The Magical Place - The Lake

The sunlight filtered through the leaves of the deciduous trees and landed over Fern’s eyes warming her now elongated face. She was woke up by the brightness on her eyes. A little disoriented at first, she opened her eyes to the beauty of the wilderness. How long has she been there? She could not tell. At first everything seemed normal, but as she stood up she felt something odd. Was she taller? How tall can one grow over night? She look at her pjs. They were too small for her now. A small sound came from her throat and she almost fainted. She hold onto the tree and took a deep breath. As she looked up she felt dizzy…a terrible thirst on her mouth. Now in full day she could see the path behind her…a lot of grass and branches were covering it, like if a long time has passed since last night. – Grandma… she murmured. There was no way to walk through the path, back to her house. The path in the opposite direction was still clear an inviting. Fern was not sure she wanted to continue, but there was no other choice. It was either that or find the magic place. Getting caught at that same spot in another darker night was not an option for her. She pulled her dark hair out of her face again.  Her hair had grown longer too. As she walked she saw some berries and happily picked them up and ate them in a hurry. She was so hungry it took her a lot of berries to be fulfilled. Grandpa had shown her which berries were good to eat. He was a smart man. After eating she started walking…it was a sunny warmer day than the night before. As she walked she has the feeling of been watched, but she could not see anyone. Down the road she spot a little lake and she ran to it. She was so thirsty. Fern kneeled down at the shore and started picking water with her hands and gulping down her throat like a wild animal, but stop all of a sudden in amaze. Like a mirror, the lake reflected back her face. It scared her at first. She had never seem this face before. But then she touched the stranger face with her hands and realized it was her reflection in the river. She touched the reflection on the water too. This was a young woman with a wild hair and a dirty face. She tried to pronounce her name, but nothing came out of her mouth. It was like if she had forgotten how to talk. She stood up and walked into the lake. The water refreshed her spirit and calmed her down a little. She floated on her back for a while. Grandpa also taught her to swim. Grandma did not care for swimming, but grandpa found swimming fun, so against grandmas wishes he taught her to float and to swim. Looking at the sky she let her mind wonder…the magical place must be beautiful, and grandpa surely will be there, she thought. He had a special soul. She closed her eyes for a while. When she opened them again, it was already midday. She walked out of the lake. Her clothes completely wet. It will be a while before they dry. But it was a warm day, and she really did not care. At least now she was clean and ready to keep walking. She looked around. That feeling of been watched got to her again. All that she saw was a bird, a few ants, and a rabbit passing by. She went back to the path, one feet in front and another behind, one feet in front and another behind...she thought about how the first day of school would have been. Many new kids, all frightened by a new place, scared to be away from home, learning new things, laughing, running in the school patio, playing fun games. Grandma surely tried to sale the idea of school as a fun and necessary evil. She knew better...school scared her. She preferred to walk in the unknown path that seat at that school for...how many hours grandma said? She suspected grandma was laying to her. She suspected that she was going to be drop at that school and never been picked up again...how did she knew? she could not tell...there was something within her own self that was magical. She just knew. And so she step firmly, sure that the path was the right thing for her, one foot in front and the other behind...on she went...