Most Beautiful Scene

There are over 101 lakes in Steuben County, Indiana. I grew up in summers on Big Long Lake. In the beginning of my life, my great-grandfather owned a home on the lakefront and we would visit frequently. After he died, my father built a home next door to that house with land he had gotten through inheritance. And, so my summers were filled with trips to the lake. This frequent acquaintance with lake living set the stage for the most beautiful place I have ever seen. Summers on Big Long were actually pretty boring. Dad would go fishing, while mom cooked, and cleaned, just like she did in the city. She did not like the lake and did not like to go there, and made us all painfully aware of this fact each weekend. But, she did cook great fish that Dad caught in the fresh water. One night I had just taken a walk from the road to the house. That was a much longer walk than one might have thought. The night was filled with the sounds of a lake. Loud screeches of owls, and other birds, fish flopping in the water, and a soft, slippery breeze from the Indiana humidity kept me company on the walk. I had just gotten to the house when I heard the yelling and fighting. I decided to keep going and not enter the house. What would be the point? Mom and Dad were at it again, and I knew if I entered their brawl, I would become the scapegoat they always looked to. Eventually, I found myself out by one of the high trees and I looked off into the black night, and the glittering deep water. A star was glistening on the water and even though I am not filled with a metaphysical outlook, I have to say that this stunning star spoke to me- lovely against the backdrop of lake and sky- and the awful struggle inside.