The Lady of the Lake

The classroom was busy with the chatter of schoolchildren, and Brooklyn listened to it with something like joy as she unpacked her textbooks. She loved people, especially her friends, and she had made many last year at school.

Her books and pens ready, she sat up straight and looked around at the other children around her. Now that she took a moment to be still, she couldn't help but realise she didn't quite feel happy.

Why not? She wondered to herself. Her friends were here: Berkley (who loved to run and could move so fast sometimes Brooklyn thought he just looked like a brown and cream blur!), Katja the bear (who had been really timid and quiet last year, but Brooklyn had become her friend to help her with that), Rachel with her long, elegant neck and beautiful feathers, Justin (the funniest rat she'd ever met)...

As she looked around at each of them she felt a rush of love for them all. That was normal so she didn't feel mad at anyone. So why am I not happy?

There was something else in the room: beams of light, shining in from outside. They streamed in through the windows, coming diagonally down, highlighting the dust in the air and making the chalk-board look hazy wherever Brooklyn looked through them. It already had a kind of a hazy look because the teachers never got the chalk-boards perfectly clean. They normally just rubbed the chalk away until it was spread into a bunch of white circles.

Brooklyn looked at her desk. One of the beams of light shone on to it so she reached out to feel its warmth.

Despite being early, the sun was already hot. In fact, the sunbeam had warmed up that portion of her desk. She flexed her fingers so that they were half in the light and half in the shadows made from being indoors. Her fur was a plain old dull brown in the shadows but in the light, it glowed the colour of gingerbread.

Or like gold, she thought to herself with a smile. I am a golden retriever, after all.

She looked out through the windows as she realised why she wasn't feeling so happy. It would be so nice go outside...

The classroom door opened and Mrs. Blackfeather came in. The class continued to chatter as she strolled over to her desk and sat down. Then she opened the register and called out, “Good morning, class. May I take the register please?”

The hubbub slowly died down and once it had done so completely, Mrs. Blackfeather started.

“Analise Whitescutt?”

“Here, miss.”

“Ava Stripe?”

“Here, miss.”

“Bobby Dart?”

“Here, miss...”

⌘⌘⌘

Once the register had been taken Mrs. Blackfeather started the lesson. “Okay everyone, go to your drawers and find your rulers.”

Most of the kids in the classroom scooted their chairs back at the same time and the room was filled with noise and movement. Mrs. Blackfeather picked up a stack of textbooks and walked around the classroom putting one on each desk.

Brooklyn's drawer was next to the classroom door. At first she went towards the drawer itself, but once she was there she looked around at the room. Beyond Mrs. Blackfeather the playground and grass and trees beyond looked so nice. The door was right beside Brooklyn: it would be so easy to just go outside and have fun.

So that was what she did.

Walking down the empty corridor had a kind of magic to it, as if she was travelling through a portal to an exciting new world. Well, I guess not new, she corrected herself.

She already knew the world beyond the school's entrance door: it had been her playground all the way through summer.

Brooklyn emerged from the school with a burst of freedom. The stiff, still corridor was suddenly behind her, forgotten, and all around her was warm summer air with its scent of dust and pollen, lush grass and leafy trees.

As she crossed into the bright sunshine she felt its warmth on her ears and the bridge of her muzzle. It, and the light breeze, felt like freedom.

She passed by the concrete part of the playground with its painted-on hopscotch and chessboard, and left the school grounds entirely. Brooklyn already knew where she wanted to go.

She wanted to swim!

It was a short-ish trip to get home and by the time she got there mom and dad were gone. That was okay: Brooklyn let herself in using the key under the flower pot and ran up the stairs to her bedroom.

Dropping to her hands and knees she thrust herself underneath her bed to find her scuba mask and snorkel. Dumping them on her bed she went and rummaged around in her closet for her capri pants. She changed from her school clothes to those in record time, grabbed the water gear, and ran out of the house, unable to wait any longer to start her adventure into the woods, with its forest lake.

⌘⌘⌘

The woods were as familiar as her home. Everything was either green or brown. Where it was green it was because the light shone through the leaves so that when Brooklyn looked up it was like being showered with sprays of emeralds. The brown of the tree trunks and soil were solid and smelled good. 'Wholesome', mom had called it once.

Brooklyn skipped along, her feet bare, ears flapping against her head, her snorkel and goggles swinging against her fist and hip.

Soon enough she came to the lake. A boardwalk path curved around one side of it and acted as a kind of dock. The boardwalk itself was in dappled shade and the water close to it was dark and green, but further out where the sun caught the water it sparkled blue.

Brooklyn sat down in record time on the edge of the boardwalk path and her feet dipped into the water. It was just pleasantly cool. She kicked happily as she pulled on her mask and put her snorkel into her mouth – and then she pushed herself into the water.

