Two Nights — Two Skies

One night alone at the gate of the World of Dreams, and one night together on a tiny island

One late night sky was filled with streaks of pink, and I spontaneously stepped onto my board and paddled towards. The view that opened up as I rounded the headline was breathtaking.

My first thought was that a gate had been torn open to another world. It reminded me of the World of Dreams — a place you enter by crossing the Sea of Dreams. There, thundering waters are filled with nightmares, but between them lie calm, tranquil zones where good dreams drift in silence. The dreamer paddles through that sea, with their bed as the boat, seeking the safe shore of morning.

When I realized I couldn’t reach that gate, I turned around and paddled slowly back. Now the world looked dark. A big island nearby felt like a dangerous jungle, with trees stretching out over the lake. The rocks sticking out from the water, didn’t look like nice rocks — they looked like threatening dark sentinels guarding the shoreline of a mysterious, malicious island full of dangers. I wanted to return quickly and safely to familiar waters and snuggle up next to my beloved.

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On another evening, my partner and I took one board, two paddle and nothing else to carry — just us. We paddled towards the tiny island near us. We’ve given it many names. I call it Moss Island. My 8-year-old named it Cone Island, because it’s covered with cones. I also once suggested Stormy Island, because every time we land there, the wind got stronger — expect this time I’m about to write now.

The island has an underwater shape like a boat’s prow, perfect for sliding the paddleboard onto — it makes landing easy. Even the underwater cliff isn’t slippery.

Tonight on the island, we watched the sunset, explored the shoreline, and waded barefoot along the rocky underwater edges. The island feels like it’s slowly crumbling — the water was filled with pieces of stone that had broken off the eroding cliffs . The most interesting detail is an X-shaped crack on the cliff. Coinsidence, or a sign of buried treasure left behind by the Pirates of Lake Päijänne?

We had lovely bonding time just sitting on the cliff, watching sunset. These moments are only for us and make so good. No words needed — just being present is enough. I’m grateful that we have healthy, happy children and also time for each other. This summer has been wonderful, and I’m so happy to have the possibility to spent so much time with my family.

As it started to get dark, we were ready to return . I decided to swim back — it was nice change to slip into the water from the rocky shore. A bit exciting too, since I wasn’t sure if my feet might painfully hit the hidden rock. But they didn’t, and it felt wonderful to swim through the warm, refreshing water in the dark night, back towards our cottage. My parter paddled beside me, and during the journey back we saw a huge, orange moon, hanging low over the lake. Shame I couldn’t take a better picture of it — I was holding on to the edge of the paddleboard, and my hands were wet. But the moon guided our journey back to home shore.

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