Elise and the Traveler's Tale

I remember the day I met him.

It was a hot summer's day in my hometown, but the trees gave shade and kept me cool as I sat on the river bank, fishing for tadpoles. Across the water, birds flitted through the tree tops, singing out their melodies. The sun was warm on my face, and I closed my eyes to soak up its rays with a sigh of contentment.

"Quite a lovely spot you have here." It was a deep voice, but not so deep that I couldn't hear the kindness in it. When I opened my eyes, I saw a tall man in a grey traveling cloak standing behind me. His hood covered his face almost entirely, save for his blue eyes and neat beard. He had one hand on his hip and one held out towards me invitingly. "May we share in your humble company?" he asked kindly.

I nodded happily before gesturing at the spot next to me. With a smile, he lowered himself down to sit next to me on the ground. I turned back to my fishing and continued with my task while he watched me curiously. "Have you caught anything yet?" he finally asked after several minutes of silence had passed us by.

I shook my head morosely before explaining, "The tadpoles are too fast."

"Oh? And what do you need these tadpoles for?" he asked curiously. When I didn't answer, he grinned and said teasingly, "Do you want to eat them?" When I blushed furiously and looked away from him, he laughed heartily and ruffled my hair affectionately until I scowled at him playfully and tried to hit him with my fishing rod. He dodged just in time before turning back to his original question about the tadpoles. "Are you collecting them for something?"

I shook my head again before saying uncertainly, "My daddy says that if I catch enough tadpoles, then maybe a frog will come." His chuckle brought another blush to my cheeks as his eyes twinkled merrily at me while he watched me struggle with embarrassment. After a moment or two of quiet contemplation when neither of us said anything else, he spoke once more after clearing his throat softly. "So… how old are you?" he asked gently.

"Six," I answered quietly without hesitation as I focused on fishing again without even looking at him. After several long moments of silence had passed us by again while he waited patiently for me to continue speaking again so that we might carry our conversation further, I finally spoke up once more in an attempt to break the awkward silence between us again. "And who are you?"

His eyes widened slightly before relaxing once more as he answered happily with a wide smile on his face, "Why it's me! Master Merlin!" His laugh rang out across the riverbank once more before turning thoughtful as his smile faded into something more mysterious than playful now that we'd been talking for so long already; definitely longer than either of us had expected considering our initial interactions when we first met each other earlier that afternoon had been short and simple; only pleasantries exchanged back-and-forth between strangers meeting by chance in such an idyllic place as this was nothing like what we were having now where our interaction was so rich and varied that there was no way we could say we were strangers anymore! No… this friendship between teacher and student would last forever!*