Alice Henderson describes a serene lake as it mediates between the world above and mirror below.
All is calm. The lilac lake lies softly beneath rose-tinted clouds. Without a wisp of wind, no ripple mars the glassy reflection as the lake returns the echo of the dawn. Mist floats ethereally across the surface of the water, only to dissipate into the crisp air as the sun rises upon the wintery landscape.
All is calm. In the mirror, our world is inverted. The willow tree, with its hair gently brushing the water’s face, bends downwards; its twin reaches upwards. The morning moon stands starkly against the smooth sky – a perfect white sphere high in the mauve heavens, low in the lagoon’s depths.
The icy surface. The invisible barrier. The gateway to the realm of crystal waves.
A gannet pierces the water. In an instant, the image is shattered into a thousand glittering fragments. The reversed world has vanished without a trace, as the waves dance and diverge in an erratic display. In a flash of rainbow droplets and a flurry of wings, the fisher-bird has returned into the cool air of the white winter.
The world, stretching, lets out a sigh and settles. Within moments, serenity has returned. The celestial shimmers dance once more on the underbelly of the trees and the breath of breeze murmurs contentedly. The reflection is restored, the reversion revealed. The dawn may draw on.
All is calm.