It is a rainy day. [[How rainy?]] You woke up early this morning to watch a rope of water sluicing off the gutter outside your window. You could hear the music of the rain, each individual raindrop sound melting together into a torrent of sound constantly changing in color and texture. The lake has been ironed into a flat pane by the storm. Overhead, the gray clouds are the underside of a godly tabletop. The island stands proud and verdant out on the mirror of the lake. [[A good day to watch the lake.]] [[Not a good day to watch the lake]].Especially since you got up early and have been inside all day. Since this morning, the rain has petered off, and now it is only a heavy dripping from the trees. [[You walk outside and across the lawn.]] Or you [[put on shoes->Put on shoes]] first.The waves are quiet and understated. The atmosphere has taken on a matte gray caste. You prefer to watch the lake toss white hair and dance in a heavy wind. But you are a devotee of the lake, so you will go visit it anyway. [[You walk outside and across the lawn.]] Or you [[put on shoes->Put on shoes]] first.The stones of the patio are submerged in several inches of cold water, rippling with the continuous flow from the gutters. You splash through it, (if: (history:) contains "Put on shoes")[and it immediately seeps into your shoes and through your socks.](else:)[and your bare feet are freezing. You dance out of the water and onto the lawn.] The grass has gone unmowed for several months. It is tangled like long hair on a late riser, and verdant like macerated herbs as it twines around your ankles. Turgid little leaves stick between your toes as you walk, and (if: (history:) contains "Put on shoes")[the mud underneath, though not visible through the thick growth, streaks your sneakers.](else:)[water wells up around your feet every time you take a step.] You reach the deck. Now that you're out from behind the screened porch and the stand of trees between the house and the water, you can see the clouds tearing as they flow over the mountaintops, and the thick mist tangling in the treetops like spider-silk. (if: (history:) contains "A good day to watch the lake.")[The scene is even more breathtaking than you expected.](else:)[Although you prefer the lake to be bright and vibrant, you have to admit that seeing the still water and the muted landscape calms your inner self. Your stream of thought pauses for a moment, halted by the fractal complexity of the ripples and tiny waves on the surface of the water.] [[Watch from the stone in the water.]] [[Watch from the boathouse.]] The ground outside is all black mud under the grass. You go find socks and shoes and put them on. Today is not a day to go barefoot. After you put on shoes, you [[go outside.->You walk outside and across the lawn.]]You wind down the wooden steps to the docks below the deck. The water here is as clear as glass; beneath it are the long spines of fallen trees, washed smooth and eerie white by years of persistent waves. To reach the stone in the water, you must pick your way along the shifting shoreline between a steep bank lush with briars and poison ivy, and several feet of icy water. (if: (history:) contains "Put on shoes")[|c>[You slip off your shoes and socks for better traction on the slippery stones.]](else:)[Your bare feet will allow you to cling to the slippery stones. [[Navigate the stones. ]] ] (click: ?c)[Maybe it would have been better to go barefoot after all! [[Navigate the stones. ]] ]You double back across the deck and squish through the lawn over to the boathouse. Inside the top floor, the barest sound of the waves splashing against the boat below you is amplified until it fills the space. (if:(history:) contains "Put on shoes")[You kick off your soggy shoes and socks and leave them under the skeleton of an unused desk, clothed in cobwebs.](else:)[You pick your way around the corpses of centipedes, wary of your vulnerable, wet feet in this half-wild space.] You unlock the doors to the balcony, scaring spiders away as you push them apart. The vista opens before you. The grey water is like the Asphodel Meadows, so uniform that it transcends normality and becomes like the wide surface of an iridescent moonstone. The clouds are a wedding veil over the mountains, falling to touch the water at the opposite shoreline. The crowns of the mountains are bathed in opaque mist. In the middle distance, the island is bright emerald green compared to the blue-gray of the mountains. Their dullness only serves to highlight its preternatural verdancy. You lean out over the rail, entranced bhy the bright island. [Wait.]<wait| (click: ?wait)[What was that [[sound->a sound]]?][Take your first step.]<1| (click: ?1)[(replace: ?1)[The first stone holds steady.] [Second step!]<2| (click: ?2)[(replace: ?2)[The second stone is slippery and you almost grab a bunch of poison ivy trying to keep your balance. You see that it is glossy with irritating oils at the last second and instead grab for one of the ropes used to moor boats. You manage to steady yourself.] [Third step.]