Mornings by the River

Mornings by the River

            I would call the place the River. It is a place about 20 to 30 minute-walk away from Solheimar. After you left the front entrance of Solheimar, you would start walking on a sandy path next to the road. There would always be horseshoe marks on that path. If it is early in the morning, the frost would still keep the ground hard and you could see all the trial marks left on the day before. After you see the road makes a broad turn to the left, and tree line starts to emerge, you would soon see a rather inconspicuous green iron gate, which would lead you to the path to the River. It is always a good idea to keep the gate closed by lowering the iron bar on top, just in case any sheep would want to take a look at the world out there.

            That path, what I would call the River Path, is rather straight. It has two parallel trials that are separated by a grass line less than a foot wide. If it rained the day before, the trials would be rather wet, especially when there is dew dangling on the meadows surrounded the trials. When that happens, it would be a good idea to walk on the grass in the middle. There are also a lot of trees on the sides of the trials. They are rather dense at the beginning of the trial. As you walk on, trees would get sparser and sparser, and they would finally disappear as being replaced by endless meadows and moss. When that happens, you would encounter another gate, exactly the same as the one at the entrance, signifying your exit of the property. 

            From then on, you would need to rely on waterproof boots and discerning eyes. There would be a lot of hidden creeks buried under the meadows. One wrong step would lead to a total suck-in of your feet. Of course you will be able to drag your feet out when that happens, but only at the expense of getting all muddy. When it is cold, however, and sun rises rather late in the morning, such as late October, it could be your lucky day. Water would be frozen before the sun rises, and it would still be really bright for you to walk and find your way. When that happens, all you need to do is to pretend you are walking on grassland, only with cracking sound of ice for every step you make.

            By that point, you would already see the river, vast and majestic. If the sun has yet made its appearance, the water would look rather tranquil, without the exciting reflection of light. But, the sun would mark its place by spreading colors on the clouds and mountains and meadows. He is indeed a brilliant artist, with mixing colors that are even inadequate for language. Not far in the east, where the mountain across the River lies, would be on the rather bright orange/red spectrum. The closer to the sun, the brighter it would be, but even the place with most light would still be rather gentle and soft when compared with the sun itself. If you turn your head gradually to the north and to the east, you will see the gentlest transition of color. The west is filled with the coldness of dark blue and grey, while the east is diffused with the warmth of orange and red. If my eyes could be further apart, I may be able to experience both at the same time.

            Finally, you would reach the bank of the river. Stepping on the black volcanic sand, walking by the water, seeing the water shining like fish’s scales, listening to the creek merging into the big river, smelling the light touch of moisture. The feelings of moments like that only belong to the moments, and the moments alone. No words could be sufficient to describe those feelings, and neither could one completely comprehend such feelings from another person.

 Cons

Mr. "G"