A bow wave spread ahead of her, half-clear water that let her see her hands spreading wide in a breaststroke. Water splashed over her mouth and nose and she got a small taste of it but she didn't care. Brooklyn loved water!

She swam towards the sun, air bubbles easing their way out from her fur as she pushed herself to swim as fast as she could. Launching herself up as far as possible she took a huge breath of air and enjoyed the splash as she came back down. The water was cool but not too much so.

No more messing about, now! She thought to herself, the words in her mind only and with an almost motherly laugh. She had come to swim, so swim was what she would do! Brooklyn took a deep breath and leaped again, and this time she pulled and kicked her way well under the surface.

Everything was murky and brownish-green. She could see some old, rotten branches that had fallen in a long time ago, and tiny, dark grey fish that swam away from her.

Ahead she could see rays of light, shifting like disco lights as the surface of the water moved.

She swam over to them.

Brooklyn's skin was getting used to the water being cool but when she crossed through into the light-rays it all got warmer, and she stopped for a moment to enjoy it.

It was like the feeling she got in the fall when she had her first hot chocolate of the season, when it had been a cold day and the warm chocolate made her glow on the inside and she could snuggle against her mom and enjoy watching TV as it got late. This was the same feeling but on the outside.

She span in the water, turning over and over like a dolphin. This is great! There was nothing like the freedom of summer and she was so happy to be outside!

Turning had upset the air balance in her snorkel so she floated to the surface to put it right.

She emerged, blew the water out of her snorkel, and looked around at the glory of the forest lake as water beaded and ran down her lenses. The water looked greener here. Still with a lot brown.

Not like chocolate though, she thought with a smile. But that was okay! She took off her snorkel and kicked her legs to stay in place while she tipped the water out of the snorkel's tube.

“That looks like fun!” said a mature female voice.

Brooklyn gasped and turned around in the water, her tail cycling to help her face the stranger.

There, on the edge of the boardwalk dock, was a middle-aged badger. Perhaps if Brooklyn had been further way or the badger had been in the shadows Brooklyn might have missed it, but the lady had kind eyes. She wore loose clothing that looked designed to let the badger stay cool. She kind of looked like a hippy.

Brooklyn didn't know any hippies. “Hi?” said Brooklyn shyly, clutching her goggles to her chest.

The badger had a steady gaze and an indulgent smile. “Hi,” she answered, somehow managing to sound sedate and playful at the same time.

Then Brooklyn realised how she was holding her goggles and eased her grip on them. “Uh, ha! I guess I wanted to go swimming today,” she explained with a nervous laugh.

“So I see.” For herself, the badger had her feet in the water. A sturdy pair of sandals sat by her wide, soft hips. “It's a very nice day for swimming.” Sometimes Brooklyn met people who felt awkward and struggled to make small talk, and maybe that was something they would say. But when the badger said it, it was as if she was giving Brooklyn permission to enjoy her swim.

Brooklyn smiled. “Do you ever swim?” she asked, suddenly curious and turning to face her a little more easily.

The lady leaned back and turned her face so that her long nose caught the sun. “I used to. Now I like to watch the landscape and think.”

She seemed like such a nice lady. Brooklyn wasn't sure why but she felt as if the badger was trustworthy. She swam closer and hauled herself out onto the dock. “What do you think about?” she asked, shuffling herself around to sit next to her. Her fur dripped heavily and her tail sat sodden on the wooden panels behind her, the water dripping through to the lake below.

“Well,” the badger said, linking her hands and resting them on her lap, “I help people.”

“How?”

“They tell me their problems, and I listen and talk back when they need me to, and after that they feel better.”

“That's nice,” said Brooklyn. And she meant it. Then she looked down at her snorkel and tipped the last few drops of water out of it and kicked her feet in the water to enjoy the sensation of splashing. “I sometimes talk to my friend Katja,” she said. “She's really shy so she doesn't talk much even if she has a problem.”

“That's very kind of you.”

“Thanks.” The two looked at each other for a moment and Brooklyn felt as if they were mutually enjoying her kindness to Katja. Which felt strange because Katja wasn't here.

“She does feel better after she talks. Most of the time.”

“Sometimes it takes more than talking to make a problem right,” the badger agreed.

“What else can you do?” Maybe Brooklyn could get some ideas from this lady?

“Sometimes they need medicine, so I encourage them to go to the doctor. Or sometimes they need the police so I either encourage them to go to the police themselves or I go for them. And sometimes they need to do something different, like find another job or tell their husband or wife that they aren't happy about something.”

“But if they needed to do something like that, why would they come to you?” Brooklyn was puzzled by that. “That seems kind of odd.”

The badger seemed to delight in this question. “It is odd.” Then she looked out over the water for a moment. “Sometimes,” she continued as if choosing her words carefully, “it's easier to tell somebody about your problems than to fix your problems.”

