Dead silence

Mossy. Dripping so much green that the other colors couldn’t compete, but they were there.

The willow branches moved with the breeze like an attentive lover, licking the surface of the lake.

Dipping my toe, I was sure the blue water was the same temperature as my body and it courted me, taking my breath away. Submerging myself, the liquid communed with my skin, as it had before my birth in my mother’s womb. The dead silence was a clue but not proof of anything.

On the other side of the lake, THEY all stood between the trees, calling me to attention, without words. Great, Great, Great.....Grandmother’s and Grandfather’s, welcoming me as their homecoming queen. Without ever knowing any of them, I recognized each and everyone of them instinctively as kin; the straight hair upon their heads, the low brows and even the wide fingernails I just knew they possessed, but I couldn’t see from across the lake. What wasn’t present were their scars, and I wasn’t sure why I knew this but I did. None of them were in pain. There was no anger, no hate, no emptiness, just love written all over their virgin faces, perfect grains of sand on a pristine beach.

Their arms were open wide embracing me from where I stood, apart from them, tempting me towards their utopia and in that moment, there was nothing more that I wanted than to walk into their embrace when abrputly I said, “No! I’m not ready yet.” They listened in earnest, letting me know they would be waiting for me.

When I awoke, I wondered if I had visited the afterlife, or was this just another silly dream that makes no sense?