Avalyn

...a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside a kimono.

Only blues and silvers remained at this level of darkness. The moon was so bright it hurt to look at it. A woman moved silently through the mayapple and the bracken, taking advantage of a fresh breeze to hide her footfalls amidst the rustling. Ahead, in the clearing, the beautiful Japanese lady finally saw her quarry. She raised the bow and drew back the arrow.

She was one with the bow, the arrow, and the target. It was a perfect moment. She let the arrow fly.

The creature in the clearing wheeled and made a great leap over some bushes to go bounding away. The arrow flew straight and true, lodging in a point a fraction of an inch behind its foreleg.

Avalyn looked down at her own chest. Fletching jutted from her breast like the gnomon of a moondial. Blood was spreading into the threads of her white silken clothes. She could feel the solidity of the palmwood shaft piercing her sternum.

The prey creature stopped and turned to stare at her. As she gazed into its eyes, Avalyn was struck by a strange emotion. It was sweet and terrible; it was ultimate joy and deepest despair.

The lady had to breathe in small short sharp breathes. Then she spoke. "Come here," she whispered, knowing that with the deer's acute hearing, it could not fail to hear her. The deer's expression was one of shock, mouth agape and its eye wide in a pale patch. Then, it lowered its head and slowly walked forwards.

"Plus on apprend a connaître l'homme, plus on apprend a aimer le cerf."