“ Anna ! Anna! Wait for me !”
“I thought you didn’t want to come?”
“It’s dangerous! We can’t be in here.”
“Why not?”
“Don’t you know what they say?”
“Nanna’s with us. Don’t be such a baby.”
Two young girls walked along a path through a forest. A middle-aged woman trailed along behind, struggling with a large wicker basket.
“Missie Mary, don’t trip now and both of you, keep clean. I can’t see a thing in these woods.” The nanny fumbled in her apron pocket to pull out a pair of spectacles.
Anna walked forth confidently, not caring when her lacy frock snagged on the encroaching brambles. It was heavy and even though the afternoon was cold, her cloak was becoming tiresome and hot.
They had decided on a picnic for their afternoon tea that day. Anna and Mary's father was in the country for his health and their mother had gone as well to take care of him. They were now being taken care of by Mary’s nursery mother, “Nanna”.
Anna kept walking, not adhering to the drifting voices behind her. She smelled the sweet fragrance of new blossoms and sodden moss. A deer and her fawn stood nosing at the root of a tree. A lazy butterfly spiraled past and landed lightly upon a daisy.
“Anna.Anna!”
“Mm?”
“We’re stopping here now.”
A lace table cloth was spread out on a grey slab of rock next to the river. A raven croaked overhead in a tree as Nanna set out the fine bone china tea cups and poured hot jasmine tea out of a wax sealed bottle. Anna sat with a cup in her small hands, still oblivious to the idle chatter of her sister and Nanna. She looked around her. The rocky hills loomed overhead, casting a cool shadow over the white table cloth.The afternoon sun was high and the birds cast such an irresistible spell of sleepiness upon the party that soon they lay down under the dappled shade and knew no more.
Anna woke and sleepily rubbed her eyes. Her sister and Nanna were still sleeping soundlessly. She looked about her. The air had dimmed, and she thought to herself that it must be near nightfall. A small shower of pebbles fell from above. Anna looked up and caught the sight of something strange. She was sure she had seen the crown of a dark head vanish from above the cliffs. Without speaking, Anna stood and began to climb the winding path to the peak of the cliff.
As she walked up the path, the sound of water grew louder. A steely mist began to spread over the forest floor. A great pool sang sadly beneath a heavy waterfall. Anna laughed and rushed toward it. Big grey rocks surrounded the pool and she scrambled over them, throwing off her little white boots on the way. Pulling up the heavy skirts of her frock, she stuck her toes in the water, relishing the opportunity to play and be alone.
Noticing a rocky ledge near the waterfall, Anna stood up and said to herself laughing, “I will sit on that rock and get wet. Nanna will be furious!” The rocks were slippery and the water rushing down from the cliff above was fast and hard. Anna pulled herself onto the ledge. The cold water rushed over her dark hair and she laughed at her sodden dress. She leaned over to look into the pool. A dark shadow passed under the water and she suddenly felt herself falling forward and plunging into its depths.
Silence encompassed Anna as she sank deep into the water. She couldn’t swim and so she floated toward what seemed like the bottom of a bottomless pool. White bubbles swept passed her wide open eyes. A scream seemed to stop in her throat. Her arms reached over her head. Something plunged toward her and grasped her hand. She could feel herself being pulled up. An arm was wrapped around her waist and she looked into the face of a dead boy.
He held her close and she could smell damp earth on his oversized frock coat. His dirty pale face was surrounded by long strands of black hair. His eyes were the very color of a night sky and were rimmed with thick lashes. Anna looked up into his face,
“Th-thank you.” She dropped off into a lulled silence within her mind.
The boy carried Anna’s body.
I woke up in a dark place. I thought I had died. But there was a small glimmer of red playing off the walls. Broken toys lay all around me on the dirt floor. A soldier with a broken gun, a molded bear with a torn eye and a missing arm, a deflated red ball. Everything was damp. I stood and looked for the boy who had saved me from the water, though I was still not entirely sure that I was alive.
I found him crouched low to a flickering fire. His long black hair hid his face from me; he did not look up. I found my white button up boots sitting by the fire, drying. It was then that I found I was cold and shivering in my soaked dress. I sat next to him by the fire. He wouldn’t look at me.
