Aveline stood at the edge of the valley.
The land opened wide below her.
Long hills curved across the horizon beneath a quiet evening sky.
Between them,
Rivers travelled through the valley floor in slow silver paths.
Thin streams weaving through grass.
Wider channels gliding across pale stone.
Gentle branches of water meeting and parting again across the open land.
Everywhere,
Water moved.
A gentle calm settled through her chest as she looked across the valley.
The wide sweep of the land carried her attention with it and she felt her thoughts begin to ease and fall away.
The air rested softly against her skin and the ground beneath her feet held the warmth gathered through the day.
The stillness of the place allowed her body to begin to soften,
Her breathing slowly deepening.
With a long heavy sigh,
Her shoulders dropped.
Then,
As a soft smile touched her lips,
She began to walk down the slope.
Grass brushed against her ankles as she moved.
Small white flowers appeared between the stems here and there,
Catching the last pale light of the evening.
Her steps slowed naturally as she descended.
The hillside felt soft beneath her feet.
The grass bending easily as she walked.
As she moved further into the valley,
The quiet sound of the rivers began to reach her.
Water sliding across stone,
Passing through reeds and grass,
Folding around curves in the land before moving on again.
The sound spread through the open air.
As she walked,
Abilene felt it sink gently into her thoughts.
The quiet movement of the rivers seemed to reach into her mind,
Loosening the places she had carried through the day.
One by one,
Like knots slowly easing open,
She reached the valley floor and paused beside the nearest stream.
Clear water passed over smooth stones beneath the surface.
Pebbles rested along the riverbed in shades of pale green,
Amber,
And grey.
Evening light passed through the water and rested across the stones below.
Abilene crouched and lowered her hand into the stream.
Coolness gathered around her fingers.
She let her hand remain there for a moment.
The water slipped between her fingers and moved on through the valley.
A sense of calm travelled slowly up through her hand and along her arm,
Leaving a gentle lightness behind it.
Her shoulders lowered further.
Her jaw loosened.
She felt more like herself again as she knelt beside the stream.
The quiet presence of the river drawing her gently back to herself.
She released another slow breath and rose to her feet.
Then she began to follow the river.
The ground beside the stream formed a natural path.
Smooth stones appeared beneath the grass now and then,
Wide enough to place her feet comfortably.
The river curved ahead through tall meadow grass that moved softly against her legs.
Further along the valley,
Three streams travelled close together.
Each followed its own path through the meadow.
Their silver surfaces caught the last of the evening light as they crossed the open ground.
Flat stone bridges ran through the meadow.
Rested across them,
Single slabs placed carefully over the water.
Abilene stepped onto the first bridge.
The stone felt warm beneath her feet.
Water moved below the slab,
Gliding quietly over pale rock.
She crossed.
Another bridge waited ahead,
Then another.
When she reached the strip of land between the second and the third rivers,
She stopped.
Water surrounded her.
Three streams passing through the valley,
Their voices gathering softly.
Together,
She stood there for a moment,
Listening.
Something inside her continued to loosen,
Releasing and relaxing to the sound.
Her thoughts grew softer still.
The quiet presence of the rivers seemed to open a calm space within her,
Wide enough for her mind to rest.
She continued walking.
The middle river curved toward a small grove of pale trees further along the valley floor.
Their trunks rose smooth and light from the grass.
Their leaves a soft silvery green beneath the deepening sky.
The river wove around them.
Water trickled down over small,
Stacked stones,
Forming a delicate little waterfall before gathering into a clear pool.
The basin edged with smooth rock.
Wide steps formed along the bank where the stone descended gradually into the pool.
The trees above casting shifting shadows across the still water below.
Aveline sat on the lowest dry step and carefully lowered her feet into the water.
Coolness folded around her skin.
Small ripples travelled outward from her ankles before fading across the surface of the basin.
The water moved gently through the pool before continuing its journey through the valley.
She rested her hands loosely in her lap.
Above her,
Soft golden lights appeared among the trunks of the pale trees.
Amber resin glowed within small openings in the bark,
Spreading warm light across the stone steps and the pool's surface.
Some rested low along the trunks.
