A Kingdom of Our Own

Chapter Twenty Eight - Lakeside

The sky was clear and the air was fresh, coming in occasional gusts of wind which sent ripples across the surface of Lake Wenatchee. It was mid-afternoon, just after three o’clock, and the mass of surrounding fir trees cast their reflections down on the lake, forming dark silhouettes against the light blue water. Had it not been such a secluded location, it would have been easy to imagine it being the sort of place that families drive out to in the summer months to go camping or just to find some place where they can get some peace and quiet. In this case though, it was only the thousand-odd residents of Waterville that had this great retreat at their immediate disposal, and even fewer who actually knew about it.

Harry and Hannah sauntered through a natural avenue of trees, which opened up just a hundred yards later onto a small beach lying beside the lake. As soon as they stepped out into the sunlight, the temperature rose by nearly ten degrees and the repetitive sound of insects in the undergrowth suddenly subsided. They continued on across the sand, to the very end of the beach where the sand turned wet and sticky underfoot, with water lapping over their feet whenever a wind-driven wave reached the shore.

For a while they just stood there, holding hands, first admiring the view ahead, but then turning to stare dreamily into one and other’s eyes.

“We used to come here as kids,” Hannah explained. Harry barely heard what she was saying because he was too busy looking at her with a sense of deep longing evident in his eyes. Her brunette hair fell like a curtain of silk below her shoulders, except for a few stray strands which were blowing in front of her face. In a way these slight imperfections made her all the more beautiful. It reminded him that she was human; setting her apart from all the Californian models he’d seen in Playboy, who were more plastic than flesh, and let’s be honest, probably don’t have a soul. This point was emphasised by the absence of makeup on her face, helping to maintain her natural, radiant appearance as opposed to hiding who she truly was under a mass of foundation. But it was in fact her eyes that were without the slightest doubt the most captivating aspect of her looks, reflecting a sense of wisdom far beyond her age that couldn’t help but draw Harry in.

“We would swim across to the other bank nearly every weekend. I love the feel of the water, so gentle and soothing against my skin. In the summer we’d always lie out on the sand and let the sun dry us and try to guess the names of the birds singing.”

Harry turned away slightly and then muttered distastefully, “I can’t stand the sand. It’s rough and irritating and gets stuck everywhere, like chewing gum on the desks at school. Not like you.”

He was looking into her eyes again now, in a way that he’d never looked upon any other human being before. It was a type of love that went far deeper than friendship did, or even blood.

“You’re soft and smooth,” he continued to say in a far livelier tone than he had started with, rubbing her hand at first, but then moving on to touch her back. A sudden wave of paralysis fell over Hannah and in this state of contrasting feelings and high emotions; she lost all sense of control over herself. Impulsively, without any thoughts on the possible consequences, she leant forwards and kissed Harry on the lips.

A warm, soothing feel coursed through their veins, like an adrenalin rush, only better.

Harry, shocked, but also excited by what had happened, whispered with a smile spread across his damp lips – “Wow, I never realised Amish people were so forward. Maybe you did make it to the other bank after all.”

“You’re making fun of me!” Hannah cried, not knowing what to state other than the obvious.

“No I’m not. I’d be much too frightened to tease the person who saved my life and has the muscles to swim for a mile.” He replied with a laugh, although beneath the joke, a great deal of gratitude was also present in his tone. Not only had she nursed him back to health when no one else could, she’d also more importantly saved his soul. For all his life he’d been worrying it was turning rotten and corrupt and continually asked himself “What is the purpose in living?”, but now he knew he did have a purpose and that there were things in life that made him happy.

Hannah pulled Harry into an even tighter embrace, grasped his head with her hands and kissed him again, whilst saying “You’re going to pay for that Harry Simpkins.” They both began laughing uncontrollably and then Hannah pushed Harry down onto the sand and fell on top of him.

“Don’t like the sand, eh?” she mocked. “Well by the time I’m finished with you, you’re going to be covered in the stuff.”

Harry’s smile widened further than he’d ever thought possible and added with a slight purr, “Maybe when you’re ‘finished with me’ we could swim across the lake.”