My name is Kastalia. For I am a water nymph, daughter of Lord Neraeos and Lady Ourania. I am a caretaker of the rivers. I was created for a purpose. That purpose being to tend the rivers of the Smokies.
I have come to partake of the solace of my favorite river. I make my way across a tiny stream in the hills. Beautiful, yet I move on. I know what awaits. I hear it's roar in the distance. It calls my name. I am of it. It is of me.
Dew from the heavens has begun to fall. It lands upon my bare shoulders, tracing it's way down my body. I step carefully across roots left for me by a mischievous wood nymph.
The river is now in sight. Oh, what it does to me! Gently, I tiptoe forward. I am close. My breath is taken by it's majesty.
The path downhill becomes treacherous, scattered with huge boulders. I can make it, for the river is my home. The moisture from the night has caused the river to rise. I make it to water's edge and breathe the essence deeply.
The flow, the rush of emerald water captivate me. Choosing a riverside stone, I sit. It is my duty as a river nymph to keep the waters pure. Yet, I do not see it as a duty. For I love the rivers of these mountains. Reaching down, with fingertips, I trace a path through the pool at my side.
Looking across, I see the gnarled roots of trees clinging to the banks. Thinking back to times that I have used these at seats, allowing my legs to be washed by the cascades below.
Wanting to visit more of the river, I make my way back uphill and down the riverside path. I am a keeper of this river, but all of nature speaks to me. The bark of the trees, the gray of a stone, the green of the foliage hold such an allure.
As I move along, the roar of the river is a beautiful aria being sung only for me. It's soothing notes reach deeply within and touch my soul. I tend the river, but it also tends me.
I move down each tiny path to visit the waters. I see my wood nymph friends frolicking through the trees. Not me, for I take my time relishing the sounds of the river, the feel of the falling rain. It continues to drift lazily down my skin. I take the moisture from my lips with a single touch, savoring the taste. I may be a keeper of the rivers, but all of the waters of the mountains are sacred to me. They were given to me by my father. For I am Kastalia, the river nymph.
