It was cold and it was peaceful, two things that it hadn’t been for a while. Even though the calendar told her that the season had changed long ago, the scene around her didn’t reflect it. Bare trees stood like living skeletons in the moonlight, breathing in and out in time with the wind that blew. There was no white blanket to give them reprieve from the chill that pervaded the air. But they stood bravely- breathing in and out, in and out- as methodically as if there were a lethargic watch dictating each inhalation. They shivered and quaked but the evening progressed without regard to their vulnerability. And the living trees sighed their lonesome sighs, hoping for a companion.

Their wait was not long for one who suffered a similar exposure sought refuge in their midst. Her thoughts had waged war on each other and left her heart raw. She needed to feel the sobering sting of the cold and get close enough to the trees to be terrified by the illusion but know it was an illusion all the same. As she walked along the path they created for her, she came across a clearing. In this, she discovered a dock- wide and long that stretched out into the expansive blackness. Feeling familiar with her daunting surroundings, she confidently walked towards the boards. As she tread upon their backs, they creaked and begrudgingly protected her from the glimmering pool. When she approached the last of them and their moaning stopped, all was silent for a minute. The blackness that stretched expansively was only interrupted by the reflection of stars that danced upon it’s surface. They beckoned and played frightfully across the water as if to interrupt her pensiveness to say that life was a sparkling spectacle to be enjoyed. She tentatively trusted them, slipping off her shoes and delicately touching her toe to the nothingness below.

Her world came alive. A new sensation rippled up her spine as the star-studded water tickled her feet and beckoned her to go further. She rolled up her pants leg and slowly put her foot in. The coolness enveloped her and soon the foot started to tingle from the chill. She took it out and sat cross legged at the end of the dock, looking up at the sky and wondering about the sensation she’d just felt. It was unlike anything else and she wanted more. So she dangled her toes in slowly again and didn’t feel the same rush as before. This puzzled her- the same action and a different reaction. Remembering that submerging the whole foot brought more excitement than just a toe, she decided to engulf her shin in the sensation as well. This brought about more of a shock- it took her breath away and gave it back to her at the same time- she felt the same way as before.
Chasing this new high, she took a few steps back on the boards and they creaked their warning- they’d seen too much to expect the best. She didn’t heed it and backed up even farther, wanting to gather up speed. Standing in the middle of the dock, it then occurred to her that the sensation permeated her being best when the water kissed her skin. Slowly, the white blouse fluttered to the ground, along with the faded blue jeans that effortlessly slipped away. She let her hair down, relaxed, thinking she knew what was coming next. And as the starlight rippled opon the water, it glittered across her body, making her sparkle like the diamonds in the sky. She inhaled deeply and exhaled with the trees on the shore. As she moved forward, the trees sharply inhaled, the boards moaned their warning and the stars flashed brighter than ever beckoning her forward, faster and faster, one foot, the other, one, two, three and then….
Flight.