Acrylic on canvas

In a tiny cabin sitting in a sliver of sunlight at the edge of a dark wood lives a girl. She is a quiet girl living a quiet life but somehow manages to make her way into many of the gossip sessions happening in the village nearby. The pub owner thinks her blue eyes and silver blond hair are lovely, almost coming to blows with the shopkeeper who insists her eyes are green and hair a strawberry blond. It seems everyone sees her as a reflection of their own desire and she, unaware, carries on with her comings and goings until one fateful day.
Gathering berries for her supper in the early afternoon sunshine her dress caught in the brambles as she leaned into the juicy abundance. Setting her basket down to free herself, she suddenly heard the sweetest sound. Soft and somber, like the song of a mourning dove, it drifted from the dark woods and settled on her ears. Entranced she left her basket to seek the origin.
Peeking out from the thick trunk of a grandmother oak she spied the singer. Was it a woman? The dappled shadows made it hard to tell. The songstress was quite naked, her skin the color of moss, and wore a crown of twigs, decorated with brambles and berries, perched on her shoulders, like brooches on a dress, were a raven and two tiny chickadees!
Who was this wonderous creature, so wild yet so familiar, like the delicious memory of a lush dream.
Slowly stepping from behind the tree she watched the singer complete her song and smiling, lift her hand to beckon the girl forward.
She heard the singer whisper, in a low and deliberate voice, "I SEE you" and, without hesitating, stepped toward her and into the mystery.