Red Flower Fields and Forgotten Magic

The first thing I noticed was the smell.

The smell of soil and grass and sun-warmed mud. The smell of flowers, and the rich, loamy scent of the forest beyond. The smell of the lake, which was almost painfully sweet, a vast expanse of murky water that stretched out further than my eyes could see. There were mountains in the distance, but they seemed small, as if I could reach out and touch them if I tried hard enough. The sky was bluer than I'd ever seen it in pictures or on TV, a vast blue expanse with a few long white clouds drifting lazily across it.

I looked down at myself and saw that I was naked. It didn't seem to matter very much to me, which surprised me a bit. Maybe this wasn't real, or maybe I was dreaming. Then again, if this really was a dream then it had to be one of the best dreams I'd ever had in my life!

I took a step forward and felt the soft dirt squish between my toes. The warmth of the earth radiated up through my feet and into my legs and back, making me feel more alive than I could ever remember being. My skin tingled pleasantly where the sun touched it, but not in an unpleasant way. More like something you would want to rub against for hours at a time. For some reason that thought made me blush slightly, but it also made me smile.

I walked towards the lake until I reached the edge of the grassy bank. The mud had hardened slightly here from hundreds - no, thousands - of years worth of footsteps being pressed into it by pilgrims staying at Bezard Temple. It was warm as well, almost hot in places, but it didn't burn my feet as I stepped onto it without thinking about it much, or even at all.

Ahead of me was a thick stand of trees that sprouted up out of the lake itself like islands in an ocean. Long tendrils hung down from them into the water below, winding their way around mossy rocks and fallen logs, all covered in algae so thick you couldn't even see what color they were underneath until you got right up close to them. As I watched, one island swayed over to another one nearby and wrapped its tendril around one of its branches like a lover's arm, until they were so close together there was no space between them anymore. Then both islands sank beneath the surface together and disappeared beneath the waves for several seconds before bobbing back up again with a loud splash when their heads broke through the surface once more and continued their dance just as happily as before.

The sight of them did nothing to dampen my excitement - quite the opposite, in fact - and for some reason, that made me smile again too. Feeling lightheaded suddenly and filled with laughter ready to erupt out into the world, I flung my arms wide open towards them and shouted "Hello!" like a child who has just woken up on Christmas morning after falling asleep last night waiting for Santa Claus to arrive!

"Hello!" they echoed back immediately in unison with little feminine voices that sounded like music from Heaven itself! They swooped low over to where I stood on the bank, with their tendrils waving gently back and forth behind them as they flew across the lake towards me!

"You're beautiful," I said breathlessly when they arrived at last beside me where I stood rooted to the spot staring open-mouthed at them with delight shining in my eyes!

"Thank you!" they replied shyly! "And you're beautiful too!" They twirled around and wrapped their tendrils around each other affectionately while they giggled together like schoolgirls while they waited for me to reply!

"Oh, thank you!" I said immediately! "Thank you so much!" I felt so happy standing there, talking to these tiny creatures with their bright colors swirling around all over their bodies that it made my chest ache!

"We've never met anyone like you before!" one said shyly when she finally uncoiled herself from her friend so we could talk properly! "Are you new here?" she asked curiously! "Do you live here now?" Her eyes sparkled mischievously as she waited for me to answer her question!

"Um...I don't know," I said honestly because suddenly none of this seemed familiar anymore after all! For some reason, that made her laugh happily as if she knew something that I didn't but she wasn't going to tell me yet because she wanted to keep teasing me first! It made me laugh too because her merriment was infectious, and soon we were both laughing together loudly while we danced around each other playfully, spinning our colorful tendrils behind us while we giggled excitedly. All without saying another word because sometimes words can be the distractions that prevent us from experiencing the world in its purest form – why not dance instead?

For while