The next months went by in a flurry of activity and the Stealth Assassin seldom thought about the girl in the forest. But when a job brought him into a town near this forest he couldn't resist making a side trip to her house. To be true, he didn't really try to resist.

He was looking forward to a quiet day where he could just sit there and listen to the most wonderful songs he had ever heard while watching the girl doing her chores with her graceful movements and a smile on her lips. It was peaceful and once in a while he liked that. Not all the time, that was for sure. But after all those jobs he had done, all those events he had attended and all those creatures he had met he was glad about a little time for himself.

After creeping through the forest for almost two days, he began to smile as soon as he heard the first tunes of a melody sung by the girl drifting through the woods. He quickened his pace and stopped when he left the last row of trees. The girl had grown. Maybe it had been longer than he had thought since he had last been here. But aside from that, nothing had changed. And so Rikimaru sat on the same stone as before.

The girl was wearing the same brown dress as the last time but now it fit better. Her hair was plaited and her feet dirty, which was no wonder since she was working in her garden, digging in the earth to plant seeds, watering the plants already growing there and harvesting what was ripe. On one side his flower was blooming. It had grown as well so the girl must have taken good care about it.

After finishing with the garden, she hacked some wood. She struggled with the big axe and for a second Rikimaru thought she might drop the thing on her foot. But she was a tough one. She actually stopped singing while she made fire wood out of one of the trunks she had lying next to the house and the Assassin was glad that she concentrated on what she was doing. He didn't mind not hearing her voice when it kept her from hurting herself.

He would have liked to help her but of course he couldn't. When she put the axe away she grimaced. And the Stealth Assassin knew what he would do this night for her. It meant no sleep for him and lots of work, especially since he couldn't make the fire wood in front of her house because of the noise. He had to fell trees and hack them into small enough pieces and then carry them to the clearing.

When the sun was rising, a rather tired and completely wiped out Stealth Assassin was sitting on the stone by the lake, watching as the girl left her house, a small smile on her face as she was humming, her fox and her cat running through her legs and almost making her stumble. She laughed and bent down to pet both before they ran off into the forest. She stretched and held her face in the sun, her eyes closing. She took a deep breath and looked over the whole clearing.

Her gaze landed on the huge stack of firewood next to her house, exactly where the tree trunks had been the day before. Her smile vanished and her eyes grew wide. She took a step backwards while she scanned her surroundings. She seemed wary and suspicious. Her call wasn't loud but the fox came running immediately. The cat trailed behind and the girl went to the stack with them in tow.

She knelt down and pointed towards the wood. The fox sniffed at it and began to walk around the place, his nuzzle always on the earth. Rikimaru wasn't worried that the animal would find him. He wasn't stupid. But he liked that the girl was careful and suspicious and checked for a thread.

After the fox had found nothing the girl took a look around again. Then she pursed her lips and stared at the fire wood for almost a minute. She got up, took a few pieces from the stack and brought them into her house. Before she began her work, she cast a confused glance at the wood again but since she could either use it or throw perfectly good fire wood away, she chose to use it. She even began to smile.

Rikimaru yawned when she hummed the first tunes of a song and within seconds he was fast asleep, his head on his arm and curled up like a cat, not even noticing that he was lying on a stone. He knew that he had done the right thing and he felt unbelievably good about it. He woke up in the dark, the girl already gone inside.

From that day on Rikimaru the Stealth Assassin went to the girl in the forest on a regular basis. He didn't let as much time pass between his visits as he had between the first three times he had been there. And he made sure always to bring the girl something. Or to do something for her. Food, a new dress, seeds for her garden, a new fishing rod after he had seen how her own one had broken, things like that.

The girl in the forest had become his safe place, had become the one place where he went to relax and to take his mind off everything. Here he found peace, could let go and unwind. Just being near the girl soothed his soul.

The years passed and the girl had gotten used to the presents that appeared in front of her door sporadically.

One evening, when Rikimaru was sitting at his spot (he had moved a little away from the stone onto the softer grass), the girl came out of her house again after it had already gotten dark. She had something in her hand, which she placed on the ground in front of her door. She scanned the trees that circled the clearing but even if the Assassin had been visible it would have been too dark for her to see anything. The girl went inside again. The thing she had put on the ground lying there.

