Bella’s Binoculars (May 3)

I sat down against a tree trunk. The scent of late clover wafted towards me… It was an otherworldly spot. My eyes began to close.

Then suddenly, “What are you doing here?” I glanced around but saw no one, “What do you want?”

A girl who looked a year or so older than me stood up from her hiding place. She had been crouching behind a bank of junipers. She lowered a pair of binoculars on a lanyard around her neck, then dusted herself off.

“I watched you coming across the rocks. I’m Isabel Greenwood. Who are you?”

“I’m Robbie Kingsmere. I just wanted to visit the meadow.” She seemed to evaluate my claim. “I really like it,” I added.

“So do I. But almost nobody comes here. Just a French lady. The Major lets her pick berries.”

“That’d be Janine. I know her.” I hoped this declaration might bring us a little closer. Apparently, it did.

“Would you like to try my binoculars?” I gratefully accepted. She told me to train them on the rocks. “It’s a good way to learn how to focus.” I scanned the nearer slope and then the horizon. A little fiddling brought up a remarkably clear image.

“Wow, they’re great!” I swung around to look over the Bay, but she stopped me.

“Okay, no more now.” I relinquished the glasses. “Come with me. I know somewhere with a much better view.”

She led me … to a massive pine that might have been there for a hundred years. Someone had nailed wooden footholds to the first eight feet of its trunk. Regular branches made for an easy climb after that. A platform rested on two sturdy boughs a good twenty feet from the ground. It was disconcertingly high, but my guide was right. The view was dramatic.

“This is my special place,” she said.

Unexpected meetings like this one between Robbie and Bella can stick in the memory for years and years. Have you had such a memorable experience? If so, share a Comment about it.

(Illustration generated by AI)