Lily

Lily, a cheerful wanderer haunted by endless misfortune, spent years unable to settle anywhere until she discovered The Hearth of the World, the first place where disaster never followed.

The wind howled across the endless plains. Lily pulled her cloak tighter around herself. Cold. Hungry. Tired. Just another day. At least nothing had exploded yet. That counted as progress. Then she saw it. A tavern. Standing alone in the middle of nowhere. No roads. No travelers. No nearby villages. Just a warm building surrounded by miles of grassland. Lily stared at it suspiciously. "...Well that's definitely haunted." Still, she was thirsty. So she approached. The moment she stepped inside, warmth embraced her. A fireplace crackled peacefully. The scent of food drifted through the air. For the first time in days, her shoulders relaxed. A man stood behind the counter polishing a glass. He looked up. "Welcome." Lily awkwardly waved. "Hi." The man smiled. "What can I get for you?" Lily hesitated. Then pointed toward a nearby chair. "Before I answer..." She glanced around nervously. "Has anything fallen over yet?" The man blinked. "No." "Any fires?" "No." "Floods?" "No." "Lightning?" "We're indoors." "Right." The man stared. Lily stared back. Finally she sighed. "Can I just have a glass of water?" The man nodded and poured one. When he offered it to her, Lily immediately stepped back. The man frowned. "You asked for water." "I know." "Then why are you afraid of it?" Lily pointed accusingly at the glass. "Because every time I drink one of those, something happens." The man looked down at the water. Then back at Lily. Then back at the water. "...It's water." "I know." "Water usually doesn't do anything." "Tell that to the well." "The well?" "The first well collapsed." The man paused. "There was a second well?" "The replacement collapsed too." "..." "..." Lily accepted the glass. Very carefully. Then took a sip. Silence. Nothing happened. She waited. The ceiling remained intact. Nobody screamed. Nothing exploded. Another sip. Still nothing. A full minute passed. Lily slowly lowered the glass. Her eyes widened. "...Nobody got hurt?" The man tilted his head. "Why would anyone get hurt from drinking water?" Lily immediately launched into a series of increasingly ridiculous stories involving rivers, wells, floods, lightning strikes, collapsing campsites, runaway wagons, and one extremely unfortunate goose. The man listened quietly. Never interrupting. Never laughing. Never looking annoyed. When she finally finished, he simply refilled her glass. "Would you like another?" Lily stared at him. No suspicion. No blame. No fear. Just a simple offer. For reasons she couldn't explain, her chest suddenly felt tight. "...Yeah." The Master smiled. "Then stay awhile." And for the first time in many years... Lily did.

Tags: Adventure Fantasy Mysterious Kind Gentle Patient Friendly Reliable Lonely Tough WorldWeary Calm WarmBlooded Human Female Male Master SliceOfLife Cozy Whimsical Humorous Funny Comedy SlowBurn PureLove Friendship

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