6 : The Frozen Lake

Ashley descended the stairs and sauntered up to her mother who was busy preparing dinner for them. Their house - that is, the inhabitants of their house - did not believe in the practice of keeping servants, though they were well off enough to have one. So her parents prepared their food and did other domestic work. Her mother was also the owner of a boutique, while her father worked as an architect for the Modern Architects Association Bureau, Harkenland. So while their parents were so busy, she and her little sister just fooled around. It grieved her later that she had never even realized what a selfish act it had been until...her mother was completely out of her life.

Today, she was preparing chocolate cake. Usually, Ashley would've been entranced even by the thought of that cake. However, that day, Ashley had other things to worry about, without getting too distracted by the beauty of the chocolate cake.

Leaning against the wall in a lady-like manner, she said, "Explain the prophecy, please. You know I'm not good with silly poems."

"Get a better attitude first!"

Attitude?! Was showing attitude? Ashley gaped, bamboozled. "No way! I'm not showing attitude!" she said innocently, extending my hand on both sides and waving them like a butterfly. "Look, I'm a teeny-weeny-cutey butterfly, not a spoilt girl who shows attitude. I'm just saving my dignity, that's all!"

My mother raised her eyebrows.

"Why are you raising your eyebrows at me?" Ashley asked dumbly. Her mother had this annoying habit of raising her eyebrows at half of the things that Ashley did or said.

"You know very well why. Stop this childish nonsense, and act like a grown-up for once. I won't explain what the prophecy means. Prophecies are meant to be figured out, not spoon-fed. And they are not "silly poems" at all! Go away now. I have a lot of work to do!"

"Oh come on, mother...please explain it to your little child!" Ashley whined, pouting.

"No, I won't explain it to my sixteen year old daughter!" she said, annoyed.

Disheartened, Ashley went away from the kitchen. She had no other work to do, except brooding over what the deeper meaning of the prophecy could be. But she had absolutely no wish to drive herself crazy over it, and get prematurely grey hair! When she saw a nearly impossible task, she recognized it.

Instead, Ashley decided to go to the frozen lake. It was one of her favorite places in Harkenland, as it had a beautiful and serene atmosphere about it. It always used to manage to calm her down whenever she was hyped up or troubled.

Ashley set off, telling her mother that she would return before dinner. She hoped to find solitude and bliss in that place.

Unfortunately...how could she have known that 'solitude' and 'bliss' were nowhere near what was in store for her that day?!

Ashley trudged her way across the snowy roads until she reached the light pine forest. The trees were scattered,and the wind was less harsh than it had been. The wind, blowing through the trees, makes an eerie noise, but they weren't as scary as people made them sound.In fact, the sounds made by the breeze was quite musical to her ears. When she closed her eyes and let it all embrace her, it felt wonderful. Her frozen lake was just a few minutes away now and she couldn't wait to reach it. She continued up the path, scattering pebbles with her boots. Yes, it was one of her favourite activities - kicking stones and pebbles around like football. Though here, they rarely found free stones...most of them were buried under snow. She hugged herself, pulling her jacket more tightly around her body. Finally, she reached her destination.

The frozen lake was, as usual, frozen. And she guessed that was kind of obvious! After all, what else could've been expected? A flowing river? No way was that possible in such a cold region as Harkenland. She looked at the smooth and naturally polished surface of the lake, in which she could even see a reflection. With smiling lips and glassy eyes, a girl stared back at her. Yes, she was Ashley herself. The peaceful atmosphere of the place was getting to her already, making her smile.

Ashley was deeply engrossed in all those random thoughts. If she wasn't, she would probably have heard the sound of hooves, that stopped when it's owner reached right the edge of the dense jungle on the opposite side of the light, pine woods.

Imagine there being a dense forest in the snowy region of Harkenland that could easily compete against the North Pole! Magically though, there was one!

Ashley's smile widened as she thought about the one and only, but the most beautiful, dense forest in Harkenland. Yes, magic could be found anywhere and everywhere; even in the darkest of places, even in the coldest of lands. One just had to realize and feel it's existence.

But suddenly, her magical land burst. Ashley started to feel strangely uncomfortable and self conscious...as if she was being watched.