Jay and Tala

A long time ago, in a place where plants and animals lived in glorious harmony, where the sky was much closer to the land, and where Mother Nature ran her daily errands, a woman lived peacefully in isolation beside a river. No one should be deceived by her humanly silhouette and her otherworldly beauty, for she is not human. Her body was as fragile as water itself—in fact, her whole body was made out of it. Her existence was merely a myth. Every human that she's ever encountered in the past met a terrible fate, for she found all of them filled with filthy greed.

She despised humans. All they ever wanted was to take from her streams. Although, as punishment, she gave all of it to them. Yes, she drowned all the men she's encountered in the river of Mount Purro. She believed that such a punishment was only fitting for such a crime committed. Seemingly, her heart was as cold as the depths of the icy ocean.

One day, as she was strolling on the riverside, all of a sudden appeared a young boy. By the looks of it, he was alone. He brought a large bucket with him which only meant one thing. The woman was angered by this.

"What is your business here, boy?" she asked, despite being fully aware of the reason. The little boy was startled, not expecting company.

"I-I'm here to fetch some water for my family, ma'am..." the boy muttered, not meeting the woman's intense set of eyes. He looked around twelve years of age, more or less.

"So that's what you came here for?" she glared at the child, who was still not facing her direction. The boy shivered at the tone of her voice.

"Y-Yes..." he gulped.

"Leave now, if you ever want to see your family again." the woman said sternly. In the back of his head, the boy wondered if she would be able to do such a thing, especially towards a child. He hesitated to face her, but when he did, it was the most terrifying sight he'd ever seen in his entire life. He screamed and stumbled on the ground, letting go of his bucket.

"W-What are you!?" he trembled in fear, inching away from the woman. Her menacing aura made him feel nauseous.

"You're all the same. You humans come here with the intention of stealing from my rivers, and you expect me to be all right with that?!" she yelled at him, completely ignoring his question. He flinched at the piercing tone of her voice. "I-It's not our fault! We need it to survive!" the boy pleaded, but her selfish heart was numb to all the excuses.

"You think I care about your insignificant lives?" she growled. The boy whimpered.

"How cruel..." the boy thought to himself. How was he going to explain this to his mother? Will she even believe him? He'll receive a beating for sure. He found himself still lying on the ground, staring at her in disbelief.

"Leave! I won't ask you again." she repeated herself. "Besides... I don't fight children." she scoffed. Even though she wasn't a forgiving lady, she wasn't mad enough to do such a thing. This sparked an idea in the boy's mind.

"So you're saying that you wouldn't attack a child...?" he queried.

"No, so leave!" she ordered him once more. She turned her back away from him, thinking that he was frightened enough to obey her. To her surprise, the boy stood up and took his bucket then rushed towards the river to fulfill the duty his mother gave him, but as he was about to take the slightest drop of water, the river guardian stopped him. She had him immobilized by keeping him stuck in a large hand made out of water.

"U-Unhand me!" he yelled.

"What did I say?! You humans are so stubborn!" she tossed him back on the ground, causing him to grunt as she did. The boy received a little cut on his elbow from the fall. "Please! My mother would kill me if I didn't bring back home some water!" he pleaded once more.