1822, July 14th
This event was not documented on paper until very recently, up until then it was only told from one generation to the next. Because of this many of the details have been lost to the sands of time. The exact location is not known, but it was somewhere among the Medea River. It is said that Elsa Rhunz was 8 years old by this time, and to her great relief her parents had decided to move closer to the riverside. The reasons for her relief were many, but the main reason she was so happy about her family moving closer to the river was that it made the hardest chore of her day so much easier. Every day she got up from bed before her parents and younger siblings to get water from the river. She had become a familiar sight to the other families living close to the Rhunz household. A small girl with long, blonde hair in braids and the biggest green eyes anyone had ever seen. Everyone could tell she would grow up to be one of the most beautiful women any of them had ever seen. Her subtle blossoming beauty had however caught the attention of an entity of whoms existence none were aware. This entity were the true culprit behind the vanishings and had taken great pleasure in seeing the despair and disbelief it had spread amongst the humans. It had watched and waited for an opportunity to approach the young Elsa. The timing had to be right, it didn’t want to be seen just yet. It was a water entity that wanted the most beautiful women for its kingdom under water. When it was on land, like now, it took the shape of a snow white horse with long, fl owing mane and tail. It was almost luminescent in this form. 16 16 None that saw it could resist climbing on its back. And once they were seated they couldnt get off. That was when the entity ran with the rider through the woods, fast enough to make the rider blind to the surroundings. Then it would dive into the water, drowning the rider and making them a part of the underwater kingdom forever.
Somehow, the entity knew that today was the day. Today he was going to get the young Elsa. The morning was the same as always. Elsa woke up, took her buckets and went on her way to the river. As usual, she and the neigbours oldest daughter met up so they could walk together to the river. They followed the path that had begun to form under the many feet of different citizens going to the river. They talked and laughed as little girls do until they reached the riverside. They fi lled up their buckets and turned to walk home, now slower and less giggly because of the weight of the water. They had just come out of a turn when it happened. Elsa tripped and spilled both buckets of water. In dispair she looked on as the water was absorbed by the earth. With tears in her eyes she told her friend to go on home and let her parents know what happened. The friend hesitated and said that maybe it was best if they didn’t separate, because of the vanishings, but Elsa laughed it off and said she would be fine, and was more worried about getting in trouble for getting home late. Then she turned around to walk back to the riverside. The friend continued on homewards, against her better judgment. As soon as Elsa was out of sight the iridescent entity appeared on the path before her. He was absolutely stunning. So white he almost seemed blue. His eyes shimmered with the colors of water, and the noble head raised as if in curiosity when he 18 18 heard her. Ears pointed right up, he stood as still as a statue, to allow her to take in this vision. Elsa dropped the empty buckets and stared, mouth agape. She had, of course, seen horses before, but this one almost seemed like an angel or… maybe one of those… could it be, that this was her reward for being on her best behavior her whole life? Of course it was! She was sent this godlike creature in her hour of need so that she wouldn’t have to carry those heavy buckets again! She walked towards luminescent apparition, hand outstretched. Before she knew it, she was on the horses back, with the mane whipping across her face as they went through the forest so fast that the trees turned in to a brown and green blurr. She had no idea where they were going, but she couldn’t get off and even if she had she would probably crack her head open. She suddenly heard a splash, and realized that they were in the river. But horses can’t swim? Or can they? That was the last conscious thought of Elsa Rhunz. They went deeper and deeper. The edges of the world seemed to narrow as her brain were deprived of oxygen. She tried to fi ght the refl ex to take a breath, her head pounding and a sense of desperation and hopelessness overcame her before she fi nally lost consciousness and her body did what bodies do when it’s deprived of oxygen. It took a breath.
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