Egret
She is slim and delicate-looking, a young woman shining in the beauty of her youth, she is nonetheless past her first blooming and into her self-contained strength as a woman. She still has the unfettered freedom of young womanhood, without a babe or serious lover to anchor her in the protective, but sometimes restrictive shell of a family. She spends this freedom in solitary contentment, delighting in her energetic limbs, journeying across the liminal edge of water, land and sky. Her long legs are nimble across stone and sand, her graceful long neck gives her an appearance of always dancing on the point of taking flight. Her hair is so fair and fine that it shines white, and her skin is so translucent that it seems to glow in the hot sun.
Today she stalks the rock pools, tiny, vast worlds of ancient life, spear in hand, wrapped in the gentle sea wind that ruffles her white hair. She breathes in the solitude and if anyone dares to step near, she leaps away, to settle further down. She walks slowly, each foot placed surely and carefully in front of the other as she scans the water with her penetrating eyes. They are drawn sharply upwards by movement, and she sees the old cormorant woman skim low over the water, diving for the silver fish of wisdom from beneath the surface entrance to what lies beneath, something other. The white egret woman shakes her head lightly. She has neither the years nor the experience to dive underneath as Cormorant Woman does, so she waits on the earth to jab just below the surface with her spear to catch her glittering wisdom fish.
She moves on down the shore, moving nimbly amongst the rocks and boulders. She jabs her dark spear into the water sometimes, but it doesn’t seem to bring anything to the surface for her. Just as she resolves to move onto a new spot entirely, she sees the perfect opportunity. She jabs her spear, lightning-quick and raises the fish in triumph, metal scales sparkling in the clear light. In silent victory she opens the pouch on her white hip and drops the little wisdom fish in, clinking nicely and adding its welcome weight to the others that she has been diligently gathering.
© Elena Tornberg-Lennox 2023