Circles of Light
Circles of light swirl in cool blue water. It’s a perfect day for a swim. Pulling the water with my arms, then floating, and feeling the freshness of the day, I took a relaxing swim around the inlet watching the little whirls. Then they turned into ripples and I heard waves sloshing against the shore.
I looked up and saw a shadow flash between the trees. Then a bright light skittered across the sky. Where did it come from? Alone in the lake I felt something clinging to my ankle. Startled, I quickly shook it off and swam toward the shore. As I got closer, I saw little brown toes on the beach ahead of me. Where had they come from? I was afraid to look up and see what it might be. I paused and it was gone.
As I slipped on my shoes, a rustling in the bushes caught my attention as the sun was lowering itself across the sky. A slight tingling crept up my legs. “I’m not afraid,” I told myself so I could stop the creepy feeling from reaching my belly and nesting deep inside.
I love the water. It is my refuge, my relaxation, my energy, and usually my peace. Today the water holds creeping things. The beach carries a strangeness, and the woods have a life of their own. The lake is where I usually come to cool my anxious thoughts. But not today. I see the shadows of dusk like doilies on the lake, and I am caught between the beauty and mystery of the scene.
As I walk across the cooling sand, it is smooth and there are no footprints on it. What were those toes that didn’t dent the soft sand? A cool breeze dashes against my wet shorts and I shiver. I don’t believe the crazy stories about visitations to the woods near the lake. The video I saw on YouTube late last night showing a creepy shadow in the woods and then a strange flash was not very realistic but I had a dream about it. This morning the creepy feeling stayed with me through the woods to the lake.
As I look at the woods my curiosity draws me toward a different path at the edge of the trees. The path the shadow appeared to take. I hesitate. I should go left, my usual route, yet my feet take me to the right. I step into the shadows of the trees. I can’t stop myself. I need to know what is around the bend. I hear a slight rustling up ahead, yet I take another step. Something jumps out of a low growing thicket like a shadow across the path. I creep over to the edge of the dirt, and see the dark shining eyes of a wood frog easily recognizable by the black robber’s mask above its eyes.
I laugh out loud alone in the woods with the company of a brown frog staring up at me. I was a natural science major in college and love to tromp through the woods. No more YouTube silly videos for me. I’ll take a walk with a frog in the woods any day of the week over sitting in front of a computer.