The Swans

They meet every year at the lake at Pueblo Norova
Towards the end of May, when summer is flirting with the idea
Of arriving a few weeks earlier than usual
Wishing to be already settled in by the time June arrives
When the fish begin swimming closer to the middle
And the kids rig the tire swing so that it flies right over the water
That's about the time they meet
She coming in first and landing near the shore
He arriving a few moments later
Skimming across the pond like a wishing stone
Showing off to impress her even though she's seen him do it a thousand times

They spend that first day in the water
Cooling themselves down after all the weeks of traveling
Floating side by side while a boat goes by them
And another boat, and a few fish
He pushes his head into the soft part of her neck
And she pushes back
And they're startled by how good it feels
To put weight on one another and know it can be supported
Know that they can rely on one another
Even after all this time apart
After a few moments, they pull away, but they stay together

. . . . .

Camille would ask him to take her out on the lake
But he would refuse, knowing she wasn't a good swimmer
And that she was clumsy, not at all graceful
Like his sister, Annalise, the ballet dancer
And Camille would get angry at him and say--

'Alain, I wish you'd stop treating me like a child!'

But the truth was he could see that she was growing up
No longer the little girl two years his junior, always miles behind him
But now a young woman who would stand next to the tree by the lake and watch him swimming
And he worried that there was something missing in her eyes
The light of a long life, a sense of longevity

That summer Annalise got married at a ceremony by the lake
And the following summer her son was already being dipped in the water
Giggling as his uncle let the water engulf everything but his face

'Alain,' said Camille, brushing Annalise's hair, 'Be careful'

But Annalise put her hand on Camille's arm to stop her

'Alain was born into water, Camille,' she said, 'He knows it better than he knows himself'

Alain smiled at his sister, and then at Camille, who looked away before he could see her respond in kind

He had started giving her swimming lessons
Although she was a slow learner
Two times already she'd nearly choked when she forgot to breathe
And came up violently out of the lake pulling at Alain as if something were grabbing at her and pulling her down into the water

. . . . .

The last night of summer when the lake was filled with people dancing until autumn came upon the horizon like a sunrise, Alain asked Camille to marry him

Annalise told him to do it on a boat
In the middle of the lake
Like a real romantic
But he refused
Still nervous about Camille and the water
Worried that Pueblo Norova didn't want the two of them together
That it wanted Alain all to itself

Instead he proposed on the shore
With candles lined up all along the water
Not for the ambiance
But to have fire, one element
Keeping another element at bay

When Camille accepted his proposal
Alain picked her up and swung her with such force
That a wind flew over the water
Causing a wave to rush back
And extinguish all the candles

Alain didn't notice because Camille had pulled him down into the grass
Where he began to kiss the tops of her shoulders
And then her neck and her arms
And she swore she could hear a storm somewhere
As he moved his hand underneath her
To undo the back of her dress

. . . . .

When she woke up, Alain was lying on a pile of their clothes
And the party was winding down in the distance
The sounds of a few lingering laughers
The only noise besides the morning waking up

Camille decided to go for a swim
Before dressing again
Even though Alain had forbid she ever swim without him
In the lake

She was in up to her ankles
When she felt the first tug
But she told herself it was only nerves
And she kept going

She was going to marry the man she had loved
Since she was a little girl
There was nothing to be afraid of anymore

When she was up to her shoulders
To the very spot where Alain's kisses were still imprinted
She dove underneath the water
And into the arms of the lake

. . . . .

When Alain awoke, the first thing he saw was the ring he gave Camille
She had taken it off before going for a swim
So as not to lose it in the lake

He sat up, wondering where she had gone
And why she had taken off the ring

And then he saw the dark spot on the lake
Right in the middle
Where the sun should be shining the brightest
It was pitch black

And he knew

He jumped into the water
And swam right for the center
Feeling something like a tide
Pushing him back away from it

He screamed out for Camille
And as he screamed
Water poured into his throat
And went down like a weight
Pulling him under
And pushing him back to shore at the same time

Somewhere Annalise awoke
To hear her son crying
And when she went to his room
She found him soaking wet
And smelling like he'd just been in the pond

That was when she looked out the window onto the lake
And saw her brother reach the dark spot

. . . . .

When Alain got to the middle of the lake
He felt himself let go
And it was a cool feeling
A sensitive touch
After the relentless force
That had been holding onto him

And he begged

He begged to see Camille again

A moment later the morning swept in and seeing the man lost in the lake
It went to pull him out and bring him back to the shore
Only to realize that he didn't want to go back
That he wanted to stay in the lake
Because it was the closest he would ever be to Camille

The morning chastised the lake for its selfishness
Falling in love with a man and taking away his wife-to-be
But it could not undo what had been done

What it could do was create another morning
A morning where two lovers could become two swans
Who meet every summer to swim on the lake
That had tried to keep them apart while they were alive
For even water cannot harm a swam

On the shore, Annalise held her son
As she cried out for her brother
Wanting to go in after him
But unable to put down her little boy
Who was clinging to her

She called out Alain's name again
Pleading with him to answer her
As the men from town slowly descended upon the lake
Knowing someone had reached the dark spot
And would not be coming back

. . . . .

Standing next to the tree by the lake
Aimee watches Alain swing out over the water on the tire swing
And jump off--falling with such force that water flies up and out
And lands on Aimee, soaking her completely

She screams but Alain just laughs
Wondering how the water could go so far

'Alain!'

His mother calls from the house

'I told you to stay away from that lake!'

Annalise tries to keep her son away from the water
But he won't listen

It calls to him, the lake
It seduces him with its blue jewelry

Alain has promised Aimee he'll teach her to swim
But she's scared

The water doesn't beckon to her the way it does Alain
With Aimee, it warns her
It tells her to stay away

But she's asked to learn anyway
Because it's the only way to get close
To the boy she admires

Annalise knows all this
And worries, worries
Still remembering that night
When her brother and Camille
Were pulled from the lake

Looking like they'd been out of their bodies
For centuries

But then she looks out the window
And sees the two swans
Gliding across the lake
Reminding Annalise of when she used to dance
When she was a graceful young woman
And convinced that the world was made up
Of straight, parallel lines

She looks at the swans
As they go right by her son

He doesn't notice them
He's too busy trying to make Aimee laugh

But the swans seem to be watching him
They seem to be making sure
That he doesn't go too far in

And Annalise thinks to herself--

'What beautiful creatures'

And wonders if maybe she should
Let Alain go in the lake after all

If maybe now
It'll be all right