“Towels?”

“Check!”

“Picnic blanket?”

“Check!”

“A change of clothes, food, water, and the dimensional ring with the first aids?”

“Check! Check! Check!” I yelled enthusiastically, picking each item up to show them to Mira, before putting them back in the big basket.

“Perfect,” she patted my hair, “then we are ready to go.” She said, wearing the dimensional ring.

“Yey!”

Today, we were going to the river!

Yesterday, right before I ran off to see Horny, Mira told me we’d be taking a break from lessons for the next two weeks. She said it was because we needed to relax, something about giving our minds a rest so they wouldn’t get all jumbled up with too much learning.

I didn’t really get that part—I felt just fine—so I started worrying that something might be wrong.

Then she mentioned this thing called a “beach,” but said there wasn’t one nearby, which confused me even more.

But when she explained what she meant, I got so excited I couldn’t focus on my training with Horny at all!

I was going to learn how to swim! How could I focus on something else? What was even swimming!? I’ve never heard of it before!

Was it like walking? Or maybe jumping? Or, or, maybe was it like swinging from vine to vine? I mean, swimming and swinging are very close to each other, at least how they sound... But then again, why was a river needed?

‘Who cares? I’m going to learn today sooner or later! But I would prefer sooner.’

“Are we close?” I asked eagerly, practically jumping instead of walking.

Mira chuckled, “don’t worry dear, we are close enough, you’ll know when we reach it.” She said, which didn’t make it better at all!

We were heading somewhere deep into the forest, to the northern side, where the weather was even hotter.

I had never explored that side deeply so I didn’t know what lied after the ‘horseshoe’ as I called it. It was close to a big ‘U’ shape filled with water, like a very tiny lake. But where did that water even come from?

So, when we reached it, I just had to ask.

“That, my dear, is an Oxbow lake. Imagine a river that twists and turns like a wiggly snake. Sometimes, the river makes big, wide loops called meanders. As the water flows, and there’s no outside force to sustain it as is, it slowly wears away the land on the outside of the loop, making the loop bigger. It grows and grows and grows until the two ends of the pool meet, and when that happens, the lake is cut—breaks through the thin part of the loop and starts flowing straight instead of around the bend. Since the river doesn’t flow there anymore, it becomes its own little lake. In the northern sides of the kingdom, oXbow lakes are pretty common.”

“Wow! That’s amazing!” I said in awe and then gasped when the thought hit me.

“Does that mean we are close to the river!?”

If this small lake was once a part of a bigger lake, it meant we were close, right?

Mira chuckled again.

“That’s right.”

She said, and smiled, the sun brightening it even more so.

The wind blew, almost taking her big yellow hat with it. She reached up to steady it, her loose, flowing dress billowing around her. The pale fabric, fluttered in the breeze, the colorful flowers attached to it, seemingly dancing in the air in yellow, red, and blue. It was more like a painting, a perfect match for this sunny day.

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For a moment, I was stunned, rocked tied to my feet unable to move.

“Come on,” she said, extending an arm, and I took it.

It felt warmer than the weather, but it was cooler to the touch. It was nice.

Not long after, we finally reached the river.

It was big, both in width and in length.

It stretched across the landscape like a giant ribbon of glass, shimmering under the sunlight. The water moved steadily, not too fast but not too slow, creating gentle ripples that reflected the sky. Its surface was a deep blue-green, clear enough to see the smooth rocks and swaying plants beneath.

Absorbed by the sight, I returned to my senses only when I tried to tighten my hand out of excitement, and found it empty.

Turning around, I saw that Mira had already spread out the blanket, and had placed rocks at its edges to keep the wind from blowing it away. Then, with a swift motion, she slipped off her dress, revealing an even thinner garment underneath. Like a loose, flowing shirt or a translucent scarf, it draped over her shoulders and hung lightly around her upper body. The fabric barely crossed her torso, leaving her legs completely uncovered in the open.

