people always worried about her as though she might simply fall into the lake one day. they liked to interfere, to fuss over her, to make sure she was never left entirely on her own.

but that wasn't such a bad thing, was it?

they gave her a home. they gave her a family.

some of them tended to the fields, while someone once said that the days felt strangely short because so much of them was spent taking care of her. there were even fairies who claimed they could not grow properly because they were too busy worrying about her.

having a family wasn't such a bad thing.

once, she had always wanted to live alone. she had believed that solitude would be enough for her, even if it meant being scolded afterward.

they had told her that humans could not live alone.