The stars glowed like a thousand candle lights in the sky above my head. In contentment I watched with relaxed fascination. The moon luminescent over the lake; its reflection distorted by the small ripples that ran across the surface of the water. The gentle breeze carried the songs of the crickets to my ears. The chimes on my grandpa’s porch rang clearly in the night like a lullaby. On the dock I sat, my feet in the cool water of the lake. I leaned on my arms breathing in the cool air around me. Grandpa says that when he first moved away from the big city to live with Grandma she made him sit on this same dock and do the exact same thing.

“Did you love it?” I asked.

“It was unlike anything I had ever experienced kid,” he smiled, “but yeah I loved every minute of it.”

The soft sway of the wind made the soothing feeling seem ubiquitous to me. It was like every worry, every nervous feeling in my stomach, any fear I had melted away with each wave that hit my legs, with each gust of wind that rustled the trees, and with each star I gazed up at. If Buddha ever found Nirvana I wonder if this is what it was like. Complete peace and complete elation in just experiencing nature and freedom embrace me like arms. My eyes scanned the trees surrounding the lake, the glow on top of the water, and the ever calming stillness that resounded throughout the area. Across the Lake was another dock; it was linked to another Lake house directly in front of Grandpa’s. My eyes peered at the glowing light from the top window of the house. It reminded me of a beacon. My head fell to the side watching as light poured from the door way. A guy walked out onto the dock with his guitar. I couldn’t honestly see his face or him at all really. He blended with the blanket of darkness that was only vaguely seen by the generous moonlight above us.

I heard the chords however. They were soft and slow. They reminded me of Spanish lullabies and folk music wrapped in together. The vibrations carried themselves to my ears and I smiled. Soft, sweet, soothing, and seductive and if I listened hard enough I could hear the most alluring voice permeate the air like magic.
Dear love of mine
It’s finally midnight
Won’t you come join me by the fire?
To talk of soothing desire
I see your eyes, your eyes
They light the skies tonight
The stars are whispering our love
Come join me darling
Come join me.
Dear love of mine
You glow in moonlight
Won’t you come wrap yourself around me?
To talk of what will be
I see that smile, that smile
It’s wild, how it’s been a while
Since I heard the stars whisper
Come join me darling
Come join me.


How entirely romantic those words seemed to me. How beautiful and honest they were as they flew through the numinous night. I smiled as I watched the fireflies dance around the huge oak trees, all choreographed it seemed. Neon glowing lights that added to the illusion of a fantasy brought to life. I briefly wondered if this is what Grandpa saw, if he too was so caught up in the moment that he wondered if time had stopped moving. Perhaps it had frozen itself just for me, so that I could experience paradise in a whole new perspective. If this was so, the universe had given me the most beautiful gift I could’ve ever received. It’s like a little piece of heaven I thought.

It was so easy to be lulled into dream like state. I could feel the fuzzy cloud start to build in my head fogging all my thoughts. The vast expanse above me was so…majestic. The inky black sky looked endless, the expanse of it seemingly running right in line with infinity. Was that possible? A lazy smiled made its way to my face, my body completely relaxed on the dock. I gently made my legs sway in the water enjoying the cool feeling that ran over my feet as I did so. Without noticing I began to hum and the words filled my thoughts.
Dear love of mine
It’s finally midnight
Won’t you come join me by the fire?


The guitar could still be heard, gentle strumming dancing across the water. The moon was high above me and if I looked hard enough I could see the smile on her lips. Her eyes an almost almond nut shape and her lips full and wide. I inhaled the fresh air and raised my body reluctantly. Morning would be here soon and I needed rest. Still to leave my spot of blissful wonder was very displeasing. My body yearned to remain beneath the stars and the Moon’s contagious smile, it longed to feel the breeze run across me like a caress, and it was completely content to feel the gentle ripples that came upon my ankles and down. I was sorely tempted to forget tomorrow and lay here forever. Still with an aching I had not experienced I rose and willingly left my moment of paradise. While I was walking I could hear the music grow fainter, the sound of total peace begin to recede, and the ethereal atmosphere begin to disperse into nothing but a painted memory.

