A Nomadic Encounter Pt. 1


Hywel wandered along in the valley whistling cheerfully. He was a loner, a 
nomad who drifted from village to village spending time in each one before 
deciding to move on to the next. He couldn't understand how people stayed in 
one place for so long putting down their roots. He knew that that type of 
life wasn't for him, he liked his travels.

The deep valley he walked in had a history of coal-mines, long since closed. 
Now nothing remained of its history. Just memories of an industrial heritage 
for the people that still remained.

Hywel suddenly stopped his whistling. He thought he had heard a cry in the 
distance but couldn't be sure. He stopped walking and listened again. Yes, 
it sounded like someone was in distress. He looked around, scanning the area 
but couldn't see anything.

`Where was the sound coming from?' He listened carefully before walking up 
the side of the valley trying to locate the source. His eyes scanned the 
undergrowth and the floor of the forest. It was no use; he couldn't see 
anything but he could still hear the cry.

He felt that he had been searching for hours trying to locate the sound when 
he finally came across a small scrap of red material caught by a thorn on a 
briar in front of him. He wandered over to a bush nearby and behind it found 
the cause of the sobs.

A young girl was lying on the ground, her body trembling with the intensity 
of her tears. Hywel wondered for a short while what he could do. He wasn't 
used to dealing with people let alone a young crying female. He stood and 
stared at her for a minute while he summed up his feelings.

`I could leave her, she wouldn't even know that I had been here, that would 
be for the best.' Then he heard that other voice in his head which argued 
with him at times. `Could you; are you able to leave another human in 
distress?' Hywel was racked with indecision before the answer was made on 
his behalf. The girl turned her head and looked at him.

She was older than he'd first thought. Not a young girl but more of a woman. 
Maybe around twenty years of age but then, he wasn't sure. After all, what 
did he know about people? He stayed away from them as much as he could.

This young lady attracted him though. He wasn't sure why but then Hywel had 
never had feelings like this before. He was confused. `Why am I still here?' 
but then he saw the look of panic in her eyes. He instinctively reached out 
and touched her face tenderly, wanting to protect her from her fears.

Hywel's fingers reached into his pocket and he pulled out a grubby 
handkerchief. Smoothing it out, he cautiously dabbed at her tears. He wasn't 
sure if that was allowed but his natural instincts had already taken over 
his thoughts. She raised her head slightly and looked at him. Her tears 
slowing as she registered the kindness of his touch. She tried to speak but 
no sound came. "Sshh, give yourself some time," he uttered before his arm 
reached out to hold and comfort her.

He felt her body relax slightly and he smiled at her. No words were spoken 
by either of them as she acknowledged his presence. Hywel heard her 
breathing calm as she stretched back further and relaxed into his arms.

"That's better. Do you want to tell me what is so bad?"

"Sorry, I thought I was alone. Nobody usually walks along here." She sighed. 
"I just let a situation get the better of me and I'm not sure that I can 
cope with it any more."

"I must admit that I'm not used to talking with people," Hywel answered her. 
"I can't offer you any advice but I can listen if that will help."

He was surprised at his choice of words. `Why was he encouraging her to talk 
to him?' He sought his peace in solitude, but something about this young 
lady appealed to him.

She nodded and started to speak. Not that she told him much. Just a few 
words about an elderly father and how she'd wanted to look after him.

Hywel listened to her words with a growing sense of bewilderment. He wanted 
to touch her. He wanted to know her intimately. He pushed his thoughts 
aside. `I can't ... I don't want to upset her even more.' He tried to 
analyse his feelings. When had he ever wanted to become friends with another 
human? The animals in the valley were his company, the foxes, the rabbits 
and even the birds. He didn't need human contact.

When she finished speaking, she looked up at him and kissed him. "Thank you 
for listening, don't worry, things aren't as bad as they seem. I'll cope." 
Hywel nodded towards her, resisting his urge to return her kiss.

"Well, if that's sorted, I'll bid you farewell."

She smiled at him, "I might see you around."

He reluctantly left her presence and continued on his way. As he wandered 
along he thought about her and the strange effect that she'd had on him. He 
couldn't understand the feelings that had emerged from his soul. He was 
perplexed. He finally dismissed his thoughts when he arrived in a nearby 
village.

* * *

Hywel wandered through the main street noticing the annual village carnival 
was in full swing. He groaned to himself, realising that he wasn't going to 
get a quiet evening here tonight. Then his mood changed again as he thought 
of his earlier encounter. `Well, I might just enjoy some company today. Pity 
it wouldn't be her though' His mind wandered back trying to picture her 
before he realised that if he met her again he probably wouldn't even 
recognise her.  He grimaced and condemned his bad memory.

He strolled along the various stalls, looking at each one in turn. Some for 
the children, various games for them to play, toys to win. Others for 
adults, different skill's for them to use, larger rewards at the end. He 
stopped and froze as he saw a picture displaying the ultimate prize. It was 
her. Admittedly she was dressed rather differently but it was her, the same 
young lady who he had been lusting for earlier in the day. He suddenly 
realised that his memory was better than he had thought. `What was she 
doing?' He knew that he was going to have to find out.

He went up to the stall and tried to read the words underneath her picture. 
He stumbled through them slowly though as that was one of the things that he 
had never really taken care of. He had never paid much attention to the 
teachers when they had tried to teach him to read. Now he cursed that 
decision as he could only make out some of the words. It seemed that she was 
being offered as the top prize on the stall.

The stall-holder came up to Hywel when he noticed him.
"Ahh, I see you like the prize, what would you like to do with her for the 
night?"

Hywel thought the man was trying to antagonise him at first but then he 
realised he was serious. She was the prize. Hywel was shocked. Did she know? 
Was she aware? He decided that she must be and maybe that was the reason for 
her tears earlier that day. He still wasn't sure of his thoughts though or 
the reasoning behind them.

Hywel was confused. She had seemed an innocent young lady. Had he made a 
mistake? After all he knew he lacked experience when it came to human 
emotions but he thought he was astute enough to understand some.

He also knew that he didn't have the expertise or the money to rescue her 
from her fate so he made his excuses and left the stall. He strolled to the 
edge of the village green and sat down on the freshly cut grass.

He pondered on his discovery. Questions and doubts flowed through his mind. 
Could he have been mistaken? Was it the same lady? He was sure it was but 
why would she behave in that way? An evening's entertainment? Sighing to 
himself, he realised that he probably would never know. He wouldn't see her 
again anyway and his question would be unanswered. A thought did occur to 
him then that he could try and win her for himself but why would he want to 
do that? Best leave 'em be.