Where I come from, the trees don’t stand like they should, all bent and shriveled up. And the wind sure ain’t blown crisp air in a while. I mused to myself through a glass of wine. I had never felt free there. My only thanks to that dried up town was my birth. The only reprieve I had was a lake, yes, a tiny lake that took up the span of my backyard. Her sparkling blues and charming laugh never failed to raise my spirits. Not like that was hard to do. Yet, as soon as I was able to, I packed up and left. Leaving both the hazy town and my dear lake behind.
I remember the day we met, I was only a mere 4 years old. My parents did not care to give me any attention they deemed unnecessary, so nothing besides basic care. It wasn’t too bad at first, until I got lonely, and the lake seemed to be the subject of my growing curiosity. So, I hobbled on my slightly unsteady legs and found myself halfway in the water. Naturally at that age, I could not swim and the only thing I could do was panic, and panic I sure did. If I wasn’t nearly drowning at first, I definitely was then.
“Mama! Papa!” I had shouted between mouthfuls of water, fear laced in my voice. Yet, they never came.
“Fear not, dear child,” a soft soothing voice flooded my ears. I calmed down slightly to find that the water surrounding me was no longer restricting me. Amazed, a whispered “thank you” fell from my lips as I was pulled towards the shore. Exhausted from the fight for my life just moments before, I headed back into my house soaked to the bone. My state did not arouse as much worry as it did frustration from my parents. After being scolded as I was bathed and put in warm clothes, I could only cry in my room. My parents didn’t actually care, and at the time, that realization felt like it hurt more than drowning ever could. So, I shut them out and continued my adventures at the lake. “Aurora! Aurora!” I had called for days on end, the lake who happened to be my only friend.
As I grew, Aurora and I grew closer together. I spent as much time as I could with her, until I couldn’t. Time passed as the air grew hotter, even during winter months. Aurora seemed to weaken and her strength was not as mighty as before. Her gorgeous blues hues turned a murky brown, the dirt mixing in from the overuse. I grew scared but could do nothing, even at 7, I knew nobody would believe me. From ages 10 to 15 I tried everything in the book on how to restore her beauty, but no matter what I did her waters remained clogged.
The dry air that now often filled my lungs felt like nothing compared to her pain. By the age of 17 I used my tears to fill what was left of her, which wasn’t much. Aurora seemingly drained overnight, but I watched, and I knew this took years. “Little Mavis, I am glad to have met you, my friend,” a weakening yet still soft voice spoke as a watery hand caressed the tears falling down my face. Usually, I hated the way I would always be Little Mavis in her eyes, it was just another reminder that she would outlive me. However, that didn’t matter anymore, not now and nor would it ever, it seemed.
“Don’t say that, we’ll fix you-”I choked on my tears. “We…we have to.” A sad smile had found itself onto my face.
We soon parted ways after that, or rather I ran away from the inevitable truth. I couldn’t bring myself to look at her dying state, so when my birthday came around a few weeks later, I left. I regret it, leaving her behind like that, I truly do. Aurora is what kept me together for all those years, and I had just abandoned her. I downed the rest of my wine, gazing at the picture from my childhood. A happy little girl grinned as she splashed in a lake, who had seemed to be splashing back. Sighing, I turned the picture over and got up to dispose of the glass. No use reminiscing about the past anymore, I suppose.
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