On a sun-bleached dock by the lake, the children gathered in the warmth of the afternoon. One girl sat with her bare feet dangling above the water, toes brushing ripples that danced in the light, while another leaned back at the shoreline, stretching her leg forward as if to test the water with her toe. Two boys waded knee-deep in the shallows, their poles gripped tight as a fish tugged hard against the line. Another boy, still dry on the dock, cast with a calm air, as though he might be too cool to join the splashing. Around them, laughter and sunshine threaded the moment together, turning an ordinary afternoon into the kind of memory that lingers long after summer fades.
