The first thing I did when I got home was collapse on the couch. Today is the first day in a while where I have multiple hours of free time in a row, and I have no idea what to do.

I clasped my hands behind my head, slouched, and looked up at the ceiling. I pondered my options.

I could watch a show, or I could read a book. I could take a nap or do a workout.

I looked outside, as if the answer to my question would be written in airplane trails across the sky.

I was a fan of the weather today, though I hadn’t really appreciated it.

I could go outside.

I nodded to myself. That sounded nice, so I walked down to the backyard.

Our backyard was nice, but only when it rained. It used to be beautiful when I was a kid, but not anymore. I think everyone’s lives got too busy and no one cared about making the backyard look nice. It’s deteriorated since then, and I noticed it even more as I stepped outside.

There were sections with failed gardens that had since sprung up weeds, and a tree in the back with an old wooden swing swaying in the breeze. I wandered towards it, looking up at the sky.

I had forgotten how peaceful it was out here. Out here, I could forget about all my homework, my tests, everything else that took up so much of my time and attention, and just breathe.

I stopped in front of the tree and started at it. A forgotten memory tickled my brain, and I squinted, trying to remember.

A lightbulb lit up, and I recalled a younger me lightly touching a panel in the wooden fence at the back of the yard. I curiously touched my fingers to the rough wood grain, and waited. Was something supposed to happen?

Confused, I pressed harder, and when it didn’t budge, I leaned my full weight into it.

I felt my fingers leave the wood and I stumbled forward, almost losing my balance. I steadied myself and looked up.

All around me, the grass was turning to white sand as I watched the distant landscape turn to water. There was a wooden dock that stretched out onto the beautifully colored lake, and I turned around in awe. I found that behind me there was the same fence that bordered my backyard. And all of a sudden, my memory came back.

I had stumbled upon this lake after getting angry at my mom, and I had spent every spare minute I could out here since that day. Except one day, I guess I didn’t come. And then the next. Days stretched into weeks stretched into years, and I had forgotten about this magical haven of a place, right in my backyard.

I took my shoes off, felt the soft sand under my feet, and looked out at the lake. It was like glass. The stillness reflected every peak of the mountains in the distance and every color of the sunset overhead.

I was speechless in awe, but I walked slowly out on the dock, discovering that there was a large platform and arch at the end of it.

When I reached the edge, I sat down and let my feet touch the water. It was like I could feel the beauty of it through its stillness against my ankles, and I sighed. How had I forgotten about this place?

The peacefulness of the sunset on the water soaked into me and I sat there for who knows how long, just breathing.

I never wanted to leave, but life calls. I stood up and gazed out at the lake, swearing to never forget the white sand, the wooden dock, the glass water, the peacefulness of the night, the stillness of the sunset.