A gift of peace
Submerged in murky depths, Maggie felt water swirl through her gills. A transcending peace suffused her. For the first time in weeks, she felt utterly relaxed, her problems receded to the water’s surface.
She felt the infant’s fishlike fluttering in the waters of her womb. Perhaps this deep, blissful restfulness was the old fish’s gift. She knew it could not last, and at the thought, she surfaced, spluttering, to awareness.
Gasping, she opened her eyes. She sat, her clothing dry, at the roots of the ancient cottonwood. The peace was still within her, as was the answer she had sought.