HNT: Forest Nymph

I was walking in solitude through the forest on an ancient track, etched into the hillside by the footsteps of countless generations of wayfarers who had trodden that path before me down the centuries.

Now and again I was momentarily blinded by the horizontal rays of the setting sun shining between the tall pines, the after-images burned on my retinae, playing tricks with my vision.

I thought I heard a movement up on the bank above me, a rustling in the undergrowth. A deer, maybe? I squinted against the light and fancied I saw the silhouette of a woodland spirit, a dryad, in the guise of a beautiful woman flaunting her naked body at me. Laughing at me, dancing mischievously, taunting me.

I looked away for a moment, rubbed my eyes, and when I looked back she was gone.

Only her laughter remained, echoing among the trees.