Song Remains the Same

Chapter 85: Sunny Meadows

"They keep me between these hollow walls."
- Dream Theatre

Daphne Allen picked her way along the wooded trail and breathed in deeply—the early morning November air was crisp and invigorating and made her feel in-tune with her soul like nothing else really did. Her hiking boots crunched softly on leaves below and the only other sound was a few singing birds and a distant wailing sound that Daphne thought was a cougar or maybe a fire engine. Other than that oddity, it was peaceful, quiet, and calm here in the arms of Mother Nature.

Although many of her friends had been worried about her little self-proclaimed 'pilgrimage retreat,' Daphne was very certain that this was the right thing for herself. She wasn't afraid of sleeping outside or camping by herself, and why should she be? God was watching over her. God had angels guarding her steps. These few days spent without the distractions of civilization were for spiritual renewal and inner reflection. Solitude and meditation were lost arts in modern society, but she mindfully practiced both.

At thirty-five years old, Daphne was not like most other women her age. She was unmarried without children, she was not an accomplished career-focused person and she had no real desire to be. Daphne was a woman of strong faith. She saw God in everything and everyone. She believed in love, peace, faithfulness, and helping others. She lived a simple life and believed that all religions were true and equal, and that all roads led to the same God. She worked at a herbalist shop, believed in the healing powers within the mind, and spent her free time volunteering, seeking self-awareness, and practicing ashtanga yoga.

Lost in her thoughts, as much of a daydreamer as she'd ever been, she didn't notice the signs that said to 'KEEP OUT' and she wandered past them to what she saw beyond: shimmering water. Water was something she was drawn to because of her dreams and visions. She'd dreamt the same dream for so long it seemed like forever: finding a man near water like this, a man who was meant to become her husband. She hadn't seen his face in the dreams, only knew he had dark hair and would be found by her someday, naked beside water and in need of help. She believed in these dreams and anxiously awaited the day when her dreams would come true. God had picked this mysterious man for her and Daphne trusted God. She was lonely, too, and yearned for the day she would have her life companion.

Daphne looked out across the lake, which she realized was man-made—she saw fencing on the far side to keep people out. Why? She glanced around, and that's when she saw him. A naked, soaking-wet man who was huddled in confusion on the nearby bank, frowning as if he had no idea what was happening to him. He didn't see her. Daphne's heart leapt and she gaped openly at the sight of him—he looked hurt and disoriented, and it was exactly how she'd seen it in her mind so many times before. "Oh!" she exclaimed, and he saw her then. Daphne stared—he was devastatingly handsome in a way she hadn't expected or foreseen. "Oh my. Are—are you all right?" she asked softly, breathless from surprise and a certain sort of excitement too. He had been put in her path just as it had been foretold!

He frowned and looked around vacantly, in a daze. When he spoke, his voice was deeper than she'd anticipated. "I'm... I'm... I don't know. I was... I was swimming, I think and... I can't remember." He was very puzzled, and his voice softened as he looked down in confusion. "Something bad happened."

Daphne noticed he was clutching something tightly in one of his fists and she couldn't tell what it was. "Whatcha got there?" she asked softly, trying to gauge him as she chanced going a little closer.

The man didn't seem to realize he'd been holding anything at all and he looked to his hand, opened it up, then was perplexed. "A... a penny," he said, frowning softly to himself. "On a chain. Is... is this mine?" he stroked a finger from his other hand across the surface of it curiously and Daphne eyed him openly. He had this innocence to him that she picked up right away on and loved. He was special. She knew it already and her heart went out to him.