Riverside Meanderings
By
Bertamoonchild
?April, 2004
It is a dreamy, quiet, slow kind of day as you walk along the riverbank. The kind of day in which you could easily drift asleep should you stop moving. After what seems like hours of struggling through the long grass on the verge of the river, you come upon a wonderful clearing with huge trees that tower to the sky, yet provide marvelous shade.
You decide this is a perfect spot to take a break, and you settle against a friendly looking tree. You relax, cushioned by the soft grass underneath you, surrounded by wildflowers. As you sit and enjoy the beauty around you, it comes to mind that this is a magical place.
Enjoying the solitude, you ponder the existence of your oasis amidst the daily bustle of modern civilization. It just doesn’t seem possible! How could a place like this be overlooked--or is it just taken for granted? As you consider these things, you realize it has been quite a long time since you stepped aside from your daily pace to enjoy such simple pleasures as you are doing now.
Along the edge of the water, green fringes hide amidst the tumbled gray stone. Looking closely, you see mosses and grasses blossoming forth between what appears at first glance to be lifeless slate, barren rock. You begin to see shapes that appear to be more than the stray clump of weeds, and in fact look like they must house some small creatures that inhabit this lovely glen.
Something catches your eye. Lights dancing over the flowing water, in contrast to the gray stone along the bank. Looking closer, you see color in the lights, and shifting form. Wondering, you watch closer as they bob and weave, swing and dip, twirl and move above the water.
The river flows, here swiftly and vibrant, there deeply silent. You recognize a pattern in the movement of the lights, in step with the motion below. A slow twinkling glimmer above the deeper sections of water that appear almost still, yet a more rapid flickering above the fast moving water as it passes over the small falls.
Tonight the moon is high and full, smiling down upon the river, adding to the sense of magic in the air. Finally, as you watch the mesmerizing dance of light, letting your imagination reign, images from childhood spring to mind. Images from the fantasy world you have long ago forsaken for the demands of everyday living.
Uncertain at first, yet daring to believe in their existence, you shout the familiar name aloud—“FAIRIES!”
Oh fairies! The mystical creatures we so often dismiss as our imagination! Fairies—from the edge of consciousness! Fairies—a dream come true! Those playful, delightful creatures that you always hoped to see, now right here before your eyes! Playing the water as though it were a symphony! You are more entranced now than ever, staring with wide wonder at the beautiful creatures within the lights.
Then all at once, some sound startles you! You jump up and look around as you rub the sleep out of your eyes. The lights you were watching have scattered. Realizing that night has indeed fallen, you surmise that you must have fallen asleep as you enjoyed your respite in the glen. You prepare to depart.
As you continue on your journey through the cool grass along the river’s edge, you wonder, was it ALL a dream?