Fiction logo

CASTLE IN THE WATER

IN FROZEN POND

By Fabian EllisPublished 3 years ago 10 min read
Like
CASTLE IN THE WATER

At the start of the pandemic, I was in Farmington Hills, Michigan working as a business consultant. My firm decided to suspend the project, due to the announcement of future travel restrictions.

Since the airport was in its’ early stages of setting up Covid-19 protocol, it was business as usual in the terminal. I quickly checked my bags at the counter and proceeded to my gate. Welcoming my first-class privileges, I couldn’t wait to board the plane and leave the cold weather of Michigan for a well-deserved break from the pressure cooker of the business consulting environment.

After being seated on the plane, I began to prepare for a mini adventure because you never know who will sit down beside you, a celebrity, athlete, or just someone interesting who has first-class privileges. A casually dressed man sat down, after placing his carry-on in the overhead bin. I was sitting in the window seat and he sat in the aisle seat. I didn’t strike up a conversation not knowing where the conversation would go with the pandemic on the rise and the political parties having different views on the solution.

The plane was quickly boarded with a limited amount of people deciding to travel versus many others preparing for the uncharted waters of the pandemic. When the plane left the runway, I looked out the window and could see the frozen horizon with all of the ice-covered lakes and ponds. Gazing out the window I said, "Wow. Look at all the frozen lakes and ponds." The man used my comment as an opening to start a conversation.

“You must live down south?”

“As a matter of fact, I do.”

“You must live in Charlotte.”

“Right again.”

It was an easy guess because we were on our way to North Carolina.

I asked, “Do you live in Charlotte?”

“No. I'm going to search for land. I live in Michigan.”

“Why Charlotte?”

“I heard there are some nice neighborhoods in Charlotte and the land prices are not too high. My wife and I are Michiganders and we have done our time in the cold climate. My kids are grown and out of the house. Now it’s time for us to live our lives.”

“It’s amazing how everything freezes up north. The frozen water looks great from up here.”

“Yes, but it’s dangerous down there.”

“Why?”

“Every year there are many drownings, due to people falling through the ice.”

“Is there any way of determining if it's safe before attempting to walk on it?”

“There are safety guidelines issued that say it’s important to make a hole in the ice and use a tape measure to determine how thick it is before walking on it. If it’s 2” or less, stay off. If it’s 4” or more of clear ice you can ice fish or do other activities. If it’s 5” or more you can use equipment such as a snowmobile or an ATV.”

“Being northerners, I would think everyone should be aware and uses the guidelines to save lives on the ice.”

“You would think. As Michiganders, we’re accustomed to the constantly changing winter weather; freezing temperatures mixed in with your occasional 60° F Day. Not that the nicer weather isn’t a welcome break from the bitter cold, but it makes recreational activities on ice dangerous. When the temperature changes suddenly, the ice thaws, cracks, and refreezes. Sometimes it’s hard to tell whether or not it’s safe for fishing, skating, hockey, or anything.”

“I’ll bet there are many tragic stories about people falling through the ice, due to failure to follow the guidelines.”

“Mostly kids. Kids are impatient and want to play on the ice; therefore, they account for the most casualties.”

“I’m sure there are also plenty of good rescue stories.”

“There are some. I’ve got a rescue story that has been circulating for years that many of us still find difficult to believe.”

“What’s that?”

“A 15-year-old girl was braiding her horse’s hair when a noise caught her attention. The sound she heard was ice cracking in a nearby pond. She looked over and saw a 5-year-old girl had fallen into the water. Not long after, her 9-year-old sister also fell in trying to save her. She rushed over to the scene and the two girls were treading water. In ponds and lakes, the water is normally standing, not flowing. Although, currents can be swift as waters enter and leave. In general, the water in ponds and lakes moves slowly because it's normally blocked by beaver dams, natural rock cavities, etc. On this day, the pond had strong currents underneath the ice. The water quickly pulled the girls under. The 15-year-old tried to use her fist to punch her way through the ice. Her hands began to bruise but she was determined to rescue the girls. She even used her body, by body-slamming the frozen water to clear the way. She was able to grab the arm of the 9-year-old and she grabbed her sister’s arm, forming a chain. The 15-year-old tried with all her might to pull the girls to safety when her footing gave way and she lost her grip. The current swept the girls under the ice and the 15-year-old fell into the water. In freezing temperature in a partially frozen pond, she became scared when she realized she couldn’t tell if her legs were still attached to her body. She could not feel her legs or her boots. She couldn’t tell if she was moving; however, she did notice she was getting closer to the banks. Surprisingly, she was able to keep her head above the water to swim back to the shore. Safe on the shore, it was time to get help or at least tell someone about the tragedy. So, she ran as fast as she could to her grandparents’ house to inform them of the girls. From there, she returned to her horse and then rushed home to her mom. After telling her mom, her mother called her grandmother. The grandmother knew the two girls' parents and made the dreaded call. The grandmother also called the police and the local news. Relieved, the girl’s mother hung up the phone and helped her daughter with her injuries using her experience as an ER nurse.”