Still the memory was locked away in my heart as a moment of self acceptance, of glorifying beauty, and suspended time. I knew that once I stepped through the threshold of my Grand pa and Grandma’s house the spell was broken and time went about its merry way, reminding me it was nearly one o’clock in the morning. I stepped through the doors quietly, but it would appear than on a night where silence seemed evasive sound pervaded the air. The door creaked a most awful sound as I tried to close it gently. I winced as I heard the click of the door and slowly turned around. I felt my way through the darkened living room, finding the rail of the stair case. Gripping it I made to silently reach my room. However, something stopped me. Light flooded the hallway beside the stair case and my eyes squinted from its bright demeanor. I rubbed my eyes gently to dispel the colorful dots swirling in my vision; I leaned over the rail slightly to see Grandpa in the kitchen. His back turned to me his head buried in the refrigerator. I smiled but held back the giggle bubbling in my throat. The light from the inside the refrigerator was bright and had been what caught me off guard.

Quietly I moved and gently made my way to the kitchen. I leaned against the door frame and made to speak, but oddly enough the break of silence came from him.


“Hey there kiddo, want have some of your grandma’s famous cheesecake with me?” He turned to me, holding the plate in his left hand and the jug of milk in his right. I nodded eagerly watching the crinkling of skin around his eyes; his smile was lopsided but charismatic. That was one of the many things about Grandpa that made him such a personable man. He was charming and compassionate, which seemed to me odd for the fact that he had been born in the higher class society of New York. I had seen the bustling people move about, everything was on a time limit, everything rushing in one big blur. Grandpa is the exception; he always seemed to me to be moving at his own pace. Life was could not budge him nor urge him to move any faster than he deemed, instead life seemed to walk right beside him in a perfect coexistence that could not be managed any other way.

I sat down at the quaint kitchen table with its lace covering and watched him pull out two plates from the cabinet. He set them down gently, one in front of me and I traced my fingers on the edges of the porcelain plate. The floral pattern strangely reminded of the roses in Grandma’s garden outside.

“So,” Grandpa said. I looked up curious and waiting, but he said nothing. He merely cut himself a piece of that cheesecake and poured milk into the glass cups that he had grabbed from the cupboard before he looked up at me; waiting. I leaned in and replied, “So…what?” I asked. Grandpa smiled and shook his head at me as if I had missed some crucial piece to the question.

“You know,” Grandpas started, “when I first moved out here with your Grandma I thought I was going hate it. Now, I didn’t tell her that, but I was positive that I wouldn’t be able to live without the sound of cars and that banging ruckus my generation called music,” he said. I twirled the fork in my hand before cutting off a piece of the cheesecake and promptly putting it in my mouth. It was moist and sweet; the way only Grandma can make it. I sipped at my milk before asking, “So what made you stay?” I asked.


I could see grandpa pulling at his memories, recalling the individual instant that kept him to this place. I could see his smile turn into a grin as he chuckled softly his shoulders shaking merrily. He turned his head and looked out the window that overlooked the lake and the moon seemed to fit right into the left hand corner of the window. It was like a painting that vanished at the breaking of dawn.

“I stayed because that night that I sat out on the dock I had never felt so at home than I did then. Sometimes you just know where you belong and it means something when you find that place,” he paused, “that place was here.” His eyes were trained on the lake, but his mind had taken him back to that night so long ago, to that moment of personal nirvana. I curiously broke him from his memory and asked, “What do you remember most about that night?” He laughed softly.

“It’s been many years since that night,” his brow crinkled, “but I still remember that I heard someone singing across the lake. Most beautiful song I think I’ve ever heard,” he said. I bit the lower bottom of my lip and curiously wondered, “Do you remember the words?” he ruffled my hair sweetly, “Nah, I can’t even recall the way it sounded anymore,” he said. He sighed looking one last time at the lake before rising from his chair, “Well kiddo I’m off to bed, try not to stay up to late okay? Your Grandma will yell at me if you she finds out you didn’t get any sleep,” he said. I laughed and nodded while gulping down the last of my milk. He winked and I watched him walk slowly up the stairs, I could hear as they groaned quietly beneath him. My eyes traveled to the window before picking up the dishes in my hands and placing them in the sink with Grandpa’s. I made my way to my room and pulled back the covers. When I lay in bed I looked up at the ceiling and missed the stars above me, the moon in her grand beauty. I missed the music playing across the shimmering water. My mind held on to the melody ringing still in my ears, faintly, but still.


Come Join me Darling
Come join me.

And with clarity I hadn’t ever been graced with, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt, that here was where I belonged. It was an indisputable truth that settled comfortably inside my heart, and I knew that here was home.