Face in the River

I looked in the river. There was a girl extending her hands towards my face, in the same way as I was trying to touch her. I retreated back and kept staring at her with bewildered eyes, only to get interrupted by a strange cry. Did she call out to me? I observed around but there was noone to be found . I looked at my hand and then back in the water. It was the same . There was no difference between us; I smiled, she smiled back; I cried, she cried back; I tried touching her, but she disappeared the minute I tried doing that. What was keeping us apart? The water or the air? The ripples or the waves? Why were we distant in spite of being connected in our actions? Did she think the way I did? If yes, then why did she run away from me? In between the ripples, I saw the figure emerge again. I spread my lips apart, she smiled. It was just then that a leaf fell on her.It disfigured her entire face, the smile changed to a frown. I touched my face but there was nothing on me. Why was the figure different from me now? Was it only the leaf? Or the ripples? Why did she internalize these external disturbances? Or did she really internalize them? I pushed the leaf away . Yes ! It was only my perception which created differences between the two of us. She was smiling all the time , I thought she frowned. Who was she? Why was she different yet similar to me? What caused the difference? The leaf, the air, the mud, everything external. Why was this progressive internalization taking place? Wait ! She never internalized them in the first place. I thought she did. I forced her to respond to the leaf . I looked at her again, she looked back. Now there was no difference. Whatever the leaf made her out to be, she was still like me. I smiled, took a deep breath and dipped my face in the water. Yes ! The girl was me ! I only braved the waters. The mystery unraveled on its own. There was nothing between us, no water, no leaf, no air, no mud . We were one !