We kept to the path, and I tried to be as respectful as I could while staring at everything, including occasionally at Doc's backside. It was hard not to, but there were enough other interesting things to look at that I mostly managed to not ogle my teacher.
Eventually the trees thinned, and then, almost suddenly, we were out in a grassy clearing overlooking the most beautiful lake I had ever seen.
I took a few steps forward, brushing against someone's arm. I stopped.
"Wow." The water was perfectly still and reflected the snow tipped mountain peaks in perfect detail. I had never seen a sky so blue or clear, and the water was the same. Somehow, I ended up at the edge and stared down, surprised I could see the bottom. Pebbles covered the bottom and the shore.
"How deep is it?" I whispered.
"Here, only about ten feet." Doc stepped forward to stand on my right.
Ed stood on the other side. He grabbed my hand again, but I barely noticed, I was so entranced by the scenic beauty.
"I swam out to the middle once and tried to dive to the bottom. Even I couldn't make it," Doc said.
That apparently meant something, but I didn't want to question him.
"Does anything live in it? It has to be cold."
"Freezing." Doc laughed. "And yes. Many fish, more of the folk."
"I'm surprised you would bring us here," Victoria whispered.
"It's safe enough." Allan came up to us. "You can't get here without an invitation, so even if you told people, they'd never find it. If we didn't trust you, we wouldn't have."
Victoria and I shared a look, and I suspected the grin on my face was as big as hers.
"Let's eat." Ed tugged me away from the water's edge.
I hadn't really felt hungry until Ed mentioned food. Then my stomach grumbled loudly.
Allan had already thrown a blanket over the soft grasses and was pulling things out of all three packs, until they had something like a feast laid out.
"Wow," I said.
"We're growing boys and need a lot of food," Allan explained. "Also, we brought enough for you two, and extra, in case we had visitors."
"I'll be back." Doc headed down the lakeshore.
Victoria stared after Doc in surprise. "Is he not hungry?"
"Probably not," Ed answered. "Let's eat."
I sat down between Ed and Allan. They passed out sandwiches and cookies wrapped in some sort of reusable fabric. They had more water bottles and topped both mine and Victoria's off without us having to ask.
I devoured one ham sandwich, and Ed handed me a second before I had even decided I wanted more. We ate in silence. Doc had vanished somewhere, though clearly, he was familiar with the area if he had been in the lake at one point.
I leaned back on my elbows and stared out over the water, mesmerized by its beauty.
"It's all yours," Allan said.
"Oh my," Victoria whispered.
It took me a moment to catch on that Allan wasn't talking to one of us. I turned and gasped.
Sparkles flitted here and there. The bright Colorado sun reflecting off of faery wings.
A swarm of them descended on the leftover food, and it vanished in short order. Even the crumbs vanished from the reusable wraps.
In moments the air was still, and I felt empty inside at their absence.
Only a few minutes passed before the air was again filled with sparkles.
"Just sit still," Doc whispered in my ear.
I should have been surprised at his abrupt return, but I was focused on the flashes of light, and it just felt natural that he would be there.
He took my hand and let me lean against him while he opened my palm and held it out, my hand on his.
After a moment, one of the sparkles settled in my palm. The wings stilled, and I saw the tiniest person I had ever seen standing there.
I risked a quick look at Victoria. Allan had her hand in his, and she had also attracted a faerie. Ed lay on his back and sparkles danced all over him. Clearly, they were comfortable with the brothers already.
The small person in my hand moved, and I looked back at them.
"Hi," I whispered.
They curtsied and took to the air again.
"They're very delicate. Don't move suddenly."
Doc's breath tickled my neck, and I shivered slightly. I had already figured that out. I turned my head slightly to look at Doc and was startled by how close he was. My heart skipped a beat.
He leaned forward, not quite looking at me and nodded. "Just stay still."
Doc supported me while I remained as quiet as I could. I wasn't sure how he held so motionless as he held my hand out. I relaxed against him and before long, the tiny sparkles covered my hand, and then my arm. I grinned at the small tickles of their feet as they walked on my skin and tugged gently on my hair.
I barely dared breathe, afraid to damage them. I wasn't actually sure Doc was breathing.
After a few minutes, the whole group leapt into the air, and they danced around in a colorful display of sparkles and then vanished.
"You can breathe now," Doc whispered in my ear.
I gasped.
He laughed.
"That was incredible." Victoria beamed.
"Yeah." Incredible really was the only way to describe that experience.
After another moment, I realized I was still leaning against Doc and straightened. He didn't say anything, just stood and offered me a hand.
"We should probably get going," Doc remarked once we were all on our feet.
Ed and Allan carefully cleaned our picnic site before Victoria and I could even offer to help.
The three guys put their backpacks on. Doc and Allan led the way, with Ed again trailing behind us.
No one spoke. The magic of the moment was more than enough to fill any silence.
Chapter 6
Sofia
By the time
