Utter quietness

It was so quiet in the Park just now. A cloudy, very slightly misty morning, and absolutely nothing stirred. No wind, no dog walkers, no sirens screaming along the main roads. It felt as if I held my breath and stood very still, I could go somewhere else, through time and place.

But you are never alone with a dog, so the spell was broken. But then I found a golden leaf sticking to the middle of my walking boot. It looked like one of those very old fashioned buckles people used to wear on their shoes in the 16th (?) century. And I got wondering who had walked that spot before me. Not as a Park, of course, but the land was farmland for centuries (the old farmhouse is still there, modernised, but parts still visible). Men must have ploughed it, or gathered cattle and sheep. Could I hear their footsteps if I listened? Could I sense their emotions?

I would dearly love to be able to go back in time and see how people really lived, outside of the history book accounts of how others thought they lived!