A beautiful voice. An oddly familiar voice.
Don’t get too close to the river, something whispered.
He ignored it.
Nikolai placed his axe at the base of a birch tree and set his pack beside it. He listened to the song as he stretched and rolled out his shoulders, hesitating for a moment before he turned away from the path home.
The river was a brilliant blue that rippled and shimmered in the light as he emerged from the trees onto the riverbank, but his attention was drawn to the beautiful woman floating at the water’s edge, her long blonde hair forming a golden halo around her. The woman who was singing so beautifully that he could not resist her.
“Alyona,” he breathed reverently as he took another step towards the water.
Perhaps she heard him, or saw him approach. He watched her tur
