The Story of Antonella

The glade lost much of its glamour once I became the only one left to experience it's beauty. The porch swing doesn't swing the same with only one person. What choice do I have but to find even a sliver of joy in this silence? From the view of my porch I can hear the chirping of the sparrows and orioles. Their vibrant wings flash like excitement among the calm green foliage. Thankfully, the silence is never absolute. I haven't heard the voice of another human for years, but that's not the only vital sound there is. Now I hear the faint clucking of the chickens roaming in their pen and the soft hoofbeats of the goats that neighbor their feathered friends. The hills and mountains surrounding the glade casts a sigh that flows through the glade like a calm ocean wave. I closeed my eyes and leaned my head against the strong wooden banister. A gentle morning like this can almost make me forget who I am. I could get lost in the sounds of the forest and pretend I'm part of it. I disappeared like a puddle after rainfall; soak into the ground and become part of the earth.

However that's impossible. No matter how low I held myself to the ground to follow the water, or how I wished to follow the wind and free myself of this prolonged tangible state, I know it will never happen. The only thing I can do is "keep living". I held on to the memory of holding my mother's soft wrinkled hand in mine while her lips moved only slightly to form those exact words. The glade reminds me of her everyday.

Down the steps of the porch, I walked onto the grass and sighed. These walks took most of my day, and when I get back the animals will need taking care of. This was much easier when there were two of us. I cast the lonely thought in the back of my mind where it belongs and try to focus on the task at hand. The first trap was only half a mile out and wouldn't take long to get to.

I shielded my eyes and glanced at the sun for a quick moment to see how late the walk had taken. Around two o'clock I came to my spring. It was like welcoming an old friend when it came into view. A strong, elegant stream winded its way down the mountain from the melting snowcaps making the coldest and clearest water. The water fell ten feet to meet with the surface of the pool like a never ending veil. It poured into a sizeable pool that thinned out on one side and continued its path into the hills.

I'd been thinking about taking a refreshing swim the entire time I was checking my traps. After finally shedding all the weight of my clothes, I took that first step into the water. It sent chills up my spine and spread goosebumps over every inch of my body. Yet I steeled myself like I had hundreds of times before and took long heavy strides into the pool. The only time I was thankful for being the only human soul for miles was when I knew there wouldn't be a man to peek in on me. When I got far enough, I dove under and did my best to keep the air in my lungs when the almost icy water completely surrounded me. I resurfaced just near the waterfall, and floated on my back. The contrast of hot and cold felt both thrilling and relaxing. Slowly, I pushed myself through the water, remaining on my back till I edged closer to a rock just under the surface that was perfect to rest on and not directly under the force of the waterfall and climbed onto it. I closed my eyes and scrubbed my scalp, rinsed my hands, scrubbed, rinsed, scrubbed, rinse, scrubbed, rinse.

I had my eyes closed while I was rinsing my hair so I only heard a raspy shout and then a large splash in the water just a few feet away from me. I let out a very uncharacteristic shriek and ran for shore toward my clothes. I ran to my gear and quickly pulled on clothing while whatever fell was still surfacing in the water. The splash made me think this thing had to be huge so I grabbed my hunting knife. I was ready to confront it when its head broke the surface for just a little more than a moment and disappeared again. My panic exploded when I realised the head that just broke the surface distinctly belonged to a human. He was now flailing his arms frantically as he bobbed up again but he barely had a second to breath before he was under water. One two three, four...eight...thirteen... fifteen...I dropped my knife and jumped in after the floundering idiot.