My mind whirled as I bungled through my evening. I could barely get my thoughts away from Itzy. Her beautiful face, her soft lips.... And her cute little voice. Let alone the schoolgirl outfit.
Holy crap! How was I possibly going to get anything done?!?!
But, even worse, how was I to get back in touch with her?!?!?!
I did eventually get to sleep, and I tossed and turned all night.... Eventually the alarm reminded me of real life, and I got up and headed off to work. By the time I reached the office, I had convinced myself that it was just going to be a one-time thing... that I should just accept the fact that my life was not that exciting, and I needed to stop living in a fantasy world in my head.
That debate went on all day, despite my busy workload and two meetings I needed to attend. By the end of the day, logic had won out.... Even though I loved the outdoors, and grew up working hard in construction, I was still an office geek. I had taken the IT route after I got out of the Army. It had allowed me to purchase my own house at 27 and not be house poor. I'd been living there for five years now. My life had been pretty steady since, working, escaping into the 'Wilds' whenever I could. A small trickle of lovers had come and gone during those years. Nobody sticking around for long.
I knew when I got home, I needed to be outside again. The cold office environment had made me feel sluggish and sleepy all afternoon. So, as soon as I hit the front door, I began tearing off the office clothes and heading for shorts, t-shirt and hiking boots.
We all know where I headed.... Straight down my street. I had convinced myself it had been all my imagination.
But....
Well, I had to check. I needed verification!
As I entered the clearing nothing seemed out of place. It was just my old meadow.... Dust motes floated through the sunshine, bugs and bees buzzing through the grass and flowers. The stream flowed along just like it had all my prior visits.
Clearly, I had been dreaming. I must have been! I mean, really.... Some Cosplay chick being interested in me? It was laughable!
So, I decided a good soak would do me good.... Back to the edge of the stream and off came my shoes and socks. My feet went into the water, and I sighed in relief.
I wasn't as tired as I probably should have been, but I leaned back on my hands and tried to relax. My head fell back a little and the sun shone on my closed eyes, warming my face, and making me smile again.
A few seconds like that and I pulled my head back vertical. I slowly opened my eyes. I realized I was staring at the tree I had first imagined seeing my dream girl. I moved my eyes to the last tree she had hidden behind and movement caught my eye. Was that silver hair flapping around?
I jumped to my feet and began to rush across the stream, almost falling as the bottom fell away quickly ahead of me. My eyes were on the hair blowing around as my feet splashed through the water, drenching my clothes in my rush.
I realized a step or two in that she wasn't there. But, as I took the last step or two, I could clearly see a small bunch of hair, five or six, maybe, that had caught in a piece of bark on the tree.
It was real?
She was real!!!
When would she come back? Would she come back?
Either way, I stumbled back to the stream bank and sat back in my spot. I held the hair between my fingers gently. I brought the small bundle to my nose.... But her scent had faded overnight. At least to my human nose.
Maybe I could find a tracking dog service or something?
'Stop it!' I told myself. I was being ridiculous. It was just a pretty girl who had the softest lips I'd ever imagined. Why was I acting like this? Like some lovesick teenager fawning over a pretty cheerleader he'll never really know.
But I didn't leave until it was almost too dark now, did I?
And, the next day, too. By the fourth day I was beginning to doubt my sanity. By Day five, I knew I was crazy and decided I would only give it one more day.
Day six came and I was sitting at my stream. I was thinking about work, sadly. My days had returned to routine. Each day farther from my encounter, the more I began to doubt, and the more my mind returned to work and my regular life.
The weather today was the warmest yet. It was the mid-80's and the sun was shining. I had decided to go for a run today before returning to my little clearing and taking a swim. So, today it was running shorts, running shoes and a small tank top as I jogged down the Red Diamond Path past my normal turn off. I had begun sweating a little and thoughts of the water at the end were more and more appealing.
At the turn, where my path ended at one of the easier paths, a young mother with two young kids smiled appreciatively as I jogged in placed waiting for them to pass. I smiled, darted forward, tapped the marker on the other side of the path, and turned to jog back down the way I'd come.
I hit my turn out and walked to cool off. By the time I'd reached the clearing, my breathing was back to normal, my heartrate not quite. But, as the days before, nothing new or different greeted me in my little clearing.
So, off came the socks and shoes, and the tank top and into the water I went. The water was perfect. A little cool down near the sandy bottom, and warm near the top. The pool's surface rippled out away from me as I my head split the surface. The water was only about waist deep, but it gave me enough room to take a short 'lap' of about two strokes.
That was all I needed as I drifted and turned and settled my butt on the bottom. I was at a point where my head and shoulders sat above the water line.
I simply relaxed and tried to let everything go. I let work go.... Almost forcibly pushing each project from my thoughts. Then, the bills, and George's wife trying to push the new neighbor on me. I chuckled as I pushed that one out. I focused on my toes in the wet sand.... The cool water, mixing with the warmth of my skin creating a moving, flexible bubble. I focused on the feeling of the water flowing slowly across my body.
A small fish came up and plucked at one of my leg hairs.
My head settled back in the water and my ears settled just below the surface. Sounds changed from birds and bugs to bubbles and those funny underwater echoes. I could suddenly hear my feet on the sand below and I smiled as my eyes drifted closed for a few seconds.
I sat up and let the water drip from my hair and down my shoulders.
My eyes drifted open and I looked towards the way I'd come. I watched a few dandelion seeds floating across the meadow and felt very peaceful for the first time in days.