Brooklyn laughed. “That's dumb! Why not just fix your problems?”

“Sometimes fixing your problems is scary, or it takes more work than you want to do.”

“But if they just fixed their problems they wouldn't have to be scared any more.”

The badger nodded her agreement. “They wouldn't.” Something about her tone suggested that she didn't quite agree. She thought some more. “It's like dealing with the school bully. If the bully steals your pocket money and threatens you not to tell anyone, it can be easier to complain about them to your friends than to confront him.”

That made sense. “Oh. Yeah,” answered Brooklyn. She kicked her feet in the water some more. This time she was the one to choose her words carefully. “That happened to Katja.”

The badger looked down at her but said nothing. It felt like an invitation to say more.

“She's really big because she's a bear, but it's like she doesn't know it. And there's this kid at school, a skunk. He threatens people sometimes. Like, if they don't let him play on the climbing bars he'll stink them and they won't be able to get it out of their clothes and their parents will get mad.”

The badger nodded as she took this in. “Perhaps she feels that being strong doesn't help.”

Brooklyn looked up at her. “What do you mean?”

“Could she stop him from making her clothes smell even if she overpowered him?”

The golden retriever thought about this. “Probably not.” She gripped the edge of the dock and kicked her feet as she thought about this. The sun still shone but somehow the shadows seemed a little heavier. “What can she do?”

The badger smiled. “Who does get bullied by the skunk and who doesn't?”

“Uh... most of us I guess. Oscar just kind of picks someone.”

“Has he ever picked you?”

Brooklyn shook her head.

The badger's smile reached her eyes. “And how did you do that?”

“Huh?” How did I what?

“How did you persuade him to pick somebody else instead of you?”

Oh. “I... uh... I guess I just ignored him?”

“He didn't seem like a threat to you?”

Brooklyn pulled a come-on-be-serious face. “Nah!”

The lady brought one foot up and rested it on the edge of the dock so that she could rest her elbow on it. “What did Katja do when she leaned about what he does?”

Brooklyn remembered that clearly. “Oh, that one's easy. It was the beginning of last school year. The girls were all in a group and Rachel told us what she'd heard about him. Katja was nervous for the rest of the day. She tried to avoid him.”

“And he targetted her after that.”

“Yeah,” the retriever agreed.

They were silent for a while.

Then the badger said, “But it just doesn't seem realistic to you that he would pick you?”

“Yeah!” she looked up at the stripe-faced lady. “Yeah, that's just it!”

“So it sounds like it's about attitude.”

“Definitely!” Brooklyn and the badger lady celebrated a moment of triumph by looking at each other and then out at the lake. Then Brooklyn started to think. “How do I help Katja get the right attitude?”

“That's an excellent question,” said the badger lady.

Something in the conversation seemed to stick, and Brooklyn looked up at the badger to see her grinning down at her. “Uh, thanks. But what do I do?”

“You can help, but she has to want to learn the attitude that'll keep Oscar away.”

Brooklyn felt lost by this. “But... that kind of means I can't help her,” she said dejectedly. That last thing she wanted to do was let down her friend.

“She needs to help herself. Can I let you into a secret?”

The retriever looked up at the badger, listening.

“Katja has to get fed up of it. Fear of Oscar isn't enough. It's when she gets frustrated enough with what he's doing that she'll find the will to help herself. Then she will almost certainly lead the way. She'll probably want your support, but she will be the one to help herself. For as long as you're the one trying to help she'll stay where she is. It has to come from within.” As the badger said this last part she patted the area over her heart.

Brooklyn was silent for a moment as this sank in. “So how do I help her get...” then she thought again. “Hah, I guess I can't.”

The badger smiled again. “It's frustrating, I know. But you care about her and that's important.”

Brooklyn accepted this compliment with the same glad feeling she had all the others, and then looked out over the water. That was a lot to think about. But it was good to hear. Maybe, just maybe, one day Katja would get tired of Oscar – the way most of the girls were – and then she would be free.

“Does that feel like enough?” asked the badger.

Brooklyn looked up at her as if she'd forgotten the badger was there. Then she bit her lip as she thought about that. “Hmmm... yeah.”

The badger nodded. “Okay. I'm going to continue my walk. Enjoy the lake!” And with that she pulled herself up to stand, dipped to pick up her shoes, and wandered back down the boardwalk.

Brooklyn sat for a while, keen to hold onto the sense of certainty the badger had left with her. Eventually though, she began to feel energy inside of her again. The sunshine and the way it sparkled on the surface of the water tempted her to slip back into the lake, and she kicked out to launch herself away from the shadows of the boughs of the trees into the open warmth of the open lake.

She would be okay and in time, so would Katja.

The End