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It all Began and Ended with a Tree
Chapter 10
I’m in the water and it embraces me. I’m drifting astray in the deep blue, as I do, I look up, and the bars of light that filter through the water break upon my skin. I blow a few bubbles, adding to the melodramatic effect.
I hear Elle’s loud shout “DAVE!!” If not for the water, I’ll be laughing my guts out, but it leaves no room for that. I swim around to another side and I’m pretty deep so Elle doesn’t see this. Soon, my lungs will be screaming for air, but for now, I’ll enjoy the prank.
I cannot remove from my mind the moment that I came up and splashed water on the unknowing girl. I end up laughing even more above the water at the soaked and stunned Elle.
“Dave!” she yells. I am still laughing and my eyes are closed because of this, I fail to notice her sly move towards me. She lunges and lands in the water right in front of me sending some water up my nostrils. I cough a bit, dazed, more because of the water though.
I splash some water her way, hitting her in the middle of a guffawing burst of laughter. I believe she swallowed some and now it is my turn to laugh. Before she could retaliate, I swim away, closely following the shore of the island. Elle is in hot pursuit, luckily for me, she’s not that great a swimmer, but she’s okay.
I’m just glad for the fun. It’s been some time since I’ve been able to relax so much. Elle’s presence helps and I’m grateful for it. Sure, as far as looks go, Elle is a great woman, but in personality, she’s even better. I think I’ve yet to meet someone much like her.
The hours pass in blissful roughhousing, albeit a gentler form and it’s very much uplifting. I realize that it’s almost midday and it will soon be too hot to swim in the light of the sun. I tell Elle this and she answers by splashing water in my face. “Last one out of the water’s a rotten egg!” she exclaims.
I’m all too happy to take on the challenge. Once on shore, we fall on the sand laughing. I go around the tree to get into drier clothing. The first thing I see when I get back is Elle drawing on her sketchpad. I see that it’s an illustration of the lake, it’s beautiful.
She looks at me and says “Would you like to try your hand at drawing?”
I’m not too much of an artist, but I take up the offer. I take at least half an hour drawing, at least trying to do so. When I’m done I show it to Elle, a proud look on my face. “Oh! A squirrel!” She says promptly.
“What? Where?”
“There! You drew one!”
“I did not! I drew a tree! See, there are the branches, that’s the trunk, those are the roots!” When I see the puzzled expression on Elle’s face, I return it. I’m confused, muchly so.
“Oh, I am so sorry, I thought you were pointing at random squiggly lines.”
“That is IT!” I put the sketchpad down reverently, and I begin tickling her. “Vengeance is mine!” I shout.
“S--Stop it Dave!” Elle pleads between laughs. Her eyes are brimming with tears from all the doubled-over laughing she’s doing.
“Oh well…” I sigh, finally stopping, but pushing in one last tickle. She’s had a chance to show off her talent, now it’s my turn. “Elle, want to hear a story?”
“Of course! Let’s see if you’re better at it than at drawing.” A playful smirk spreads across her face. She’s mocking me, I guess, but it’s time to prove her wrong.
I spend the next half hour weaving a fantastic story of lands lost to lore and myth, of beasts shrouded by mystery and heroes seeking glory beyond all else. I bring her into a world of my creation, where magic ran rampant, where the shadow had fallen. I recite to her with a blazing passion the saga of which I am proud of.
I spend each moment describing in detail every landscape, every character, every beast and every scene. Her eyes stare at me through it all; she utters not a word as I put forth my best. I smile at this, and I carry on, proud of the trance I have her in.
A smile spreads across her face as I enter the waters of romance between my heroes. They are but pawns in my world, characters to move about; my eloquence is their law, their destiny. War erupts and ends at the whim of my word, the dark one gains dominance and is fought back by the heroes at my command, I am a god.
At the tips of my fingers, my main hero falls in love with a lowly peasant girl he meets in a farm during his travels. He stays for a while, eventually falling further and further for the girl, but the allure of destiny calls at him again and again, each time stronger than the last. Elle giggles at this and I--I smile and continue with my saga.
I recite with a flame that would put even the most skilled bard at shame. I speak with a passion directed to the woman I find affection for; I speak with a strength bestowed by the beginnings of love.
Time passes as we are immersed in this world of which I am creator. I look at her and weave my tale, she looks at me drinking it all in, but most of all is that spark of affection, the beginnings of love that I believe we shared at that moment. But as all things cannot go on forever, I bring my tale to a close.
My hero, in his world meets a timely death, brought by natural causes. The glory he sought is still distant as the stars, but he won glory himself, in his own way, he managed to make the world a better place, albeit, no one knew it was his deed. He never saw the peasant girl of his younger days again, but as he entered death’s cold embrace, she ushered him on, and shared it with him.
At the solemn note of the sudden end of my story, Elle stares into the sky wistfully. Perhaps she is contemplating some sort of philosophical ideology to my story, I for one am tired from the story telling so I idly wait for the breakthrough to come. Elle’s face brightens up and I await the wondrous exclamation about some deep seeded truth in my story. To my disappointment, she says this “You should write a book! You’re really talented; make sure I get a signed copy when you get published.” Even worse, she says this while flashing one of those big grins of hers that makes me want to swoon.
“Maybe I should and maybe you should get a start on an artist’s career too!” I say, returning the same stupidly put statement. It may be stupid, but it does the trick. As though hit by a rock, Elle opened her mouth all of a sudden.
“Mom told me you should come by the house some time!”
I am taken aback at the statement, stunned I mouth my words slowly “Hmm… I guess I should! When?”
“I think you should come by tonight!”
“What?!” Even more shock replaces the previous shock that I felt. I can’t help but laugh at Elle, I’m pretty sure I look like an idiot by now. As though my thoughts dictate her, she gives me a puzzled look.
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Well, shocking revelation... For Dave at least. Here's the next chapter, I Put on a Facade
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