Grey Light

11. Sacred cove

11. Sacred cove

        The ocean was calm when they set off; there was barely any wind, and the surface was so smooth that she was almost tempted to try and walk on it. There was still that underlying urge to dive in and immerse herself, and see what was down there in that shadowy world; but memories of the cold shock of yesterday kept her fearful and cautious.

        She tried to keep her head up and gaze onward towards the green mountains, yet it was awkward and uncomfortable in her blue life jacket—it didn’t quite fit her. But after a while, she got used to the cramped position she was sitting in, and concentrated only on the left, right, left, right rhythm as they glided across the water.

        They found a cove of black and grey and white pebbles, and sharp shells, and drooping branches. She climbed over the mossy rocks and entered into a forest of green and brown barcodes, of fallen giants and soft dirt. She came upon a huge tree—its roots were as tall as she was.

        All around, there was laughter and overlapping voices as they moved and worked constantly, trying to escape the cold.

        They sat on the grey rocks and ate and talked together, and she looked out at the water again, at the green hills in the distance. The sun dipped lower and lower towards that faint line; it was too bright, so she looked the other way instead.

        When night fell it was almost pitch black, and she was scared to move about in the darkness. They built a fire out of branches in a pit of black ashes, out of dead lives. The smoke rose and the flames licked their way around the wood in a sensual dance that she couldn’t help but stare at. She listened to that one voice, and when she finally remembered the cosmic roof overhead she looked up and she smiled.

        From one to three to five or six to innumerable, uncountable infinities of twinkling silvers. Two satellites flew by each other—so close to intersecting, yet forever parallel in their paths. She saw the Milky Way, a long river of swirling dust and motionless stars. She stretched her fingers, reaching up, and tried to touch the sky.