The tranquil black night, beautifully interrupted by the silvery moonlight overhead, lit Lela’s path as she slogged up the sandy Matura beach. Not that she needed nature’s illumination. She could navigate at sea better than the most accomplished sailor....

Aja Aranyani was fairly young for a forest nymph, having lived only three centuries and change from the time her kèkè (father) created her. Her family thought she was a mischief-maker but she disagreed. She was restless. She was never...