Aquaphobia

We were always told to stay away from the water. No matter the time of year, month, or day it was so still and dark. There was never a wave or a ripple. The water was almost black and as far as we knew there was nothing alive inside. Every year around Halloween the older kids would start to tell stories about how the water would just eat you up and the town forgets about you and who you were. I don't know how a whole town, a county even, could forget a person ever existing. They erase you from their memories like you would burn a piece of paper. Not a picture or a single video to be seen of you ever again.

Growing up in this place the lake was right in my backyard nestled away past the dark, looming trees. Being a lonely teenager with no friends and mostly an outcast of the city I noticed things quite often. I notice when my elderly neighbor doesn't walk to her mailbox, I notice when the boy across the street doesn't come outside to play basketball alone, and I knew that I saw a young couple from my school sneak through my backyard last summer and never come back from that lake. The town threw a shadow over the incident like they always do and no one asked any questions of course. Did they drown? Is there something in the water waiting for its moment to reach up at anyone who comes too close? I need to find out.

I tried to get close once when I was a bit younger to maybe catch a glimpse of something coming out of the water, or even someone being taken by the entity in my backyard but my parents went insane about it.

"Don't you ever get near that lake again!" My dad would yell at me, his face turning as red as blood almost. It infuriates them how curious I am, but I can't let go of what could be in that lake. No boats ever went near it, no one swims during the summer, and no one even sits by the shore. Anyone who does never comes back. They become erased from time, not even a sliver of a memory remains of them.

Tonight I'm sneaking out to maybe see what this lake, this entity, is all about. I waited until 2 am, after my parents were in a dead sleep and slipped out my window. As I got closer to the lake I could feel a heavy pressure come over me. It made me feel even more uneasy the closer I got. Once I crunched my way through the fallen leaves and made it to the tree line I could see it. It was black like ink, still, and silent. I couldn't even hear a frog near. I took another step closer to the water and that's when I heard it. It was a voice, a whisper from the lake. I couldn't even make out the words but all I could do was stand there, staring at the water. In the distance I heard crunching, someone was running and their screams were muffled. I walked closer to the water when suddenly I was jolted to reality by my father. He was calling for me, out of breath screaming. He drug me into the backyard, his face that same blood red as before with tears in his eyes.

"What do you think you were doing? What were you thinking?" He sat staring into my eyes waiting for a response but I couldn't move, I couldn't speak. I could only hear whispers in my ears. What is in that water?

That night he put me back into my bed and stayed up the rest of the night watching me. He always takes care of me. Even in my dreams I was now thinking about the lake. The whispers grew louder and louder in my ears. What were they even saying? Who are these whispers coming from? Was the water talking to me?

The next day came and I sat in a chair at my window staring towards the lake. Most of the leaves had fallen off of the trees now and I could see the whole shoreline from my window. I found myself sitting in this chair until darkness started to fall and the sun disappeared behind the trees. In the distance I could see a shadow. Someone was walking towards the water. What were they doing down there? Something had drawn me out of my chair and I was sprinting towards this shadow person as fast as I could.

"HEY YOU!" I kept screaming as I neared the water towards this man. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" They were walking into the water now and I couldn't stop them. It was as if they couldn't hear me calling for them. Did they hear the whispers too? What were they saying to him? Could he even understand them? That's when it happened to me. I froze in place. My throat felt like someone had stuck sharp rocks in it and I couldn't breathe. I was watching this man walk into the pitch black water and as he disappeared I was locked onto the lake. He left no trace, no belongings, no footprints. Suddenly my body was not my own. I was slowly walking into the water but not by my own will, something was forcing me. Why can't I stop? The whispers grew louder and louder as I stepped in, I couldn't help but stare into the ink that was the lake. It was as cold as ice, the water never rippling when I touched it yet it welcomed me like an old friend. The lake enveloped me, surrounding my body with each step. Turn around. Go home. I couldn't make myself leave. The water had me trapped like it was cement. Help me. I hear a muffled scream in the distance behind me, it's my dad, but he was too late. I'm already gone. The entity has swallowed me and I am not even a ghost, not even a memory to this town or my family. I am a prisoner to the water, adding to the whispers, and waiting for our next victim.