When it's rising up

chapter one: the lake

A fresh breeze of cold air stroked his face, his hair and his body.

His gazes blinked unsteadily around, not being abled to find a halt or something definite to look for. So he stood there. Others may thought he stood there pointlessly for hours and hours, sometimes even days. Or they may thought he is a little bit of a loony, always standing near the lake and doing nothing. Being completely alone.

Okay alone is a bit harsh.

To be accurate, he always had a bushy animal with him. Walking his cat may made him seem like a loony a bit more than he naturally does. But it is not that he cared much about those opinions.

Sometimes he just felt the need to come to the lake. Sometimes he felt lonely, sometimes he felt restless, sometimes he was happy or sad or angry.

It could be anything possible, as he always found a reason for standing there and gazing around, exploring everything that happened around the lake.

There might have been no significant changes near the water, but for Emory, every change was important enough to keep track of it.

It was not that he hated changes and just wanted everything to stay the old and historical way it is. But when it comes to this place, its special aura was very sensitive and worth protecting. Even if he didn't know what to protect exactly.

Being the only one who was unhappy about how the lake has changed didn't help in getting an concrete answer to this question.

The walking paths around the water were extremely crowded, as they were one of the biggest magnet for tourists these days. High skyscrapers were towering behind the trees at the opposite side of the water's edge to where Emory was standing. By looking at the skyscrapers, he was also watching the other part of his life. The part of his life which was rather stressful than calming. Trying not to think about the next things coming up, he directed his gaze back at the smooth surface of the lake.

Feeling a slight jolt of happiness, Emory decided to walk down do the edge of the lake.

When nobody was looking, he took the chance and climbed over the old wooden fence, wich surrounded the lake.

Climbing down the steep way, trying to avoid the bushes, he felt more and more relieved to be alone.

He didn't care about what the other walkers might be thinking about him, but being on his own is what he preferred. Sitting next to the water surface, the other people weren't abled to see him. But what was more, Emory himself wasn't abled to see the skyline of his hometown anymore, as it was covered behind the trees growing on the other side of the edge. So it was only him and the lake.

And Murky seemed to follow him down to the surface. Emory never knew a cat which was willing to get that close to any sort of water. But Murky didn't seem to have any trouble with it. It was funny how the black and white spottet cat was quite eye-catching between the bushes framing the lake.

Spreading out one fingertip, Emory touched the smooth surface of the lake, causing it to curl into tiny waves. Instead of getting a cold shudder, Emory felt a joyful and warm feeling. It was like greeting an old friend. Sitting there, all the noises of the people talking and the children screaming  seemed so far away that Emory barely heard them. Being in peace with himself and the world, Emory began to stroke Murkys fluffy fur, listening to his calm and steady purring.

Although he felt pretty awake at this moment, he closed his eyes and leaned back against the uprising earth behind him.