Forever Green

In the northern regions of the world, there was a forest. This forest like all other forests was guarded and nurtured by a forest nymph whose appearance reflected her kingdom's magnificence. The nymph of this forest went by the name of Fiera. Her hair contained the color of every shade of brown that has ever existed. Her skin was green and soft like the mosses, and mud-colored freckles sprinkled her cheeks. Barefoot and beautiful, she roamed between the trees, admiring the scenery as she watched for any sign of despair that she could mend.

Every day at sunrise, she awaited at the largest, most beautiful tree in the forest for the human who came to study its trunk and nap in the warm morning light. From behind the tree, she listened to the human speak to himself in utterances, whispers of thrilled emotion. Although his exact words were too quiet to be deciphered, Fiera observed his enthusiasm through the pattern of his breath, and skip in his step. Everything changed one day when the murmurs got louder and Fiera crept closer, touching the tree as the human did on the other side. She imagined their fingers touching, sharing their lives through the life of the tree.

As her eyes closed in daydream, she felt something touch her, the girth of working hands on the mossed flesh of her wrist. Startled, she staggered away from the tree, opening her eyes to the sight of the human standing before her. He was clothed from head to foot, his toes encased and hidden by something inorganic. She wondered if he could still feel the blades of grass he walked on. His ears were cloaked by the shag of light hair on top of his head. She hesitated to touch it, but he allowed her to touch him by placing his head in her lifted hand. She ran her fingers through his curls and uncovered the rounded tips of his ears, instinctively feeling her own pointed ear with her other hand to compare.

As she did, he laughed, the quick pattern of exhalations an obvious sign of amusement and she could not stop herself from laughing as well. He froze at the sound of her gentle chuckle and took her hand in his. He rested his forehead on hers and they closed their eyes. Around them, they could feel the breeze lift, leaves rustle, and critters dance in one harmonious moment. It was too soon when Fiera felt his head rise away from hers and his hand separate from her palm, longing for him to remain with her.

"I will return," he comforted her upon recognizing the sadness in her eyes.

The two repeated their meetings every day. They met at the tree and spent the time they had together in the light. Most days, they would dance, spinning in classical motion around the tree. When a flower would fall, the human would place it in her hair. Upon his departure, she'd place the flower in a garden near where she slept so that the flowers were the last things she saw before falling asleep and the first sight when she woke. The flowers grew into the ground to be part of the forest and receive its life.

One morning, Fiera awoke but her flowers did not greet her. Their petals wilted and colors were draining. Afraid of what omens the disease meant for the human, she ran to the tree, evaluating every row of bark, branch, and leaf for any sign of illness. As the sun spread its light, Fiera found that the tree was still perfect and the human arrived as was his promise.

"I was afraid you were not coming to see me today," she confessed as she took him in her arms.

"I will always appear to you for I find that you and this forest are the only things worth living for. The only thing above you is the gods for if not for them, we would never have met." He placed a hand on her cheek to catch the tear that began to fall.

"My flowers, the ones you put in my hair, have begun to wither. I feared the worst."

"Perhaps it is only to make room for more."

So, with her nerves settled, the two of them enjoyed their morning together, dancing and thanking the gods for the life they had together.

The next morning, the forest was in worse condition and its regression would continue for days. Roaming amongst the roots and gazing into the treetops, Fiera longed for answers as to why the leaves were turning brown and falling to the ground. The very branches from whence the leaves fell from were turning grey themselves, thinning and withering as her flowers had. Every day, a new horror presented itself.

Fiera kept up meetings with the human as it was the one thing assuring her that everything might be okay. She told him about the condition of her forest and he told her about the failure of the farms in his village. He had traded his clothes for clothing of thicker material. The days grew colder and colder and as they walked towards one another, something fell from the sky. Its touch was cold on her cheek. The two of them went to the tree to use its leaves for coverage, thanking the gods for keeping at least one tree, their tree, protected from whatever illness had befallen the forest.

Such as the forest's condition worsened, so did Fiera's health. Her skin turned pale as the cold drops from the sky gathered as a large white blanket over the forest floor. Her fingers, toes, and the tip of her nose turned blue. She shivered, walking slowly to the tree as was her routine. Once there, she forgot her sickness. The tree was bare, the beautiful leaves that had lasted through the harsh weather had finally succumbed to the disease, joining the rest of its family in defeat.

Tears streaked and created freezing lines down her face as she exclaimed, "Why? What have I done to bring this destruction to my woods? Have I been too distracted by the human to care for you properly? Is it my fault that you've withered and perished?

"I'm sorry. Please forgive me. I will devote myself to you. Please, gods, if it is your wish for me to leave the human, proving that although my love for him is strong, my devotion to you is stronger, then I will. I'm sorry for whatever I've done."

Fiera didn't know that the weather was caused by Demeter and her own sadness for her daughter. Somewhere, Zeus was meeting with Demeter and Hades to determine what would be done about the god of the underworld's desires and the goddess of harvest's sadness. As much as Zeus did not want to be involved, he knew that there were humans and beings alike suffering because of the event, Fiera and her forest included. It made Zeus sad to see the beings below in such pain that he decided that the two before him would take turns with Persephone. For six months, Persephone would reside in the underworld with Hades. For the other six, she would be with her mother.

Unfortunately, there were parts of the world that would forever remain frozen just as other places would have endless summer. In Hades's rage over having to share Persephone, he demanded that somewhere on the earth, the weather would have to remain in a wintry state all year long. In order to make this happen, there were parts of the world that had to remain summer year-round so as to keep the balance. However, Fiera's forest was just above the border for noticeable seasons, so her forest was set to eternal winter.

Fiera continued to wake up to a snow-covered forest, her world surrounded in ice and frost, her guilt never depleting. She danced slower, spoke softer, and could barely lift her head to meet the human's gaze. The human was now finding her still asleep beside the tree every morning as she grew more and more weary, unwilling to leave its side. He clothed her in hides to give her warmth, but her heart, like the heart of the forest, was frozen.
The human arrived, but Fiera could not be found. The impression of her body where she used to lay was still there, but she was not. He knew she had died. So, he wept.

His cries were heard on Mount Olympus where Gaea, Mother Nature, was working on her new schedule. She sensed that his grief matched her anger over Zeus's deal and could not turn her ear from him. She descended, finding his form both beautiful and compassionate.

"Why do you weep?"

As much as the human wanted to, he could not stop his sobs upon hearing her voice. Astounded by her beauty and in disbelief of what he was seeing, he could not answer.

"Why do you weep?" Gaea repeated.

"I have lost my love, a forest nymph, Fiera. She grew weak at the state of the forest and has gone away forever. Now I have nothing."

Gaea remained as the human wept. She could not leave until she figured out a way to make things right. And so, she turned the human into pines and firs, which got their names from the couple (the forest nymph, Fiera, and the human, Pienueh), placing each needle and fir on the once great tree before them. Now, he will remain on the tree year-round, keeping the forest alive and forever green.