogs jumped from one stone to another, disappearing immediately into the tall grass. Further on, a kingfisher swooped like an arrow towards the current, disturbing for a moment the clear mirror of the stream before taking flight again..
The water was clear, dancing, singing, running between the mossy stones like an eternal murmur. He knelt at the edge, dipping his fingers into the icy water. A strange sensation ran through him. It was not only the coolness that made him shiver, but something deeper, more ancient..
Diben closed his eyes and listened. The water spoke. Not in words like humans or even the wind, but in sensations, in rhythms, in liquid memories that slid against his skin. He brushed the surface of his hand and saw the eddies respond to his gesture. Was it he who guided the water, or the water that called him? ?
A light laugh escaped him. He loved this feeling of union with the elements, as if the whole world was just a vast secret that he had yet to unravel..
Curious, he stepped one foot into the water. The biting cold made him shiver, but he didn’t back away. He stepped a little further, until the water reached his knees. Every movement of the current against his skin felt familiar, like a forgotten game..
Then he felt something change.
His skin tingled, as if the stream were inviting him to go deeper. He plunged his hands in, and this time it wasn’t just the feeling of water on him… but inside him. As if his own body was becoming more fluid, lighter..
A buried memory resurfaced.
The Song of Water
He was still a very small korrigan, long before settling in La Martais. In the forest of Brocéliande, he liked to play near the springs, hopping from stone to stone, his feet soaked by the foam of the streams. One day, while he was watching the whirlpools formed by the water, he had the impression that they were responding to his thoughts. He had reached out his hand, and the ripples had changed, following his movements..
But he had never paid more attention to it.
Until now.
Back at the stream, Diben took a breath and ducked his head under the water. He expected to feel the pressure of the water against his face, to hear the muffled sounds of the current..
But what he felt was different..
He wasn't holding his breath.
He opened his eyes and saw the water all around him, but he had no need to breathe or desire to go back up. On the contrary, he felt good, light, almost… free..
He stretched out his hands and saw that his arms seemed to merge with the water, as if they were no longer really solid. Seized by a burst of audacity, he advanced. His body slid, without resistance. He had no more weight, no more limits. He was the water..
He danced with the current, passing between the stones, swirling beneath the surface like a leaf carried by the flow. He felt everywhere at once, each drop of the stream seemed a part of himself. He laughed inwardly, discovering a new facet of his being..
But a worry grew in him. Did he know how to become himself again? ?
He tried to move as before, to feel his feet on the ground, his arms, his face. But he was only vague and foam. A shiver of anguish ran through him. What if... what if he stayed like this forever? ?
No.
He closed his eyes, concentrated. He thought about his skin, his red hair, his clothes soaked by the water. He wanted to feel the wind again, the grass, the earth beneath him..
Slowly he felt a change. The water around him grew heavier, his body regaining density. He touched the bottom of the stream, felt the current flow over his cheeks instead of through them. He opened his eyes and saw his hands, solid again, holding a smooth, moss-covered stone..
He was back.
Panting, he emerged to the surface and clung to a root that plunged into the water. The sun shone above him, the birds sang as if nothing had happened..
But he knew.
He came out of the water and sat on a rock, his gaze lost on the stream that flowed peacefully. He had just understood another secret of the world, another part of its power..
He could be water, as well as he could be wind. And if there were other elements that still called to him, other secrets buried in the heart of the world, just waiting to be discovered ?
A smile lit up his face..
The universe still had so much to teach him.
03 - Diben, The Breath of the River