I walk along in the twilight with no true destination in mind, traveling wherever my feet take me. The night is so clean, so pure; so new. It's a rebirth of the day; a second chance for every opportunity not taken, or path not traveled. I can easily lose myself in this night; a raven-black and seemingly endless abyss. The moon, a solitary glowing orb amongst the darkest hues of the sky, casts its soft, yellow-tinged light across the lake I had come to love so much. As the charcoal clouds move through the sky, I begin to see millions of tiny pinpricks in the heavens, my view unhindered by city lights and smog. As I turn my gaze down to the crystalline water, I see the light skipping along small ripples in the otherwise undisturbed water.
My favorite spot lay on the opposite side; a small semicircle alcove of weeping willows bordering the lake. I close my eyes, and there I can see those majestic trees swaying above me in the wind as I, in my mind's eye, repose in my little haven. I can hear the soft rustling of the leaves as they brush together; that is truly the best sound in the world. A wonderfully pleasant smell drifts through the air -- the smell of nature; the clean water and unpolluted air, combined with the soft scent of the rose bushes scattered around the shoreline. A slight breeze blows and the gentle, steady croak of frogs and chirping of crickets join the chorus of the weeping willows. Sinking deeper into this sublime hallucination, I become oblivious to my movements. I wander, in my divine dream-state that eclipses reality, closer and closer to this lake that had always forsaken all of my pain, anger, and sorrows with its absolute serenity.
I draw nearer still, as if the lake has its own gravitational pull. Taking another step, my mind is immediately called back to my body by the sudden coolness I feel. I open my eyes and realize I have wandered past the shoreline into the clear water. I look down and see the water lapping at my bare ankles, feel the smooth pebbles shifting beneath my feet as I continue around the periphery of my lake.
I reach the cove of weeping willows and take a second to appreciate the unnatural beauty this place possesses. I wander around until I find my spot – a small burrow made by the soft, long grass; made especially for me by Mother Nature. I lie down and immediately feel at peace with the world. Looking across the lake, I can see the distant mountain range gently pushing against the twilight. Above I see the scintillating lights of the aurora borealis waving to me, beckoning to me to stay here forevermore. I feel my eyes begin to droop and let myself slowly fall asleep to the soft sweet lullaby my Mother has created just for me.
Sometime later, I slowly awake to the shrill call of the blackbird heralding the morning. Rising to my feet, I see the first sharp rays of the sun, turning the once starry nighttime sky to crimson. I can hear the rapture of the twilight chorus being replaced by the piercing songs of other morning birds. Looking around me, I can see the dead brown leaves marring my beautiful willow trees; I can see patches of dirt in the verdant grass, and layers of algae just under the surface of my beloved lake. I run away, back to the trash-littered dirt path to take me away from this place. Halfway up the path, I stop and look back on my lake for what I believe is the last time, but to my surprise the distance has erased all imperfections, restoring it to its nighttime splendor. I admire the incredible, unnatural beauty of the once again still waters of the lake, and in an instant I realized that nothing could keep from my place, the lake.
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