Favorite Aunt – Chapter 9A: There be Forest Nymph’s here

Turning back to the woman, he saw she was holding something with her other hand but he wasn’t able to focus on what it was. He felt drawn to her. Her body language seemed to say she was in urgent need of help and he pushed himself as hard as he could to get to her with excruciating slowness. The water splashed in slow motion and it felt like he was walking through molasses in winter. His feet and legs felt like lead as he tried to make his way to help her all the while aware his knee could give out should he push too hard.

He heard Jean’s frantic calling but still couldn’t hear what she was saying. The splashing of the water made dull sounds as it became more difficult to get to the woman in trouble. He put all of his strength into moving to get to her and at a certain point felt himself become trapped. With every ounce of strength he could conjure, he reached and stretched as far as he could toward her outstretched hand at the same time as she was reaching for him. He could see now that she was standing on one foot and surmised she was holding it with her other hand as if injured.

She looked awkward holding her right foot with her right hand and she looked ready to fall over at any moment. His resolve gave him the means to reach another fraction of an inch closer. He thought that if he could just touch her, he could help her. As their fingers got closer, another sound of rolling thunder vibrated through him.

Almost there. He called to the woman. “Just reach a little more and you’ll be safe.” He said. His voice sounded muffled for some reason. Her body came into better focus and he saw she was wearing shorts and a bright green top. Something glinted in the water below that caught his eye. Ignoring it he continued to struggle reaching her.

The glint flashed so brightly now he squinted and pulled his outstretched hand back to cover his eyes. Cautiously, he looked down and saw a ring shimmering brilliantly beneath the surface. Changing his focus, he figured the woman dropped it and injured herself looking for it. He bent down to pick it up with as little effort as breathing. Reaching into the water felt…normal. He was curious as to why as he couldn’t take another step. The ring was gold with a large diamond. It was a wedding ring. Glad he found it for her he looked up and held the ring out to her,

Is this yours? he asked. His voice was clear now and a low rumbling seemed to roll in a continuous sound. He saw her head nodding and held the ring out to her. She reached for it. As she did, her third finger slipped through it. At that exact moment her face was in perfect clarity for a fraction of a second before his vision went to a blinding white as a loud crack of thunder reverberated through him.

Ben woke suddenly and sat up breathing heavily and heart pounding in his chest. He’d felt as though struck by lightning and staring at the ceiling, checked himself to make sure he wasn’t on fire somewhere. His knee had a dull ache but that wasn’t unusual. What was unusual was how quiet everything seemed to be now.
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