By Nathaniel Lachenmeyer
We discovered it in the spring in a bright and unexpected dell—a shallow pond, noisy with insects and frogs, ringed by plants and reeds we could not name. To my son, who was six, a great lake could not have been any more exciting. We both felt the thrill all explorers feel when they find their greatest-to-date discovery. We studied the water insects, counted them (there were either twelve or fourteen, depending on who you asked), located three hiding frogs, and doubted our eyes when we saw creatures that looked like shrimp feeding on the bottom. The more we looked, the more we discovered. When it was time to go, neither of us wanted to leave. We planned to hike the same path again the following weekend. But it was a busy spring, and there was a lot to do. When we finally returned, it was already summer—and the pond was gone. It had dried up in the sun, leaving behind several concentric rings of wildflowers. In that field of green, the pattern looked like a giant’s thumbprint. It was beautiful, we agreed, and interesting, but we both missed the vibrant pond and its inhabitants. As we followed the path back to the car, my son ran up ahead, waving a purple flower I had cut for him. With no flower of my own to distract me, I thought about how each of us is like a vernal pool—a temporary habitat for self, voice, and action. Each of us will teem with life and each of us will return to ground, leaving behind memories like a summer dell’s ring of wildflowers. I told myself to remember what we had found, so I could remind my son when he was older. Because I knew I might forget, I wrote it down.
Nathaniel Lachenmeyer is an award-winning disabled author of books for children and adults. His first book, The Outsider, which takes as its subject his late father’s struggles with schizophrenia and homelessness, was published by Broadway Books. His most recent book, an all-ages graphic novel called The Singing Rock & Other Brand-New Fairy Tales, was published by First Second/Macmillan. Nathaniel lives outside Atlanta with his family.
