Asleep
by Marcie Langford

She parted the water with her hands outstretched in a prayer. With a splash she dove in, disturbing the lake and causing the swans to flutter from where they were nestled in the reeds. Underneath, it was warm and clear, and her eyes eased open as she pushed her legs out like a frog and glided deeper to get a better look at the rainbow trout and to grab some lake plants. The plants were huge, swaying with the soft current, and as she neared the trout, they did not dart away. They circled around her as she tugged on the plants, and she smiled at them.

Her plant freed, she floated to the top and pulled herself from the lake, water dripping off her body in rivers. She broke into a sprint towards the forest, the plant whipping around in her right hand.

In the forest she found the nymphs. They kissed her and she kissed them back, then they ran to a tree. She climbed it faster than any of the nymphs, her fingers gripping the rough bark; her knees were ripped and bleeding from the climb, but she wasn't worried. Once at the top, she poked her head from the foliage and looked around. The sky was azure, and the sun hung like a big ball, warming her cheeks. She could see the lake, surrounded by acres of tall green grass. Patches of wildflowers pocked the landscape, and in the distance she could see the silver mountains where she often ran to and played. She smiled wide and marveled at her home.

She jumped down and the nymphs caught her and she ran and played with them. They ate oranges then lounged below the shade of a tree and napped until it was nighttime, and then she flew across the valley, the nymphs following her, her smile wide as she searched for something new.

There was a stirring. Suddenly, she was not sprinting across the meadows on plush grass. She shifted her body, wondering why she couldn't see, why she couldn't feel the breeze brush her body. Her eyes fluttered open. Sheets and blankets encased her, and pillows surrounded her head. And there, standing over her, was a man, the look on his face anticipating something from her.

For a second she was confused, scared because she wasn't with her nymphs in the valley, but then she realized what had happened. He'd kissed her, this man that was looming over her.

"Hello," he greeted, clasping her hand. "I saved you. I saved your family, I saved your land." He grinned at her.

She found it hard to smile back. "I know," she told him, pulling her hand from his grip. "It's such a shame. I was having a wonderful dream."