Daydreaming

One day, I went hiking with my family and some friends. It wasn’t a difficult hike but we went slowly, so it took us most of the day.

We started at the base of the mountain and hiked up the dirt paths toward the top. As we got higher, the path leveled out and we continued to weave our way through the hills.

The view of the city was beautiful. It looked like a giant cluster of buildings nestled into the valley below and surrounded by green hills and mountains with the Mediterranean in the distance. It was a nice day, and the sun shone down through the trees creating patterns of light on the muddy path.

We stopped for lunch on the edge of a cliff overlooking the city, and ate sandwiches that we’d brought with us. After lunch we continued hiking and awhile later we came to a small village. It was quiet and there weren’t many people outside.

We walked through the village, and were greeted by some of the women as they worked in their gardens. The path curved around a row of houses, and I saw a little girl standing in a doorway. She held a long stick, was wearing brightly colored clothes and barefoot. As we walked by, she stood in the doorway and stared at us.

We were all laughing and talking while we walked, enjoying our time. My brothers found some sticks and began sword fighting with each other, completely oblivious to the girl watching them intently. The path curved again, and as we rounded the corner she continued to watch us until we were out of sight. I thought she looked like a statue, and wished I knew what she was thinking. I thought for a moment, and realized that I probably couldn’t even begin to imagine.