The mid-August sunrise splashed across the front grass, the morning dew glistening for miles. The slip ‘n slide was still unfurled from the day before, like a mighty yellow river trailing down to the lake. It was a pond, really, but “lake” made it sound much bigger, and to us, that lake was larger than life...

The air smelled green and sun-warmed — like grass, leaves, and something alive at the edge of the woods. The pond had that mineral scent I’ve never been able to describe — not dirty, not clean either. Just its own. And from the far corner came the steady scrape of Penny clearing algae from the overflow grate at the water’s edge...