Sterlen, And a Mosaic of Mountain Women

“I love this place! It’s my little corner of the world.” Marthie said. To cover her nervousness, she ran around, her arms flying out as she showed him each section.
          “I started comin’ here when I needed to think on somethin’! The sound o’ the water down below drowns out the rest o’ the world, ’n’ I kin sorta straighten out my thoughts. Listen...listen to the waterfall! It’s just a little farther on.”
          She ran before him. Sterlen gathered his emotions as he followed. He must keep his wits. She sat down on a rock overlooking a beautiful cave-like rock indentation in the mountain. From far above, icy, bubbly water fell like strands of pearls, spraying into a foamy bed of glistening rock encircled by a fairy ring of greenery.
           Marthie smiled up at him; again they shared the appreciation of  each other’s similarities. He dropped to the rock next to Marthie to feel the satisfaction of the view.
           Suddenly Marthie stood and, without warning, darted down from their place on the bank, quickly jumping from rock to rock to stop just in front of the splashing water. Her hair seemed to float out all around her as she spun around to sit on the wet rock jutting out from under the falls. She laughed to the heavens as she flung her head back to look up at the startled Sterlen. Then, just as quickly, she jumped up to run back along the same pathway—back to sit beside him. Breathing hard, Marthie lowered her head onto her lap to get her breath.
          “Yer beautiful, Marthie.” Sterlen’s voice expressed admiration and a touch of awe. It was all he could do not to stroke her damp hair. “Yore a little sparrow sittin’ here beside me. Ye won’t fly away, will ye?” His tone had become wistful and uncertain.
          “I’m not gonna run away,” laughed Marthie as she lifted her head and looked up at him. “I jest got the urge to git closer—to touch the water...to touch what I wuz feelin’. Somehow I feel so peaceful here, jest like bein’ in my bed on rainy nights and listenin’ to the rain hittin’ the tin roof above me.”
          “It’s peaceful here all right,” Sterlen replied. He wanted to touch her cheek. “There’s places like this over to my mountains, too. Do ye think ye’d like to come with me sometime to visit my place?” As he spoke, Sterlen witnessed the sudden stiffening of Marthie’s body. He immediately knew he had already said something amiss.
          “Jest cuz I kissed ye cheek the other day don’t mean....” Marthie began harshly.
          “Marthie” Sterlen interrupted. “I jest want to share my own special place with ye.”
           Marthie’s shoulders visibly slumped. She refused to look at Sterlen, still not speaking. The sound of the waterfall grew intense, roaring in his ears.            
          “Marthie, I felt ye liked me...a little? Wuz I wrong?” he said.
          Still no answer. Marthie kept her face averted, holding her body still and stiff.
          Sterlen pulled himself up and quietly rose to walk a few steps away. He stood with his back to her, not speaking, deep in thought. After a long moment, he turned to look at the woman who had not moved.
          “Marthie,” he began, “I reckon I’ve gone a step too far.”
          “No...no, Sterlen. It’s me. I jump into protectin’ myself, ’n’ then I’m too ashamed to say I’m...sorry. Please stay.” Her face clear now, she patted the rock beside her, smiling at him.
          He couldn’t believe she had invited him to stay. He came back, but in doing so, he began to feel an uneasiness in the back of his mind. He brushed it away.
          “What did ye want to talk to me about, Sterlen?”
          In her eyes he could see it...the coiled blacksnake. That’s all right, he could handle snakes!
          “Marthie, did ye know that if ye hang a blacksnake, head down, there’ll be rain in two days?”
          “No...sure ’nough!” came her surprised answer. “I gotta remember to ask Daddy if he knows that. Ye know any more such thangs?”
          Sterlen smiled. It felt good to be back in control of himself.
          “Wal, if ye put a four-leaf clover in yer left shoe, ye’ll met yer intended comin’ down the road.”
          Marthie burst out laughing. “It’d take ye a month o’ Sundays to find a four-leaf clover! Ye gotta work fer that one!”
          “Have ye ever heard a hen crow, Marthie?”
          “Now yer loco! Ain’t no such thang as a hen crowing...is there? Well, I’ll ask anyway...what’ll happen?”
          “If ye hear a hen crow, then ye better kill her..or else we menfolk are in fer a heck o’ a lot o’ trouble!”
          Marthie almost fell over laughing.
          Sterlen chuckled, thinking that he could get this hurt-filled woman to laugh. He’d be good for her.
          Now smiling wide, Marthie said, “Now, seriously, Sterlen, what did ye want to talk to me about?” She turned to him eyes that were no longer hard and cold.
          “Wal,” suddenly, his hands were clammy. He stood up. “Wal...I very much like yer company, Marthie.” He rushed on, “I would like to come a’courtin’, if I could.”