The Bluff at Night

I had no idea that the waist-high black posts were night lights! I'm not sure I thought about them as anything except marking the edge of the path and pointing out where the stairs are. Who knew that at night those mysterious black posts turned the bluff into a fairyland of joy?

It had been a long and tiring day, and I had not had a chance to walk yet. I knew the moon would be extraordinary, and I really wanted to go, but it was getting so late and I was a bit leary of walking by myself. When I heard another student say he needed to walk because he had put in too many hours on the organ bench, I asked him if I could join.

He had intended only to walk in the tunnels - which I understand because that's where I would have walked if I had been alone. With a little persuasive coaxing and the inclusion of two other students, I managed to convince him to walk the bluffs. They were also concerned about the darkness, but with the full moon and a sure path, I persuaded them that we would be OK.

Imagine our delight when we found the path entirely lighted! There was something mysterious and spinetingling about the place ~ almost as if we were four bored children who had suddenly discovered the secret entrance in our uncle's wardrobe and were embarking on the Narnian adventure of a life time.

We spoke in hushed voices, carefully stepping over and around the jet black crickets and scrambling daddy long legs who had also come to watch the fairies play. The moon was even more amazing than the night before - cast in a creamy light orange and painting an inviting path of light on the gentle waves of the lake. One could almost believe you could walk the shining waves to heaven.

Far out in the water there was a round circle of white light, a spotlight on something we could not see with the naked eye, but enticing none the less. The gulls were unusually absent, and I wondered if they had flown to the light for some midnight rendezvous with the lake trout.

When at last we found ourselves at the bottom of the cliff, we stood blinking, unsure of what to do next. Waves swooshed up on the sand with a cleansing regularity, a sound I had never heard in the daytime what with the wind and the cawing of the gulls. We sighed deeply, inhaling the peace, the tranquility. After what seemed ages, we reluctantly pulled ourselves away and began the steep and winding ascent to the top. With every step, the magic dissipated until there was only the quiet campus at the top of the bluff, waiting for us to turn in at the end of a long day.

My calves were aching as, back in my dorm room, I pulled off my sandals and slipped into my nightgown. I could still smell the water in the breeze that ruffled the blinds on my window. Somewhere in the distance a cricket chirruped. I wearily sank down on the hard mattress and pulled the sheets up to my chin. Sleep was not far behind, the sweet sleep of contentment and peace.