“That’s tragic. You said this was a rescue story.”

“There is more. The police and FOX19 NOW did arrive on the scene to investigate. The police rushed to the pond and the FOX19 NOW rushed to the girl’s house. The girl told her attempted rescue story. Her mother shared how impressed she was about her daughter's actions. The father said, ‘It’s a proud parent moment and makes you think we must be doing something right.’”

“It’s an attempted rescue story. Were their bodies ever found?”

“Hold on. Here is where the story becomes hard to believe. The tight-knit people of the community banded together to search for the two girls. We covered every inch of that pond for two days and could not find them. After all, hope was gone, a small community gathering was at their parent’s house grieving their deaths and attempting to give some semblance of inspiration of hope that life would somehow get better in the future. Miraculously, the two girls appeared on the third day. The girls walked into the house dripping wet, shivering, unharmed, and happy. Needless to say, everyone was shocked to see the two girls. The girl’s mother ran over and gave them a big hug. The was a never-ending stream of joyful tears rolling down her cheeks. Everyone else in the room was staring and in silent shock. I was one of the individuals in the room. Like me, I’m sure everyone in the room wanted the mother to ask the girls about what happened in the pond.”

“You’ve got me intrigued. Did she?”

“After embracing the joy of her girls being alive, finally, she asked the 9-year-old the question. The 9-year-old spun a yawn that is still unbelievable to this day. She said, 'We were attempting to catch fish from the pond. After cracking a hole in the ice with a hammer, the pond opened up and my sister fell in. I tried to save her then I fell into the water. The current was pulling us under when a girl appeared. The noise from the girl trying to break the ice sounded like being inside of a large empty room and someone banging on the outside wall. The girl broke the ice, grabbed my arm and I grabbed my sister’s arm. The girl pulled as hard as she could until she lost her footing and her grip. The current swept us under the ice and we began to swallow lots of water. Suddenly a lady appeared and grabbed my arm while I was still holding on to my sister and for some reason, we were no longer cold or drowning. The lady swam to the bottom of the pond to a large white castle.’”

“You’re pulling my leg.”

“I told you it was an unbelievable story.”

“Who was the lady?”

“The 9-year-old said, ‘The lady was an enchantress who took them on a tour of the castle. In the center of the castle was a tree in a greenhouse with a variety of fish playing in the leaves. The crown of the tree protrudes above the greenhouse and two wordy emerald tablets were leaning against the tree, surrounded by lots of vegetation. At the bottom was a dome that covered crossed roots securing a large pearl. There were many paved paths, stairs, and pillars. She asked the enchantress if the castle can be seen from above.’ The enchantress said, ‘Yes, but the castle is a magic moving castle that never stays in one place for a long period of time. When there are lots of people gathering above, the castle will sense a need to move. You can say the castle has a mind of its’ own; thus, we haven’t been discovered, despite countless sightings. The Kingdom is Neptra, built underwater, guided by the knowledge of duplicate Emerald Tablets of Thoth the Atlantean in a fourth-dimension fairy world, to avoid the wars of man on earth. We can see you but it’s difficult for you to see us. We try not to interfere with anything happening in the third dimension unless we see a grave injustice or tragic event. When I saw you girls under the water, I decided to save you because the castle had just appeared in the pond. You two were lucky. It’s very rare the castle would make an appearance in an ideal situation to save someone. If the pond was crowded with people, I would not have interfered and let you drown. After saving you, the castle immediately moved to another pond miles away. Realizing there would be a search for you, the castle knew it would have to wait a few days before returning to the pond.’ The 9-year-old said, ‘The castle waited three days, returned to the pond, the enchantress gave each of us two small flawless pearls then returned us to the surface.’ What do you think of the rescue story?”

“Wow. Although I’ve heard of the Emerald Tablets of Thoth, you’re right the rescue story is unbelievable. However, if true, I have to ask how are the girls doing today?”

While asking the question, two flight attendants, wearing pearl earrings, walked up and addressed the man, “Hi there.”

He said, “Hi.” He turned to me and asked, “What do you think?”

Befuddled, I asked, “Why do you ask?”

Pointing to the girls he said, “They’re the girls.”

The girls looked at my shocked expression and the elder asked the man, “You told him the story about the pond?”

The man replied, “Yes.”

Staring at their exquisite earrings, I said, “WOW!”

The younger girl said, “The story is true and we have made pearl earrings to prove it.”

Fantasy
Like

About the Creator

Fabian Ellis

I have a Master’s Degree in Business and Bachelor in Art and Mathematics. I've proudly served in two branches of the armed forces, the Navy (Enlisted) and the Marines (Officer). I'm a writer and an inventor who enjoys creating new ideas.

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.