Above me, the tree is letting loose its streamers, its confetti. It’s drifting down the crinkled orange leaves and depositing them upon the water. I take a long sigh, not in frustration, but a release of everything that is not this peaceful moment.

My phone rings gently against my hip, and I check who’s calling.

I chuckle slightly.

“Hey…uh, are you okay?” my mom asks.

“Yeah?” I say. “Why would I not be?”

“Because I was checking, and it says you’re currently on the other side of the country. The family check-in is maybe glitching out.”

“Yeah, probably,” I say, and get up from the bench. I head for the small break in a line of hedges, taking one more glance at the gorgeous crystal blue lake behind me.

“I’ll be right home, actually,” I say.

“Okay, see you in a minute.”

“See you then,” I say, and pass through the gap. I shiver as the rainy and cold weather snaps back into place. The perpetually overcast sky makes the evergreen trees emanate emerald.

I look back at the innocuous gap and smirk.

“Other side of the country, huh? Wonder just where that pond is.”

–

Special thanks to: Melissa Potter

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