Mist Nymph: Short Story by GemHeart
The rain had been roaring on for three straight days, never letting up. It streaked windows and brought children the fun of breathing on the frosted panes and writing rude words on them in large capital block letters. They were mostly directed at the young woman who walked by their orphanage every third day, staring at the youngsters before breaking a sad smile and walking back off down the stone road. The children were puzzled by her, due to her strange behavior and appearance.
She was simply know as Ms. Bailey to others, but to them she was the "woman in grey"; a few had even come to calling her the "mist nymph". Whatever she was called, everyone viewed her the same: a forgeiner, probably from a distant land, dressed in a long dark grey trench coat, and a tall hat like a witch's. She occassionally visited with the headmistress of the orphanage, and the children had heard rumors of an adoption.
"You think it's true?" asked one of the younger children, while the youngsters were sitting in the upstairs group room.
"Nah," said one boy, a little older. "There's rumors all the time. And why would a traveller adopt a child? I'll bet that makes travelling even harder." he smiled a toothy smile, and a few of the younger girls lowered their heads sadly. He noticed. "Aw, cheer up!" he said. "At least we have each other."
The dark wooden door swung forward from in front of them. "Children," said the headmistress, "we have a visitor. Say hello to Ms. Bailey of America."
The group of seven kids glanced roughly over to the pair. The woman, tall and pale, was exactly how they had seen her in the misty, rain-flooded street below. She was almost like some odd dark vision, dissapating around the edges. She tipped her wide, black hat to them and smiled friendly-like.
"Huh?" said another boy, quite rudely. "Whose she?"
"Ms. Bailey," said the headmistress impatiently.
Bailey nodded, smiling still. "Hello children," she said.
"Hi," said a few of the younger ones, but a couple of the older ones kept quiet and clammy.
"Say hello," said the headmistress through clenched teeth.
"It's okay," said Bailey. She took a step forward, toward the children, and bent down so she was at their eye level. "Are you Dean?" she asked one of the boys softly.
The boy blinked, and glanced at the headmistress, who was just as surprised that the woman knew his name. "H-how-?"
The woman did not answer. "And you're Andrian. And you're Leo, and you're Gabe." then she turned to the girls, kneeling down on the hardwood floor. The pale light filtered through the window, casting a silver glow on her. "Your name is Emlyn. And I've heard of you, Crystal. And lastly, Hina." she grinned at the kids.
"How did you know?" asked Emlyn.
"I have gifts," said Bailey, and her pale blue eyes focused on them, capturing them like magic.
