I think I've seen something I shouldn't have seen. The wind pulled my hair softly as I stared at my reflection in the little natural pool by the big lake. My reflection danced softly on the surface, and the more I looked, the more unfamiliar it became. The memories of the day my father died comes and goes, but lately, it's all I've thought about and even dreamt about. It was a warm summer day back then, I was six years old and we were exploring the area around our new house.
"The lake is over here, Jimmy." Dad smiled, puffing his cigarette. He gestured for me to follow him, and I did. The ground was soft under my bare feet, and moss tickled my toes and the sun smiled brightly at us. Dad told me we could go swimming in the lake, but that we had to find the path first. After walking across a few patches of wildflowers, I made sure to remember to go back the same way so I could bring some for mom. "Does mom like flowers?" I asked, glancing at the unfamiliar purple blooms. Dad stopped and looked at them for a minute. "Yeah. She loves flowers." He said softly. He looked very happy. He was probably thinking about mom. "Oh!" he said as he turned around, "I can see the lake now!"
I excitedly ran up to him and took his hand. I glanced at the large lake, seeing a small pebble-covered beach and a shaggy dock. "Are there fishies?" I asked, imagining myself and dad fishing from a small boat. "Probably." He answered, and he picked me up and held me. He carried me down to the edge of the lake, and started to walk along the edge to get to the beach.
"You must never come down here alone Jimmy. See that ledge there?" Dad pointed at the ledge that went all the way around. I looked at it, but didn't see why I couldn't walk here. "You can fall down, and if you do, you won't be able to get up again." Dad explained, noticing my puzzled expression. "But I can swim." I argued. "Not far enough."
He put me down on the ground and held my hand. He puffed the last bit of the cigarette and put it out carefully on the ground. He made sure it was completely burnt out before we continued. Once, dad set fire to our old garden. Mom was very mad for many days, but I remember talking about it like it was the funniest experience ever. I guess it kind of was, or at least I remembered it as a very funny moment. Maybe I cried. I don't really remember.
As we walked around a small corner, another ledge appeared. We had to walk around that too. Once we got to the opposite end of it, behind a few trees, I noticed a shimmering blue light. "Look." I exclaimed, pulling my dad closer to the little ledge. What appeared between the trees was a natural pool, in a perfect paradise-blue shade. It was so clear you could see every rock at the bottom. Further inspection made it obvious it was connected to the lake. It had a tiny slit in the big ledge, where the water came through. I wondered why the pool was so clear, while the lake was almost black.
"Wow." Dad whispered, stretching his neck to look down into the pool. "Can we take a swim here?" I asked, suddenly getting excited. "Why is it so clear?" I added. "I don't know." Dad answered, ignoring my first question. He let go of my hand and started climbing down the ledge, onto a plateau. He had to lower himself down, but he had no problems. There were almost steps down to the pool, going around the edge elegantly. I started preparing to climb down too, but dad told me to stay up top. I sat down instead, with my legs over the ledge. If I jumped, I would land on the first step.
My hands itched to push myself off. I dangled my legs back and forth as I watched dad climb down the steps, finally stopping at the last one, which was only a few cm over the water. "It doesn't look deep," I observed. "Remember what I told you about light reflection?" Dad asked, not looking at me. I thought about it. "The magning glass?" I asked, thinking about burning ants and looking at my own skin through the magning glass I got for my 6th birthday. Dad laughed, and corrected me; "No, the magnifying glass. But yeah, sometimes the light reflects on a surface in a way that makes it look magnified." I nodded, "and water reflects light!". I smiled, proud of myself. I love science, I thought and looked up in the sky, imagining the little arrows that came from the sky and hit the reflecting surfaces.
