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Description
One more time Alice had to take a break. She needed to rest and drink some water. Coming here in April seemed a good idea, but this year heat waves attacked earlier than usual. Her smartphone has been ringing all the time, receiving weather alerts and recommendations for people of her age. Alice turned it off. The sky was clear. If there was a storm, she would get along. And, apart from the official warnings, no one would ever call her.

The empty road looked wavy in the hot air. Long time ago it was a popular tourist path, but a lot has changed since Alice had spent here her summer holidays. Old woman recalled the landscape with green arc of the Mountain, dominating over the town and closing the north horizon. Of course, the Mountain was still there, but it wasn’t green anymore. Spruce woods died and now the land was covered with brownish shrubs, which were more tolerant to drought, pests and sudden storms. Forest stream, over which young Alice used to sit with a book, disappeared, leaving only dry stone bed. The town grew poor deserted by tourists. Abandoned fields have been overgrown with the thorny plants originating from the south of Europe. Crop-protecting domes could be seen here and there, rare because of high costs of building and maintenance.

Alice felt tears coming to her eyes. Whole this trip was useless, there was nothing to come back to. Suddenly, she noticed the spot of green in a valley at the foot of the Mountain. Well, if she got here, she could go a little further.

The spot turned to be the beech grove, which somehow survived the devastation. When the elderly lady went into the wood, she felt the longed-for chill and humid air. She took a deep breath, enjoying the scent of the trees. Her hand was trembling, when he touched the silver bark of the closest beech. The stream was murmuring somewhere on her right side, hidden in the bushes. On the big stone near the path Alice spotted pale mark of the yellow tourist path.

Going up was tiring. Alice thought of a time when she was young and fit. She even used to sing during trekking. Old lady hummed one of the old melodies and recalled how she used to imagine elves, dryads and other fantasy creatures, lurking in the woods. Suddenly, she noticed a movement, high up the slope on her left side. Was is another tourist? There was a time, when she would stop singing, but now she didn’t care what they would think about an old, freaky woman.

When he appeared, Alice should have been surprised, even frightened. But she wasn’t. The elf, now coming down to the path, looked like taken right from Alice’s imagination with his blond hair, regular face and green robe. He smiled invitingly and said the words she wanted to hear for all her life:
“We’ve been waiting for you.”
In the past she would have doubts what to choose, but now she had nothing to loose.
“Take me with you” she told, grabbing his reached hand.
The elf raised his left arm and the fog flew down along the slopes, invited with his gesture. Few moments, few steps and Alice with the elf got lost in the mist.

From the internet reports: Unidentified body of an elderly lady was found on a former tourist path. The cause of death is yet unknown. The police refuses to provide more detailed information for the sake of the ongoing investigation.

Description
One more time Alice had to take a break. She needed to rest and drink some water. Coming here in April seemed a good idea, but this year heat waves attacked earlier than usual. Her smartphone has been ringing all the time, receiving weather alerts and recommendations for people of her age. Alice turned it off. The sky was clear. If there was a storm, she would get along. And, apart from the official warnings, no one would ever call her.

The empty road looked wavy in the hot air. Long time ago it was a popular tourist path, but a lot has changed since Alice had spent here her summer holidays. Old woman recalled the landscape with green arc of the Mountain, dominating over the town and closing the north horizon. Of course, the Mountain was still there, but it wasn’t green anymore. Spruce woods died and now the land was covered with brownish shrubs, which were more tolerant to drought, pests and sudden storms. Forest stream, over which young Alice used to sit with a book, disappeared, leaving only dry stone bed. The town grew poor deserted by tourists. Abandoned fields have been overgrown with the thorny plants originating from the south of Europe. Crop-protecting domes could be seen here and there, rare because of high costs of building and maintenance.

Alice felt tears coming to her eyes. Whole this trip was useless, there was nothing to come back to. Suddenly, she noticed the spot of green in a valley at the foot of the Mountain. Well, if she got here, she could go a little further.

The spot turned to be the beech grove, which somehow survived the devastation. When the elderly lady went into the wood, she felt the longed-for chill and humid air. She took a deep breath, enjoying the scent of the trees. Her hand was trembling, when he touched the silver bark of the closest beech. The stream was murmuring somewhere on her right side, hidden in the bushes. On the big stone near the path Alice spotted pale mark of the yellow tourist path.

Going up was tiring. Alice thought of a time when she was young and fit. She even used to sing during trekking. Old lady hummed one of the old melodies and recalled how she used to imagine elves, dryads and other fantasy creatures, lurking in the woods. Suddenly, she noticed a movement, high up the slope on her left side. Was is another tourist? There was a time, when she would stop singing, but now she didn’t care what they would think about an old, freaky woman.

When he appeared, Alice should have been surprised, even frightened. But she wasn’t. The elf, now coming down to the path, looked like taken right from Alice’s imagination with his blond hair, regular face and green robe. He smiled invitingly and said the words she wanted to hear for all her life:
“We’ve been waiting for you.”
In the past she would have doubts what to choose, but now she had nothing to loose.
“Take me with you” she told, grabbing his reached hand.
The elf raised his left arm and the fog flew down along the slopes, invited with his gesture. Few moments, few steps and Alice with the elf got lost in the mist.

From the internet reports: Unidentified body of an elderly lady was found on a former tourist path. The cause of death is yet unknown. The police refuses to provide more detailed information for the sake of the ongoing investigation.