The Velvet Stream

puncakbukit (79)in #photography • 29 days ago

5% of the rewards of this post are for @steem.amal

_{(Effect by DeepArtEffects)}

The locals knew the park was artificial, a neatly sculpted slice of greenery engineered to buffer the hum of nearby traffic with the gentle trickle of a manmade stream. Yet, those who walked the dirt path at precisely nine in the morning began noticing subtle anomalies in the reflection of the shallow water. While the tall elms stretched toward a clear summer sky, the liquid surface mirrored a canopy of entirely different trees—ancient, twisted boughs choked with pale, luminescent moss that swayed even when there was no breeze. Stranger still were the shadows cast along the rocky bank: as pedestrians strolled along the walkway, their mirrored silhouettes in the stream did not walk, but stood frozen, watching them pass.

It was Arthur who first attempted to test the logic of the brook. Holding a smooth, grey pebble he had picked up from the path, he tossed it directly into the glass-like water. Instead of a splash, the stone hit the surface with a muffled sound resembling a coin dropping into velvet, sinking slowly through the water without producing a single ripple. As the pebble reached the mossy bed, a hand—decidedly human, yet translucent as morning mist—reached out from beneath one of the submerged boulders, neatly caught the pebble, and pulled it out of sight.

Now, the quiet promenade carries an unspoken rule among those who frequent it. joggers speed up as they approach the bend, and dog walkers keep their pets strictly to the left side of the dirt track, far from the mossy stones. The stream continues to flow smoothly, mirroring a forest that exists nowhere on any map, waiting patiently for the day someone drops something they cannot afford to lose.

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