Dunes
The wind of that morning blew softly on the faces of the three witches. A day off from school, when they were informed, meant immediately for the group of friends a relaxing day at the lake. Although at the last minute Gus couldn't make it (because he had to accompany his father to report a scene that happened at the Bonesborough market; he wants it to be one of those father and son moments, he said to them), the girls decided to carry out their trip to Lake Lacuna.
―Ah, the beach! There's no better place than this ―Luz said with joy when she saw the landscape just arriving at the lake―. The water, the breeze, the spirits around. How much peace!
Luz was right. That morning couldn't irradiate more calm. They had no homework to think about. Things were going well at school. Hexside beat Glandus in Grudgby. Eda hadn't gotten into any trouble. Ed and Em hadn't done any mischief. Things couldn't get any better and the girls knew it. And as the icing on the cake, Amity and Willow strengthened their dusty friendship everyday.
As soon as they put their feet over the sand of the coast, the girls proceeded to look for a site where the ground would be more uniform and smooth to place some tablecloths, chairs and umbrellas. Being ready their small resting space, Luz ran effusively towards the water followed by Willow. Amity, however, showed a little bit more undecided.
―Come one, Amity. Are you going to keep Willow and me waiting? ―said the ecstatic girl with a huge smile on the face―. Come now, the temperature of the water is at the right point.
Slightly blushed, Amity still showed hesitation, so Luz decided to get out of the water and, taking her by the left hand, dragged her into the lake despite her objections. Already submerged, Amity was initially still unsure of what to do. Floating in the tempered lake water, she thought of only one thing: «Luz took my hand». As the minutes passed, however, while she watched the other two girls play jovially in the water, she decided to forget her hesitation and join them.
After having some fun at the lake and after Luz taught her friends the Marco Polo game, the three of them left and headed back to their resting space, where they ate some snacks that they had prepared a day before.
Tired and with their stomachs full of food, Willow, Luz and Amity laid down on the warm sand to watch the sky.
―Look, Willow, that cloud looks like one of your plants!
«It had been too long since I had felt this calm» thought Amity as the other two girls shaped the fleeting clouds. «. Wow, I don't think I even remembered what it was like to feel that way. Luz...» raised and affectionately watched her left hand «. She has really changed a lot of things in my life». Amity was smiling fully when her thoughts were interrupted by Luz's animated shout.
―I know what we're going to do now, girls! I had been watching those seagulls for a while, which are nothing like the seagulls of my world, but well, it had all seemed familiar for a while and I now remember why. Girls… let's do a fort in the dunes.
Willow and Amity, unsure of the idea at first, were completely convinced by their friend's enthusiasm.
―Great! Montage activated!
A new fort in the dunes, only this time the girls were determined to create an improved version of the one the two witches made when they were still children. Willow used her magic to create the pillars of the fort while Luz collected planks of wood that were scattered around the place. Once that was done, with the help of Amity's abominations they were able to create a firm roof. Finally it was finished, the fort in the dunes.
―Wait ―Luz mentioned, capturing the attention of the other two witches―, there is still something missing.
The human ran straight to the resting space, where she had left a small purple backpack. From there she pulled out a piece of paper and set to work. From the ground she picked up a small and slender stick, took her pen, and, having finished her work, returned to Willow and Amity.
In front of the fort, just above the threshold, Luz placed a small improvised flag that had written on it: A+L+W.
―The fort in the dunes is finished.
But Willow, still weighing with her hand on her chin, decided to add one last detail, and with her magic she made the wood of the fort blossom. Green, white, yellow and blue, the beautiful flowers gave even more life to what the three of them had built.
―Now it is finished ―said Willow happily.
It didn't take long for a large group of children at the lake to come and admire the magnificent fort. The girls, satisfied, invited them to use it as they pleased to play.
Dusk arrived. The three witches had graciously watched the children play with their fort and now they were all heading home, called by the voices of their parents. The sky was painting to the rhythm of the setting sun. It was time to go back too, so they put on some jackets they had brought from the beginning for that moment and started to pack up. The sky had already darkened by the time they finished putting everything away. Outside the sand, near the entrance to the lake, they were ready to leave, but Amity remembered that she had forgotten something.
―I'll be right back.
There, in front of her, the enormous fort that the three of them had built would lie until time or a person destroyed it. Amity gazed one last time at the construction and, smiling, took from the hallway the small flag Luz had made. A + L + W. Willow and Luz had moved back closer to the sandbanks, calling out to Amity and asking if she would take too long or needed help.
―No thanks ―Amity shouted from afar― I found it, I'll be right there ―she said, tucking the flag into her left pocket and running back to her friends.
Once with them, Luz observed her with curiosity.
―So, what was it that you had forgotten?
―Nothing important, honestly ―answered Amity with a shy smile on her face and a little blush on her cheeks, which fortunately for her couldn't be seen because of the darkness of the night.
The day off ended and the three girls made their way back. Willow and Luz were chatting between yawns. Amity, on the other side, walked with her hands inside the pockets of her jacket, feeling, in her left hand, the flag that someday would be a reminder of the time she built another fort in the dunes of Lacuna Lake.