The wait is long, but the weather is cooperative today as winter takes a moment to recoup and prepare for its next blustery shout. The sunshine’s warmth aligns with its light, celebrating its brief escape from the season’s demand for cold. Time on my hands promotes a drive around this town I know not, and a new body of water beckons me to park and explore. The trees are thin and bare, sagging with the weight of loneliness. They miss their leaves. I step upon the wide gravel trail that leads to the water and watch my son pause here and there to search for the perfect stone to skip. The water’s edge presents a lovely surprise as the gravel breaks into a path of asphalt that continues straight through the shimmering lake. Today is a lucky day—today I get to walk on the water.
I slowly move onto the new path as I breathe in fresh sunshine. I look ahead of me and follow its lead with my eyes as it moves directly through the middle of the lake where it then leaves a dead end and still a choice. Left or right? Or of course straight, if you don’t mind getting wet. I continue to move toward the inevitable decision.
The tangled undergrowth of branch and bush line the sides across the water, hovering over the glittering silver and white reflections of the sun, like a cross-hatched painting trying to reveal a hidden treasure of jewels. From a distance, the sun’s production of diamonds upon the peaceful water resembles thousands of points of light emerging from the crowd of an arena as the main act arrives upon the stage. The sparkling of light in random patterns and waves captures the moment like the flash on their cameras, celebrating what is surely to be a big deal in the world of the water.
