Could Not Be Less Prompt

On the other hand I am easy to prompt.

Part of my writing day involved catching up on some of San Diego Momma's PROMPTuesday inspirations. Here's #8. It is (mostly) a true story.

My free association words were: blue, glassy, lake

The sunsets on East Pond were beautiful. My grandfather prided himself in them and took photos almost every night, while he could see to do it. The screened in porch where we ate dinner faced the lake and if we were eating late we’d watch from there. Other nights we’d head down to the dock and sit, perhaps dangling out toes off the edge and into the water. The grown ups would talk and we all stared into the sunset.

Years later, in Wales I took a picture of the sun setting over the ocean. I proudly brought it back to my grandfather to show him the only other place, besides his pond, where I had seen the sun sink behind the water. He didn’t understand the attraction.

I was fine during the setting itself. I liked the fireworks quality of the sun bursting apart as it sank. It was after that last sliver disappeared that scared me. The twilight left the lake deep blue and glassy. It was too brittle, as though there were something lightly imprisoned underneath.

From far away it wasn’t so bad. Watching while we gnawed our corn on the cob it was a harmless documentary. But when we were right there, feet in the water as it happened I wondered what could come from beneath and I would lie awake all night, listening to the screaming of the loons and wishing I knew what they were trying to tell me.