Rikimaru was curious what it was and why she had put it there. But he waited, definitely impatiently, until he was sure that the girl was asleep before sneaking up to the building. He put the things down that he had in his hands. He had brought a few tools for the girl so she would be able to work easier in her garden. And a small knife, very sharp. She always seemed to struggle with hers.

In front of him lay a letter in an envelope. Rikimaru was unsure what to do now. Why had the girl put a letter in front of her door? It was weird.

There was something written on the envelope but though the Assassin could read the letters he didn't know what the words meant. They were probably in the same language as the songs the girl always sang. He stared at it. There was only one reason for the girl to put something in front of her door at night: it was for him.

Carefully he picked the letter up. He opened it and unfolded the piece of paper that was inside. The whole page was filled with writing. He was a little disappointed that he didn't understand the words. So he tucked the letter away in his pouch. He would give it to someone who could translate it for him. Tomorrow. He never left before he hadn't seen the face of the girl when she looked at his gifts. Her smile warmed him from the inside and he felt a little pride that he could make her smile like that.

What he liked most was, when she sang the first song he had heard from her afterwards. It seemed to be her favourite one and it was a way for him to know that she was happy. Usually he left after that song and this time was no different.

Back in the town he immediately went to someone, who did translations for a job, and gave him the letter. The man looked at it and nodded. It wouldn't take him long, he said. So Rikimaru waited in the front area of the shop. He wanted to know what the girl had written, wanted to know if the letter really was for him. There was still the chance that it wasn't. He walked up and down the place, hating having to wait.

The man came out of the back room, the letter in one hand and a sheet of paper in the other. He gave Rikimaru a strange look but said nothing as he handed him the things.

The Stealth Assassin gave him his money. "You know who I am, don't you?" The man nodded. "I don't know what is written in the letter but I expect that aside from me and you no one will ever learn about it. If I find out that you told anyone, make sure to say goodbye to all your friends and family because I will find you no matter how good you hide."

The man nodded again. "Of course. This is a respectable business. What I translate always stays secret." There was no fear in his eyes, maybe a hint of irritation, and Rikimaru was sure that it was because he wouldn't tell anyone and therefore there was no reason for him to fear the Assassin.

The Stealth Assassin locked himself up in his room before he took the letter and the translation out of his pouch and put them both on the table in front of him. The paper of the letter was more yellow than white and dirty and crumpled. It was written with coal and the letters were uneven and in parts hard to decipher. The translation was in sharp contrast to it, white paper, written with quill and ink, neat letters.

To my unknown giver

Those were the words on the envelope. So it really was for him. Rikimaru smiled. The girl had written him a letter. After, what was it, five years? After five years this was the first time she gave something to him. He had never expected something from her but now that he held the letter in his hands he was giddy to read it.

I'm sorry it took me so long to write you. I always expected for you not to come back but after five years it is time to push this fear aside. I don't have anything to give you but I at least wanted to tell you how grateful I am for the things you leave for me. Thank you. The days that start with me finding a present in front of my door are always the best ones. I treasure everything you have given me and I like that you give me things that I actually need and not only things that look nice. I have to admit, though, that it makes me a little nervous that you always know what I need because it means you watch me. Creepy to know a stranger is watching you sometimes. But since I can't change it and you don't seem to want to harm me I will hope the harming part stays as it is and enjoy that I have someone who thinks of me from time to time. I would really love to meet you one day. I don't know why you hide like that and I try not to make any assumptions. But I would like to thank you in person. I won't be mad if you never show yourself, you surly have a reason for it.

I can only thank you again, with all my heart. And wish you everything good.

Jayne

Rikimaru smiled at the letter. So she liked his presents. For a moment he had the urge to go back to the girl immediately and shower her with things. Irrational. He folded the letter and put it back in the envelope, together with the translation. He stowed it in his pouch. Then he got up and left his room. He had things to do and he didn't have time to go back into the forest now. He would make sure though that the next present would be something special. Something that showed her that he had gotten her letter and that he appreciated her thanking him.

The words she had written whirled through his head the whole day. He got everything done but his mind wasn't really on it. She wanted to meet him.

The Stealth Assassin wasn't sure if it was a good idea. He felt uneasy and if he didn't know any better he would say he was afraid. He liked that the girl in the forest was the one place where he could go to relax. It was perfect as it was and he didn't want to change the dynamics of the place through showing himself to the girl.

He pushed his indecisiveness on the topic aside. He had jobs to get done.