The Dryad - Chapter 108

“I don’t think she hates you,” I said, trying to calm Tide’s tears. I was slightly taken aback at the intensity of her reaction.

“Lies. All she ever does is get mad at me when I try to help,” Tide said nearly shouting.

“It is just that Laurel is stubbornly independent. When I visited her centuries ago, she would never let me help her with anything. She even has a hard time letting Faun, her closest friend, do things for her.”

“I really just wanted to help her. She was all alone with no one to guide her. But every time I tried to correct her mistakes she would lash out at me!” This comment came as a big revelation to me. The young Laurel was a lot more hot headed. She must have mellowed out a lot by the time I met her. But I think I see how they got on such a bad footing.

“Did Laurel ask you for help?” I asked in a kind voice.

“It just hurt seeing her struggle over and over again trying to learn something new. I had to help,” Tide said with big eyes.

“That’s the problem. Laurel wanted to figure it out on her own. She loves to teach and does not enjoy being taught or accepting help.” I then added to myself, “Though she can be a bit bossy at times.”

Tide did not seem to register my muttering to myself as she continued, “But she was so hungry for knowledge and wanted to know everything.”

“She wanted to learn it for herself,” I said.

“But I wanted to be there for her,” Tide said, still wallowing.

“Then just be there for her.” Tide looked at me like I did not understand, but I clarified my point. “Have you ever just tried to be her friend?”

“I tried many times, but she wouldn’t take my help. Weren’t you listening at all?” Tide said swelling a little in frustration. With her growing frustration the waves around me began to rock my mangrove body more violently.

It seemed it would be a lot harder than I thought to get through to her. She was surprisingly dense. I can see why Laurel would have a hard time. But first I needed to calm her down. As I felt my ‘stomach’ rise with the waves, I was really glad I was just a face on a tree right now. Taking a deep breath to calm my insides, I asked,”Did you ever just sit there and talk with her? Or ask her about a new plant she found?” Tide shook her head. “Laurel does not like to be helped. If you want to be her friend, just spend time and talk with her. I think it will work better than you think.”

“But how will that help her?” At this point I could not help but give up on convincing Tide to try and change. At least my calm words seem to be effective in helping my nausea. There was a lull in the waves.

“When I meet her, I will be sure to tell her how much you helped me,” I said. It was the only thing I could think of to comfort her. “Just talk to her.”

“What should I talk about?” she cocked her head, her watery hair raining on the ocean.

“Maybe you could tell her about a new plant you found in your waters.” I am not sure if this was good common ground but Laurel’s woods did not have mangroves. There was no overlap between the woods and the water.

“Okay,” she said, looking surprisingly perky. “I will try.” It seemed like the idea worked. But I had the feeling that Tide was willing to try anything.

Tide and Laurel were just so different that I really did not know if there was any help for them. But I think I would at least be able to get Laurel to talk with her for a while. We talked for a few hours more, but as the night fell my energy greatly declined and I had no choice but to rest.

The next day Tide showed up again. She was actually surprisingly easy to get along with compared to what I have heard from everyone. Maybe “everyone” is not the right way to put it. I had seen Laurel’s face harden when Mother Sea was mentioned, and I had heard half-hinted stories from Faun on my last visit. We never talked about it openly, but I had always wondered why that stiffness was there. Now, I was beginning to understand.

Given all the undercurrents of Tide’s feelings, it was clear that she mostly wanted to make a connection with Laurel. Tide was the First Nyad, the first of her kind, and she longed for a real relationship with the First Dryad. It turned out that the reason she ‘did not get along with’ other dryads was that she was convinced that Laurel would be angry at her if she was friendly with other dryads and not her. I am a little sad to say that I completely laughed at her for this. It was not all her fault, but she really did not know Laurel. Surprisingly, my laughing at her did not phase her at all. She went through so many mood swings yesterday that my changes in mood seemed sedate in comparison.

