By Sarah Mutziger
INSPIRED BY ART PIECE #77 “The Beaver Pond”
The woman stepped into the clearing and gazed out over the water. At first, all she noticed was the dazzling reflection of the sky on the surface of the pond. It was a perfect mirror. The floating clouds turned her world upside down. Then she noticed the little boat. “It’s sinking..like my marriage” she thought to herself. “No, It’s still floating..about to sink. It’s disappearing into the water without a ripple, without disturbing the mud, or the reflection. How can that be? My marriage is sinking..and it’s disturbing everything. Creating ripples. Churning up the mud. Nothing is clear. There is no reflection. Is it floating or sinking? I can’t tell. “She sat down on a log the beavers had left and watched the boat for a long time. When she stood up, everything was clear. She knew what she needed to do.
The young man came into the clearing and gazed out over the water. At first all he noticed was the dazzling reflection of the sky on the surface of the pond. It was a perfect mirror. The floating clouds turned his world upside down. Then he noticed the little boat. “It’s sinking, like my life” he thought to himself. “No, it’s still floating, about to sink. It will disappear into the water without a trace, without a ripple, without disturbing the mud or the reflection. But, it’s still like my life.” He sat on a log the beavers had left and watched. Then he smiled. “Precisely! Of course! I’ve been so blind…I watch myself all the time. Just like this…and…I sink silently in fear.” He saw himself clearly, and the obstacles were gone.
The young girl came into the clearing and gazed over the water. At first all she noticed was the dazzling reflection of the sky on the surface of the pond. It was a perfect mirror. She didn’t understand why, but it turned her world right-side up to see the floating clouds. She had been raped by her father and he had turned her world upside down. She didn’t understand that either. Then she noticed the little boat. “It’s sinking, like my life,” she thought to herself. “No, it’s still floating, about to sink. It might disappear into the water, without a ripple, without disturbing the mud or the reflection. It might not.” She sat down on a log the beavers had left and watched. She thought about killing herself and disappearing like the boat. She thought about killing her father and how he might disappear like the boat. Then, she saw herself swimming through the clouds, with the clouds, touching the clouds. It was irresistible. She smiled as she eased into the water trying not to make ripples. She floated with the clouds across the sky. They were there just for her. The sky was blue just for her. The clouds were fluffy just for her. Sunlight shimmered through her body. He wounds were washed. When she swam ashore she knew that she would not return home. She did not have to. She had just swum across the sky. She could swim away from him and he would never touch her again.
The old man stepped into the clearing and gazed out over the water. At first all he noticed was the dazzling reflection of the sky on the surface of the pond. It was a perfect mirror. The floating clouds turned his world upside down. Then he noticed the little boat. “It’s sinking, like me,” he thought to himself. “No, it’s still floating…about to sink. It’s disappearing into the water without a ripple, without disturbing the mud, or the reflection. Is that like me?” He sat down on a log the beavers had left and gazed out softly. His eyes let go of focus. Then he noticed his loneliness was gone. It was quite remarkable. It had been there so long he had forgotten what it felt like to not be lonely. He knew he was dying and he thought about it. He looked carefully out over the water and realized he was more like the floating clouds than the sinking boat. He smiled and gave thanks for the perfect ending.