I gulped as she approached.

No, not because I was embarrassed or anything. I had seen her half-dressed plenty of times already. She used to bathe me during the first few weeks, after all.

No, this was different. It was a feeling of unease, like a knot tightening in my tummy.

If I saw a man around here, I wasn’t sure I’d view them as anything other than a beast.

I was just relieved it was only the two of us, without anyone else nearby.

“Are you ready?” She asked, lifting a hand to hide the sun from her eyes.

Quickly taking off my tunic and throwing it at the blanket, I run back at her, nodding furiously.

“Great.” She said and took both my hands. Slowly she moved backwards towards the water.

A soft splash echoed, and in the span of just three steps, my hands, which had been stretching upward to reach Mira’s, were now on an even level with hers. She was standing at the same height as me and was ready to deeper, taking me along.

All that was left, was for me to make the first step.

“Do you see the tiny rock there? Try standing on it.” Mira instructed with a soft voice.

For a moment, I was hesitant. The rock looked so far down, was I even tall enough to reach it?

The next, a cold shiver ran from my leg to the rest of my body, as I entered it.

If Mira said so, then I trusted her.

The moment my foot touched the water, it felt as though the rock was much closer than it had seemed from above. I found myself standing on it easily, my upper body still outside of the water.

“Good job, Lyon,” Mira said, taking another step back. “Now, see the next one?”

I glanced nervously at the next rock, which appeared far away. “Y-yes—but why does it look so far? And how can I reach it?”

Mira smiled reassuringly. “The way light behaves in water is quite fascinating. It’s one of the recent discoveries by a renowned scientist from the Asmit Kingdom. Light bends differently when it travels through water, making objects seem closer or farther than they actually are. The details are escaping me at the moment, but please don’t worry. The rock is there, and if something happens, I am holding your hands, remember?”

Instead of talking and saying something that would probably make Mira sad or worry, I took the next step.

Now, only my head remained above the water, but I was still standing on my own so everything was fine. For now.

What came next was the scary part.

This time Mira took a step closer to me, our bodies almost touching.

“Please don’t panic my dear, I’m with you all the way.” She said, and gently took a step forward, taking me with her this time.

With no ground beneath, my feet entered panic mode, trying to find somewhere to stand, but that only lasted a few seconds. Realizing I wasn’t sinking, I managed to take control of them, and they relaxed.

For a while, we stood there, Mira slowly taking us ever deeper but also moving the distance between us, stretching and retracting her hands.

It... it was kinda fun. The back-and-forth movement of the legs, going with and against the tide of water, was a little weird, but in a good way.

After growing a bit more comfortable, Mira began to let go of one hand, explaining the motion while demonstrating at the same time.

Trying to mimic her it felt as if I was grabbing the water and was pushing it down to let my body float up.

Finally, after guiding me back to the rocks for safety, Mira let go completely.

Instantly, I tensed up. My arms and legs flailed as I tried to keep my head above the water, struggling to maintain balance.

“Calm down, my dear,” Mira’s voice was soothing. “Don’t be so tense. Let your body relax. The water isn’t here to harm you. Think of it like the quint within you. It flows naturally on its own, but you can guide it. Water is similar. If you guide it with a gentle hand and let it flow, it will support you and help you float.”

Taking a deep breath, I touched the rock for support and tried to follow her advice. With slower, more deliberate movements, I began to feel the water working with me rather than against me. The process became easier, and fun. So much more fun!

I wasn’t struggling to breathe anymore! And I could move freely, water the only limitation! If I could fly, I bet it would feel something similar!

We spent the next few hours playing in the river, taking a break only for lunch. While we waited for the right time to return to swimming because “you have to wait one hour after you eat” —what a silly reason—Mira told me another story.

Afterward, she had me practice a few exercises, my favorite being holding the rock and slashing the water behind me with all my strength, hehe. By the end of the day, I had truly done it.

I had learned how to swim.