I was grateful that Tide was correct and in a few days the waves settled down. With the waves settling down my stomach was also able to settle down, but one thing had changed for the worse. It was getting colder.

“Can you do anything about the cold?” I asked through chattering teeth, as the morning sun started to wake me from my slumber.

“It is always something with you,” Tide said, rising up out of the water. I really wonder if the water falling off her body was just for show like dryads and the leafy dresses.

“Would you rather me try to do it all on my own?” I said trying to barb back, knowing her love to help others. .

“Ha, I would like to see you try,” she jokingly scoffed at me. “Warm up my ocean.”

Not willing to give up on her challenge without even trying, I sent out my powers into the water. I tried a few times but though I could feel the energy in the water, my power just passed right through it. I was not going to give up just yet. I grasped onto the tiny little plants that were all around me. I could not see them with my eyes but there was no question that they were there.

If the water absorbed more sunlight it would grow warmer. I poured my power into these little plants and caused them to multiply. Soon the water around me started to look like a grassy field. The vibrant green color was much more welcoming than I expected.

“Oh that brings me back,” Tide laughed. I wanted to ask her what she meant but she continued. “You know even by the end of the day this is not going to do much to warm up the water.”

“I figured that. But you just said that it was not going to do much. That does mean it will do something,” I said triumphantly.

“Well, yes, I guess it will but it will be small.” She seemed to be wondering why I was so pleased with myself.

“Then I win!” I shouted. “This little dryad just warmed up the ocean.” After locking eyes, my pride quickly crumbled into a fit of laughter for both of us.

After a minute we both settled down, “Thank you for asking me to help. This has been a lot of fun giving you a ride,” Tide said with the biggest smile I had seen. “I am bringing some warmer water in. It should be here later this afternoon.”

“Thank you so much,” I said, reaching out two branchy arms to hug her. “Now can you do something about the fish? They keep tickling me.”

“No,” she said, “That’s your own fault. You grew their food.”

It was the middle of the afternoon when the warm water came. I could practically feel my roots thawing in the warmer water. “This is so nice,” I said, letting myself melt. Tide just smiled at me and let me enjoy the warmth.

But after about a half hour it seemed like Tide had grown bored of just sitting and watching me bask as a splash hit me in the face. “What was that for?” I said, opening my eyes.

“It was not me. The wind is picking up,” Tide said. Apparently she had joined in by basking as I saw her laying on the water next to me. “Warm water stirs up the wind.”

“But can’t you stop the waves?” It did not seem right that Mother Sea could not control her own.

“Only so much.” She said. “Waves come in from far across the ocean. There is only so much I can do that would not harm my home.”

“Can you please do what you are able?” I pleaded once again, fearing the sickness that had started to come now that I noticed the waves.

“I already have been. You would have to ask the wind for any more.” Looking about I could see the effects of Tide’s power. The waves right around us were much smaller than in the surrounding ocean. But even where we were, the water was rough enough that I felt hopeless.

“Why can’t there be an air sprite?” I called out to the world as a whole.

This seemed to cause Tide to laugh again. “Mother Earth and I tried to form one once, but we were not able to gather enough energy.” she sighed. “If only Laurel would help… but I could not get her to listen.”

“That’s it, I need to get Laurel to listen!” I raised my stickly fist into the air. “That way my ferry can have calm waters.” Another splash hit me, but this time I knew it was not from the waves.

As I spat water out of my mouth, I had a thought. “How were you going to gather enough wind energy to make a sprite?” I asked curiously.

“We needed to make a big storm when the wind and the waves were the strongest.”

This caused me to look around in concern. Storms! That was the last thing I wanted. And there I saw it. A white cloud growing on the horizon. “Don’t tell me?”

“Don’t worry, that is just a little storm,” she tried comforting me.

“But storms cause waves! I don’t want waves.” I looked at her in sorrow.

“Do you want warm water or calm seas?” she asked me in concern.

“Can’t I have both?” I cried. But Tide’s shaking head told me this was too much to ask.