The Lake

I

Luke and Mary arrived at the lake house just as the sunset was fading into night. They had not been to this house in years but had decided it was time to rekindle their marriage. Mary felt like Luke had been distant and suggested that they get away from everyday life to just focus on each other. They both got out of the car and were greeted by the brisk air of fall weather. Luke went to start grabbing the luggage from the trunk while Mary carried in the food that had brought for the weekend.

“I always loved in here,” Mary said as they walked inside.

Luke sighed. “It has been forever since we have been here. I thought this house freaked you out since you don’t like water. The deck sits right on the huge lake.”

She stopped putting items away to look over at him. “I don’t like the water but there is something calming about the forest. Like we are the only ones around.”

After putting away the food and luggage they settled in for the night.

II

Early the next morning Mary was up making coffee and breakfast. Luke walked in and gave her a kiss on the cheek before moving to get a cup of coffee himself.

She looked over at him and said, “I thought we could eat breakfast on the deck.”

“That sounds good to me,” he replied.

While she finished moving the food onto plates he went to sit outside. When she walked outside, he was looking on his phone with a frustrated expression.

She put the plates down and said, “I thought we said no work this weekend. I want to be able to have a nice get away.”

He put his phone down on the table. “I know. You know I can’t step away completely, but I will do my best not to check everything as often as I normally do.”

They ate breakfast while reminiscing about the past and making small talk. Both were more relaxed and settled into to the idea of vacation.

III

That afternoon they went on a hike through the woods. As they were walking along the path Mary felt like they were being watched. She looked all around and saw nothing. It was the middle of the day so there was nothing to be nervous about, yet she couldn’t shake the feeling.

“What are you looking around for?” Luke asked.

“I feel like I’m being watched. It is making the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Don’t you feel anything?”

Luke just shook his head. “You were always into the ghost stories. You are just letting your mind play tricks on you.”

They finished their hike and made it back to the house with no issues. Mary decided to take a shower and relax a little before dinner. As she was washing off the water became scalding hot. She instantly moved the lever to cold and jumped back. The water then became freezing. When she could not get the water temperature to normalize, she decided to just get out. Once she opened the door of the shower, she saw that the steam had covered the mirror. She grabbed a towel and when she turned back around there was writing in the steam that said I’m watching you. Mary screamed and ran from the bathroom calling to Luke. He came running upstairs to see what was happening. When she brought him into the bathroom, he looked around but there was nothing on the mirror.

Mary kept looking at the mirror. “I swear there was writing on there.”

“I’m sure you just imagined it after you freaked yourself out on the walk today.” Luke then walked her out of the bathroom and into the room.

Mary was still shaken when they sat down for dinner. She told Luke about the change in the water temperature and that she felt like there was something wrong with the house. He listened but seemed distracted while checking his phone again.

“I thought you said you would stop with the phone,” Mary sighed.

“I have been, but I needed to check on something. I haven’t been able to get a hold of one of the employees over the last week or so and a lot of their work is piling up. I was just checking to see if they had messaged back with what was going on.” After typing out a message Luke put the phone down.

“Which employee is it? Should you guys be concerned that they have not shown up for work?”

Luke shook his head, still not totally present in the conversation. “No, I’m sure it’s nothing.”

After dinner they went out to the deck by the water to have a drink and relax. As they were sitting and watching the sunset the water seemed to swirl and bubble at the surface not far from the shoreline. They both watched the water to see what was causing the disruption but then all went calm. They both settled in for the night and went to bed.

IV

Sometime in the middle of the night Mary woke to the house at a freezing temperature. Every breath came out with a puff of smoke. She looked around to get her bearings and saw a woman standing at the end of the bed. She was soaking wet with purple lips. Her clothes were torn and her skin was bruised. Mary screamed and shook Luke waking him up. Luke sat up and looked around but there was nothing there.

Frustrated he said, “I think you are letting the house in the woods vibe get to you. Let’s just plan to leave tomorrow and you will feel better.”

“There was a woman there! I saw her and there was writing on the mirror. I know you think I’m crazy, but it happened. I think leaving is the best idea. Maybe we can stay through dinner and leave after that.”

After a taking a while to calm down they both fell back asleep.

V

In the morning everything seemed back to normal. They had a nice breakfast and ate out by the water. Nothing seemed out of place. As the day went on Mary started to think that she was imagining the things she was seeing just like Luke had said.

They went through the day with Mary reading and watching television while Luke became more agitated. He was checking his phone more and more frequently until he said he needed to take an important work call.

He was out on the deck for long enough that Mary went to go check and see if he was alright. When she walked outside he was sitting in a chair and staring off into the night. He didn’t even notice her open the door and walk outside.

Mary touched his shoulder to get his attention. “Is everything ok?”

He looked over. “No. I called around and it sounds like my assistant, Chloe, is missing. No one has seen or heard from her in a week. It’s not like her to just disappear.”

“Could she have just decided to quit and not show up or tell anyone?”

“No, she would never do that. She would have at least told me.”

Mary walked a couple feet away. “You sound so sure that she would have confided in you. I wonder why that is.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Did Chloe have blonde hair and green eyes? Petite and medium height?” Mary asked.

Luke looked up then. “Yes, how do you know what she looked like?”

“That is who I saw last night standing by the bed. That is who wrote on the mirror.” Mary started to pace the deck. “She is taunting me even now. I want to ask you a question. Did you think that I didn’t know you were having an affair? All the time you started spending at work and on your phone. You weren’t exactly subtle.”

“Mary what is going on? What is this about?”

Mary laughed. “This is about you destroying what we had so you could screw your assistant. I knew what was going on and so I made a plan. I had her meet me out here and when she had her back to me, I knocked her out. I tied weights to her and threw her into the lake. Right over there.” She pointed to a point just off the shoreline. “But now she’s back and I feel like I’m going crazy.”

Luke just stared at Mary speechless. “How could you have done that! You can’t just murder someone and think you can get away with it.”

Mary stopped pacing and at that moment Luke noticed she was holding a knife. “I think should be rethinking how you talk to me. This is your fault. She would not have had to die if it wasn’t for you. But now she is showing up and making herself known. It is only a matter of time before you figured it out so now, I need to get rid of you as well. I think it’s fitting that you both should end up at the bottom of the lake together.”

With that Mary ran at Luke slashing out with the knife. He fell to the ground taking her down with him. They wrestled for the knife until Luke had Mary pinned to the ground. He grabbed the near by rope and tied her hands together. Off in the distance the water rippled.

“Leave me alone!” Mary shouted to the water.

Luke pulled his cell phone from the table and called the police. He told them everything that had happened and waited while they arrested Mary. Once he was done giving the police his version of events he was allowed to gather his things and return home.

VI

It had been a week since the incident at the lake. The police searched everywhere but were never able to find a body. With Mary’s confession and her talking about ghosts and writing on mirrors it was assumed that she would plead mentally unfit in court and serve her sentence in a psychiatric facility.

Luke took a deep breath and walked into the house that he had shared with his wife for so many years. Once he sat down his cell phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Hey babe, did it work?”

Luke smiles at the phone. “Chloe, it went just like we planned.”