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      Urumiriel* sat cross-legged in a small meadow surrounded by tall trees, decorating her long, golden wavy hair with flowers as she curiously watched butterflies flit from flower to flower; some occasionally landing on one of the flowers above her pointed ear. She put the last flower in a small braid- which was part of a pattern of braids she had finally perfected- before standing up, scaring the butterfly in the process.

      Urumiriel ran through the tall grass, her elegant white dress flowing behind her and exposing her bare feet.

      She followed her sensitive ears to the creek up ahead and stepped in, lifting her dress to keep it from getting wet. She looked up when she heard a shrill chirp and spotted an unfamiliar bird perched on a low branch.

      'Miriel.' A voice whispered on the wind. 'Follow me.'

      Urumiriel looked around, trying to find the source of the voice, but only the bird was in sight. The butterflies in the meadow had disappeared along with the bees, and there weren't even any other birds around: only her and the unfamiliar bird.

      'Come along, young elf.' The voice whispered again.

      Urumiriel looked back up at the bird, which immediately flew down and hovered in front of her face.

      'Follow me.' The voice whispered yet again; this time seemingly coming from the bird.

      Urumiriel looked at the bird with wonder and curiosity. It was unlike any bird she'd ever seen. Its wings, back, tail and top of its head were blue, as well as the upper part of its breast, making it look like it was wearing a v-necked garment made of feathers. Its beak was also blue: everything else was an off-white color. The feathers on top of its head were longer than the rest, and its feathery tail was twice the length of the bird; the bottom part a lighter blue.

      The bird turned and flew into the forest a little ways before turning towards Urumiriel and hovering in the air.

      'Come, little one!'

      Urumiriel walked to the other side of the creek and took a tentative step into the mystical forest. It looked different than most forests, as the rays of sun that shone through the leaves appeared to be blue in color, giving all the trees, leaves and plants a bluish tint.

      The bird stopped hovering and, after turning around, flew down the wet dirt path. Urumiriel lifted her dress and looked at her feet. She wiggled her toes and continued following the bird. It was a very strange thing. Even though the path was clearly wet, her feet were completely dry. In fact, now that she thought about it, her feet hadn't even gotten wet in the creek.

      She stopped when she realized that she was no longer on the path. She pushed through the weeds, which were sparkling with dew, and a few minutes later she stumbled across a hidden path and continued to follow the bird, occasionally climbing over a fallen log. The bird turned left and led Urumiriel onto a blue tinted grassy path.

      It turned to the elf and looked her in the eye once it flew down and hovered in front of her face. Its eyes were black; like any other birds- but they had a certain familiar twinkle in them. 'We're almost there.'

      Urumiriel stared at the bird. She was positive that the voice was coming from it. She jumped back, startled, when the bird suddenly turned around and continued zipping down the path. She continued following it, but stopped and put her hand to her forehead when she suddenly felt like she was spinning. She squeezed her eyes shut and the dizziness left within seconds. When she opened them, she gasped. No longer was she on the ground, but floating a few feet above it!

      She looked at her feet and hands. They were pale and looked ghostly. She looked back down at the path when movement caught her eye. She blinked heavily and rubbed her eyes when she saw what had moved, wondering if she were seeing things. There, down on the ground, was herself, still following the bird! What was this new devilry? Or was it heavenly? Perhaps an out of body experience? She looked over herself, paying attention to every detail, though she knew not why she cared so much.

      Her dress was white and elegant, the outermost fabric being see-through, and it was floor length, covering her feet whenever she stood still. The dress appeared to glimmer in the blue sunlight and it flowed in the breeze with her golden hair. The sleeves were see-through, and there were slits that went from her shoulders down to her elbows. The sleeves were long, stopping at her wrists, and hung from her arms, making them almost as long as the dress.

      On her left wrist was a flower chain bracelet, and on the other were two pearl bracelets. Around her neck was a silver chain with an elegant heart-shaped sapphire pendant, which rested on her sternum. On her head was a silver circlet of twisted wire. The pattern was quite intricate; patterned with leaves and flowers and, in the center of the flowers, were blue sapphires that seemed to sparkle in the blue sunlight.

      In her hair and above her left ear was a cluster of flowers she had put there earlier. There was many little braids in her hair that were connected at some points, and flowers had also been put in them. Her hair spilled all the way down to her popliteals (1) except for two sets of shorter strands. One on each side behind her ears almost reached her chelidons (2), and another strand on each side in front of her ears reached her chin.

      Her skin was smooth, pale and wrinkle-free, belying her real age. Her ears were far more pointed than that of most elves, and her lips were a pale pink; but her most noticeable features were her eyes, which sparkled as brightly as the blue gems in her circlet and pendant.

      Suddenly, Urumiriel felt a pull on her and her vision left her. When she could finally see again she was back on the ground, still following the bird. She looked around to see if she could see herself again, but she couldn't. She let out a relieved sigh, glad things were back to normal: as normal as this situation could get.

      Urumiriel looked back at the bird, which had stopped in a clearing two yards from her. She hurried into the clearing and gazed in awe and wonder. The area that was cleared of trees made a perfect circle, and in that perfect circle was where the blue sunlight shone through. Everything around the area was a little bluer than anything else had been, except for some bright pink flowers here and there.

      There were butterflies with star shaped wings that glowed yellow, making them appear to be gliding stars, and a glowing green frog rested on the side of a blue tinted tree. The air here was clean and fresh, and a clear stream with glowing orange fish was only a few feet from her.

      The curious elf walked over to the stream and looked down at the fish, which quickly darted away as soon as she peered in. Urumiriel dipped a hand into the stream. This time she could feel the water. It wasn't freezing, but cool and soothing to the touch. She put both hands in and cupped them as she lifted them out of the water. She took a drink, then took another. The water didn't taste like most water, but it was the best water she'd ever had.

      Urumiriel got back to her feet and walked over to another area in 'the circle'. She saw a beautiful glowing golden flower and knelt next to it.

      'Miriel.' The whisper came.

      Urumiriel got up and sat on a log in front of her, now facing the voice. She looked up and saw the bird once again. The female elf stretched her hand out, palm up, and the bird flew lower, though it didn't land on her hand, but hovered above it.

      "Who are you?" Urumiriel asked. "And how do you know my name?"

      The bird only looked at her, its eyes sparkling even more than ever, as if it was using them to smile. "You will know me very well one day, Miri." And with that, the bird disappeared, and everything faded to a white light.

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*Urumiriel = Oo-roo-meer-ee-ell
Meaning = Fiery Jewel

1: Popliteal is the scientific name for your 'kneepit'.
2: Chelidon is the scientific name for your 'elbowpit'.

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