The lake was hidden inside a cave on the Marre Mountain. As Rebecca walked through the cave she could hear her footsteps echo off the still walls around her. No other sound would interrupt her she knew. This was her place, her secret getaway. It was nearing midnight and the moon was shining brilliantly in the sky behind her, and so its light was reflecting off the smooth stone, lighting the cave in a blue hue. As she ventured deeper into the cave things became darker and for a minute she stood still. Breathing slowly and steadily letting the cave’s calm air fill her body and take all her worries out of her. During this time she let her eyes adjust to the darkness and she was able to see the shapes of the path and the outcrops of rocks around her.
The moon’s glow was getting fainter as she was nearing the lake but there was still enough light for her to see it. It was very still. Not a breeze affected it, nothing broke the surface and caused ripples. It was a few inches below where the cave’s path ended, shielded by this ring of earth for all the time it was here. She sat at the edge of the ring, slowly taking her shoes off as to not upset the stillness of the place. With her feet free, she slowly dipped them in the water. Its chill sent a shiver all through her body, making her shudder. This feeling was beautiful, the cold water was slowly taking the rest of her grief and worry out of her, leaving her feeling at peace with the world.
The ripples of water that her feet were causing, to her, the water bringing out the emotions she held, slowly dispersing them throughout the lake. The lake was massive, wider than a house and probably deeper than the height of one. She never swam in the lake, nor wanted to dive to the bottom. She felt as if there was something at the bottom, nothing alive or harmful. Just something, something that has been there forever. The depths of the lake was not hers, she was happy with just dipping her feet in and feeling one with the world around her and from this felt whole. She sat here thinking about her life and her future for sometime and as the shadow of the moonlight shifted slightly to envelop her in more darkness she stood up, dried her feet with the edge of her sleeve and walked back out the cave.
When she got to the cave mouth she gazed over the forest from which she walked through. There was a little breeze rustling the tips of the pine trees that had reached up towards the sky. Most animals where asleep but she heard the distinct hoot of an owl. She looked to her right and down on one of the pine branches there was a brilliant white owl, its eyes lit up by the moon. Its pure white feathers seemed to glow also in the moonlight, making it stand out as if a king of the forest. It seemed to her to be watching her.
She just stared into its eyes as she slowly made her way down the hill which held the cave. There was tall grass brushing against her legs as tender as a lover under the steady slow breeze of the forest. Walking closer towards the owl she saw it still string at her, judging her movements as if feeling the movements of her muscles itself. She turned slightly to go at the tree at an angle and the owl’s head swung quickly yet elegantly to face her yet again. It hooted again and ruffled its feathers as she came a few meters off the tree where she waited. Again the owl hooted as if in a greeting, she gently whispered “Hello”, as she did this she thought to herself how strange it was to talk to an owl. The owl the proceeded to jump down a few branches to be just about shoulder level with her. She approached it slowly, quietly saying “Its alright, I won’t hurt you” When she was a few feet away from the owl, it blinked twice and spread its wings. The feathers took again the moonlight and shone with the magnificence of an angel. She was awestruck by the pure beauty of it.
She took one more step towards the owl and held her arm out, slowly bringing it to the branch the owl was sitting on. It stood there still staring into her eyes. When her hand was but a few centimetres from the owl it slowly dipped its head towards her hand. Rebecca’s heart started beating fast at the scene that was playing out in front of her. Here she was face to face with a beautiful bird that was dipping its head to her hand as if to kiss it. The owls beak touched her outstretched fingers tenderly and smoothly. Then all of a sudden it straightened up and flew towards her. She jumped back in surprise but straightened as the owl swerved around her and started circling above her. It flew down the path that she walked coming to the cave, with its glow transforming the trees into that of guards, silently watching as their king walked down past them. She stared at this with a gladdened heart and started walking back towards her home, where she would sleep easily with dreams of the owl and the magical feeling that she was filled with when the owl touched her.
While she was walking she looked back to the cave, thanking that water for the calmness it brought to her as she knew that if the owl felt the sorrow she felt it would have left her. So she walked back looking at the trees as they silently watched her passing through the great halls of the forest and wished her well on her journey home.
