It was the end of the season and the crests of the Sierra had lost most of their mantel providing torrents and rivers with fresh water.
It had been a long and hot summer, with endless crowds invading the mountains in search of refreshment. The sound of the birds was covered by noisy cars that jammed the narrow roads breaking the calm of those places.

Some people dared venture into the remote woods of the Sierra, unaware of the legends that surrounded those places.

Under a continuous flow of iced water, between some rocks and debris brought by the current, a glare drew her curiosity.
The group was a bit further, but their voices were still at a reasonable distance; she decided to move closer, walking carefully through the irregular bottom of the torrent with her arms spread and upper body leaning forward, trying not fall in the shallow water.
She put her hand in the water, turned turbid after her clumsy steps, scavenging for a texture that was not the one of the rocks. A fragment of something familiar and smooth to the touch seemed to be jammed under the base of a stone. Once the other hand got in the water too she lifted the stone, making it flip downstream.

There was an instant of excitement and silence, when the imagination leaves place to an imperceivable void of expectations.
Even tho her hands began to feel numb and the turbid cold water blocked her sight, she carried on the raid, displacing stones until and she finally yanked the thing out of the stream. What she held was a hand, not much bigger than hers, cold to the touch and smooth. It felt like glass and looked almost transparent, like the torrent she stood in. The unusual discovery was followed by the desire of taking with her what she found; a relic, an object that embodied those places, that would carry within itself memories of that excursion. 


The dazzled tourist looked around, finding herself alone in the forest. After a quick glance at the object she slid her backpack down to the forearm and opened it with one hand, hiding the souvenir as fast as possible.
Clumsily, she headed towards the bank to catch up with the group. Each step left in the stream dusty clouds of debris that slowly expanded to the surface; before she could leave the creek a bright light shined from the murky water and through the tree trunks around the torrent, making the leaves tremble.
She looked back whilst walking but a foot on a slippery stone made her lose balance. In a moment, before the light disappeared, she vanished.
The water turned clear again, like no one had ever been there.