Nøkken: Water Spirit

A shimmering lake of jewels gently nudged grace into a fluid dance where small wave after wave caught streams of sunlight glancing off a gleaming reflection set upon water. The wind whispered rejuvenation and calm as it circulated air against the onslaught of humidity threatening to overtake the day. Rare is such a treasure, channeling both the charged sizzle of energy and sweet stillness enveloping those who would find solace and peace there. 

A world of its own, was the one found out upon the deep beneath the surface. Sometimes a drifting isle and sometimes one with determined direction was the kayak manned by both captain and crew in one. A less independent soul who were not inclined to the attraction of what tranquil solitary activity lent might well have felt isolated and even some measure of fear out in the middle of a seemingly endless amount of water with barely the sliver of a horizon in the distance. 

This is not such a tale. It is, instead, a mere observance of enjoying the simple pleasures experience can offer, if only it is allowed. 

Quietly, and without haste, the maneuverable craft found its way along the far coastline. Tree trunks, snapped and mostly buried, poked up from beneath the surface. A broken wooden dock was its own island, just out of touch from the shore. Upon that edge of land tall grass, low lying plants with exotic and wide verdant leaves along with pristine white flowers beckoned invitingly in the background for someone to soak in their radiance and beauty. 

Meanwhile, as whimsical dreams of what story might lay in promise of such a wonderful, almost secret place floated as surely in my mind as my body upon that eight-foot aquatic vessel, snapping turtles sunned themselves in the warmth kissed upon their smooth, hard shells. Necks were outstretched, soaking in the rays coming down from above to tingle the cold, wrinkled flesh extended from inside their protective shield. 

Like humans, they seemed to have their own characteristics. One nearly let me get so close, I could touch it before it abandoned its slender birch stump angled out of the lake. Another on the aged dock was not so trusting and as soon as I turned the kayak's nose towards it, bailed fast while I was a good distance away. 

As I counted myself lucky, I saw two more sharing a tree. There must have been power and comfort in numbers as they let me get relatively close. I saw two or three more in the distance and gave them a wide berth, but they were further down towards the wild where the stumps grow thicker in number and the marsh-like grass, taller. They were not so trusting as those who I had encountered on my journey thus far, and in the sweet silence of the lake, I could hear their nearly undetectable splashes as they slipped into the water. 

The sandhill crane in the distance must have gotten the memo too, and she didn't suffer me getting as close as I had only the day previous. So, I turned again towards what looked like three families of geese and their unobstructed journey to blend in with the other occupants of the lake where everyone had their space, and shared spaces were given an extensive buffer.