I wanted very very much to ask the girl what she had wished for. The tales went that if you told someone your lantern wish, it wouldn’t come true, but of course I didn’t believe in that. I had a deep respect for secrets, but I didn’t delude myself. A secret-- or in this case a wish-- was not magic. It was just a bundle of words and thoughts and feelings, and while it required a delicate touch it was not going to fade away just because it was shared with someone.
In fact the more I thought about it the more it seemed to me that wishes should be said aloud. Sometimes words had a power that came to life on the tongue. But I felt I should not share any of my thoughts with the girl-- it was too beautiful and light a night, and the child probably uninterested in philosophizing.
Maeve nudged me as though I was not already looking at the lanterns as they slowly bobbed in the lake, moving to currents unknown. It was like a strange slow dance, orchestrated by the slightest kiss of the wind or the eddies of fish swimming just below the surface. Captivated, I took a step into the water, and then another. The water was cold but not uncomfortably so. It was orange with lantern light, and as I stepped deeper my skin brightened with the glow. Lanterns bobbed at my knees, bumping into each other in the wake of my steps.
“I know,” I said with a grin when the girl introduced herself. Maeve was the regent’s daughter, the court’s newest baby. Of course I knew who she was. “I’m Aspara.” I glanced over my shoulder, and beckoned to the younger girl with a mischievous smile. “Come on, the lake is pretty shallow on the edges.” I took a few steps further, careful to make sure we would never go deeper than Maeve could touch.
“When I was little my sister and I practically lived in the lake.” Little fish. The memories made my heart do something funny I couldn’t quite describe. Not a pain, not a joy. Not even nostalgia. Just-- something. (what a poor storyteller I am! Mother, I don’t mean to fail you, I promise…) “We pretended to be kelpies. Do you know what a kelpie is?”
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@Maeve