<3| (click: ?3) [(replace: ?3)[You leap onto the large rock across from your destination. Your heart flutters as your feet slide an inch or two across the algae-slick surface of it, but you manage to keep your balance, and your heartrate steadies. You blow out a stressful breath. This was easier when you were younger and more nimble! Before you is a wide, flat boulder sitting in the water. There is a gap of several feet between you and the stone. It looks almost too far to jump, but you remember making the leap when you were younger and had shorter legs, so surely you won't fall in...? [[Take the leap of faith. ->Leap of faith!]] [[Turn back.]] ]]]]You scoot up to the very edge of the dark, slick stone and stare at your goal, the rock in the water. A breeze blows through and a battery of droplets impact the surface of the lake from the wet leaves stirred by the wind, churning up the ambivalent water ominously. You tense yourself, coiled like a spring, and [leap]<click|. (click: ?click)[ For a heart-stopping moment you are conscious of being suspended in the air above the water and slippery stones, an instant from soaking your clothing and freezing to the bone. Your very skin contracts in fear. But a moment later your first foot impacts the boulder, and you land in a steady crouch. You exhale happily. Your childhood is not gone. Finally you have reached the perfect vantage point. The lake is stirred white in some places by gentle breezes, dark and still in others. For long minutes you watch the clouds flowing over the mountains and listen to the intermittent fall of water from the trees. You inspect your feet, (if: (history:) contains "Put on shoes")[now bare, ]which are flecked with dark bits of decaying leaves from your balancing act across the shoreline. You dip your hands happily into the cold water. [[Then you hear a sound...]] ]You're already damp from the rain. No need to get even wetter falling into the water. You change plans and pick your way back across the stones, ascending the stairs to the boathouse doors. [[You will watch from the balcony instead. ->Watch from the boathouse.]] There is a gray shape in the sky, almost indistinguishable from the clouds but for its movement: you realize it is a large, graceful bird, swimming in the air. As it draws closer to you, you recognize it as a blue heron - and larger than it initially appeared. It is headed right towards you, and you get to your feet as you realize that this is not a coincidence. It is looking you in the eye. By the time it lands in the water before you, it has become monstrous in proportion, taller than the mulberry sapling up the hill. It is only up to its knees in the deep water. [[Listen.]] [[Run!]] Terrified by the creature's razor-sharp bill, you take a step back, stumble, and fall into the water with a loud splash! Affronted, it shakes the water off its feathers and beats its great wings, rising back into the air and flying away as you slosh in a panic back to the dock and sprint into the house, your heart beating. That night, you dream of a dark, perspicacious eye gazing into yours, and the dry ruffling sound of gray feathers. [*]<b| (click: ?b)[(replace: ?b)[//The end.//]]Ruffling her wet, blue-grey feathers, she bows her slender neck, like a graceful vine, and opens her bill. "To commune with the lake on a cold, rainy day like this, you must truly be a disciple of the water," she says cryptically. Her voice is a tangle of human and heron sounds. You can only nod mutely. Her great yellow bill is like a spear, angled towards your shoulder, and for a horrible moment you recall a Grimm's fairy-tale in which a heron ran its enemy through with its long beak. [//Hold still!//]<a| (click: ?a)[(replace: ?a)[But she merely taps each of your shoulders and the top of your head with it, as if knighting you. "For your dedication, I have granted you a magical boon: you have been blessed with the ability to still the wind on a stormy day for long enough to swim in this beautiful water." Awed and afraid, you bow your head in deference, and when you look up again, the gigantic heron is gone. You wait for a long time, but she does not return. Just before you are to leave, an ambitious wave splashes a long, blue-gray feather up onto the stone. You take it delicately and carry it back home with you, setting it on your bookshelf with reverence. [*]<b| (click: ?b)[(replace: ?b)[//The end.//]] ] ]You glance down, hearing a noise apart from the spatter of rain through the trees and on the roof of the boathouse. The sound seemed to come from directly under you, but the slits in the floor of the balcony show nothing. You lean out over the rail and see trembling ripples arising at a spot just in front of your vantage point on the water. The ripples quickly become a shudder, and then the water almost seems to boil. You lean back from the rail as a dark shape materializes and then, with a susurrus of falling water, heaves its bulk up through the surface. [[You hold your breath. ]] [[Flee!]] The glossy, wet-dark skin, elongated flippers, round head, and gray, curling shell - there is no mistake. This is the legendary monster of the lake. She lifts her head slowly to look up at you, blinking slowly. You hold your breath, almost too awed to move, and gently pinch the back of your left hand with your right - but you're not dreaming. This is real. She breathes a whisper of a breath, and then speaks. "Child of the lake, you have been chosen for a boon." [You breathe in.]<breathe| (click: ?breathe)["What boon?" you manage to ask. "A minor magical power has been bestowed upon you. From now on, you will have the ability to part the clouds and taste the sun, even when it is raining, for long enough to go out boating on the lake." You barely have the time to say "Thank you" before she is slipping back down into the water. Soon she is only a great shadow under the surface. Finally ripples pass and she is gone. Nobody will ever believe you. [*]<b| (click: ?b)[(replace: ?b)[//The end.//]] ]You turn back and race through the boathouse. As you exit onto the lawn, the grass grabs at your feet, and the heavy clouds open up again, pouring a torrent of rain down your back. You sprint back to the house and get into shelter, marvelling at the sheets of rain sluicing off the roof. You stare out at the lake, touched by the first fingers of regret for your rash decision, for now you cannot be sure you saw anything at all in the water. You watch the waves from the porch for a long time, until you begin to shiver with cold. That night you dream of dark eyes under clear water. The dream could mean anything. [*]<b| (click: ?b)[(replace: ?b)[//The end.//]]