The sunlight broke though the mighty crowns of old oak trees standing close to the shore of a small lake. Around the lake grew some Reed, tall and proud covering parts of the shore. Not far away from an old shed, a girl was on her knees, long, dark hair, eyes closed, she listened to the sound of the waves. She enjoyed just letting the time pass. Without a goal, without even wasting a thought on trivial things, she comes to the lake every day. She comes to the lake, enjoys the peace, and leaves hours later. It is not known from where she comes or where she goes after. One day she climbed a tree and stared into the blue, calm water. The sun was drawing the leaves' shadows on her face, suddenly she got startled.
Something caught her attention, there was something glittering beneath the surface of the lake. She climbed down the tree and ran to the water but when she reached it, she had lost track of the shiny thing, hidden beneath the small waves. Suddenly she felt disappointed, although her days were always the same here, she had the feeling to have missed something. Sunken in thoughts she left the lake side and went home.
The very next day she tried to find the mysterious glimmer again. But whenever she thought that she found it, it seemed to move farther away. She was on the verge of despair and sat down beneath an old tree. "Why can't I reach it?" "Does it hide from me? " she questioned herself. Then she was looking at some birds strafing the sky. Then the small shed - the shed she saw every day, caught her attention. She jumped up and went to it. She knocked and shouted: "Hello, anybody in there?" - No answer. She tried to open the crooked, wooden door. It was not locked. She went in. What she found couldn't been more astonishing to her. She found a small boat, covered in dust, a few tools and some rundown paddles. She immediately knew what to do.
She dragged the boat out of the shed, into the water and paddled to the center of the lake. There she could see it again, the bright light, she saw as a weak glimmer earlier. She was petrified by its appearance. It was so near that she could nearly touch it. After she regained control over her body, she did not hesitate and jumped into the lake, trying to dive to the ground and get what she was so obsessed with.
Underwater it was silent, she could only feel her heartbeat and see the glow of what she thought must be a treasure. She went deeper, 2 meters, 3 meters, 4 meters... she started to feel a burning sensation in her lungs, but still went on, pain was nothing that could stop her now. Then it was right in front of her; a light so bright that it would make the sun look like a spark. She reached out, grabbed it and went back to the surface. Completely exhausted, she climbed back in to the boat. But what she was obsessed with was not with her. Just a knowing smile of her face. She paddled to the shore, left the lake side with a smile of pure happiness - and was never seen again. But what did she found in this lake? It wasn't gold, no diamonds, no rubies. But it was indeed a treasure, a treasure of immense worth.
What she found was
Happiness