Fountain of Youth - Part Three

Looking around the clearing I try to find the source of the noise, my gaze soon falling on a lithe redhead with engorged veiny breasts. The shafts of light streaming down from the canopy illuminate her, the light bouncing off the small pond before her acting as an additional fill light.

Behind her sits a large handwoven basket, the rough-hewn container resting be the rocks as various mushroom and wild root vegetables sit inside the bundle of shaped dry reeds. A light dress sits beneath the basket, the wrapped-up fabric working to hold the basket in place. The dress itself looks to be hand-made, the uneven stitching bridging a section of robin's egg blue and crisp white fabric drawing my eye.

Fountain of Youth - Part Two

"I can't believe I finally found it" I chuckle, opening up my journal to the last page and the glued-in picture of the globe. Taking my pencil I hastily make a tiny cross over the fountain of youth on the map, leaving an 'X' to mark the spot like the treasure it truly was.

"To think, all this time it's been hiding in France" I chuckle to myself, shifting to sit up on my elbows as I look about the small clearing.

I had always figured there would be one of these bodies of mystical water somewhere in Europe, the prevalence of stories in continent as well as it's size making it a prime location for some secluded spring to hide.

I had been winding my way through the regions for weeks now, from Aquitaine to Alsace, wandering the back roads and woods in search of this hidden treasure.

I had almost moved on, my mind turning to which country to cross into next when I woke up this morning. However, I still had one more stretch of forest to check through and I had known it would have driven me mad knowing I left without actually taking the time to search it.

Fountain of Youth - Part One

Moving slowly through the underbrush I trudge up the steep incline towards my goal. Rocks and soil beneath my boots shift and move with each step, my gloved hands reaching out to branches and tree trunks as I pull myself up towards the crest of the hill in the distance.

Sweat runs down my face, the heavy pack in my back and the hours and hours wandering the wilderness having left me exhausted and drained beyond belief. Still it would all be worth it if I could just find my target, the whole reason I had been traveling so far from my tiny apartment.

Wiping at my eyes with my arms as I reach the top I lean up against one of the old trees that had once blocked my line of sight up and over the steep hill. I had intended to climb up here to get a better view of my surroundings, to better see over the hills and trees in search of my prize or at least some nearby roads or paths to point me in the right direction or help get me back to my hotel.