This afternoon was quite a nice one.

The Governess and I took a long walk down to the lake. We left Miles indoors to read. Miles — reading on a day like this… It was almost a crime.

It was a very lovely, sunny day to be engrossed in nature and watch the way the sun’s reflection glistened off the glass surface of the lake.

I took to playing very hard on this day, for a day such as today should never go to waste, so I decided on the walk down that I would take full advantage of it.

The Governess, of course, took to relaxing on the bench, but I did not mind. I am perfectly capable of keeping myself amused, especially on a day such as this.

In the midst of my play I caught a glimpse, just a small glance, of a lady on the other side of the lake. I think it was Miss Jessel. She was dressed all in black, as Miss Jessel always is since her “leaving,” but I had never known her to approach anyone other than Miles and myself. I was unsure of what she could possibly want, or if she could want anything at all. It could be that she only wanted to observe me as I enjoyed myself on the beach with the Governess, as I had previously done so many times before with her.

Regardless of her reason for appearing, I did not want to alert the Governess because I had overheard her recently talking to Mrs. Grose of ghosts. I did not like to think of Miss Jessel as a ghost, I liked to think of her as a new version of herself. The new Miss Jessel. Either way, I turned my back to the lake so that I would not be tempted to sneak another peak in the direction of the lady, who I presumed to be Miss Jessel, so… I began to become intrigued by two small pieces of wood. I wondered if the Governess had noticed Miss Jessel of course, but I did not dwell on it long. If she did, she said nothing of it to me.

I have noticed grown-ups lose their sense of imagination, so I convinced myself that even if she did spot Miss Jessel, she would probably only brush it off as her eyes playing tricks on her, or her mind causing some sort of minor hallucinations from the heat. With grown-ups, everything was logical and everything made sense. There was nothing out of the ordinary.