Sonali's voyage à l'étang

{Translation: Sonali's journey to the pond}

There is a little known place here in Yorkshire, the name is Wickham Pond. Most people don't know of its existence, even the locals. If they have indeed heard of it, few have ventured out that far into the wood. A complicated series of directions has you head deeper and deeper into the mysterious forest. Many turn around before they arrive. Only a few have been there, one of them being Mondale's own Kit Kittredge. The resident explorer, she came across the pond one day. With directions from Kit, Sonali thought she would do the same and try to find the area.

She stepped outside and found the followed the first step Kit had told her, head to the back of the last acre of land at Mondale, where the forest begins. Students aren't normally allowed back that far, for fear of being lost, but the girl quickly sneaked out and ran back. With a little looking at the trees' edge, she found the dark entrance to a path, like Kit had said there would be. She followed the winding trail through a birch tree grove. Sonali maneuvered through the thicket, heading down the dirt path that was not trodden down from the travels of feet, but beginning to become overgrown with grasses. Coming to a fork in the trail, she remembered to go left as her new friend had told her. Continuing on her journey, she spotted the landmark Kit had mentioned, a dilapidated old cabin that had been abandoned for years. It was here that Sonali stopped to catch her breath, taking a seat on the old porch. It was slightly early with nothing else sitting there except a rusty old watering can, and silent except for the sound of birds and the other various creatures that inhabited the area. She quickly moved on.

A little spooked at being all alone, she went on hastily and her pace quickened. Straining her ears, Sonali thought she could hear the distant trickle of water, a sound that became stronger and stronger as she continued on. Her mood brightened considerably after this, where there is water, there should be a pond! Coming out of the deep woods, there was a stone pathway leading to an old wooden bridge that stretched across a clear stream. It was quite old, and Sonali wasn't even sure if it could hold her! Kit had reassured the girl that it was safe enough to walk over, but she was still a little skeptic of the idea. Splashing and swimming in the water would be fun, but not when she was wearing a white sundress! After testing its stability, Sonali gave in, seeing it as the only way to the pond, and scampered across. She came to the other side, the stone path leading back into the woods then ending abruptly, leaving more dirt trail to travel.

Sonali progressed along the trail, all the while looking around at the tranquil, undisturbed forest. Soon the trees began to thin, and she came to a clearing of tall grasses and brightly colored wild flowers. Being the school girl that she is, she began skipping through the meadow and thoroughly enjoyed herself for a few minutes, completely forgetting the purpose of the journey as she let her imagination run free. Remembering that she still needed to get to the pond, Sonali started walking towards the other side of the pasture and came to a passage through the trees. It was a shorter distance this time, and the girl could see light coming in from the end. Stepping out into yet another clearing, she saw the pond! Stones surrounded the edges along with water plants, ferns, and more flowers. The pond's surface was as smooth as a sheet of glass. She perched herself on the edge, quickly taking off her shoes and splashing in the cool, clear water.

Sonali could tell that not many people had been here, which made it all the more special.

La Fin

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So, this is the celebratory post dedicated to my 73 followers! Thank you so much, everyone, I really appreciate you all.
I know, this post is pretty lame and not really as special as I'd like it to be. It's probably fairly boring with the copious amounts of text, and I wouldn't blame you if you just skimmed through and glanced at the (sadly mediocre) photos. But, you guys asked for outdoor, garden pictures with couture (she's wearing a Heritage Doll Fashions/Heritage Clothesline dress), and a photo story, so that's what I tried to give you! I tried putting this into a 'scrapbook' format, but I was having a tough time finding a website that was free, etc.
I hope you like it! Thanks everyone.

-Brooke