The first few flakes of snow in the air on an autumn day fluttered wistfully on the slight breeze, then landed softly amidst the stones at her feet. The water in the stream was moving along quickly, swirling about the rocks jutting out in stark relief.
She sat this evening, gazing at the sky, while listening to the water playing its rhythm. The evening was softly arriving, on the wings of the sunset, painted across the western sky. Her dog lay at her feet, enjoying the mindless stroking of his fur. Life was filled with stress, a cacophony of the noise of people. Here was where she came to unburden her soul and just let her senses be soothed. She loved to watch the pure white flakes against the oranges, yellows, reds, and blues of evening.
The greens of the forest were slowly fading to a charcoal, as night approached. An owl hooted, and a deer came to drink below where she sat quietly, her dog too comfortable to take notice.
Suddenly, the dog began softly growling, the deer lifted its head from its drink, and she heard a rustling and crackling of small twigs. Her heart quickened, as the doe disappeared into the woods, and she stood, all her senses focused into the dusk. He slowly materialized, as he walked towards the opposite side of the stream, and gave her a soft greeting. Her dog once again put his head down, as she once again sat, but continued watching. “I thought I’d find you out here”, he said, with the light Scottish lilt making the words sing. He crossed the stream, sat down beside her, and lapsed into silence. The flakes of snow were caught in her hair, and he gently brushed them away. “It’s getting late,” he murmured softly, not wanting to break the quiet, “let’s head back to the house, the fire is nice and toasty”. He stood and offered a hand, which she took, gracefully rising from her perch, and the three crossed back over the stream and headed for the cabin. The forest smelled of newly fallen leaves made damp by the fall rains, the air smelled fresh, and was cool and crisp. The leaves crunched underfoot, and the intermittent moon glow lit their way, when it wasn’t hiding behind a cloud. Out into the fields they emerged, the long grasses waving in the breeze. A horse whinnied from the barn, a cow answering. The owl hooted again. The light from the door and windows of the cabin made it seem so cheery, a welcoming sight, promising warmth and camaraderie, the sounds of children’s laughter floating on the softly moving air. “Dinners all ready”, she said softly. “I know”, he answered,” the smell of fresh biscuits and your lamb stew greeted me when I got home”. He opened the door for them, and the children ran to hug them, their greetings all spoken at once. “Ok everyone,” she said, “let’s wash and sit down for dinner”, and they all enjoyed the meal, followed by pie and ice cream.
After the table was cleared, and the dishes cleaned and put away, all went to sit on the time worn soft chairs and couch. Story time with the young ones, cuddled under an afghan, and a game of chess between the older ones came and went all to quickly. Sleepy little ones were lead off to their beds and tucked in, the older ones saying goodnight to each other, then all became silent once again, as all drifted off, beautiful dreams filling their heads.