The Sacred Lake

It feels like a long time ago, but it is no more than 23 years, how time flies, when M and I went to see the movie made after E. M. Forster's book A Room With a View. We were romantic teenagers back then, and dreamt of a beautiful, intellectual hero sweeping us off our feet. The lovely actor in the movie fit the mould perfectly. We were enraptured. One of the funniest scenes in the movie was when the hero, the heroines brother and the reverend ran naked around the bathing "puddle" called The Sacred Lake.

There used to be a nice, little lake close to where I live, but it got drained a few years ago, possibly in the name of progress. Last year, though, my boyfriend and I went for a walk in the woods nearby and found the "lake" in the picture by accident. It's not really a lake, and it was by far too cold for bathing or running around naked for that matter, but it was secluded and the light was interesting. My boyfriend is very different from the heroes of my teens, thankfully. I'm lucky to get to know him even if our relationship does not resemble a romance novel. Life doesn't, and that's quite good actually. It would be too syrupy otherwise, but here is our Sacred Lake.