Others appeared higher among the branches.
Their glow reflected across the water.
Aveline turned her face to watch them for a few slow breaths.
Closing her eyes,
She felt their light warming her skin slightly,
Soothing her.
The warmth touched her brow and temples.
And the tightness there slowly released.
Her eyes softened,
The small lines around them easing away.
She could feel the warmth sinking into the rest of her body too.
It felt heavier now.
Not weighed down,
But held.
Held by the warmth,
The stillness and the soft music of the river passing through the valley.
Here,
She could finally let go.
The calm of the valley seemed to settle around her like a warm cloak.
Her thoughts drifted further apart from one another,
And her mind grew quieter.
She opened her eyes slowly and lifted her feet from the water.
As she moved off the stone,
Warm soil and soft grass met the soles of her feet.
Each step felt like walking across thick velvet.
She continued along the river.
Evening deepened across the valley.
Streams curved through the meadow in long,
Shining paths.
Some travelled over shelves of pale stone.
Others widened into calm reaches where the sky appeared across the water's surface.
Golden lights rested along the banks,
Among reeds.
Within clusters of moss.
Between scattered stones.
Their glow followed the rivers through the valley.
Aveline walked toward the center of the land where several waterways gathered together.
There,
The rivers formed a long lake.
Its surface stretched wide beneath the darkening sky.
The first stars appeared above the valley and reflected across the water below.
Slow streams entered the lake from several directions.
Others left again along hidden channels through the grass.
Near the shore stood a round pavilion built from pale stone.
Wide arches opened on every side,
Allowing the lake and the valley to remain visible in every direction.
Aveline stepped inside.
Warm stone rested beneath her feet.
At the center of the pavilion lay a low bed of cushions in gentle shades of moss green,
Sand and pale gold.
She lowered herself onto the cushions.
They held her perfectly,
Soft enough for her body to sink into them and release,
Yet firm enough to support her comfortably.
The warmth stored in the stone below drifted gently through the pillows and blankets settling around her.
Above her,
The open arches framed the night sky.
Evening had deepened while she walked the valley.
The first stars had already appeared,
Scattered across the darkening blue.
More followed slowly.
One by one,
Their light reflected faintly across the surface of the lake beyond the pavilion.
A thin moon hung low above the hills.
Its light rested across the water and spread gently through the valley.
Aveline watched the sky for a while.
Her body sank deeper into the cushions beneath her.
The long wandering of the day had left a pleasant heaviness in her limbs now.
The kind that welcomed stillness and rest.
Her arms settled loosely at her sides.
Her shoulders softened.
Her back released into the support beneath her.
And a slow breath filled her chest.
Then another.
And another.
Above her,
The stars seemed endless.
Tiny points of light scattered across the great dark arc of the sky.
Some bright and sharp.
Others faint and distant.
Barely visible.
She followed them with her gaze.
One cluster.
Then another.
The moon drifted slowly through thin strands of cloud.
Its glow spreading across the valley floor and across the lake below.
The water caught the light and held it in long silver lines.
Aveline's eyelids grew heavier.
The quiet of the night settled around her like a blanket drawn gently over the land.
Her breathing slowed further.
Her body sank into the cushions beneath her.
Every part of her resting more fully than the moment before.
She felt the softness beneath her shoulders.
The warmth held within the stone below.
The open air of the pavilion drifting across her skin.
Above her,
The stars continued their silent glow.
The moon climbed slowly across the sky.
The quiet water of the lake glimmered beyond the pavilion.
Aveline closed her eyes and allowed herself to release fully into their gentle embrace.
Images of the valley moved softly through her thoughts.
Silver rivers winding through the grass.
The small waterfall beside the pale trees.
Golden light shining through the bark.
The wide lake beneath the evening sky.
Each image appeared gently then faded again.
Leaving only calm,
Quiet darkness behind in her mind.
Her breaths were long and deep.
Her body rested completely now.
Held by the warmth of the pavilion.
The softness beneath her.
And the deep stillness of the valley around her.
Above,
The moon continued its silent path.
The stars shone steadily in the dark sky.
And there,
Beneath their calm light.
Aveline drifted softly into sleep.
The End
