Page 41 of Arranging Ayra
“Is this the bigger one of the smaller one?” I asked.
“This is the larger one.” Jai stopped the jeep, killed the engine and hopped out. “Come on. We can walk around this section of it.”
I followed him as he took a pebbled path to the edge of the water.
“The water is so clear,” I remarked. “That’s a good thing.”
“The advantage of this lake is the view on the other side,” Jai said. “That stand alone tree by the gazebo is the perfect touch of greenery, but you have a view of the distant valley.”
“Those flowers on the other side are pretty, too. I like the touch of color.”
He nodded in agreement. “Depending on the time-of-day you guys shoot the scene, you’ll have the sun setting behind that tree, or, if it’s shot in the morning, that same tree will be brilliantly lit by the rising sun, just as it is now.”
“Magical,” I whispered.
“I like to think so.”
I smiled at him. “You’re really developing an eye for all this, aren’t you. Look at you talking about lighting and points of view.”
With a chuckle, he shrugged. “I guess you guys are rubbing off on me.”
I looked once again at the lake. It certainly had potential, especially at this end where the lake narrowed somewhat.
“Okay,” I finally said. “I think I’ve seen enough. Let’s go see the smaller one.”
“As you wish.”
We returned to the jeep and headed off. For a few moments, we rode along the edge of the lake that went on to be far longer than I’d originally thought.
“The lake seems to go on forever,” I said.
“It is pretty long and narrow.”
We then drove through a field of wildflowers wistfully dancing in the breeze.
“Wow. This is really pretty. I think we should have Mr. Darcy walking through here once he emerges from the water. The strength of his wet torso coupled with the delicate movement of those swaying flowers would be spectacular.”
He nodded but said nothing.
We came to a large sand pit strewn with pebbles, baseball size rocks and large boulders.
“What happened here?” I asked at the unexpected sight.
“This is where I come to get dirt, pebbles, rocks, whatever I might need for filler around the house and stuff... like that rutted road back there.”
“Your own private quarry, as it were.”
“Something like that.”
After a few more moments, we emerged from a sparse stand of tall pines and the small lake came into view.
“There’s a bridge,” I let out with glee at the sight of the decorative wooden structure that had long ago been painted white. “That is adorable.”
Jai parked the jeep, and we headed out.
“It’s been there for quite some time,” he warned as we neared the bridge. “I’m not sure it’s sturdy, and as you can see, it’s in desperate need of a new coat of paint.”
“Do you think we can step on it?” I asked as we reached the first boards.
